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Dutch minimalism: being happy, living a simple and mindful life

Blue minimalistic interior

What is minimalism?

Minimalism means limiting yourself to the essentials and avoiding material things as much as possible. This lifestyle should lead to more order, freedom and happiness in life. Minimalist living is defined differently by each person.

You can decide to what extent you want to adopt this lifestyle. Below are some good reasons for this popular lifestyle, as well as some tips on how to incorporate it into your daily life.

Why is minimalism worth it?

Minimalism is also known as living a simple life. This title is not unwarranted. Here are some of the benefits of a minimalist lifestyle.

  • Appreciation and gratitude
    Living mindfully and limiting yourself to the essentials also makes it easier to appreciate life. In other areas of life too, minimalists describe that this lifestyle makes you more grateful for the everyday.
  • More happiness and order in life
    Most people know that minimalism means an organised home and fewer material things. But the lifestyle can be found in many more areas than everyday life. The results of a minimalist lifestyle often highlighted in blogs and books are stress reduction, a sense of freedom and greater happiness.
  • Saving time
    Having fewer possessions goes hand in hand with saving time. With fewer clothes available, the common question “what to wear” can be answered much faster. With fewer possessions, you also spend less time cleaning and tidying and can instead spend the hours you save on more enjoyable things.
  • Saving a lot of money
    Because a minimalist lifestyle involves owning only essential items, consumer behaviour changes and purchase decisions become more thoughtful. This is very beneficial for the wallet!

How to be minimalist?

There are many minimalist blogs for a minimalist lifestyle, as well as minimalist books such as those by Kyle Chayka, Joshua Becker, ‘The Minimalists’ (Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus) that serve as guidelines. We have briefly listed a few tips for you. We also recommend that you get used to the new lifestyle step by step and don’t give up if some points seem too difficult at first.

  • Minimalist home
    Want to get rid of unnecessary stuff but don’t know how? Our tidying tips can help you do just that. This is also perfect to combine with spring cleaning, for example. Integrating the idea of minimalism into everyday life is usually a lot easier than thought. Besides simple interior design and tidying, the focus is also on valuing existing possessions. This includes keeping everything neatly in place and ensuring that household tasks are done quickly. Here, it helps to complete all tasks that take less than three minutes immediately. This reduces stress and gives more time for hobbies.
  • Simple living and minimalist design
    Light wall colours and just a few colour accents are best suited for minimalist interiors. Solid wallpaper makes the flat look more spacious and uncluttered. Even simple natural elements like wood, stones or plants give the flat a pleasant and calm atmosphere. If you like modern art, you might as well hang some paintings by minimalist artists like Donald Judd or Agnes Martin. Besides a simple wall design, a tidy floor is also essential for a neat interior and to create space. Baskets or boxes are ideal for storing small items.
  • Minimalist wardrobe
    Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo gives plenty of tips for organising your wardrobe. You can find these in her book ‘Spark Joy’. It is also advisable to set up a decision rule for clearing out your wardrobe. An example could be: if you didn’t wear the clothes last year, they probably won’t be used next year either, so they can be put away. Sorted out clothes can easily be sold on the Facebook marketplace, on eBay or at a flea market. Donating clothes is a great way to part with old clothes and help others. Consider the Salvation Army, for example.
  • Minimalist shopping
    Many people know the scenario where clothes are bought only for a certain occasion and then just stay in the closet. To avoid this, you just need to change your shopping habits. For such occasions, it is worth borrowing clothes from friends or relatives or swapping them for other rarely worn clothes through a clothes exchange platform.
    For shopping for clothes, groceries and other products, it is advisable to make a shopping list in advance. That way, you buy only what you really need and don’t get tempted by special offers for impulse purchases.To find out which products to buy, ask yourself the following questions:

    • What benefits does the product offer?
    • Will I get lucky by buying the product?
    • Do I already have similar products?
    • Can I make a DIY product with materials I already own?
  • Digital detox
    Digital minimalism means minimising your media consumption. By living without or with less social media, you can overcome your phone addiction and spend more time with hobbies, friends and family. The total absence of smartphones, laptops, tablets and so on is difficult and sometimes problematic for most people, both for professional and personal reasons. Here, it is appropriate to reduce media consumption step by step and interact only with necessary social networks, apps or websites.

Alternative to minimalism

A good alternative not to part with your objects too quickly and regret it afterwards is to embrace minimalism on a trial basis. With this, you can test whether the lifestyle suits you for a self-selected trial period. Another great way to experience minimalism is to live in a Tiny House during the holidays.
But since this only works if you don’t have your things with you permanently, you can store them in a Self Storage at BOXIE24 Storage in the interim. This is also suitable if you have already adapted to minimalism, but have some items that you only want to part with for a short time, but not forever.

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