Greetings to all minimalist lovers! Today I want to share with you my experience on how the minimalist lifestyle has helped me to be more organized and feel better about myself.

Encounter with my inner materialist

When I was 15 years old, in school it was fashionable to have a single strap backpack that was worn cross-body. I had my "old backpack" that was in perfect condition because if something has always characterized me is to take care and preserve my belongings, so my backpack was in perfect condition but I was 2 years old and I desperately wanted that fashionable backpack.

My family didn't have the resources to buy me a backpack in the middle of the school year and even less if the one I had was in good condition. One weekend we went to a community fair and I saw the backpacks. My reaction was to ask my mom, in fact to demand that my mom buy me this item or I would not go back to school. My mom looked at me, asked the price of the backpack and it was very expensive, she told me: I'm sorry but I'm not going to waste the money that is meant to feed the family for 15 days on a backpack that is not even half the quality of the one you are using.

I felt very upset, cried with anger and thought that my mother bo loved me for not complying with my request. That week I felt depressed all the time, more so when all my classmates were arriving with their beautiful modern backpacks.

Then I saw my old backpack, with all that space available, where I could carry all my school supplies and my snack without lacking space. And I understood that I could not follow the consumerist behavior of my classmates for reasons of economy and because it was unnecessary to change school supplies and uniforms every month.

My adaptation

I confess that adapting to live the minimalist trend has not been easy. Especially because we live in a capitalist world that drives us to consumerism. As a teenager when I started with this style, I let myself be dazzled by the compulsive and unnecessary purchase of objects, clothes, even unnecessary food to have a flat and happy life.

One of the things that affected me the most was the technological current. I love computers, phones and everything that has to do with technology. But just because I love it doesn't mean that I'm a proponent of that ever-changing pace of equipment. I only change my phone when the system forces me, for example, I have at home my Samsung S2 phone that is fully functional, but I can no longer use it as a phone because the applications of today are not compatible with its operating system. This is usually my life, I have what I like but only what I need.

Benefits of a minimalist life

By having a detachment for the material, we become free of accumulating unnecessary things at home so we can benefit from more space and less objects to clean.

We can feel and enjoy order, having only what is necessary we do not have dana out of place as everything is in use and in its place.

We can collaborate with recycling, in my case, I like to use the cardboard boxes of some products as drawers, I don't have a bedside table because it seems an unnecessary piece of furniture to me, instead I have some boxes that I decorated with laminated paper and I keep what I need here. I feel good with this, which is the important thing.

What I think is most important is that we learn to value what we have, no matter how simple it is, it brings us a benefit because it is so important to us.

Tips for leading a balanced minimalist life

We must not fall into the temptation of advertising, which lures us to become compulsive consumers.

That we have a minimalist lifestyle does not mean that we should deprive ourselves of tastes or have an ugly and unattractive home decor, on the contrary is where we must apply that minimalist phrase "less is more " and put all our creativity. The idea of this lifestyle is to feel good about ourselves.

I recommend using a tool that has helped me a lot in this time "the list of priorities". Currently in my family we are going through a process of moving from one country to another, and to have a total success in shopping I made a list of essential appliances, little by little I have been acquiring everything from a kitchen that was the first thing I bought to the decoration of my craft workshop. And in 4 months I can tell you that I have managed to finish my list looking for economy but quality products. This tool has allowed me to manage my available resources and stay focused on what I need.

This has been my participation in the #KISS - Blogging Ideas 12 I hope you like it, I invite @annafenix to participate.