賣掉所有不必需物品 體驗簡約生活的樂趣

If you’ve ever fantasised about selling everything you own and paring down your possessions to the bare essentials, you’re probably familiar with minimalism.

“所有的物品全部賣掉，只保留最基本的必需品，越簡單越好。”如果你曾有過這種幻想，那麼簡約主義對你來說應該並不陌生。

But it’s about More than just de-cluttering—it’s about getting rid of all clutter, permanently. “Minimalism isn’t about empty white rooms with hardly any furniture,” said Chris Wray, who writes a UK blog about minimalism, . “It’s about removing all the things that distract us from what’s important in our lives.”

但是簡約生活的含義不只是把眼前的凌亂收拾整齊，而是要永久性擺脫凌亂的生活方式。英國的極簡主義博客TwoLess 的作者克里斯·雷（Chris Wray）說：“極簡派生活並不是提倡房間裏空蕩得沒有什麼傢俱，四周只見白牆。極簡主義強調生活空間裏要擺脫那些分散注意力的五花八門的東西，只保留生活裏最需要的即可。”

For extreme minimalists, such as Andrew Hyde, who lives in Colorado in the US, it means owning only about 15 items. For others, it means getting rid of the excess until you are left with essentials — and your definition of essential might evolve.

對於像美國科羅拉多的安德魯·海德這樣比較極端的極簡主義者們來說，簡約可以意味着只擁有15件東西。而對於其他人來說，簡約是不斷擺脫多餘的物品，簡約到只剩下基本必需品的程度就可以了，另外，必需品的標準對你而言可能也不是一成不變的。

“A minimalist lifestyle entails being mindful about the things we own, the things we buy, and how we spend our time,” said Francine Jay, author of The Joy of Less. “It is a lifestyle that values experiences more than possessions.”

《簡單的快樂》作者一書弗朗辛·傑（Francine Jay）說：“簡約主義生活方式需要人們留心對待自己所擁有的物品，所購買的物品，以及對時間的利用。這種生活方式重視生活體驗而不是擁有的物品。”

Naturally, minimalism tends to flourish in countries that have embraced consumer culture, such as the US, UK and parts of Europe. It’s difficult to revolt against the get-more-stuff mentality if that isn’t your country’s way of life. But you can live a minimalist life anywhere and capture more money for savings and great experiences, and have less stuff to maintain and clean.

在一些包容消費文化的國家，比如美國、英國、以及歐洲一些國家，極簡主義自然而然會走向繁榮。但是如果一個國家的大部分人沒有簡約主義的生活理念，那麼想要突破“擁有更多”的思維模式就困難了。但是無論在哪裏，只要你想，都可以實現簡約的生活，這樣的生活方式可以讓你擁有更多的積蓄，以及更加舒適的生活體驗，更少的物品需要打理。

Here’s how to get back to basics:

這裏教你如何讓生活返璞歸真：

What it will take: Mental fortitude. Getting rid of your things requires commitment. You have to make a decision about every item you own, and that can be mentally taxing — and it won’t happen overnight.

思想上的準備——要內心堅定。對你的東西說再見需要有堅定信念。你需要對每一件東西的去留做出決定，這個過程可能很費神，而且也不是一晚上的功夫就能解決的事情。

“It almost certainly took you longer than one afternoon to collect all the possessions in your life, and it is going to take you longer than one afternoon to sort them out,” said Joshua Becker, a minimalist in Arizona and writer of the blog .

網絡日誌的作者，美國亞利桑那州的極簡主義者約書亞·貝克爾表示：要一次性收集你所有東西，當然是要花比一個下午還要多的時間，然後還要騰出差不多的功夫集中把它們分類。

How long you need to prepare: Not long at all — you can start this process today by putting a box in every room. “When you come across something you haven’t used in a long time, or ever, throw it in,” said Rachel Jonat, who lives in the Isle of Man in the UK and writes the blog . “If you are scared about wanting those items again, hold onto the box for six months and then donate everything.”

