Minimalism lifestyle

                              Minimalism lifestyle

    I have decided to be a minimalist. 
    I have a hobby of collecting things, decorations, pretty notebooks. Whenever I feel low, I will go to store to purchase some more small things, such as a pretty cup, a pencil, a table cloth... These things do comfort me - for a while. But the joy won't last. Maybe a week, maybe a few days. And next time when I feel sad, I do repeat the purchasing until I am surrounded by a large pile of things. I came to America with the largest suitcase of daily necessary things, after 5 months, my processions have enlarged by multiply times. And the suitcase My room has became only s small of it. Actually, I don't buy these things, so the problem is with the word "collect".
    I went to my friends house, she has a pile of magazines she wants to get rid of, "National Geographic", I used to watch the TV show "National Geographic" back home, and I enjoyed it very much. So I took her magazines home. I thought I could read it when I have time, and improve my English....→.→ But I never touched them again. I regret it very much. I should leave it to my friend. At least she bought them and she might read it from time to time. This is one way I collect things.
   And when the new semester begins, there are a lot of activities going on on campus. And after these activities, they would give out some pens, T-shirts, earphones, even glasses and soaps. I participate in as many activities as I can and end up with 12 free T-shirts, a box of different sorts of pens, and countless number of other things( I just put them there and became too lazy to count them.)
   But the majority of things I got is actually from the church's free giveaway. I got a lot of sheets I thought I could use in future, bowls, pretty cups, room decorations. My closet is literally filled with my things, and to store them, I got three free cabinet.
   During Christmas, I was sitting in my room, staring at my collections. I don't feel happy at all. Instead, I just couldn't help feeling messy. I turned on my computer, the desktop wallpaper is just boring and gaudy. I start to google for cheerful desktop wallpapers. After browsing for a while, I couldn't find a satisfying one, so I gave up. Actually，I change my desktop quite often, at least twice every month, from natural scenery to skinny movie stars. I rely on it to bring me freshness feeling. I have also stored hundreds of beautiful wallpapers in my computer. Usually, after I saved the image, I would never look at them again.
  And my desk is covered by things, like books, papers, tissue, snacks, I can only move my mouse around in a very limited space.
  Basically, this is how I live my life. I am always struggling to cheer myself up through collecting.
  Until Dec 23,2016, the day before Christmas Eve. I read about a Japanese man, Sasaki Fumio, who is a minimalist, and live a minimalism lifestyle. All his things added up to 150, including seasoning and salt bottle. When I looked at the picture of his room, his almost empty room, I was deeply attracted. I just want to use the word "relieved" to describe the feeling. If I haven't been living in a room jammed with things, I wouldn't like his empty room, there are not one single painting on the wall and the living room doesn't even have a sofa. But out of some reason, I found it very beautiful and clear. I just wish I am in a room like that and sitting in front of a desk like his.

Fig.1. Sasaki Fumio's room

 Fig.2. Sasaki Fumio's desk

  That's the moment I decided to be a minimalist.
  Starting with tidy up my room. I didn't throw away anything, but I have put some of the things I am sure I will never use in the layer in my cabinet, I think if I give them to church's giveaway for those who might need them or like them is better than just throw them away.
   I put all my clothes into my suitcase and leaving only four suits I wear lot outside. It's winter now, and the weather changes a lot, so I left two for cold weathers and two for warm weathers. This small action have had positive influence in my life immediately. I can decide what to wear simply by checking out today's temperature.
  I have also thrown away all my school's PPT and reading materials, cause I have saved the electronic ones. And stored the small electronic things in my container.
  Most importantly, I deleted all the desktop wallpapers in my computer, 12GB. My desk is also clear and empty. I don't need to clear up a space to study anymore. There are still a lot of things in my room, but it is much much better than before, and I will clean up my room and my things little by little every day.
 This is the first step I took towards a minimalist There is still a long way to go. Empty space is really beautiful.