Life is Better with Less – The Short Guide to Getting Rid of Your Crap.

Most of us are guilty of having too much crap in our lives. Stuff we don’t need, stuff we don’t like, stuff there is not a chance in hell will ever fit us again. Then pay day rolls around and we happily go out and buy some more crap. Some of us move in to bigger houses to make sure we have enough space for all our crap. Most of us are so busy dealing with all the crap in our lives we rarely get a chance to enjoy it. So, maybe it’s time to have a quick peek at how life might look with less.

Henry David Thoreau was the early adopter of this notion of a simpler life. Way back in the early 1800’s he headed out in to the woods, built a cabin and made a simple living from the labour of his own hand. The lesson he learnt was how little material wealth a person needs to live life well. Fast forward to 2017 and Minimalism is all the rage (which sounds like a First World total wank but does make quite a lot of sense). Rest assured – I am not here to make you give up your morning latte, move in to a Tiny Home and spend your days in earnest reflection dressed in nothing but 2^nd hand rags. The good people at Thin.Rich.Happy (me) want you to have nice stuff but we also want you to have MORE. Living with less gives you this – More Money, More Time, More Fulfilment and More Freedom.

THE FIVE STEP GUIDE TO GETTING RID OF YOUR CRAP.

 

• YOUR HOME

This is the easiest place to start. I suggest you take the advice of Marie Kondo whose bestselling book ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’ takes you through the whole thing from go to whoa. Do-not-start-room-by-room. Rookie Error. It’s all about keeping the stuff that Sparks your Joy (I know – very Zen – but she is Japanese so it’s pretty authentic). Thankfully a blog post I prepared earlier condenses the whole book for you –  CAN TIDYING UP REALLY BE LIFE-CHANGING (and if so where do I start?). Alternatively, you can try playing the 30 Day Minimalism Game started by two long term down-sizers knows as The Minimalists.

• YOUR HABITS

This step is a little bit trickier. Now you have got rid of your crap you need to make sure you don’t keep buying more. Using the same philosophy when it comes to consumption – only buy it if you LOVE. LOVE. LOVE it. I find it helps to only buy what looks AMAZING when you try it on. Not Sure? Keep on Moving. Still Not Sure? Agree to come back for it tomorrow and only go if you have barely thought of little else. Environment Victoria claims that the vast majority of what we buy ends up in landfill within 6 weeks of purchase. Today’s buy is tomorrows crap. You may find it helps if you practice with real money. For 1 week try taking out the amount of cash you usually spend each week (just adding that sh** up can be scary). Handing over $40 in actual money can make you re-think if you really need (another) stripy t-shirt in your life. The Barefoot Investor covers this in his excellent book and reminds us that marketing’s ‘chief aim is to create enough emotional void in your life that you will pull out your plastic card and swipe’. Australia has the highest rate of household debt in the world. Why? Because we never feel we have ‘enough’ and we obviously still haven’t worked out that all this stuff is not making us happier.

 

• YOUR DIGITAL LIFE

If we let it, Technology has the potential to consume us. It is often the first thing we turn to in the morning and the last thing we look at, at night.  Digital Minimalism acknowledges that there is no way we can avoid the devices in our lives but questions what digital tools add the most value to your life and suggests aggressively ditching the low-value digital noise. So, it’s hello to Google Maps and Uber – because you need to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. But it’s Farewell to Snapchat and The Daily Mail – because you aren’t 12 and you know (deep down) you are better than that.

 

• YOUR TIME

This one we have talked about. We only have a finite amount of time to spend each day and it’s a bit rubbish if we spend most/some/all of it doing stuff that we hate or we feel obligated to do. I explained this in more detail in a recent post WHY YOU SHOULD SAY NO TO ALMOST EVERYTHING.

 

• YOUR LIFE

By now you will be something of an expert that you may want to look at minimising the rest of the stuff in your life that might be holding you back. It might be a toxic friendship, a bad relationship, a job you loathe. Let. It. Go. Only by clearing out the crap can we leave room for the stuff that truly matters.

This Get Happier Post was brought to you by someone who thinks Tyler Durden is pretty fit.