It's a minimalist Monday edition of optimal living daily episode 27.95, five challenges of being a minimalist by Victoria Brower with no sidebar.com, and your narrator, Justin Molick. And when I'm recording this a bit ahead of schedule, I've been struggling to record, been sick a few times earlier in the year, and getting to where I need to visit multiple doctors and get some labs and all that fun stuff. I haven't done this in a very long time, so I think now would be the time to do it, and that is to do some flashback episodes. If you're new here, well, there's probably no impact on you since you won't have heard these episodes anyway, but if you're a longer time listener of this show, first, thank you, and second, this one might be a bit familiar since I just don't have the energy to record this week, but I appreciate you continuing to listen, flashback episodes are nice to get a little reminder and a refresher.
So with that, thank you for understanding when you get to our post-and commentary from the past as we optimize our life. Five challenges of being a minimalist by Victoria Brower with no sidebar.com. Simple living is not always so simple. Yes, there are countless benefits to this lifestyle, like reducing stress, freeing up time, and added happiness.
There's absolutely no way I'd go back to my previous lifestyle where I created chaos by owning too many possessions. However, it takes a great deal of work to maintain a simpler life, and it comes with its challenges. But anything worth doing requires hard work. Perhaps its challenges is one of the reasons simple living is difficult for our culture to grasp.
It's simply not all that simple. Here are five challenges I've experienced as a minimalist. Number one, the purging never seems to end. After clearing all of the clutter by recycling, tossing, donating, or selling items on Craigslist or eBay, the purging never ends.
I continue to consume, however, more mindfully, but stuff still creeps its way back into the home. The possessions will be a continuous event. Once an area in the home has been cleared of clutter, I've found it's easier to make it a regular habit of taking inventory on what can say and what can go. It's not as overwhelming as the first round of decluttering, but it requires some time and effort to keep it maintained.
Even though this is a challenge, I have found that removing materials is an enjoyable activity. It means giving to others, supporting businesses, money in my pocket, and my home and mind feel more at peace. Number two, it often feels time-consuming. It takes time to get rid of things.
Things need to be sorted, organized into piles, and put into their new homes. Whether it's driving to a donation center or resale shop, taking photos and writing marketable descriptions to sell on a website, it takes away from doing something more fun. Once the challenge of ridding non-consumables is complete, much gratitude will be had. Time will be saved when the next purge is worked on, and more freedom will be found when not organizing as frequently.
Number three, you have to embrace letting go. Decision-making can be difficult in the beginning. It's especially hard for anyone that is attached to their things or when ownership of an item is shared. One person might be emotionally attached while the other isn't.
It may take some discussion to get rid of things, but it's not worth arguing over. If decision-making gets too intense, then agree to talk about it later. When it's hard letting go of personal or shared item, then ask questions like, what purpose is the item serving? How often is it used?
Does it bring happiness? Asking questions like this will help determine if the item is really needed. If this doesn't help when deciding on a shared item, then allow the other person more time to think, and they'll most likely agree that it's time to let go. And if that doesn't work, then it's time to compromise.
It takes a period of adjustment to make a change. Heck, my husband and I are still working on getting rid of things after claiming minimalism in 2014, but our quality of life has already improved. 4. It challenges you as a family It's a lot of work to care for a home, family, and pet.
My household became a minimalist home soon after my husband and I welcomed our first child. I was overwhelmed with keeping up with a home and yard, caring for a baby, cooking, and everything else that life involves. I was short-tempered and spread then because there was always something to organize or clean, and I had little time for fun. This wasn't the person I wanted to be, so with my husband's help, we discovered minimalism.
It has made my life much easier, and I'm ever so thankful. The challenge we have is receiving gifts, especially for our little one. We're fortunate to have a generous family, but our child has received an immense amount of things, even though this may be the norm, it's unnecessary. Kids that grow out of their toys and clothing so quickly and their interests are constantly changing, so I'm purging items on a continual basis.
The thought of getting more things could be stressful. It's a challenge I'm working on by using meditation, communication, and setting examples. Meditation is used to calm myself and to live mindfully. It helps me remember what's important and to live in the moment.
Meditation was used this past holiday season when my husband and I asked family to donate to the hope effect to help children in need instead of getting gifts for our family. It wasn't a 100% success because we still got gifts, but we received generous donations, and most gifts received were needed. We tried to set an example by asking everyone what they needed, or we gave consumable gifts. It was a great holiday, and we were happy with the results.
And number five, we're constantly swooned by retailers. Retailers use science and art to get us to buy goods. Even though I live simply, I occasionally get sucked into the distraction at the store, the sale signs, the beautifully decorated home sections, or the latest clothing trends. Once my attention is brought back to reality, minimalism reminds me that I don't need to buy more than is needed.
I've learned to fight against the urges, and I no longer have the cravings to shop. I'm more than satisfied with what I have and who I am. To get through this challenge, I ask myself two questions. Number one, do I need to buy it?
And number two, why do I need to buy it? It works every time. You've just listened to the post titled Five Challenges of Being a Minimalist by Victoria Broward of NoSidbar.com. I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health, what supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on.
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And head to superpower.com and use code old at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership. Bakedavictoria, the first one purging never seems to end. That reminds me of the classic quote about minimalism and life in general, that it's a journey, not a destination. We all know this deep down, but it's easy to forget, and we start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel only to realize that the light is just really another tunnel.
You don't really ever reach a point where you can say, yay, now I'm a minimalist and then relax, because that same day, you could buy something or a million things, and then you're back to square one. Instead, like exercise, like eating healthy, like taking care of your finances or relationships, it's one day at a time, behaving in a way that betters our lives and the people around us, even the earth around us, and minimalism really is just one more thing we can do daily to stay on that healthier, more meaningful path. So thank you again to Victoria, thank you for listening and being here, have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.