I believe in making a list of all the items before I go out shopping so I don’t miss anything but every time I return I see many unlisted items in my shopping bag that I bought but didn’t actually need. I was like, "Why the heck did I buy this or that?" But no more, because I was often left wondering why I bought it and what am I going to do with this. And most of these items were in the kitchen category or clothes that I never used more than once or never.
I have been seriously trying to improve this habit and the lockdown has helped me realize that we can live to the fullest with the least. Yes, perhaps the lockdown was the best time and experience from which I got a better lesson for the whole life of minimalist living. Or maybe hadn't I lost my job, I wouldn't realize this.
Let me begin from the beginning. You know, it all started as soon as I moved to Delhi on my first posting. My life suddenly saw new horizons. Seeing the people around me, I felt like, "Wow, it’s real life." So I was shopping, sometimes without any actual need, fashion trends, and other materialistic things. I would buy something new every time I was in a shopping mall, and I was there at least once or twice every week.
If you are running the household expenses without making a budget or shopping freely to please your heart without using your mind, then I am sure you are spending on impulse at shopping malls or online platforms.
I am subscribed to various online shopping sites. You know, they send notifications to you based on your online searches. I wanted to buy everything as soon as I got notifications of a new offer. I wanted to buy that product without thinking and even bought it at least five times out of ten. I didn’t realize how much loss I suffered by doing this, so I started ignoring those offers to save myself from that unnecessary shopping. And when I needed to do online shopping, I used to do it. By avoiding unnecessary shopping, I not only saved a lot of money but also saved my wardrobe look a garbage store.
Image & Image
For instance, that day I was going to the market. On the way, on a footpath market, I came across a shirt I liked and bought it. But when I came back home, I saw I already had a similar shirt. There was no party at that time, no marriage, nor did I need it because I already had too many shirts.
It was a very bad habit of mine, I used to buy whatever dresses I liked. But I never even got a chance to wear it. All those dresses were getting old lying in my cupboard. And I found that I had not even removed the labels from some of these clothes. So when I thought of ways to save money, I decided to sell those dresses. But I did not dare do so. Then I gifted some of these to my friends.
What can we do in such a situation? You should set financial goals. The amount and the time limit to achieve it should be fixed under the target. You should invest accordingly. When you know that you have to invest the fixed amount every month and run the house with the remaining money, you will automatically curb the extravagance.
I used to have the habit of going out multiple times a week to eat food with friends. But when I thought deeply about how to save money, I realized that it was a waste of my money. Because restaurant food is not as healthy as home food, eating it sometimes makes my health worse. Then I improved my habits and, instead of going to the restaurant, started cooking the same food at home.
It was not that I stopped going out and enjoying myself with my friends. No, it was not like that at all. I didn’t kill my desires, my happiness. We used to meet each other every week, go to the park together. But I started eating food by making it at home with my friends. It had a good effect on health. There is also peace in some other minds.
I didn’t care if I bought two costly shirts in two different shades of the same brand and the same design. What matters is what I needed and what was a waste. I am glad that now you will not find any useless things in my wardrobe. You cannot change yourself in a day, and it takes a lot of planning. That’s why people often find it difficult to do all of this in life. It’s a little difficult, but if you make it a habit, you will ask yourself every time before doing anything. When you learn to ask questions, you will find answers to them.
A friend of mine is a mechanical engineer and works for a multinational company. He is a member of a club. They motivated the members of this club to reduce their unnecessary expenses. He was so influenced by their philosophy of minimizing the needs; he did his own study by reading about this subject and learned how he could reduce his expenses and save on natural resources.
There is a lot of truth in this principle, and not because rich people do this but this world is a place where such attractions or call them temptation that act like a magnet, by itself and naturally. In such a case, if a person surrounds himself with consciousness with a feeling of abundance, he will feel he has things in abundance and needs nothing more and vice versa. This, I guess, is the basic principle of living a minimalist life.
Incidentally, I read almost a similar statement somewhere, but don't remember where!
But I remember I said, I have been going through a similar mental state right now and am thinking in almost the same terms. Actually, what this pandemic has done to my financial state has left me with nothing much, so I am cutting back on my expenses. Therefore, I am more worried about one versus ten. I have opted for 1/10 and reduced my expenses to a bare minimum.
My journey, has now shifted to a minimalist lifestyle. Over the last year, I have adopted many such habits, good for me as well as for the environment.
I think it is difficult to take the first step, but if you take first step, this will be a motivating factor for second, and the second will lead to the third. " You will improve because minimalist or sustainable living is not just a story of a day, but our everyday life.
Image from my album
All you need to buy is a laptop, phone and some money in your account. I took this picture signing off from all my shopping accounts. But I don't remember I bought this electric toothbrush because the CD was free or I wanted to watch this movie so I bought this brush!
Rooney, who was very close to nature since childhood, saw the concept of "use and reuse" in her own house. Her grandfather used to do farming, where the organic waste left over from the crops became animal feed, and then the dung of the same animals was used to prepare manure for the fields. She says that there were very few things that she had to get from outside.
When I went out for study, and got a job, I forgot all about the art of living life with less, which was taught to us in our childhood. In addition, there were other factors, such as handling of the gifts collected over the years, the sight of fashionable clothes everywhere, the malls, this all added to junk.
And if you know our areas, the attraction of clothes sold on footpaths at regular and weekly markets. Our markets are full of temptations that are hard to resist, so if you have money in your pocket, you will end up with tonnes of clothes in your room or wardrobe being too full. But trust me, all of which bothered me enough to think about "minimizing."
Now, before buying anything, I ask myself, "Can I avoid it?
I must admit, Rooney is the one who inspired me to think about minimizing my needs and saving money, which helped me during this hard time.
Rooney, I feel, is much wiser than me as no garbage from her house goes to the dustbin or landfill. Instead of closed shelves, she keeps all her clothes on glass door shelves so she can see what she has in the cupboards. With this, she says, she never gets carried away, and even while shopping, she remembers what she should buy and whatnot.
At regular intervals, Rooney de-clutters her house as she sorties her clothes every season, segregating the clothes she wears and the clothes she gives to charity. The rest of the clothes that are slightly torn she gets them repaired in a way that either doesn’t look repaired or gives a new style.
Thank you Amazon for providing beautiful wardrobes
Now I know how to focus on improving my habits with some baby steps, one at a time. I feel everyone can start with one thing, whether it is gardening, plastic waste recycling, upcycling, etc. Your life will become meaningful only when you work on your habits, like I am doing right now.
At first, I stopped buying clothes for myself. I have now read a lot about the fast fashion industry and have come to know that this industry is the second biggest cause of pollution in our country. So I decided not to buy anything new until I had done with all the clothes and put them to good use.
If someone wants to live a minimalist lifestyle,
Before buying anything, I ask, "Why should I buy it, or can I afford it?"
Then I think about the alternatives to that product, about my wardrobe, if it could accommodate any more?
If I have to buy anything, I am now avoiding big malls and only shopping at the local market or selected sites that provide the same item at a very competitive price. I prefer Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
Before buying any item, I use an imaginary checklist and check all the boxes required. Trust me, since I have now adapted to this shopping pattern, it has made my life easier.
After all, living life with less is not difficult at all. All you have to do is start with small changes, and you can do it, so do it from today, from now.
I invite 
