The festive season is around the corner and everyone’s gearing up to look their best, and of course, shop till they drop in the upcoming sale season. 

As usual, year after year, we are all caught up in the vicious cycle of buying things that we just don’t need. Just think about it, have you gone through your wardrobe and said ‘I don’t have clothes’ in the whiny tone? 

If so, congratulations! You are again going to binge shop and regret things that you bought, all over again, in the next festive season.

It’s time we paused and just took a look at the humongous waste that this yearly shopping cycle involves. For those who wish to change things and enjoy a stress-free festive season, the minimalist lifestyle is the best bid. 

Most of you are aware aware of Marie Kondo from her bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. If not, this is your go to guide declutter and switch to a minimalistic lifestyle.

Originally published in 2014, Kondo had established herself as a Japanese cleaning consultant with a revolutionary idea. Today she’s more than just that, she’s literally helped transform lives with her famous Konmari method.

The KonMari Method is Marie Kondo’s minimalism-inspired approach to tackling your stuff category-by-category rather than room-by-room. This one of the ways to help you get a jump start to minimalism. Apart from this there are some essential things you can follow in the coming festive season to make things easier and hassle-free.  Here’s quick guide into how you can choose to tone things down, this time around: 

1. You have enough clothes, you don’t need more. 

One of the most common things that stresses out most of us before the beginning of festivities, is to look our best. This forces one into the vicious cycle of buying more and more unwanted clothes – clothes that most of us would just wear once and let them collect dust the rest of the year. Always be mindful when you make a purchase, think about ways that one piece of clothing can be used in different occasions, not just on major festivals. That will ensure sensible use of your resources, space, and will save you a lot of stress. 

2. Make an effort to reuse stuff from last year’s festivities. 

Festivities from Durga Puja and Diwali, to the upcoming wedding season, let’s be honest, are going to be just the same. Make an effort to resurrect things that you used in the past few years’ festivities – makeup (unless it’s expired), accessories, clothes, diyas, pooja items, . There’s really no use buying new ones, and reusing stuff saves a lot of time and money.  

3. Do not get lured by the shopping sale fever. 

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Yes, it’s that time of the year, where the word ‘sale’ chases you from the online space to public markets, and it’s hard to ignore the temptation of a ‘flat 50%’ off hoarding. Take a deep breath and reign it in, it’s of no use until you absolutely need to buy something. Even if you are tempted to go shopping during a sale, do a quick review of things you have at home and only focus on essentials that need to be restocked. 

4. ‘Less is more’ is the mantra you must swear by

Consumerism has dominated all our lives and it’s a trap that’s hard to get out of. But all it takes is a little bit of rethinking. Have you heard of Mark Zuckerberg having just a set of grey T Shirts in his wardrobe? That’s not just Zuckerberg’s way of leading a simple, non-flashy lifestyle, but it also relieves a lot of stress when it comes to getting dressed. It gives you ample time to focus on things that are of greater importance in life. 

5. Take the Diwali decluttering ritual to the next level

It’s that time of the year when your parents will nag you to clean your room, and of course, the whole house gets a white wash, while you recover age old ‘tazzos’ from some corner of the house. If you really want to pursue the minimalist lifestyle, take the Diwali decluttering ritual as an opportunity to let go of things that you kept for too long. 

We all have age-old things tucked in lofts and attics that we never climb up to see, because we know, there are things we are not willing to let go. But what you must pause and think right then, is that nothing is permanent, the only way to move  on in life is to let go of things. Coming back to what we mentioned earlier in the article, consider following the famous Mary Kondo mantra of keeping things that spark joy and trashing things that don’t. Take a vow to transform your house into a minimalist paradise. 

6. Decide on how many clothes you really need

It’s easy to lose a track of the number of clothes you have. Review your wardrobe and see just how many sets of clothes you own, Bring it down to a maximum of 13 sets and you’ll see just how many times you use your clothes. 

7. Sell or donate things you don’t use anymore

This is the easiest way to declutter; there are multiple NGOs and online portals where you can either sell or donate your stuff. Always remember that the things that you don’t use will always be needed by someone else. Also it doesn’t hurt to be a little philanthropic around festivals. 

8. Reuse decorations

All of us like to use fairy lights, streamers and other decorative materials to do up our homes during the festive season. While there is nothing wrong with that, do you really need to buy new decorations every year? Seriously, think about it.

It is a great idea to reuse decorations from the past couple of years. It not only saves you money, it also helps you not accumulate things you won’t use for most part of the year.

9. Take a vow to live below your means

It’s never too late to change the way you live and spend. One of the most important things that we forget in the everyday rat race, is that we need to think about and conserve the future. Make an effort to save as much as you can. Being debt-free should be one of your main priorities.