Sometime back, I stumbled across a video on YouTube that had a thumbnail that stood out to me. In the photo was a laptop, a few stacked articles of clothing, and some other various items. The thumbnail said something like "this is everything that I own." Now, I'm pretty sure the video had less to do with minimalism and more to do with a long term road trip. However, I realized just how liberating it would be to have so few possessions that you could fit everything into a duffel bag, or even just in your car. I looked up from my computer and around my room and thought to myself "man, I have too much stuff." And I'm certainly not the only one. It was at that moment that I decided to start taking pages outta the minimalist book.
Most People Have Too Much Stuff
I suppose owning furniture means that reducing my possessions down to what would fit in my car might not be the most realistic goal. That being said, the fact is that most of us these days have too much stuff. A quick search online yielded some surprising results that actually aren't that surprising. For example, one out of every four Americans has a clutter problem. Huff Post says that a staggering 84% of Americans are concerned about having adequate organization, and 55% of those say that it is a big source of stress. Being bombarded with ads that tell us to spend money on a daily basis does not help either. Would you believe me if I said that the average persons sees something like 10,000 ads every day? Pretty crazy. It makes it too easy to fall into a trap of buying new things that we feel like we need but really just end up taking up more space. As we accumulate more, we tend to look for more ways to organize. Organizing feels good in the moment, but it's really just putting a bandaid on the real issue which is having too much stuff. Guilty as charged.
You might be asking yourself what on earth decluttering and minimalism have to do with flying. The super easy surface level answer is that living out of a suitcase forced me to get used to only having what's necessary. I've always packed a little on the heavier side which does not work well when overhead bins barely fit my crew bag. However, the deeper answer is that part of my job is to constantly improve my skills and approach to flying. I took the same approach to my skills as a musician when I was pursuing a career in music. This idea that we should always strive to improve has extended into all aspects of life in general, and one of my big goals for this blog is to document healthy changes that we can make to our lives that improve mental health and help us make the most of this time we have on Earth. It just so happens that decluttering is one of the ways that we can do exactly that.
Changing A Mindset
Not surprisingly, the best way to start the process of decluttering and minimizing is to look at how we perceive "stuff." In a consumerist society, spending money on the latest and greatest is very much encouraged as a way to improve our lives. You've probably also heard the term retail therapy, which is when people use the act of spending money as a coping mechanism. The other day at the grocery store, I actually saw one of those multi-use giftcards with that term written straight across the top, so it's not like we're trying to hide from it. Oftentimes, we are even encouraged to utilize debt to pay for larger items like cars, jewelry, or even electronics like TVs and computers. The combined message that this communicates - whether we realize it or not - is that more stuff will make life easier/better, and it's ok to go into debt to have more because everyone has debt and it's normal. That's a highly toxic and financially dangerous mindset as far as I'm concerned.
If you read my article about what I learned from debt, you read about how mindset is at the root of everyone's relationship with money. Part of changing my own mindset included addressing my desire to buy stuff. This had been a comfort for a long time, but I realized that having less would actually be better in the long run.
Decluttering Is Fun. And Hugely Satisfying.
Pretty shortly after I saw that YouTube thumbnail I mentioned above, I started going through the mountain of crap I had at home. The following are some questions I used to help decide what to keep and what to dump:
- Does this solve a problem?
- Do I use this?
- Do I have more than one unnecessarily?
- Does this bring me joy?
It was surprising to me just how much I had accumulated over the years. It didn't take long for it to turn into an immensely satisfying process, and starting with the easy stuff made it easier to get rid of everything that was initially too sentimental with which to do anything. The sheer amount can make it hard to decide where to start though, and sometimes that's enough to keep people from starting the process. If you're trying to decide where to start, take a look at your dresser and closet. I bet most of us have attire hanging in our closets or filling up our drawers that we have worn only a handful of times. For example, I realized that I default to the same few shirts throughout the week. I looked at why this was the case and came to the conclusion that it was because they were simply the most comfortable shirts I had. I donated everything else, leaving only my favorite shirts in my drawer.
