The Year I Become A Minimalist

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My 28th birthday was at the beginning of April. Usually, I’d write a list of 28 things I learned or 28 random facts to share with you. In fact, I had planned such a post but didn’t realise that I won’t have time to write it because of Easter and half terms! I should really put all the holidays into my calendar so it won’t repeat again.

I wasn’t excited about my birthday, probably for the first time in my life. I also didn’t get myself any gift, even though I’ve been doing it for the last couple of years.

And, of course, I didn’t celebrate it in any way. I didn’t even want to go to the seaside, which was becoming my birthday tradition. Everything felt pointless.

Two weeks later, I felt like someone has flipped the switch. I’ve realised what I want to do to celebrate going into 29th trip around the sun.

By becoming the best version of myself. Cliche isn’t it?

Bad Habits

For the past couple of months, if not years, I’ve been trying to embrace minimalism unsuccessfully. I tried decluttering my home, digital files, anything I could think of, yet it never truly stuck. I’ve kept spending more money than I earn, buying things I don’t need, going to the shopping centre just to kill time, and visiting shops saying that I’m “looking for inspiration”. And let me tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever gone to look for that “inspiration” and left buying nothing. Let’s not forget that I’ve been earning less and less every month.

I don’t remember the last time I didn’t have any credit card debt. It seems to come back every month on its own.

Conflicted Thoughts

At the beginning of this year, I wrote in my notebook that I want to accomplish successfully a no-buy year by December. Yet, I counted over 50 orders on Amazon since January. What am I doing with my life? What am I doing with my money?

I’m not saving, that’s for sure. Even worse, I started using my savings to pay off credit card debt at the end of the month.

Buying things became a hobby of some kind. I feel safer when I see a stockpile of toilet paper, detergents, or activity books for my daughter. I might need it one day. I will need it.

But, at the same time, I feel anxious as hell knowing that I almost don’t have any savings and my income’s almost non-existent. Yet, I keep spending more and more money.

Just like Cait Flanders wrote on her blog

But nothing I’ve purchased recently has brought me true, genuine happiness. I’m still consuming for the sake of consuming.

That’s exactly what I do. What am I supposed to do with my time if not go on a trip to a shopping centre?

I’ve moved a lot in the past 9 years. In fact, I move once a year on average. I’ve purged a lot during every move but accumulated even more things in the meantime. I still have unpacked boxes from the last move, and I don’t think it will change anytime soon. Unfortunately, they’re my partners, so I can’t do anything about it, but it shows the scale of the problem. There is clutter on all the flat surfaces. Every cupboard or empty space is being immediately filled with stuff. I can’t do that anymore.

I want my home to feel more homely, finally. To be able to invite someone without spending hours on cleaning beforehand. To spend less time on cleaning and managing all that stuff, most of which is clutter.

I’ve just finished reading The Year Of Less by Cait Flanders and it seems to be the last push I need to change my life.

How I Plan To Embrace Minimalism

According to The Minimalists,”Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.”

So, how exactly am I planning to embrace minimalism?

First and foremost, I’m going on a yearlong shopping ban, starting on 15 April*. This is something that’s been on my mind since the beginning of the year, but I didn’t have the courage to make a definite decision. I’m done with going to the shops just to kill time or spending money on things I don’t truly need. Buying things easily became an almost daily routine, and it’s not something I want to continue.

*I’ve actually published this blog post later than expected, so right now I’m on a third day of a shopping ban. So far, so good!

Second, I need to learn how to budget properly. Moving money to “bills” and “food” accounts, and using rest to pay off my credit card debt just to accumulate it again immediately, is not an option anymore. I need to budget for unexpected expenses, actually save money, and stop using my credit card.

Third, I want to declutter my home, devices, and every other aspect of my life once and for all. I can think of a handful of things that I haven’t used even once, and it’s time for them to go.

The overall goal for this year is to simplify my life. Consume less, stop wasting time, become a better version of myself, and create a life I love. I’ve spent all my adulthood years doing everything I couldn’t do before. This includes playing video games for hours, scrolling through social media all day long, and pointlessly wasting time on my computer. Binge watching TV shows every day. Binge eating candy and fast foods. Going to bed at 3am and waking up at 12pm, just because I can. Buying everything I could only think of, because who am I to restrict myself from getting new things?

This stops now. It hasn’t helped me heal and will never do. It’s time to get better, discover who I really am, and give a better example for my daughter, so she wouldn’t repeat my mistakes once she grows up.

To summarise, instead of doing something fun for my birthday, I’m actually going to try to better myself. Live the most frugal, minimalistic, and intentional year of my life. I can’t wait to see what I can accomplish, and, who knows, maybe I’ll finally make progress in saving for the house? My goal was to buy one by the time I’m 30, so I should really start doing something in this direction!

To do that, I need to do something else. Something that doesn’t feel right to mention in this post, since it’s all about embracing minimalism.

I want to increase my earnings. I need to. My goal is to turn this blog into a source of income and maybe add some writing freelancer gigs to the mix. A girl can dream, am I right? Earning more money, even if it’s just 50% of minimal wage, would make a huge difference not only in the amount of money I can save, but it would change my life for the better, especially when coupled with a shopping ban. It would make me feel safer and more peaceful than I’ve ever felt in the last few years.

It feels weird writing such a personal post and hitting publish soon after. Surely it feels uncomfortable and scary. Let’s do all the uncomfortable things we’ve been always wanting to do and take action to create a better life for ourselves. It’s going to be worth it, I’m sure of it!

Before I go, I have a small favour to ask for. If you’re a minimalist, can you share your best tips and tricks as I embark on this journey? Are there any books or blogs I should read? TIA!

Till the next time,
M.