其實，用不了很久的。你可以從今天開始行動，在每個房間裏放置一個箱子。住在英國曼島的雷切爾·德古斯曼（Rachel Jonat）是""網絡日誌的作者，他說：“當你偶然發現某樣東西很長時間沒使用過了，覺得可能用不着了，你就可以把它放進箱子裏。”他還提到：:“如果你害怕某天又需要那些東西的話，你可以先把箱子保留六個月，然後把它們送出去。”

Mentally, you may have to do some preparation to get into the right mindset — because, let’s face it, a lot of us like our things. But things have a catch. That big house and everything in it take time to clean and organise, and it takes money to maintain it all.

在思想上，你可能需要爲獲得正確的簡約生活理念做些思想準備。事實上，我們不得不承認的是，我們當中有許多人會留戀自己的東西，但事物如同雙刃劍，偌大的房間和裏面的物品是需要清潔和打理的，也要有經濟上的支出用於維護。

“Look at an item and think about how many hours you had to work, or willhave to work, to pay for it,” Jonat said. Every piece you own is a chance to regain time and/or money if you sell it or give it away. Once you’re ready to start purging, dive in.

德古茲曼說：“看着每一件物品時候，想着爲了購買它，你曾經，或是將要辛苦工作多少時間。”一旦你準備好對自己的生活進行一次徹底的淨化，開始行動吧。

Do it now: Think about the places in your life where you feel anxiety or frustration, said Cristin Frank, US author of Living Simple, Free & Happy. “Too many decisions? Is your closet so crowded that things get lost or easily wrinkled?” Pinpoint those areas and deal with them first. Name brand clothes and household goods in good condition are perfect for eBay — check recent sales of similar items to help you set a price. Your first 50 listings every month are free; if you sell it, the site takes 10% of the final sales price.

立即行動：《簡單的生活——自由而快樂》的美國作家克里斯丁·弗蘭克說：“考慮一下，你的生活裏有哪些地方的不好打理，讓你感到焦慮或者挫敗？”“需要做出太多的決定嗎？那麼你想一下你的衣櫃是否東西太多，以至於會有衣服找不到或者變皺的情況出現？瞄準這些區域然，首先着手處理它們。對於名牌服裝和性能良好的家庭用品來說，通過易趣網站（e-Bay）進行拍賣是個理想的選擇。查看一下近期類似物品的銷售情況來幫助定價。你在每月在該網站拍賣的前50件物品是免費的。如果商品交易成功，網站將獲取成交價的10%。

Start small. You aren’t going to be able to declutter your life in a day, or even a week. And the process may seem really daunting. If you are feeling anxious about change, “try one thing for 30 days, starting with the easiest things to get rid of,” said Joshua Fields Millburn, a minimalist who lives in Montana and writes at blog. Another strategy: Spend 15 minutes a day de-cluttering. Set a timer — you can make great progress when you race the clock.

從小事做起：你不可能在一天之內甚至是一週之內就把自己的所有東西打理得井井有條，過上簡約式生活，而這個看似漫長的準備過程有點令人沒有勇氣和決心堅持下去了。面對這樣的情形，可能這個生活上的改變讓你感到有點焦慮不安，不知道怎麼着手開始。對此，美國蒙大拿州的極簡主義者，網絡雜誌的文章作者約書亞·菲兒茲·米爾本（Joshua Fields Millburn）建議：“先嚐試堅持30天，從最容易處理的東西開始着手。”另一個辦法就是：每天花15分鐘清理。設置一個計時器，當你爭分奪秒的時候，往往會取得很大的進展。

Ditch the obvious things.

丟棄那些用處不大的擺設。

Get some forward momentum by starting your giveaway pile with the items you clearly do not need—the mugs you never use, that ugly thing you received as a gift. Start a pile for a car boot sale or yard sale. List furniture and larger household goods on classified-ad site Craigslist, which is available in more than 80 countries. You can also make it easier to part with things by passing them along to someone else who can use them via local charities.

從丟掉用處不大的贈送品開始着手，比如從來不用的杯子，不好看的禮物等，在這個過程中獲得些前進的動力。可以把一堆物品放在跳蚤市場或者庭院舊貨市場出售。針對一些傢俱和大型家用物品列成一個清單，投放到克雷格列表（Craigslist）網站上，此網站的使用範圍涵蓋世界上80多個國家。你還可以採取更簡單的做法，把物品通過當地慈善機構分發給那些需要的人，同時實現了物品的使用價值。

“Throwing it all in the garbage can make you feel guilty or wasteful,” Frank said.

