27 Practical Tips for Creating a Minimalist Lifestyle at Home
When you think of a minimalist lifestyle, what comes to mind?
âť“Posession-free living with ONLY organic food and tin-foil hats
âť“Neutral tone furniture, one glass-top coffee table, and a capsule wardrobe in a super sleek apartment
âť“Zero-carbon footprint tiny home with a composting toilet
âť“Perhaps, all of the above?
Minimalist living can be any of those things - or none of them at all. While many view the minimalist life as something extreme, it is mostly a way to live a stress-free life.
And we are all about that kind of living around here. Minimalist living is often confused with simple living, but there are some notable differences between the two approaches.
So we thought we'd write a post that breaks down the main benefits of a minimalist life and the top tips for bringing minimalism into your own life.
After all, it's the lifestyle that has improved our lives, our marriage, and our ability to live that coveted stress-free life. So we can't help but want to share it with you!
What is Minimalist Living?
Minimalist living has become something of a trend ever since Marie Kondo aired on Netflix. And, as far as trends go, we couldn't be more thrilled.
But what is minimalist living, exactly?
A minimalist lifestyle is deeply inspired by intentional living.
Intentional living is a way to bring presence to every moment and every decision that you make in daily life. A trip to the grocery store becomes a mindfulness exercise and a pair of shoes become an incredibly meaningful contribution to your daily life.
With intentional living, rather than giving in to impulses and desires, you learn to take a moment to really consider what you are buying and how you are filling the living space around you. Every aspect of your life becomes something that you deliberately chose, giving you a tremendous sense of freedom and even happiness.
I realize that the idea that a minimalist life can somehow be the key to happiness sounds a bit far-fetched.
But it's so much more than happiness.
Living a minimalist lifestyle is learning how to be fully present and bring meaning to your life. And when you learn how to do that, how can you be anything other than at peace with the life that you've created?
Besides this calm, steady state of happiness, simplifying your life also brings you:
Financial freedom and lower debt as you begin to spend your money more mindfully
More wiggle room in your monthly budget as you eliminate services that don't serve a purpose in your goals
A more meaningful life as you begin to actively participate in the way you spend your time and money
Sounds promising, right?
That's exactly why we are so committed to sharing this way of life with you.
And getting start with a minimalist lifestyle is not as hard as you might think. Once you get into the mindset and commit yourself to minimalist living, it all just sort of flows. We will help you get started.
27 Minimalist Living Tips That Will Change Your Life
If you're just now starting out with minimalist living, then it can seem a bit overwhelming to figure out where to begin. In truth, it may require be a big weekend project of cleaning out your living space to get started. To get start with this big clean-out, take stock of each room in your house through the minimalist lens:
Minimalist Apartment: To have a minimalist apartment with few material possessions, start by getting rid of all the stuff that you don't use regularly. The next step? Stop bringing more stuff in.
Minimalist Living Room: You'd be surprised how little you actually need in your living room. Besides a few pieces of furniture for seating and maybe a light fixture here or there, you can keep this space relatively clear.
Minimalist Kitchen: Have you ever noticed that when you first move into a place, you wonder how you’ll ever fill up all of that storage space in your kitchen, only to find that your cupboards are bursting at the seams within a few short months? Your kitchen space is ripe with opportunity to cut down on items that you don’t use regularly and might be your favorite place to start.
Minimalist Closet: Let’s be real. there is a lot of stuff in your closet that you’re not using and have absolutely no intention of using in the coming months. As much style as they bring your closet, they bring more clutter and responsibility that you don’t need. This is the jackpot of minimalist purging and can be a fun thing to do with some friends.
Minimalist Bathroom: This is the most dangerous place of all, where impulse purchases find their way into an eternal space that is rarely cleaned out. But just like with all of the other tips and tricks for living a minimalist lifestyle, ditch the stuff that you don’t use on a daily basis.
Once you have a sense of what needs to be done, get ready to dive in. Some aspects of minimalist living are practices that will take you time to adopt, while others are achieved by clearing your space out. This list will get you started:
1. Learn To Say No Or Postpone Purchasing
One of the biggest contributors to a life full of clutter is our purchasing habits. We tend to buy things on a whim, tucking knick knacks away a little bit like squirrels save acorns. Not only that, but humans love making impulse purchases. It makes us feel good, satisfies evolutionary needs, and fills emotional gaps that many of us inevitably develop. The result?
A lot of us end up filling our homes with a lot of unnecessary stuff. The way out of this, then, is to be super mindful of the day-to-day purchases that you are making. Before you go to buy something, learn to tell yourself no, first. And if you feel that you absolutely, positively must have it, wait until the next day to make the purchase. Let all of those enticing impulse chemicals in your brain settle down before you make the purchase. Chances are that you won't want to buy the item in the end, anyway.
