Minimalism is not the lack of something, it is the perfect amount of something.
Since centuries, people think that having many possessions means being very wealthy. Living in abundance means being happy, lighthearted and having nothing to worry about.
Children often want to have as many toys as possible, they are unconsciously competing with other children in their surrounding.
As I already mentioned in my last post about Minimalism, we are predestined to buy things. And breaking this circle of buying and tossing is not easy but possible.
Today, as promised, I would like to share with you my tips on how to live a more minimalistic lifestyle.
However this does not mean, that you have to become a hardcore minimalist. But incorporating some of these ideas and habits in your life, may enrich your life to an extent you can choose.
1. Developing a new lifestyle begins in your head
Your mind is a powerful thing, if you use it correctly, your life will start to change.
This means, that you will have to be aware what your goals are. This is a form of manifesting your goals.
Think about why and what you want to change.
If you start to think about it, you will change it. This is very simple, but it actually works. I will probably write a blogpost about it later this month.
2. Get informed and deal with it
After your mind is ready for the upcoming changes, you should not stop and just start doing something.
At first, it may be very helpful to read articles, books or blogposts about minimalism, or even watch some of the great Ted talks speeches.
While getting informed, you can make your own plan on how to rock the lifestyle change. Unfortunately, there is no perfect guide on how to become more minimalistic, these are just some tips and tricks and in the end, everyone needs to deal with it himself.
3. Start decluttering and tidying up
It is completely up to you if you want to declutter everything in one day, or if you would like to separate it and do one thing at a time.
I can highly recommend using The KonMari Method wich basically says that you have to pull out all of your stuff and then decide if it „sparks joy“ or not. If it does not, toss it, sell it, or even better: donate it!
Using this method, you will become aware of what you actually have and it will be easier to give things away.
Additionally, stop multitasking. What I want to say is, that you should not listen to music or watch TV while you are tidying up. These distractions will probably prevent you from actually tossing something. You need to be focused and you should worship your possessions and be aware of what you are doing.
4. Don’t mess everything up again after two weeks
Everyone probably knows this problem. You just cleaned your room and then after a couple of days, everything is messes up again because you were to lazy to put everything back at its right place.
Consequently, you need to develop a strategy, which prevents this. Like in our early childhood, we should put every item we used back at its place, immediately.
This is the point, where your new lifestyle becomes sustainable.
5. Buy less
Being a minimalist does not mean to toss everything and buy new things.
It also means to recycle and to be mindful about what you buy.
Before buying something, I like to ask myself these questions:
1. Do I already have something like this?
2. Why do I need it?
3. Do I really need it?
And then I like to wait at least a week and if I still think that I definitely need the item, I may buy it.
This personal method is pretty simple and you can adapt it to your needs.
6. Track your income and your monthly expenses
After having tracked my monthly expenses, I became aware of what I am actually buying. Since we tend to buy so much stuff with cash and we basically lose track of our finance. If you are into money saving, you should definitely check out my blogpost about How To Save Money For Travel (unfortunately it’s written in german)!
7. Digitise almost everything
This step is optional, but for myself I like to digitise everything possible.
You can digitise your memories and create e-books or presentations. Having everything saved on your laptop is very useful.
However, I also love journaling and having printed pictures on my wall.
Though, I started to buy e-books because books are heavy and hard to handle when your moving to another apartment for example.
Anyway, this is something everyone has to decide for himself, since I know that reading a real book and the smell of the pages is just amazing!
8. Utilise your phone and your laptop
If you start to utilise your phone and your laptop, you can get rid of useless notebooks and calendars. Personally, I love to habe my Moleskin calendar and my Bullet Journal, but I also like to use Microsoft One Note to take notes, which is very useful!
9. Create Journals or Memory Books
If you are obsessed with keeping bills and tickets from your last vacation, like me, then you will probably love the idea of creating travel journals or memory books.
I guess I will write a blogpost about this later this month but I can already say that it is so amazing to have a folder or notebook with all the lovely travel memories in it.
Thus, you have all things you collected in one folder and they are not cluttering up your room.
10. Sustainability
Minimalism is like veganism about sustainability. It is about feeling good, about being mentally healthy but it is also about our earth.
We need to make a difference and stop buying useless things which clutter up our minds and our earth. We are living on a wonderful planet which nourishes us, gives us oxygen and all the resources we need to live.
Now it is time to say thank you!
Be mindful, care about yourself, our planet and other people, and start to protect our environment.
I hope you enjoyed reading my minimalism guide.
xx, Sophie
Aperture & Wanderlust 