Less is More: The Five Principles of Decluttering - Ishraq Ahmed Hashmi

A Practical guide to living a Minimalist life by decluttering your home and organizing your life.

Modern life is filled with objects and entertainment, and therefore the simplicity of the minimalistic approach stands out. This kind of design thinking focuses on the general concept, which is ‘less is more,’ and as such, it is characterized by simplicity, functionality, and clarity. It is all about designing a home that has no unnecessary items and distractions, has a good look to its interior, and makes you want to live a simple and peaceful life.

Looking at the Core Principles of Minimalism

They also highlighted that, contrary to what people usually think, minimalism is not equal to getting rid of items. It is just simple but a conscious way of life where much attention is paid to every possession and its functional use. Here are the core principles:

Decluttering: The core of minimalist’s philosophy lies in the concept known as removing. consciously every object that is in your home should have its functionality it should be useful and if not useful then at least it should be beautiful. This process can be triggered by sorting the things you own according to their importance and eliminating the items to which you do not attach much importance to.

•                     Functionality: Minimalist spaces are first and foremost practical more than anything else. Every item of furniture or any decoration should be functional.

•                     Simplicity: A minimalist design theme is devoid of the clutter of many graphic elements, it is rather simple and unpretentious in terms of design. It stresses simple design forms and excludes excessive design decorations and pursued the sense of calmness.

•                     Quality over Quantity: Buy quality pieces that are likely to stand the test of time instead of amassing a collection of poor-quality items.

Creating a Serene Atmosphere

The house with a minimalistic design is a shelter that provides peace. Here are some tips for creating a serene atmosphere:

Color Palette: Choose non-vivid colors, which means do not choose black, dark blue, or similar colors common for business outfits. This colors make the space rather peaceful and enable other objects in the room to demands attention.

•                     Natural Light: To enhance points like two make use of sheer curtains or blinds on windows regions to boost the all-natural light. This will lighten up your space and give it that comfort of a room that is not claustrophobic.

•                     Plants: Include indoor plants into your house to give it life and character in line with the minimalistic home you are aiming for.

•                     Texture: Woods, linen, wool, these are the materials which help to add textures to the interior not disturbing the warm palette but deepening it.

Minimalism in various rooms of a home

Some principles of minimalism can be implemented in any part of the house. Here are some tips for different spaces:

·        Living Room: Limit the main items of furniture to a few ones, for instance, a settee, a center table, and TV cabinet. The cables should be hidden and storage ottomans should be used to free up space.

·         Bedroom: Biologically achieve sleep by eradicating sources of light and noise from the sleeping environment, and tidying yours. When it comes to your bed and mattress, just choose a simple bed frame that is lush and spend more on your bedding.

·         Kitchen: Counter organizers should be used to put away appliances and utensils meaning they should not be placed on counters. Wherever possible, it is best to use open shelving and organize a number of well-selected objects.

·         Bathroom: To sum up, it is necessary to highlight that the room should be tidy and free from excess accessories. To conceal the toiletry items, make use of storage baskets and give the appearance of a bathroom with a feel of a Spa.

·         Home Office: Design a working environment that does not distract the employee by following the minimalist design style. Make use a clean desk where you display all your working items or make use of an organizer for your needful items.

Overcoming Challenges

It is difficult to turn to minimalism for people and organizations. Here are some tips to help you overcome obstacles:

·         Start Small: To start with, it is recommended that one starts removing items from one room, at a time to prevent getting bogged down.

·         Find a Minimalist Community: Join more minimalist communities so that you can get the morale boost you need.

·         Digital Minimalism: Take the minimalism concept to your technology by organizing your computer and your phone.

·         Mindful Consumption: The key distinction should be made between a need and a want: think about how the item helps improve your life.

Therefore, it’ll be right to say that minimalism is not a destination, but it is a process. It is an issue of what is most advantageous to a person and ensuring that the living space serves that purpose. Some of the ways through which one should redesign the home in order to integrate of concept of clean and simple space are clearing the clutter and simplicity as well as functionality.

How can we start living a minimalist life?

Despite the popularity of the minimalism idea, it may be rather challenging to implement. Here are some practical steps to help you adopt a minimalist lifestyle:

Decluttering Strategies

·         The One-Year Rule: In a year’s time, if you don’t think that you will be in dire need of an item, then consider giving it to charity or packing it up to sell.

·         The Four-Box Method: Make four boxes and write on them ‘keep’, ‘donate’, ‘sell’ and ‘trash’. Pick through your belongings and if they do not fit the definition of ‘keep’, put them in the respective boxes.

·         Digital Declutter: Start by arranging the files, emails, and social media profiles which you use in your computer. Junk social accounts and any other app for which you do not have an important use; unsubscribe from all mailing lists you no longer want.

 Creating a Minimalist Home

·         Storage Solutions: Storage furniture can be used for clothing, shoes, books and other items and should be chic and complement the dęcor of the home.

·         Multifunctional Furniture: Acquire flexible furniture; items that can be used for more than one function like a multi-purpose table, a mattress bed or an ottoman that doubles as a storage chest.

·         Wall Decor: Avoid overcrowding your walls; they only should have one or two pieces that you really like.

·         Declutter Regularly: Try to decluttering to become a routine where you allocate a certain amount of time each week, to sort and contribute to the clutter.

 Maintaining a Minimalist Lifestyle

·         Mindful Shopping: When you are planning a shopping spree, pause and ask yourself if it’s necessary to buy the item that you are going to be purchasing, and if this purchase is going to be going against the minimalist principles that you want to have in your life.

·         Focus on Experiences: Take experiences over the things since nowadays materialism is the order of the day.

·         Practice Gratitude: Promote the feeling of thankfulness, this will lessen the urge to acquire more.

·         Regular Evaluation: Once in a while, make changes regarding the things you own and how you live to maintain the principles of minimalism.

Minimalism as Applied in Various Fields of Life

Minimalism can be applied to various aspects of your life beyond your home: Minimalism can be applied to various aspects of your life beyond your home:

·         Wardrobe: Make your collection of clothes simple and unpretentious so that it can be combined in a great number of ways.

·         Diet: Thus, healthy foods should be whole and unprocessed and one should try to avoid wasting food.

·         Relationships: Make the quality of this relationship more important than quantity.

·         Digital Life: Set reasonable time using electronic devices and engage in productive online communications.

And always let it sink into your head that minimalism is something that is done individually. It is perfectly alright to make mistakes because there is no correct procedure for doing so. The mindset is to identify what is most suitable and establish a setup that does not cause stress or anxiety.