2. Practice Non-attachment To Material Items
Humans create meaning out of objects and ideas that truthfully carry no meaning at all. We attach memories and emotions to things because we like the physical reminder of something that once made us feel good. But you've got all those good feelings right inside of you. After all, that where all that meaning comes from, in the first place, right? Learn to hold those memories close to your heart and to set the material items free. Maybe a family heirloom can stick around, but all the other stuff? Toss it.
3. Keep Surfaces And Counter Tops Clear
No matter how large or small your home is, you can make your space feel significantly larger simply by keeping surfaces clutter-free. It's tempting to fill shelves, dresser tops, counter tops, and side tables with adorable little knick knacks, but they quickly make a space feel messy - even when it’s clean.
By ridding your surfaces of small decorative pieces and clutter, you are reducing the amount of time you need to spend cleaning and tidying each week. The less time you spend on chores each week, the more time you have to spend on more meaningful activities. Plus, you'll be super grateful when it's time to move.
4. Be Clear About Needs Versus Wants
Before you buy anything, ask yourself whether it satisfies an essential need in your life or if it's simply something that you want. If it's something you need, like toilet paper or shampoo, then go ahead and bring it home. But if it's just a want, like that cute throw pillow that's on sale, then learn how to say no. The less stuff that you bring home, the less work there is to maintain it.
5. Regularly Purge Your Apartment
Even with the best intentions, clutter happens. You bring home a new book and fresh ingredients for a new recipe. A friend gives you a sweater and you have memorabilia from that comedy show you just went to with your friends. Things pile up and your small space becomes even smaller right before your eyes. Take the time to purge your apartment regularly to rid yourself of anything that doesn't serve you. Keep the bare essentials and get rid of the rest.
6. Don't Make A Big Deal Out Of It
As you begin throwing things out or donating to charity, some big emotions might start to bubble up, but don't make a big deal out of it. You've spent an entire lifetime collecting pieces of furniture, clothing, and kick knacks in the name of memories and life events. It takes time to let go of these things sometimes and sometimes it hurts. But that's okay. Observe your emotional reaction to it all and then let it go. Just like ripping off a bandaid, learn to move through it without creating a drama out of it.
7. Be In The Moment
If you're ever unclear about whether or not you're living according to a minimalist lifestyle, then take a step back and ask yourself if you're living in the moment. Notice the natural light around you, feel the textures of the object in your hand, listen to the chiming sounds of the pots and pans as you cook, notice how you feel in it all. The more that you immerse yourself in the moment that you are living, the more meaningful life becomes. And when you can derive meaning from moment to moment, all the material possessions seem to lose their value.
8. Find Free or Cheap Hobbies
In a time when we can purchase virtually anything online, it's easy to collect tons of gear for our favorite hobbies. And if you're into that, then go for it. But if you're into keeping a minimalist apartment, then your hobbies will be the bane of your existence. Instead, look for hobbies that are free or require very little gear. Hiking and yoga require very little and, despite what major brands will have you believe, you don't really even need gear for either. You can rent books from your local library and you can join an intramural league, where they provide the gear for you. There are lots of ways to enjoy your time without filling up your living space.
9. Donate Or Sell Movies, Music and Books You Don't Absolutely Love
If you're not using it regularly, then there is no need for it to take up space in your apartment, plain and simple. Plus, now that you can watch, read, or listen to virtually anything on the internet, it doesn't make sense to hold onto physical copies of movies, music, or books anymore. I donated all of my books to my local library when I first emptied out my apartment and sold all of my DVDs to a pawn shop.
10. Donate Or Sell Your Knick Knacks
As cute as they are, knick knacks embody the exact opposite of a minimalist lifestyle. When possible, stick to the bare essentials and donate or sell the rest. Keep your area free of clutter by keeping knick knacks to a minimum.
11. Disconnect The TV And Cable
A television and cable channels are no longer necessary for modern living. You can easily access all of you favorite entertainment through the internet, keeping your living space free of extra electronics and cables. This is especially helpful for studio apartments, where every little thing adds up.
12. Donate Or Sell Furniture That Isn’t Used Regularly
Any pieces of furniture that you don't use regularly can be sold for cash or donated to a charitable cause. Have enough seating space for each person who lives with you and a couple guests. Other than that, extra shelves, tables, love seats, or ottomans are mostly unnecessary (as cute as they are!).
13. Toss Any Broken Dishes, Containers and Utensils
Anything that isn’t working properly can be tossed right away. Cracked plastic containers or chipped plates? Toss. A toaster that works only sometimes and the coffee maker that you don’t use? Get rid of them. Same with utensils, appliances, and overly stained aprons or mits. Anything that isn’t directly serving you day to day can be tossed.
