Community post
Small Habits Lead To Big Changes
Last week I came across a channel on YouTube, that I can say, is changing my life. Or better yet, I am changing my own life, after watching a few videos.
Before you jump to conclusions and label me as a useful idiot who's doing everything influencers are teaching people to do, I am not. This is a rare occasion as I usually am trying to avoid these videos, for the obvious reasons, but this is different.
Photo by Daniel Chen on Unsplash
The channel is called The Japanese Method, it has AI generated videos (most likely the guy presenting is also AI generated) but the topics he discusses are really interesting and useful (to me).
US based readers are going to hate me for this, that's fine though, as it's neither my opinion, nor my invention, I'm just being objective here. So the narrator guy is comparing the American lifestyle to the Japanese and each and every video is discussing what Americans do wrong and how Japanese do it.
Before I start, I've never visited either of the countries, my knowledge of American lifestyle comes from watching movies, documentaries, and reading online articles. Japan is less known to me, but what I know about their lifestyle is really attractive.
Photo by Thierry Lemaitre on Unsplash
11 Japanese Organisation Rules Americans Break - That Make Your House Messy, this was the first video I came across of last week, by chance and while watching it, knew right away that I'm going to adopt a few of these recommendations as it would make my home and life more organized. Then I thought of my dear friend @mers, who I discussed organizing with not long ago. I'm sure she could use a few tips herself :)
There's no way to know for sure, but there's a high chance most of the readers' first reaction will be "my home is not that messy". I can understand that as my home is not that messy either, but that's not the point here and if this is all you can think of, then you're never going to evolve in anything. This is a self protection mechanism, that has more disadvantages than benefits.
Photo by Kouji Tsuru on Unsplash
Anyway, let's get back to the topic. There are a lot of very important lessons to learn here, in my opinion of course, one of which is that you're not making order periodically, you are creating a system and maintaining that system alive all the time. It is easier to spend 10 minutes each day on putting everything back to where they belong and enjoy a clean, organized home, then spending every weekend with organizing the mess. It's a mindset and a routine to learn and adopt for life, not just an occasional activity you do because there's no space in your home anymore.
What makes me like the Japanese lifestyle a lot is that it resembles the life I want to live, to some extent. Obviously I can't adopt it 100% as living in Europe in a flat restrains me in so many ways, but there are still so many good habits I can learn.
Photo by Yosuke Ota on Unsplash
One of the things I started with is my pantry. This is a topic that divides people as many don't have a pantry at all. I lived in Germany for 2 months in an apartment that had only kitchen cupboards, no pantry. Then I lived in The Netherlands for 3 weeks in the same conditions. Different cultures, different habits and customs, but when you come to Eastern Europe, you will get a pantry with every apartment or house. These pantries used to be full with goodies as communism teaches you to stock up on what you can get as times are tough. Those times are long gone, life is easier, but so many got used to home canned products, especially if you have a garden and grow the ingredients yourself.
My dad does it for me and even though my pantry is not as messy as in the video 😆, yesterday I organized everything pasta related and a few other shelves that needed my attention. Next on my list are the drawers that could be organized better.
Photo by Fidel Fernando on Unsplash
I could go on with this, but am going to stop here. What I think is the most important lesson in these videos is the mindset change, learning to decide if you need the items, or just keeping them for different reasons. Next step is to decide the reason, which could be emotional attachment, lack of opportunity to get rid of them and so on and find a solution.
But the biggest lesson starts in the store. Buying based on need, rather than want is a huge step forward in reducing the amount of items you pile up each year, to end up less and less living space each year. Renting storage spaces is not so popular here, there are none in my area by the way, but I would go crazy to know I'm paying for storing items I don't use anymore, because I don't need them. That is a huge waste of funds and carelessness as well, to some extent. I can understand such decision if you're moving and you need a temporary space, till things get sorted, but to store unnecessary things ... that's a different matter.
Photo by EMANUELE Ricciardi on Unsplash
Life is not easy, we get busy days and can find a million excuses, but it all comes down to how you want to live your life. It's a question of mindset and willpower, and the Japanese have a very good solution to it. I'm drawn to this minimalist lifestyle, if you can call it that, rather than have a huge space crowded with things you don't even use. I think I needed this channel and these videos to continue the decluttering I've been doing for the past two years.
