How many things should be in a woman’s wardrobe
And how to get rid of what we don’t need with a light heart. Looking for answers in Joshua Becker’s book “Less is more. Minimalism as a path to a conscious and happy life ”by the Eksmo publishing house.
– For those who are just starting to minimize the amount of their things, I always advise you to live for a while without a certain number of objects and things. This tactic helps you make decisions and cope with difficult situations. In addition, experimenting with minimalism gives us skills that we can use in our lives.
The rules for this experiment are very simple:
I will live without … (name / names of things / things) for … days (weeks or months).
After this period of time I will decide:
– Yes, I can live without this thing / things.
– No, I need this thing / things.
After the end of the experiment, you make the final decision: get rid of things or leave them in your life. And in this way you are completely satisfied.
Nothing short of experiment can prove to you the benefits of minimalism.
A number of experiments have been carried out in our family. We turned off cable TV for a certain period. We removed all applications from our smartphones, turning them into devices that were produced in the late 90s. We drastically reduced the amount of clothing we wore. For a whole month we ate only at home and did not visit food outlets. We stopped using the dishwasher. We removed some of the furniture, kitchen utensils and children’s toys.
And I will tell you that, after conducting many different experiments, we realized that our family lives completely normal, moreover, even better without a huge number of things that take up our time and energy. These experiments will help you find out how many things are enough for you personally.
How much is enough?
The idea of what “enough” means is deeply individual and depends on a number of factors. This can only be understood experimentally.
How many pairs of shoes do you need? Most of us don’t know the answer to this question. Someone interested in minimalism might answer that he only needs one pair. But if you are not ready to work in the garden and play sports in the same pair of shoes, then one pair will obviously not be enough. In this case, you need at least two pairs. Alternatively, you can leave one pair of decent boots on the way out. So, we can assume that three pairs of shoes are quite enough? It may be enough for some, but not for others.
The point is that most of us have never asked such questions. Often we have eight or nine (or maybe twenty-eight or twenty-nine) pairs of shoes in our homes, and we would happily buy a new pair if it comes with a big discount.
All this is to the question that there are certain stereotypes of how much we need in this life. I even dare to suggest that most of us have more than he or she needs. We have long since left behind the point where everything is “enough.” We simply did not notice the moment when we began to move away from her. And we will never even know about it, until we experimentally and experimentally try and understand that we need very little for life.
If you are not yet ready to part with an item permanently for sentimental or functional reasons, put it in a box with other similar items. Write on the box what items are in it and put the date. Then put the box in the attic, closet, or basement so you don’t see it every day.
In a few months, when you have completely forgotten about this box and the objects folded in it, you will stumble upon it. When this happens, open the box and look at the items stacked into it. After that, it will be much easier for you to part with them, because you will understand that you do not need all of them as much as you thought earlier. After this “probationary period”, your sentimental attachment to these subjects will cease to be so strong.
Objects are not people. It is very rare to find an object that would cause such a strong reaction as a person.
Apparel
Many of us have closets full of clothes that we no longer like and we do not wear. These things just take up space. Start sorting out your apartment by cleaning the closets. Can you survive using only half of your accumulated clothes? Or even a quarter of what you have is enough for you? I’m sure you can definitely get by without most of your clothes. After sorting out the closets, you will spend much less time on your morning preparations.
Experiment: I will remove twenty-nine items of clothing from the closet and will not use them for twenty-nine days.
Home Decorations
For many people, home decorations don’t matter much. Very often, all these things acquire the color of the decor or furnishings in the room, buying at sales. All of these decorations distract the attention of you and your guests. The only pieces of jewelry that are valid are those with a history of yourself, your family, your tastes, and your hobbies. Walk around your home or apartment and take a critical look at what decorates the walls and shelves. By removing unnecessary distractions, there will be less clutter in your home and you and your family will feel more focused.
Experiment: I will remove twenty-nine home decorations (or twenty-nine percent of all decorations in the home) for a period of twenty-nine days.
Toys
When I hear parents complain that their young children have too many toys, I really want to ask them: “How do you think this happened? Your kids didn’t pay for these toys. Agree, you yourself admitted that you have an abundance of toys, having bought them for your child. ” But usually I am diplomatically silent and only think so. I believe that children will greatly benefit from having fewer toys. They will grow more creative, have longer attention spans, and have more fun playing with the toys they have. I advise you to talk to your children before you put away unnecessary toys. Within a couple of weeks, children will forget about their old toys, but you will remember them when you realize that you no longer need to pick them up from the floor!
Experiment. I will remove about twenty-nine percent of my children’s toys by twenty-nine days and will keep track of which of the removed toys the children ask for.
kitchenware
Sometimes I get the feeling that we are sorely lacking space to store kitchen utensils. At the same time, I realize that our grandmothers used a much smaller number of them, because their kitchens were much smaller than ours, they cooked more often than we did, and their food turned out to be much tastier. When it comes to food preparation, this is often the case – the simpler the better. Many of us have far more kitchen utensils than we actually need. Put away twenty-nine kitchen utensils for twenty-nine days and try to live without them in a freer, uncluttered kitchen.
Experiment. I will put away twenty-nine items of kitchen utensils and cook without them for twenty-nine days.
Furniture
Moving furniture undoubtedly takes a lot of strength, but if you get rid of excess furniture, rooms will become more spacious. If you have pieces of furniture in your home that you rarely use, you will be surprised at how much space they took up.
In the case of furniture, you will have to move it to a storage room. I assure you that the game is worth the trouble, since it is the extra furniture that is the most dimensional rubbish, getting rid of which there will be much more free space in your house.
Experiment: I will remove at least one piece of furniture from every room in my house and move that furniture to storage for twenty-nine days.
During the twenty-nine days of the experiment, I recommend that you not think about what else to buy, but decide what other items you could live without.
Now you know how, through experiments, to understand which thing you don’t need and which one you shouldn’t give up. If you have a family, then all of its members should participate in the experiments.
The main thing is not to think too much. You just have to go and do it. No need to postpone. You shouldn’t worry and worry either. You just need to take it and do it.
This is just an experiment and nothing else.