14. Keep Only 1 Mug/Glass Per Person And 1 Extra For Company
For some strange reason, many of us have developed an unnatural obsession with coffee mugs. Somehow, we begin hoarding mugs the moment we move out onto our own. The weirdest part? We all have a favorite that we use every single day. Get rid of all of the others except maybe one other for when you have company over.
15. Let Go of Anything That You Don't Use At Least Once A Week
We collect kitchen tools with the best intentions, but the reality is that we don’t end up using them nearly as much as we had originally hoped. If you have appliances tucked away in the back of your pantry that you aren’t using at least once a week, try to sell it to make some cash back. If you can’t sell it, then donate it to a charitable organization. A good kitchen appliance is one that is used.
16. Don’t Forget the Duplicates
How many spatulas, colanders, mits, and pans do you have? And which do you use regularly? Keep those that you actually use and get rid of all of the others.
17. Empty Out The Pantry
Your pantry is likely a black hole of unused items. Canned goods, random spices, and unfinished boxes of stale cereal clutter up our cupboards month after month. Take the time to empty out the pantry once a month to rid yourself of any items that you don’t use regularly. If any of the food is still usable, donate it to a charitable organization rather than wasting it. And when you go grocery shopping, only buy items that you will for sure be using to avoid this problem in the future.
18. Buy In Bulk Instead Of Name Brand Boxed Goods
If you’re anything like me, you cook a lot of the same things, over and over again. So you know what you’re going to be using each week and there is no need to waste money or space on items that don’t support that. If you cook a lot of pasta, get bulk dry pasta and tomato sauce. Same with rice, beans, oats, lentils, and spices. Learn how to make things from scratch and stick to the main ingredients needed. You’ll save lots of time, money, space, and calories.
19. Put Aside Items That You Wear Constantly
If you wear the same things over and over again, then set those aside. You obviously love them and have plenty of use for them. In a totally minimalistic life, this would be your entire wardrobe! But if that’s too much for you, then it’s at least a good place to start.
20. Toss Anything That Has Holes Or Stains
Anything that has holes or stains is worth ditching, even if you wear it a lot. You likely already have a good enough replacement for whatever item you’ve worn to death, so opt for that instead. Everything else can go in the trash or be converted into a cleaning rag.
21. Sell or Donate Items You Haven't Worn In A Year
All the killer items that are still in great condition but that you don’t wear regularly can be sold to a second hand shop or donated to a charitable organization. This includes items that don’t fit you anymore or things that you really just don’t ever have an occasion to wear them for.
22. Take Out Shoes That You Haven't Worn In The Last Six Months
The same principles can be applied to your shoe collection, as much as it might hurt at first. Anything that you haven’t worn in the last six months can easily go, save for those season-specific items that you would otherwise wear daily. Your Steve Madden strappy stilettos and your knee-high boots are beyond adorable, but if you’re not wearing them regularly then you don’t need them.
23. Keep Only Your Freshest Undergarments
Take a look at your undergarments drawer. Is it bursting open, only closing when you shove everything down with your fist? Then take out only the freshest undergarments that you wear regularly and toss the rest. Keep about two week’s worth so that you have enough to last you once cycle of laundry. The rest can go in the garbage because that’s not really the sort of thing you donate.
24. Take Out Anything That You Don't Use At Least Once A Week
Maybe you loved the smell when you first purchased that bubble bath bomb and maybe you really liked the idea of making a face mask once a week, but if you’re not using these things, then they’re just taking up space and making a mess of your bathroom. Go through your bathroom with unwavering clarity and get rid of anything that you don’t use at least once a week.
25. Toss Expired Or Funky Medicine
Our medicine cabinets easily fill up over time as we purchase items on an as-needed basis. The problem? We don’t usually need them again for a very long time. The medicine expires or gets weird and then you’ve got a massive collection of unused and unusable medicine taking up space in your bathroom. Get rid of anything that you don’t use regularly and only buy what you absolutely need when you need it.
26. Keep 3 Towels And Toss Or Donate The Rest
If you’ve got more than three towels then take a careful look at which you would like to keep and get rid of the rest. You only need enough to last you one laundry cycle and then one more for the occasional guest or emergency.
27. Toss Any Makeup That You Don't Use At Least Once A Week
Makeup is fun to collect, but the reality is that most people stick with a tried and true routine, no matter what name brands we have in our makeup bag. Get rid of anything that you don’t use regularly so that your bathroom isn’t cluttered with lots of little containers, brushes, and sprays. As scary as it sounds to toss things that you spent money on, I promise you that you won’t think about it ever again once you do… except maybe the next time you go to purchase an exciting eye shadow that you will probably never use.