It's a new year. Time to go around the house to change the calendars and have a good hard look at the expiration date on the milk. As holidays go, it has different meaning to different people. For some it is very important to have someone to make out with at midnight, for others it's a time for alcohol and a chance to make a real asshole out of yourself.
Most folks take advantage of this holiday to do a personal audit. They decide that maybe this is the year to finally get organized or lose those love handles. It's as good a time as any for a review of values, especially after the nonstop feasting and gluttony of Christmas. Though enthusiasm tends to wane, it really is the only time of year that people openly talk about the way they choose to live, and give long hard thought to how they might improve themselves. I have read somewhere that new gym memberships, sales of diet pills, nicorette, and self help books are at an all time high in the first two weeks of the new year, but that by April these endeavors are forgotten and its back to smoking and driving drunk to get a box of doughnuts.
This new year I recommend to the masses - minimalism. Truly the best way to save money, help the environment, be more organized, stop smoking and eat better is by being a minimalist, even if you give up on it by February. I make this appeal now in the few days that anyone might actually be considering a different path through life.
Minimalism is really just a shift in perspective. The question one should ask is: Do I really need this? Sure we all desire things, but are they, in fact, useful? Look at the stuff you needed last year. How many times did you actually use it? Now that you need places to put all booty that Santa brought it's a good time to consider how many years have you stored something in a closet before the realization that it was obsolete the day it came out of the box?
Minimalism, as a way of living, has really helped me keep my house cleaner, keep more of my money, generate less trash and generally be more focused. I have more time because I am not caring for the things I own. Less sorting, cleaning, digging around through piles means less frustration too. Minimalism is a great compliment to the way you already live.
Most folks take advantage of this holiday to do a personal audit. They decide that maybe this is the year to finally get organized or lose those love handles. It's as good a time as any for a review of values, especially after the nonstop feasting and gluttony of Christmas. Though enthusiasm tends to wane, it really is the only time of year that people openly talk about the way they choose to live, and give long hard thought to how they might improve themselves. I have read somewhere that new gym memberships, sales of diet pills, nicorette, and self help books are at an all time high in the first two weeks of the new year, but that by April these endeavors are forgotten and its back to smoking and driving drunk to get a box of doughnuts.
This new year I recommend to the masses - minimalism. Truly the best way to save money, help the environment, be more organized, stop smoking and eat better is by being a minimalist, even if you give up on it by February. I make this appeal now in the few days that anyone might actually be considering a different path through life.
Minimalism is really just a shift in perspective. The question one should ask is: Do I really need this? Sure we all desire things, but are they, in fact, useful? Look at the stuff you needed last year. How many times did you actually use it? Now that you need places to put all booty that Santa brought it's a good time to consider how many years have you stored something in a closet before the realization that it was obsolete the day it came out of the box?
Minimalism, as a way of living, has really helped me keep my house cleaner, keep more of my money, generate less trash and generally be more focused. I have more time because I am not caring for the things I own. Less sorting, cleaning, digging around through piles means less frustration too. Minimalism is a great compliment to the way you already live.
