Minimalism tips
Declutter little by little each day
Decluttering your items is not a race. You can do as much or as little as you desire. The important thing is that your taking a step forward. You could start by just reducing one item per day. You might get so comfortable with doing that, you feel inspired to reduce even more items in a day. Just go at your own pace, and you'll soon be living in a space that brings you joy. Check out my tips for decluttering.
Organize your room
Your room should be a space that calms and relaxes you. It’s your refuge away from the stresses of the world. But it can’t be that if it’s messy. A mess only reminds you of how much stuff you have to do. That’s not the kind of feeling your room should give you. Make it your resolution to decide to organize your room, and make it your relaxing getaway.
Focus on old things
The easiest place to start might be really old items you have. As the saying goes, in with the new, out with the old. Every item has a time and a place in our lives. They provide meaning and joy for a specific season. But sometimes, it’s just time to let go of the past. Because life is about moving forward. Creating new memories. Building up new experiences to have as a part of your memories throughout life. Some examples might include:
- Old clothes
- Outdated technology
- Old tools It may seem difficult to throw out that item you haven’t used in a while at first. But there’s a lot of new experiences and new joys you’ll make room for when you let go of the old items, and let in some new ones.
Reduce your multiples
There are some things we have multiple supplies of that's more than we really need. As an example, if you live alone, you probably don't need a full set of utensils. You may only need two forks, two spoons, and two knives. You might also have multiple TVs, computers, and other products. If you primarily use one of something, then try only keeping that.
Repair broken items
Our consumerist society has made all too convenient for us to buy a replacements whenever we break something. But that doesn't always have to be the case. You can instead find a way to repair the item you broke. Being a minimalist is not only just about reducing the items we don't value, but making the most out of the ones we do.
Choose quality
Adding on to the previous point, whenever you do buy new items, make sure they're high quality. As another old saying goes, "quality over quantity." More quality and less quantity equals more long-term joy and less clutter. Take time to carefully consider whether a produce you're considering can last long.
Digitize physical items
One thing that can take up a lot of space is DVDs, CDs, and other media content on physical items. You can be able to give away all that physical clutter by digitizing them. That means moving the media files on a device, and accessing them there. Here are list of resources that can help you: Six Steps to Digitizing Your Family Photos How to make digital copies of your VHS tapes How to convert DVDs and Blue Rays to Digital Files
Reusable products
Reusable products can save you from having to clutter up your space with certain items in bulk. As an example, instead of getting a bulk of water bottles, you can get a reusable bottle that you can fill up with water. Buzzfeed created a list of 28 reusable products that might help you save a lot of space, time, and energy.
Learn a new skill
Studies have shown that learning new skills help keep the brain young. It slows down cognitive decline as we get older. Not to mention, when you do different things in life, it’s said to increase your happiness too. What’s something you’ve always wanted to learn? What would be cool to say you learned how to do? Consider finding time to learn that new skill. It’ll accomplish three things for you. It’ll make you more useful, it’ll make you more interesting to people, and it’ll give you new joy in life.
Have a new experience
This is similar to the last tip, but instead of gaining a new skill, focus on just trying something new. Maybe you can go on a trip to a new town, or maybe try out a new restaurant. Life can get pretty boring sometimes. It’s nice to just shake things up and give yourself a new adventure every once in awhile. Make it a point in 2021 to really experience what the world has to offer.