How to Become a Minimalist--The Maximal Guide to A Simpler Life

So, you want to become a minimalist. You've read some blogs. You've seen some before-and-after pictures of people who downsized. Maybe you know someone who is a minimalist. You suspect that minimalism is a better way. But you don't know where to begin. Here for you, Gentle Reader, is a handy step-by-step guide to becoming a minimalist.

Step 1--Know why you are choosing to become a minimalist.

There is no point in choosing such a life altering course without knowing why you are choosing it. The reason this is important is because you are going to meet resistance. The first resistance will be an inner resistance. You will wonder if it is really worth all the trouble. You may lose motivation. The second resistance is external motivation as people question you and tell you that you are nuts. The world is not going to be for you in this endeavor. They are going to be against you. You can't weather this resistance without knowing why you are doing this.

The reason minimalists become minimalists is plain and simple. The reason is freedom. They want the freedom that comes from having less stuff, no debt, fewer responsibilities, less baggage, and more time. Some will cite environmentalism or religion as reasons. But these are altruistic motives that ultimately lead to either sanctimony or hypocrisy. The reason you are becoming a minimalist is because you want a better life for yourself. You want to be free.

Step 2--Do not buy anything.

It never fails. When people decide to make a change in their lives, they put together a shopping list and go buy shit. It can be exercise equipment, a daily planner, an organizer, or what have you. You don't need to buy anything to become a minimalist. Minimalism is about not buying stuff. You can't buy your way into being a better person. Minimalism isn't something you buy. It is something you do.

You need to learn the concept that architect Mies van der Rohe put forth, "Less is more." Buying more stuff is not the answer. Minimalism is a practice of subtraction. It is the elimination of nonessential stuff. It is using the eraser instead of the pencil tip. The only thing you should need to buy on your minimalist journey is a box of trash bags.



Step 3--Declutter.

This is the first "hands on" step in the process. The first two steps are mental, but this is the physical step. This is where you actually go through and get rid of shit you don't need. But there is a mental aspect to this that makes it hard. Hoarding is primarily a mental illness. People become attached to things, and they can't let them go. But I think Aron Ralston had it right when he discovered he had no trouble whatsoever severing his own arm when he discovered his trapped limb had become gangrenous and putrifying. That dead limb was no longer part of him, and he went to work sawing it off. You have to do the same with your stuff.



Cleaning is easy. You remove dirt. Decluttering is hard because it is essentially a series of decisions. You can clean a room in less than an hour, but it may take a day or even a week to declutter a closet. That is because each item requires a decision. Do I keep this? Do I toss this? Then, there is the negotiating process. Can I give this to someone else? This is a halfway measure because it lets you feel that you still own it but not really. It basically means putting your clutter on to someone else. This is why everyone I know tries to give me things as a minimalist. They see my empty space and want to fill it. It becomes very annoying.

In order to throw away something you don't need, you have to see it as a rotting limb that could kill you. You have to cut that fucker off and toss it away. This is why it is so much easier to let someone else declutter for you. They lack the emotional attachment to your stuff and will eliminate it for you with zero remorse. But this is something you have to do for yourself. It is a skill you must learn. You must see all of your belongings as not being part of who you are. As Tyler Durden put it, "You are not your khakis."

When you completely rethink the relation to your stuff, the rest is easy. Empty out your closets. Get rid of the things you don't need. Donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Go through it all until you have mostly space left. There should be no shoe boxes with stuff in it. There should no longer be a junk drawer in your kitchen. The attic and the basement and the garage should be virtually empty. All of these spaces are what I call "stuff holes." Often, when these stuff holes fill up, people will rent additional stuff holes. Minimalists don't have stuff holes.

I can't tell you what you should keep and what you should throw away. This is person relative. I wouldn't tell Yo-Yo Ma to toss his cello, but I would tell him to toss his bowling ball. If you come across things that you just don't use, get rid of them. If you think you might use it in some indefinite time in the future, quit kidding yourself and get rid of it. The only exception I would make would be hand tools. I don't frequently use my Allen wrenches, but I still keep them in my toolbox. But I had no trouble getting rid of my bongos and ukulele and the AbMaster 2000.

Media collections are another area that can be problematic. I hang on to books, but I had no trouble tossing my VHS tapes along with the VCR. I have a DVD player, but I only own two DVDs. All magazines should be tossed except for the current month. If you can read them online, this is even better.

