Closing thoughts: Living a simple life is not easy

To wrap things up, let's spend a moment talking about what does all this mean and why is it worth pursuing a simple way of living. Being a more mindful consumer is good for your finance and the environment. Being a more careful user of technology will have a positive impact on your mental well being. Being a more present person in your personal life will create healthier relationships.

Minimalism also has a few useful "side effects". Owning fewer items will make it easier to keep your space in order and you'll need to spend less time cleaning and owning fewer clothes will simplify the act of choosing what to wear day after day. Those are small things but small things add up quickly.

One thing needs to be said: living a simple life is not an easy process. It requires dedication, it requires attention, it requires deliberateness. It's hard to just stumble into a minimal way of living. For the majority of people, it's either a deliberate choice taken at a certain point in time or—like in my case—something they created through a long journey.

I didn't choose to "be a minimalist". I don't even consider myself one. I'm just a somewhat weird person that likes to own fewer items and likes to experiment with ways to make my life simpler.

Where do I start?

I don't have any good advice for you here since we all live very different lives with wildly different requirements. What works for me might not work for you which is why this guide is not really a guide. The only advice I can give you is to start small. Don't try to revamp your entire life all at once. Find an aspect of your life you don't currently like and try to simplify it. Go slow, experiment with it. There's no correct way to do this. And also be open-minded: maybe your life doesn't need to be simplified after all.

Books, blogs and other resources

I don't plan to write more about the specific topic of minimalism—mostly because there are better things we can talk about—so I'll leave a collection of links to blogs and books you can read and follow if you want to check what other people have to say on the topic. Some are about minimalism in design, some are about minimalism as a lifestyle. I'll add more links in the future.

Books

Blogs and Websites

Do you have questions?

If that's the case, that's awesome. I love to interact with people so if you have questions or comments or just want to chat about minimalism and the topics discussed in this small guide get in touch.

This is the final chapter of Manu's Guide To Minimalism. Links to the other chapters are down below.