Photo by Sergio Mena Ferreira on Unsplash
It's amazing how many good habits you can pick up, that can change your life in better. I remember I listened to Tom Dante's podcast once. He's a legend in trading, if you don't know him. He said, he is starting his trading week with cleaning his desk on Sunday, as there's no need for distraction and we all know, distraction and mistakes in this industry are expensive. You have no idea how good it feels to have only what you use for your work, on your desk. Try it out.
Change is not a single act, it's a process, but small changes can lead to big results.
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Replies (17)
A very interesting post. I feel that the more organized we are in our inner world, the more order is reflected in the outer world. Seeing the outer world in order also helps with prioritizing and staying focused. Personally, it's something I always try to apply at my work desk: keeping only what's necessary and nothing else in sight.
I'm with you on that. I think no matter how good you think you are at organizing things in your surroundings, there's always room for improvement and trust me, when there's order and no distraction, productivity grows.
My wife and I already lead pretty simple lives for the most part. I know there are a few things we could probably toss, but my wife also does a pretty good job of trashing everything she doesn't think we need. Only for me to realize it is gone down the road when I need it.
You nailed me on this post my dear @erikah, it's super!.Right now, I am on the verge of collapsing on decluttering, I started yesterday the divider full of books and converted the upper shelves into a pantry for canned goods. Small task at a time... I probably can't do the minimalist style of the Japanese , but who knows, I might change my mind. Also right now, I am trying to find ways how to sell or get rid of items I got from 2 households which were hand downs from Oma and mom in-law...huhuhu..
I am really a fan of Japanese lifestyle, I would love to go there by the way. I am addicted to their Green Tea hehe
This is actually fascinating ... never thought about this issue this way ... I have been thinking about using my space differently and this gives me some ideas... thank you!
I can feel your pain and also don't envy you, but here's a tip for you. Try Vinted. I have been using it for 2 years now and love it. There's in Austria too and you can easily make some money too. Sell what you don't need and you have the satisfaction that someone else is making good use of your pre-loved item. You take some good photos, you can use AI to create the selling ad and you are good to go! (thank me later, as they say 😆🤣)
😆 I can see you pulling your hear already, but I know the feeling. it sits unused for years, then when you need it, you find out it was thrown away last week.
We work hard and one day we are going to visit Japan. What do you say? 😎😝
That's the plan!
You're most welcome and I'm glad my post helps.
Yes! Totally!
I know Vinted, I think I have an account there but really didn't go through it because I didn't have the time...Now that you've mentioned it, I might check on it. I have been on the look out on other platforms like Shopify, we have a local selling platform called Willhaben. I might activate my Etsy shop soon, I opened it some 15 years back when I was still working. There I sold mineral jewelries like necklace and earrings. I sold around 48 sets of earrings for Japan and a charm bracelet to a lady in the USA. Now, I must have the time after I am done with decluttering. Lololol!
Why I like Vinted is that they do the shipping through the locker system and it makes my job way easier.
Congrats on that big sale! That is wonderful 😊
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I like youtube and watch different things frequently. I don't follow an of the big influencers because they don't really influence anything I am interested in... ha ha
I do like it when I find something that has some sort of tip that gives me a brainstorm on how I might use it for something of my own that I had not thought of.
I seem to be in a perpetual mode of decluttering and reorganizing. I had a lot bigger house before with a LOT more storage space. When I got here I had too much even though I threw out, gave away, donated and all that as I packed to move. Once in a while I almost think I should be near the end of it and take a long break from it, but eventually I decide I want to do more. It's never ending it seems. :)
I glanced through that page you linked too and scrolled through some of the cover photos. It did seem they were comparing to America and ... who cares?! I did see one that had a photo of a clothes dryer and I must say, I have never seen one like they represent as the bad one... ever..... not anywhere and not even close, so although they may have some good ideas which I plan to check out a few, they seem to be exaggerating quite a bit to enhance their own ideas. Surprise?... I think not.
I think that's a perpetual task and you can never stop. As long as we buy new things, this is what we do. I think there's always something to do, even if it's not such a big thing. There's a whole wardrobe decluttering scheduled for Saturday, one that I've been planning for months, or should I say procrastinating? 😆
The truth is, I got a message from the shipping company operating the locker system and they are working with 3 charity organizations, collecting different items. Now I have the luxury of dropping off the pack at the locker, 100m from my home and not only make room for myself, but help others as well.