Decorations and furnishings are another area. I despise knick knacks. Except for lamps and appliances, all surface areas in your home should be clear. I also recommend getting rid of the coffee table. That is an unnecessary piece of furniture except for a foot rest. Get rid of it. Take pictures off the walls. Remove curtains and go with blinds only. This may seem austere, but when you go to clean, it takes less than ten minutes. In time, you will learn to despise this clutter in other people's homes. When you get clutter free, you will love it more than any crap you ever owned.

Step 4--Move out of your current home.

For most people, this is a step they can skip. But some people out there have more house than they need. If you live in a McMansion, you need to listen to what the house said in The Amityville Horror and GET OUT! Now, that you have decluttered, you will find moving to be way easier.

People buy big houses not because they need big houses. In life, you need a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Anything else is for social reasons. People buy big houses to impress other people. But they don't need them. No one needs a big house. Movie stars don't need big houses. Rock stars don't need big houses. Rich CEOs don't need big houses. Billionaires don't need big houses. Even the President doesn't need a big house. They have big houses to entertain their fake ass friends. Buying a mansion or a McMansion is akin to driving around in a bus as a personal vehicle. It is the same logic applied to a different circumstance. You are paying to provide comfort to other people. This is why people buy Jacuzzis, pools, guest bedrooms, a room for billiards, a deluxe home theater with tiered seating, etc. No one needs this shit.

A simple home will suffice. Quit trying to impress people and live in the home you need. When you do this, you will find yourself with less space to clean, more money from energy savings and lower housing costs, and fewer fake ass friends. Plus, it permanently removes you from the status game which will do wonders for your mental health.




Step 5--Sell your toys.

Minimalists don't own boats. Exceptions are made for kayaks, but minimalists eschew all motorized recreational vehicles. This would be the boat, the RV, the ATV, the motorcycle, and the snowmobile. No one needs this shit. It might be vital to occupational pursuits like commercial fishing, but it isn't necessary for survival or physical wellbeing. Get rid of all this shit. Now, you might consider this extreme, and it is. But remember, we are talking about becoming a minimalist. If you want to keep these toys, that is fine. Just don't call yourself a minimalist.

Other toys like golf clubs, bowling balls, lawn darts, and the rest should have been covered under getting rid of clutter. Keeping exercise equipment and bicycles is OK as long as you actually use them. But if you have some very expensive clothing racks, you need to use them or toss them.



Step 6--Sell your car.

The reason this is step 6 instead of step 5 is because it is much easier to sell your car when you don't need to haul some toy behind it. Unless you live in New York City, going without a car is impractical. But driving around in a ginormous gas guzzling SUV is also impractical. For most of us, 95% of our time is spent driving solo to work and various appointments or the grocery store. Burning extra fuel to achieve the same end makes no sense especially when you could pay for another vehicle just with the fuel savings of driving an economical vehicle. But people don't buy a vehicle with their most common task in mind. They buy it with their biggest task in mind which is usually hauling some boat or RV. This is why you see all those big vehicles on the road. Every one of them has a ball hitch.

Other vehicles are bought for social and psychological reasons. For instance, the new Camaro appeals to the man with a small penis. The Cadillac Escalade appeals to the hood rat who can't read but can sling rock on the street. The pricey foreign car or sports car appeals to the snob who wants to be a dickhead outside of the office as well as in it.

Minimalists drive sensible fuel-efficient vehicles. This cuts down on the cost of driving. Minimalists are also fond of bicycles and walking. As Anton Krupicka put it, driving short distances is like using a chain saw to slice butter. It just isn't necessary.



Step 7--Simplify your wardrobe and hair.

You already have a simple wardrobe. You just don't know it yet. You might have a closet full of clothes, but you wear the same few outfits again and again. The rest is just clutter. You should pick those clothes and toss the rest. It helps if you have a "uniform."

My uniform is a pair of work pants and a T-shirt. If it gets cold, I add a long sleeved buttoned shirt. If it gets hot, I switch to shorts. I wear a uniform on my job, so that is covered. If I were an office worker, I would own five black suits with five black ties with five white shirts. The advantage of a uniform is that it takes the guesswork out of what you are going to wear.

Minimalists don't wear high priced designer clothes. Most of these clothes are poor quality but carry a trendy label. Minimalists choose quality gear that lasts. They don't buy trendy labels. They buy brands with authenticity and reputations for quality.

Except for wedding rings and watches, minimalists eschew jewelry. Minimalists also don't wear Rolex. They wear Timex. Shoes are the same way. Minimalists keep things plain and simple. You don't need a closet full of shoes.

