The guide to becoming a minimalist woman

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The guide to becoming a minimalist woman

dubai - If you want to start living a minimalist lifestyle, it is important to start small.

By Werda Shermeen Zia

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Published: Sun 23 Sep 2018, 7:41 PM

A lot of people assume that minimalism means living with less, when in fact, it is all about living with intention and awareness. Sure, minimalist interior decor does include a minimum of belongings and a lot of open space, but a lifestyle calls for something different and is unique to every individual.

The minimalist lifestyle calls for intention and awareness of every person, thing and activity we choose to keep in our lives. It calls for freeing ourselves of every person, thing and activity that brings us down and adds stress in our lives so that we can live more freely and fully. In this article, I will talk about tips to ease into a minimalist lifestyle and its many benefits.

Think about the why
Everyone has a different reason to want a minimalist lifestyle. For some women, it might be about eliminating stress from their lives, for others, it might be because they want more freedom to do what they love and for many, it might just be an experiment into a lifestyle they heard about. Whatever the case, be sure that you know why you want to foray into the world of minimalism. You could even write it down so if you are feeling demotivated one day, you can remind yourself why you started in the first place. This way, a few months down the road, you can check back to see if you are anywhere near the reason you became a minimalist woman in the first place.

Start small
If you want to start living a minimalist lifestyle, it is important to start small. A lot of people begin with their belongings because that is easier to let go of than stressful activities and toxic people. So go through your belongings, room by room, and place everything you want to give away or trash in separate boxes. Sometimes even this can be difficult, but once you start, you will realise that you do feel a load ease off your shoulders every time you get rid of something you don't need and never use. You don't have to get rid of everything in the first round of elimination. You don't even have to get rid of everything in the same day, week or month. You can choose to give away one or 10 things every week or every month. It is all about what works for you.

Minimalism is a practice
Minimalist is a practice, like yoga or meditation. That means that it has to be performed routinely and consciously. Of course, you can always change your mind about wanting to pursue a minimalist lifestyle, but if you are sure, then consistency is key. So, don't accept that invite to hang out with that group of people that always makes you feel bad about your dreams and goals once you have realised that that is the case. Or don't go to a party if all you want to do is stay at home and read a book. Or don't let your room stay cluttered if clutter really gets to you.

Change can be hard
It isn't going to be an easy journey. That is something you should understand and accept going in, but the good part is that there is no rush. You have your whole life to achieve your minimalist woman goals. And perhaps, if you introduce the concept to other people, you will have a support network that makes it slightly easier. Since this lifestyle is about prioritising what is important to you and what makes you feel like the best version of you, you will find that it sneaks into other areas of your life. While you might have just started learning how to keep your home clutter-free, you will realise that you have started decluttering your calendar and prioritising relationships as well.

The author is senior content manager at ServiceMarket. Views expressed are her own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy.


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