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Our lives are full of “stuff.” You might be asking yourself “what is it in our lives that deems the title worthy of stuff?” Well, the “stuff” in our lives are the things that you don’t really need. “Stuff” forces you to make the decision between want and need, and the theory of minimalism is the driving force behind choosing the “stuff” we need, versus the “stuff” we want.
Living a minimalist lifestyle, essentially, is all about living with less. Living with less applies to all areas in your life from aspects in relationships, to financial matters. This type of lifestyle has a theory of living your life based off of experiences, rather than basing your quality of life on worldly possessions.
People have lived their lives based off of the principles of minimalism for many years. There are all kinds of books and tutorials on what you can do to live that lifestyle, and how it can improve your life. Minimalists Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus have made more people open to the idea of minimalism. They’ve done tours, documentaries, and podcasts. One of the rules of their teachings is the 90/90 rule.
What is the 90/90 rule in relation to minimalism you ask? The 90/90 rule is a theory where you have to pick a personal possession… it can be anything of your choice. Once you’ve picked that item, you have to ask yourself if you’ve used that item in the last 90 days. If you haven’t, then you need to ask yourself if you will use that item in the next 90 days. If you won’t, then you know that you can get rid of that particular item.
The 90/90 rule is a great theory to apply to your life in general, even if you choose to not live a minimalist lifestyle. It’s especially great for when it’s time for the season everybody loves to hate… spring cleaning! We’re going to look at some areas where you can start living a minimalist lifestyle. After reviewing each area, you can determine for yourself whether or not that type of lifestyle is for you.
Eat to Live, Not Live to Eat
Food is an indulgence that many of us know all too well. Not to be gluttonous, but when you’ve had a taste for a particular food, and it’s sitting on a plate in front of you, it takes a massive amount of self-control to not overindulge in your eating, especially when eating while traveling. That’s why a lot of minimalists have the mindset of eating to live, and not living to eat.
Now, this mindset isn’t saying that you would have to starve yourself, but rather, eat until you feel content. You know how we tend to overeat, and then make the comment “I’m stuffed!” Well, when you eat like that, that’s living to eat. The goal is to stop eating when you feel yourself getting “stuffed.” The theory is that you don’t need tons of food to get your daily helping of nutrition. This mindset will help you have healthier eating habits.
Get to Where You Need to Go
In your day to day life of going to work, school, church, and wherever else you may need to go, you don’t need to have the flashiest, “tricked out” car to get you from point A to point B. The thing is, society has made it look so appealing that we tend to feel as though we need those materialistic items to feel like our life meets a certain level of quality. A simple car or even a motorcycle will do your minimalist lifestyle just fine.
Motorcycles are ideal for minimalists because, for one, they’re small and compact, as opposed to the newer model cars, they have less fuel consumption and gas mileage, and the maintenance is much less than that of a car… all characteristics of a minimalist.
Now, the key with any form of transportation is safety. A lot of people want these cars with all the flashy features because of the safety features and technological advancements, but the thing to remember is that you can easily have an accident, whether you’re in a car or motorcycle, so being proactive is detrimental. One thing you don’t want to reduce is your insurance on your vehicle or home. Even though you are trying to downsize your life, you don’t want to downsize your liability. Accidents happen every day. Motorcycles accidents can cause you to gain a ton of debt because of medical bills and property damage if you aren’t protected by insurance.
Eliminate the “Stuff”
This is where the 90/90 rule shines best. Getting rid of “stuff” that you haven’t used in the last 90 days seems fairly easy, but it’s actually a lot harder than you would think. “Stuff” can include clothes and shoes, kids toys, and even exercise equipment!
When you get ready to move somewhere, you don’t realize how much stuff you’ve accumulated over the years until it’s time for you to pack up your things! Once you realize you have all this junk to pack, that 90/90 rule will really help you get through the moving process!