Benefits of Minimalism

One of the most important benefits of living a minimalist lifestyle is having more time. As you have fewer material possessions to care for, it becomes easier to do the things you really enjoy.

Let’s be honest, stuff is needy and time-consuming, and the more we own, the more time we use to take care of our precious belongings. You have 2 cars; the registration process needs to be done twice. That means more time spent doing things you don’t enjoy. You have more things in the house, therefore more time spent cleaning. Imagine the following scenario:

You have a living room and an elephant sculpture inside it. Obviously, you have more things inside, like sofa, chairs, TV, TV stand, various knick-knacks, etc. But for the purpose of showing you a point, we will use only one thing.

Let’s see how long it takes to clean a room with the elephant sculpture in it. 

• Step 1. You’re wiping the floor
• Step 2. You came to the elephant sculpture and you move it, to wipe the floor where the elephant had been sitting
• Step 3. Then you need to return the elephant to its original position
• Step 4. Clean the hollows and crevices of the elephant sculpture itself

Now, let’s see what it would be like if you didn’t have an elephant sculpture in the room.

• Step 1. Wipe the floor

Done! That simple. It takes a quarter of the time and a quarter of the effort to clean the floor. 

Now imagine the work and time required for cleaning if you have 2, 3, or 10 elephant sculptures in the room. Multiply that by all the things you own, and you can see that we spend an enormous time cleaning. Time that can be used for better things, like learning a new language, or mastering a habit, cooking delicious meals, or just relaxing and enjoying a good movie.

Which do you prefer? Cleaning or relaxing? At the end, the choice is yours alone.  

Own less to have more time.

“No thank you, I don’t want more time”, said no one ever.

When you have more time, more money, more freedom, and more happiness, stress quickly evaporates. You have more options. You can work fewer hours or even quit a job you hate, you can travel the world with a single backpack, you can take dance classes or painting or something third. When you realize you don’t need to live from paycheck to paycheck, or for the weekend, your stress levels drop, and you automatically start to be happier.

Another benefit is not caring so much for stuff because you realize they are only tools, not the masters. If it breaks, you can fix it. If you lose it, you can always replace it. If it’s no longer adding value, you can eliminate it. Less clutter = less stress.