Greening Towards a Minimalist Lifestyle

Of all the advantages of becoming a minimalist two of the most beneficial ones include not being weighed down by possessions and the freedom to explore other living options at an easier pace. Overall, minimalism can result in a more enjoyable life because our personal space in the world feels lighter. At the same time incorporating elements of a minimalist lifestyle into one traditionally filled with stuff isn’t easy, especially when it comes to the often daunting task of downsizing. Some people who’ve lived in homes for decades and accumulated vast amounts of belongings would never even consider house remodeling or other changes to their surroundings because of the overwhelming nature of everything, the emotions tied to it, and the heavy burden it carries. Even when we think it’s time to trash half of what we own putting that desire into practice can be one of the hardest things to do. For this reason a mechanism for aiding the process is needed in order to pick away at whatever is holding us back from becoming more of a minimalist and this system can be going green. Yes, being more environmentally friendly creates behaviors which have the potential to push us in a minimalist direction even without intending to do so. How so? Consider recycling and reusing and how they can play into building a minimalist lifestyle. Recycling: The entire process of recycling is focused on reusing materials already created to produce other products instead of starting from scratch again. That way there is less trash going to dumping grounds and when things are made from recyclable materials they can generally be recycled over and over again. When we bring recycling into our lives one of the things we gain is a sense that something good can be done with a lot of our stuff. After all, just trashing everything can seem a little depressing and feel like a waste. However, when there is a positive conduit such as this unloading has a greater purpose. That said, when starting to recycle simply make some space for a few bins to collect paper, plastic, glass and other materials. Once you get the hang of it you may look at other things at home in a different way and send them out to pasture with the old bottles, used containers, and read from cover to cover Sunday paper. Reuse: When we think we need more of something one of the reasons is because we feel there is a lacking or there eventually will be. To counter this effect reusing is an important element to bring into our lives as it prevents more from being added when less is ideal. It can start with the smallest of things such as: • A water bottle: Having your own water bottle means not having to buy bottled water and if you don’t like tap water get a filter. • Reusable bags: A few reusable bags means there’s no effort in trying to figure out what to do with all the new ones that are brought home. Take them grocery shopping and everywhere else where bags are needed. • Reusable containers: Eliminate the need for plastic bags and other disposable food storage items by only using a set of reusable containers. In the end what going green does is instill in us new positive habits which can help make better decisions regarding what to do with our stuff in moving toward a minimalist lifestyle. It also helps us feel good that there are useful ways to dispose of things we’ve been carrying around for years and would rather not waste if there is something purposeful that can be done with it.