Embracing minimalism may sound like the perfect solution if your New Jersey apartment feels cluttered and crowded. Before you decide to make the switch, you’ll need to consider how well your lifestyle, home, family and personal beliefs will mesh with this popular philosophy that focuses on simplicity.

Less is More 

Minimalism focuses on the basics. In architectural design, minimalism is expressed by sleek lines and simple materials, while minimalist art focuses on abstract images and basic colors and shapes. Minimalism can also simplify your life by encouraging you to pare down your belongings and eliminate social obligations that don’t fulfill you.

Minimalism Pros and Cons 

Minimalism offers many advantages including:

• Less Stress: Living in a cluttered environment can raise your stress level and may even make it difficult to keep your home clean and tidy. Clutter also leads to lost time. Americans spend 2.5 days per year looking for misplaced items and pay $2.7 billion to replace lost belongings, according to a Pixie survey. Donating, selling, or tossing out unneeded possessions is an important step in the minimalism movement.

• More Time: When you only have a few belongings, cleaning doesn’t take much time at all. You’ll finally have time to do the things you really want to do rather than focusing on cleaning and organizing your home.

• Fewer Obligations: Minimalism also focuses on freeing yourself of obligations that take up too much of your time and giving yourself permission to say “no” to requests that aren’t worth your time or increase stress.

• A Balanced Budget: You’ll think carefully before you make a purchase if you’re embracing minimalism. When you only buy what you need, not what you want, you’ll spend less and be able to repay loans and other debts much more quickly.
• Environmental Benefits: The average person produces almost five pounds of trash per day, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates. Although some of this trash can be recycled, far too much ends up in landfills. When you make minimalism a way of life, you’ll produce less waste since you’ll only buy or obtain what you truly need.

Minimalism isn't for everyone and may not be a good idea if you: 

• Enjoy Your Things: Belongings offer a sense of comfort. If your possessions are an integral part of who you are, it may be difficult to switch to minimalism. If you know you wouldn’t be happy if you got rid of many of your belongings, minimalism might not be the best choice.
• Are a Collector: Although you can pare down to your collection to just a few things, part of the fun of collecting is amassing an array of items.
• Have Plenty of Storage: If storage isn’t a problem in your Central New Jersey apartment, you may not feel overwhelmed by clutter. If you enjoy your current lifestyle and have plenty of room for all of your belongings, there many not be as much of a reason to change things.
• Like a Busy Schedule: Some people enjoy more quiet time, while others are happiest when they’re busy. If you know you’d be bored if you adopted a bare bones schedule, minimalism might not the ideal philosophy for you.

How to Decide if Minimalism Is the Right Choice

Minimalism should be a choice you make freely, not one that’s forced upon you. If you like the idea of minimalism, try the lifestyle on a temporary basis. Clean out your closets and get rid of a few things that don’t fit or are seldom worn. Clear your schedule of all but the most essential appointment and obligations for a week or two.

At the end of the trial period, evaluate how you feel. If minimalism enriches and simplifies your life, make a permanent change. On the other hand, if you hated every minute of your experiment, minimalism probably isn’t a good fit for you.

Modern apartments, like the ones at Country Classics' Central New Jersey apartment communities, make it easy to live a minimalist lifestyle. If your minimalist journey includes searching for a new place to live, contact us for information about current apartment availability.