At the beginning of this year when I relocated from Sydney to Melbourne, I was provided with free accommodation for a month in a self-serviced apartment. I had decluttered almost all my belongings and everything I owed consisted on a couple of large suitcases of clothes and some basic furniture which was being shipped over.

In this time of transition, while I was living out of a suitcase and did not want to accumulate any possessions until I had permanent accommodation, I realised the value and freedom and living simply.

This small, studio-sized self-serviced apartment had everything I needed: a small kitchen with basic utensils, a washing machine and dryer, small dishwasher and a comfortable bed and bathroom. There was no clutter and no excess.

 

These are the top 5 minimalist lessons I learned while living in a hotel (or self-serviced apartment):

1. Clutter of the home is a reflection of clutter in the mind. 
   Most of my possessions in the 2 large suitcases were clutter and not used on a day-to-day basis. I spent more time dusting these things than using them and instead of providing value to my life, they served as negative distractions.
2. One large suitcase of clothes is more than enough to dress me all year round.
   A small, good quality wardrobe is more than enough for any occasion: from cocktail parties to casual weekend wear to corporate workwear. A handful of high quality, key basics (such as a nice blazer or pair of stilettos) is key to dressing up lower-priced seasonal items. 
   
3. I don’t need a large, well-equipped kitchen to cook and meal-prep.
   I discovered that a basic, good quality kitchen is all you need: a fridge, quality set of knives, a chopping board, 1 pot, 1 frying pan and 1 saucepan is more than enough to make any dish. Eleven months later, I still don’t have a microwave, freezer or fancy small appliances.
4. With few possessions, items become multi-purpose. 
   I used to have a misconception that there needed to be an item to serve a single purpose or activity. Now I make sure that whatever I purchase has at least 2 purposes. When I lived in a hotel, I used a beach towel as a yoga mat for a month.
5. I used to make excuses for buying things.
   As I was in a situation where I could not to accumulate anything while in temporary accommodation, I realised that I used to buy things to quickly solve a problem instead of thinking creatively about what I already owned which could be repurposed. Once I owned the basics, there is very little I actually need to have the comfortable and luxurious lifestyle that I have built around myself.

 

These are lessons which I still try to implement in my day-to-day and along with my financial goals, they have helped me become more self-aware, focused and happy within myself.

Have you had any travel or living experiences where you lived simply and learned something from it? Comment below!

xx Miss Piggy