It has been two years since I started my minimalism journey. I have read books, watched documentaries and youtube videos about the lifestyle and I have learned a lot of techniques and tips. Majority of the things I learned, I did apply to my life but there are also things I wish I knew about decluttering and minimalism before I started.

1. The start is the hardest. During my first decluttering process, I was really pumped up to go over my stuff and remove the things that no longer fits my style and body but as the day went by I had a hard time deciding whether to let go of an item.

2. You get to be brutally honest with yourself when decluttering. As mentioned during my first decluttering party, I had a hard time deciding. It eventually led me to keep some of the things that I have second thoughts. These were items that sparked me joy but if I had to be really honest, I wasn't sure if I'll be using it in the future. After my Minimalist Packing Party, I was now harder on myself when deciding if I should keep an item or not. Because the rules are to discard items that are still packed after the time limit.

3. You might have setbacks. Especially if you just adapted minimalism into your life. Sometimes when we get a little busy with life, we go back to our usual routines. After a stressful day at work we would pile our mail, bag and paper work on our desk. Hence, it is important to -

4. Have a strong "why". Sometimes we get lost and unmotivated and we experience setbacks and feel guilty about what we did. Thus, it is important to have a list of why your doing minimalism (write it on your journal or your phone) and look at it when you want a little encouragement or to ground you up again. Read my "Why" list here.

5. What works for somebody else might not work for you. Sometimes, the method or system that other people use to minimize didn't work for me. So I tried to widen my knowledge about minimalism by reading more books, listening to podcasts, watching Youtube videos and documentaries about minimalism to try and test if it works for me.

6. If you like collecting things or you have a hobby, you might feel guilty of the excessive items that you have. A year ago, I blogged about cruelty-free beauty and minimalism. Talking about cruelty-free makeup and skincare was my way of being a minimalist, but I still had to try out new products that launched. Moreover, I always take photos of these products which led me to have several camera equipment, camera gear and props. Minimalist youtubers, Matt D'Avella, Sadia Badiei, Rachel Aust (and more), have mentioned several times in their videos that having multiple items like camera equipment, plates, bowls, etc. couldn't be prevented and these are actually needed for their side hustle/hobbies (which are now their jobs!). In my case, I still talk about cruelty-free and vegan beauty products but I only keep what I could justify and what I need.

7. Quality > Quantity. I had to learn this the hard way but I learned it through minimalism. I used to have a lot of stuff. Like a lot. But as I started decluttering, my things could finally breathe. And soon I realized how am I really spending my money with stuff. Majority of them don't last a year and some of them I don't even use. This year, I have been saving my money for my future personal plans. Hence, I stopped buying things that I think won't last long or just seasonal items. I can say that I am now more intentional of my items. I don't purchase from fast fashion brands, I finish every single makeup, skincare or hair product before buying another, I take my time researching for reviews about a particular item before purchasing. And sometimes, I purchase a much more expensive item as an investment (if the item is of high quality of course).

8. Minimalism is not about being frugal. As I said in number 7, I sometimes purchase items that are much more expensive noted that it is of high quality. Not all times minimalism leads to a more frugal life. Minimalists often purchase a higher quality alternative (which is usually - but not all - an expensive item) so that they save their time, energy and money from items that don't last long.

9. There is no deadline, minimalism is not a race. During the start of my journey, I wanted to finish decluttering and be a minimalist as soon as I can. But this made me have a couple of set backs. By slowly incorporating it to my life, I also on a slow pace contemplated what I really need and what I can let go. Changes don't happen over night, so give yourself enough time to transition in your new chosen lifestyle.

10. Organizing isn't the same as minimizing. One phrase I could associate with organizing is you have to keep it up. Before even decluttering, I used to fold and pile my clothes on top of another. But my piled clothes were two feet long and it starts to incline and at the end of the week I have to reorganize them again since it is all messy from pulling clothes from the bottom pile. Now that I have decluttered my stuff (I still have few neatly piled clothes in my closet) but it is now visually pleasing. My clothes can breathe, I only have clothes that I love wearing, I know where everything is and I don't have to pull clothes and ruin the pile because it is easy to lift the clothes in the upper section with my palm.