Hair is another issue that comes under the fashion umbrella. Minimalists prefer short hair because it takes less to maintain. Of course, letting it grow wild without maintenance works, too. Whichever way you choose, keep the haircare to a minimum. For myself, I think going bald is the ultimate minimalist choice.




Step 8--Simplify your finances.

By this stage, you should be feeling a little extra change in your pockets. You are saving money as well as counting what you have from the shit I told you to sell. You should take these savings to get your financial house in order. This is really simple. The first thing you do is pay off your debts. Whether it is credit cards, student loan debt, gambling debts, child support payments in arrears, or what have you, you should get your debts paid down. After this is done, you should build up an emergency fund to carry you for six months or longer if you lost your job. Finally, you need to put whatever else you save in a Roth IRA with Vanguard choosing low cost index funds.

The one habit you need to acquire is the habit of not spending. When you get money, you pay yourself first. Then, you don't buy shit you don't need. You don't eat out all the time. You don't begin to rebuild the clutter you just decluttered. You stop looking at ads in the magazines encouraging you to buy more shit. Instead, be a collector of dollars in your savings and investment accounts and feel the freedom it brings as you become less and less stressed as the balances grow.




Step 9--Change your media consumption habits.

Technology brings us a constant flow of information. Between radio in the car, the smartphone on our hip, the laptop at the Starbucks, the desktop at work, and the big fat TV at home, we have lots of media to consume. Unfortunately, that extra media does not come with extra time. Much of the time we waste is with these sources of media. You must learn to intelligently limit them.

The best way to do this is to follow a few simple rules. If you work in an office, turn off the internet. This will ramp up your productivity. Goofing off on the internet is a silent epidemic that is sapping workplace productivity. Outside of the office, you should assign certain times of the evening to watching TV or being on the internet. I can't tell you what kinds of media to consume since it is not what you consume so much as how much you consume. Portion size is key. The upside is that listening to the radio or your iPod has little ill effect on time management. The best tip I can give is to let the bulk of your media consumption be audio only.



Step 10--Stop multitasking.

People try to cram too much into their lives. The result is they forget about doing one thing well and choose to do three or four things poorly. The problem with multitasking is that it doesn't work. Study after study shows that single tasking or "unitasking" beats multitasking both in quality and productivity. By focusing, you get it done better and faster.

The most elemental rule I can suggest here is to stop eating at your desk. This is followed by not eating at the wheel of your car. This seems to save time because you are achieving two tasks at the same time. But it creates a third unseen task which is cleaning up the crumbs and trash you leave. These twin behaviors lead to the creation of two people. The first is the Computer Slob. The other is the Commuter Slob. Just follow the vermin to their desks and vehicles to see examples of each. Be smart and sit down and enjoy a meal. Fuck the drive thru.



The other aspect of multitasking is the barrage of phone calls and emails. I wish I could tell you that the key is to diss your boss and/or clients Tim Ferriss style with auto responders and voice mail. But a better way is to work off schedule from everyone else. If you go in to work super early, you can work in peace until the barrage begins. You will accomplish more during that time than you will for the rest of the day. If your day begins at 9, go in at 6. As much as possible, strive for uninterrupted work time. You will actually work fewer hours and get more done with less stress.

Another multitasking bad habit is yammering on the cellphone while driving a car, walking in the mall, etc. These people are idiots. They either drive too slow or start swerving when they text. Or they walk into shit. Here's a tip. If you are in motion, hang up the damn phone.

Step 11--Learn to say no.

Another time suck is other people. If you are always saying yes to the demands of other people, you are basically spreading your ass cheeks and asking to get fucked. We hesitate to give money to other people, but we consider it rude when we don't give them our time. But time is all you have. Time is life.

The reason people suck time from you is because time is free. This is why salaried people spend the bulk of their days in pointless meetings and conference calls while wage earners do not. This is because wage earners are paid by the hour. It is amazing how that pay structure just cuts all the bullshit. Ultimately, we are all paid by the hour. Time is not free.

Just say no to these people who filch your time. Don't return their calls. This will not work with your boss, but it does wonders with everyone else. One of the ironies of life is that the people who talk your ear off could give a fuck what you have to say. They have zero interest in you as a person. They just have interest in you as an audience. Tell them no.



Conclusion
This wraps up my how-to guide on minimalism. I could add more steps, but they wouldn't add much more information for you. Once you have simplified your life with these steps, you should find yourself with more money, more time, and less stress. There are tons of blogs on the internet on this subject that you will find both inspiring and helpful. Just remember that becoming a minimalist is about creating freedom for your life. Minimalism allows you to do more of the things you enjoy with fewer resources.

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