It's been almost 3 years that I started a new life and I thought it would be great to catch-up!
.
Even today I can remember how a scary jump it was.
Becoming a “minimalist” in a month, getting rid of most of my possessions : books, clothes, furnitures, ect…
Ending up with only a 38 liters backpack wasn't the most easiest thing to do but if I had to do it again I will enjoy it even more.
One of the best decision I took in my life : Becoming a minimalist by reducing drastically my possessions.
Is it easy to be a minimalist: not alway but after years I can relate that I enjoyed more being the minimalist version of me now that the one I used to be.
That started a long time ago, or maybe yesterday. One thing I’m sure now is that I am a minimalist.
I mean what is a minimalist, really? These days browsing the internet you could find the best way to fold your underwears or how to pack your suitcase for your next holidays and boom you’re tagged as a minimalist.
Well maybe it’s that or maybe there is more, I don’t know, I guess anyone find is own way to be one if he wants to. By this time I didn't really know what it meant to be one.
I found myself entering in the so called “Minimalist world” by leaving my flat, selling, giving and throwing away maybe 95 percent of my belongings.
When I say simple, well not as simple. I’m still wondering today why I choosed to change my way of living in such a short time.
I was renting a flat in London, paying my bills, working, spending a fair monthly money buying stuff that would probably end up on a cupboard or in my closet ready to gather the dust for the next decade.
These books I will certainly read, this coat which look amazing on me that I wore one time, these very nice pair of snickers which I putted on only occasionally, the all set of glasses, plates an so on to invite friend at home – Dude in London you invite friends at the Pub- That’s it! – and well few regularly pints of beers but that legit, isn’t it!
You probably think that I’m talking about the money I spent every months filling my need of buying to exist, to be a better me? Well you are right that was all about buying to exist, books to look smarter, clothes to looks more awesome and so on …
But you know what that wasn’t really about? Money.
That was about happiness.
Was I happy at this time buying thing? Well, I certainly was sometime. I can remember coming home with a new book or news clothes the happiness I felt, was it really happiness? I don’t know! But it disappeared as fast as it came.
Most of the time after 10-15 minutes that will end up by an : “Awesome, I will read it later, I will wear it later”.
Most of the time “Later” became “Never”.
I was happy with that way of living and not one time I questioned myself about it.
I mean why should I ?
One year later, I took a big decision: to go on a trip to Japan for three months.
Again why? I had and have even no idea now. As I did a lot of time before I followed an instinct or maybe I was bored and wanted a change. Either way I did it!
Three months on a trip sounded awesome and yet impossible to most peoples, including me.
I mean three months really? Without any income to pay your rent, your bills and so on?
Well that exactly the questions I asked myself. How will I do that?
The answer was quite simple : not having any flat and any bills to pay sounded more efficient to me and you know what? It really was!
I can tick that as a first rule that I’m following now since I went on this trip and became a minimalist. The rule would be, I guess : Never rent a flat and go on a travel at the same time where you will stay at a hotel or such. That’s sound silly I know, but that’s a really good way not spending money on things you’re not using at this time.
When you think about it, renting a flat is all about to find a place to keep the stuff you own or you are planning to buy.
I hear you and I agree : what's about the feeling to come back to a place you like, you decorated, you like to relax in. That was something I enjoyed, that's true but being nomad is also an experience I'm enjoying daily, of course you cannot live as you were before! You need to adjust yourself, change your habits regularly! So far I love it!
When I decided to go on this trip my one year lease was ending, so naturally I thought not to renew it and use the money I would have put in my rent to travel. I let you do the math!
Ok but what will I do with my furnitures, all my precious Items, possessions. My 85 T-Shirts collections that I was never wearing. By the way yes to be honest I was probably wearing 5 of them regularly but I had no problem to buy some more every month. You know the feeling!
Where will I put all my stuff! Rent a storage container in town and put everything I owns in there so I could dispose of it when I come back?
Yes that crossed my mind, I looked on the internet until I realize that not renting a flat anymore was one good thing but renting a storage box was an other one! I thought yes well, I should be able to get rid of the things I don’t need anymore to reduce the size I will rent.
And that how it started… Decluttering…
Let start with these shelves I told myself, throwing away magazines you keep because you’ll read it later, the extra tupperware in the kitchen or the old books you already red, sound easy… but well even that wasn’t as easy!
At first you never want to get rid of the stuff you own, because you know! You bought it, you own it, it is yours! Here come in your mind the value of the object you own in a way, you told yourself “I’m not gonna throw this, I could have a great use of it later!” Year sure thing… Been there sitting in your living room for more than a year but yes you’ll use it…one day…
I can easily remember the stress it has been to start to separate the things I wanted to throw away from the one I wanted to keep…
But eventually I did it. First I put everything I thought I could let go in a box and I’ll deal with it later while packing. Doing that, I found some stuff which obviously I didn’t want to wear or use anymore and thrown it away.
Later that day when I looked at the empty and clean shelves, I had this weird feeling. A feeling of satisfaction, maybe…
These empty shelves were telling me that I was going on a three months trip around Japan and won't come back in this flat.
And that was it.
Yes shelves talk sometime. These one smiled at me gently:
“Hey this is starting now, you’re going on a new adventure!”
When I looked at the boxes I filled with the “supposed object to let go” I knew that yes I have to let them go.
Yes …That’s how it started.
A friendly empty cupboard which made me feel happy!