It's easy to fall into the trap of keeping something because "we might need it someday," but in my experience someday usually means never. For example, I was decluttering just the other week and found something that looked like a handle and a clip. I had absolutely no idea what it was for, but my initial instinct was to keep it in case I remembered its purpose. Then I had a good laugh because I realized that was the very line I often told myself which ultimately contributed to my personal mountain of crap. I sent a photo to my lady, and we decided to toss it. After all, if we hadn't needed it so far, it was likely we never would.
The other trap is the guilt trap. The first form of guilt comes as a result of feeling like we're throwing out the money we spent on the item. The counter to this is understanding that the money has already been spent, so it's gone. If that's not quite enough, then you can always try and sell items. I personally like to use eBay and FaceBook marketplace. If I've got an item I want to get rid of but want to try and sell, I will start with one of those two places. If I have a hard time selling it, I just donate it instead and know that I tried.
The second guilt trap is feeling guilty for giving items away that were gifted to you. This was definitely the hardest one for me, but I finally figured out a good approach. When it comes to gifted items, I try to find comfort in the fact that I used the item for its intended purpose for however long I've had it. If I no longer find use for it, then it should be given to someone else who will continue to get great use out of it. These items are often the hardest to declutter, so don't try to start with them.
Condense
There are many items that also can simply be condensed. For example, I have a collection of close to 200 movies. I enjoy my collection quite a lot but after my most recent move, I just didn't have the shelf space. I realized that the enjoyment of a DVD collection for me comes from watching the movies, not seeing them all on a shelf (even though that was fun for awhile). So, I compromised and moved all the discs into a CD binder, recycling all of the cases in the process. Now instead of having a huge shelf of movies that takes up an entire corner of a room, I have a binder of movies that takes up very little space in a single drawer. Well, actually two binders but that's beside the point. Instead of needing multiple larger boxes to move said collection, they'll fit in a single box. The only movies that remain in their cases are a couple for which I provided music and two live shows of my favorite band Dream Theater that have signed covers.
Be Deliberate When Making Purchases
Decluttering and minimalism isn't just about having less; it's also about being far more deliberate with purchases going forward. I won't buy something new unless it's going to serve a purpose and solve a problem for me. Occasionally I will still fall into the trap of the impulse buy, but I've managed to significantly cut down on that by forcing myself to stop and make sure A) it's going to solve a problem and B) it will get used. After waiting for at least a few days, I've either lost the desire to make the purchase or I've decided that it will indeed serve a purpose.
Benefits of Less
Man, where to start. First of all, less stuff in your house means that cleaning is easier. If you move to a new home, packing becomes easier. By owning less and being deliberate with future purchases, you'll spend less money. Fewer items in your home means less visual clutter which can actually contribute to a more defined sense of peace in your home. Your carbon footprint is smaller. Less clothing in your closet for example means fewer choices, lessening decision fatigue. Buying less in general sometimes allows you to buy better quality versions of the items you do actually benefit from (coffee gear for instance... muahaha). I could keep going but I think you get the point.
What Minimalism Isn't
I think a lot of people look at minimalism as some movement where you get rid of as much as possible and live like a monk in a monastery with only the bare essentials. It's totally not like that at all. It's purely about eliminating what doesn't matter so that you have more time and room to enjoy what actually does matter. For example, I have quite the assortment of coffee gear. I have no desire or need to get rid of any of it because it brings me joy and contributes to my happiness on a daily basis. If you like painting or woodworking, there's absolutely no reason to get rid of the tools you use for those hobbies in an effort to "have less." They are contributing to your enjoyment of a hobby, and that's what matters. But if you dabbled in painting or woodworking and didn't get into it like you wanted, consider donating or selling that stuff to make room for something else you'd like to try.
Summing Things Up
The beauty of minimalism and decluttering is that it's entirely up to you to decide how you want to approach it. There's no one way to do it, and you can take concepts and practices that you like from different people and augment them to fit your needs. Give it a whirl! If you want more content on this, Joshua Becker and Ronald Banks on YouTube are great places to start. I've mentioned Matt D'Avella before on here too, he talks about minimalism as well.
Notes
If you like what you're reading, please consider using the Sign Up button to subscribe to my email list! I absolutely will not spam you every day; the email list is a way to have my weekly blog posts delivered directly to your email.
Sometimes I post links in my articles, and some of them might be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I make a small commission at no additional cost to you. This allows me to continue creating content for this site.