弗蘭克說：“把物品全部丟進垃圾箱會讓你有負罪感或是覺得太浪費了。”

Do it later: Once you’ve started selling your stuff and not buying new knick-knacks, repurpose the money you’re saving.

之後要做的事：一旦你已經開始賣掉你的一部分東西，並且不再購買新的小擺設，重新對節省下來的錢進行用途規劃。

“My husband and I paid off our home in less than seven years with our minimalist lifestyle,” Frank said. “I was then able to quit my job and be a blogger and author full time.”

弗蘭克說：“通過極簡理念的生活方式，我的丈夫和我在七年之內就還清了房子的貸款。後來，我得到機會辭去了之前的工作，成爲了全職博客寫稿人和作家。”

For Francine Jay, living minimally allowed her and her husband to travel. “We lived in London for two years, and travelled throughout much of Europe and Asia during that time,” Jay said. Rachel Jonat and her husband paid off $80,000 in non-mortgage debt in less than three years. When you don’t fritter money away on junk, you have more to put toward the essentials — house payment, debt, retirement, and experiences.

對於弗朗辛·傑來說，簡約式生活給她和丈夫帶來了旅行。“我們住在倫敦兩年了，在此期間，我們遊歷過歐洲和亞洲的許多地方。”傑說。雷切爾·德古茲曼和她的丈夫用了不到三年的時間還清了非抵押債務。如果你不在毫無使用價值的東西上浪費錢的話，你就可以有更多的資金用於生活的基本需求上，比如房款、貸款、養老保險以及各種生活體驗。

Reassess after a few weeks and see how you feel. “Decluttering isn’t something you just do once,” Jay said. “It’s an ongoing process.” You may find it difficult to let go of certain items in the first or second round of purging, but on the third round it could end up on the giveaway pile. “It took me eight months to slowly pare down my possessions while constantly asking myself, ‘Does this thing add value to my life?’” Millburn said.

幾周之後，再重新評估一下，看自己感受如何。“清理工作不是隻做一次。”傑說。“這是一個不斷進行的過程。”你在前一兩輪清理工作中可能會感到難以放棄一些東西，但是等到第三週的時候，你可能還徘徊在如何處理那些贈品上。“我用了八個月的時間才把物品減少了一些。在此期間，我一直不斷問自己一個問題‘這件東西爲我的生活來增添價值嗎？’”米爾本說。

Be smart about future purchases. Shop only when you need something, not for fun or entertainment, Jay said. Before you buy, “make an inventory of what you already have,” Jay said. “Counting just how many shirts or kitchen gadgets you own will likely discourage you from purchasing anything new.” When you do add to your home, seek out versatile, multipurpose items.

“在未來買東西的時候動動腦子。記住只在需要某樣東西的時候再去購物，而不是出於有趣或是娛樂的原因而購物。”傑說。在買東西前，要像傑說的那樣，“要先盤算一下已有的家當。數一數自己已經擁有多少件襯衫，多少件廚房用品可能會阻止你再買任何新東西”。然而當你真正要添置新家當的時候，儘量挑那些有多種用途的商品。

Consider a big change. Moving into a smaller space isn’t for everyone. But if you are a renter and your lease is coming up, or you’re really struggling to manage your home payment each month, downsizing accomplishes a few things: It encourages less stuff, less time cleaning, and of course, smaller bills.

考慮一個大的改變。搬進相對狹小的空間並不適用於每個人。但是如果你作爲一個房東，租賃要開始了，或者你非常努力地支付每月的房款，精簡可以實現以下幾個目的：這樣做可以讓你東西變得少一些，節省打掃的時間。當然，還可以幫你減少開銷。

Do it smarter: Avoid comparisons. Your minimalism is yours alone—it’s what works for you, in your life, at this time. If you want to keep every book you’ve ever read but cut your wardrobe down to 12 items, that is what you should do.

明智一點，不要比較。你的極簡生活是屬於你自己的，也就是說，它只對你自己起作用，對你當時的生活有效。如果你想保留你讀過的所有書籍，但是把衣櫃裏衣服減到12件，那也是你應該做的事。

“Comparing your progress to someone else is rarely helpful,” Becker said.

“把你在簡約生活上的進展情況與他人的情況相比較往往沒什麼益處。”貝克爾說。