Minimalist Lifestyle Tips
Sometimes a Spring clean is all you need, but what about when it’s autumn and you find yourself surround by things… stuff… items you’ve collected and gathered since the last time you had a ‘spring clean’. I found myself with this exact problem; each day I am becoming increasingly aware of how much we as a society hoard and waste our material possessions.
So now is better than anytime to make a change, as the time will pass regardless! The best thing we can do is let it pass in a thoughtful and sustainable manner. I decide my first course of action into a more minimalist lifestyle is to face my possessions head on. After graduating this year, I am now moving to a new city - with a very, very small room. Seeing all of my possessions in one spot was entirely overwhelming and definite cause for a change!
- Get everything in one place
- Absolutely everything. Only when you can see how much you own in the one spot will you know how much you need to downsize! Place everything into categories: clothing, shoes, stationary, books…
- Set yourself a 1 week challenge (or longer if you’re up for it)
- You have one week, pack 1-2 alternatives of the absolute essentials, imagine you’re off camping and this is all you have. Through doing this you learn what you actually use, love and need and what you don’t, making the next few steps just that little bit easier.
- Declutter round I
- This took me my entire Saturday, but a clean fresh room by 11.30pm was so worth it. The items you haven’t open, haven’t used, haven’t touched in over a year need to be re-homed. There are plenty of options: homeless shelters, charity shops, recycling banks, Ebay, garage sales, donating to friends and family, regifting…
- Enjoy an organised room!
- Feel it out for a while! Experience living your day to day with just your essential, loved items. Maintaining a clean home is a big motivation to simplify other areas of life! Additionally, depending on how much of an ordeal the last step was, is great discipline teaching you not buy more unneeded stuff!
- Declutter round II
- Practise makes perfect. Transitioning to a mindful, minimalist lifestyle will become a habit in no time. Going through all of your possessions again a few months later will help streamline your lifestyle even more.