Practicing Minimalism means eliminating excess, but it also means appreciating what you already have more. Here are 5 ways to practice minimalism when you’ve taken care of the big things.
Many people get caught up on the obvious aspects of Minimalism–getting rid of excess clothing or stuff around the house–but lose inspiration once their house is clean. Here at The Petit Four our family sometimes our family needs a reminder about living more with less. The following are five easy ways to commit to practicing Minimalism we use that will help you ensure that Minimalism stays a part of your everyday life, even after you’ve cleaned out your clutter.
1) Dine Out Less
Say what?? What has dining out to do with minimalism?
One of the most impactful ways to practice Minimalism is by committing to buying less. Most people assume this means objects that clutter up your home, but what about your daily specialty coffee? Or lunch out every day of the week?
You can regain control over your life by eliminating unnecessary expenses. If you normally buy coffee on your way to work, what about getting up a few minutes early to make coffee at home? Or, if you eat out for lunch, how about taking leftovers or committing to bringing a lunch from home?
Check your bank statement at the end of the month and you’ll be surprised at how much money you save–and how much money you now have for the things you really want–simply by cutting out a little extra. Instead of spending that money, why don’t you take what you normally would have spent on eating out and put it into a savings account? By the end of the year, you’ll have saved yourself hundreds of dollars (and probably kept some extra waste from filling up a landfill as well)!
2) Examine Your Routine
Document your daily life and use that list to focus on what you can minimize. Minimalism can be part of a smaller picture–your life and the moments in it–but it also manages to have a larger impact on your world. By eliminating waste from your life, you’re eliminating waste from the environment.
Study your routine — could you walk to work or carpool with a co-worker? Could you pack a lunch rather than buy take away? Could you pick up groceries as you need them, rather than doing a big shopping trip? What about gift cards for presents rather than buying random gifts that may never really be used? There are many little ways that you can impact your life and the world around you while making Minimalism part of your daily life.
3) Make Time For Meditation Every Day
Clearing out mind clutter can be just as important as eliminating physical clutter. Stress accumulates during the week with the pressures of life on your shoulders, but you can help mitigate how overwhelming this feels by utilizing meditation.
By focusing on the now and allowing meditation to ground you in the moment, you will help your mind truly focus on what’s important–your mental and physical health. Meditation allows you to spend time with yourself and quiet your mind, freeing you from negative thoughts that can lead to anxiety.
Meditation is a powerful tool that you can utilize during your Minimalist journey and one that will help keep you on track. Be present and focus on the now instead of worrying about every little thing that has happened, or might happen, and your world will open up in ways you never expected.
4) Give Yourself Achievable Goals
Committing to a Minimalist lifestyle can be a challenge, but you can help your chances of success by writing out tangible goals and working towards them.
Donate a bag of clothing you’re not using. Recycle a stack of books that you’ve never read. Stop eating out for lunch for one week–set goals that you know you can achieve and work from there.
You don’t need to be perfect all of the time and there are always setbacks in life, but by celebrating the small, achievable successes you will keep yourself on the path to making Minimalism a lifestyle change that sticks. Soon, you’ll realize that you’ve made a permanent and lasting change in your life and are fully committed to Minimalism.
5) Keep Your Spaces Clean
One of the easiest ways to practice Minimalism daily is by keeping your living, traveling and working spaces clean. This seems like an easy step, but when life gets busy, keeping everything tidy isn’t much of a priority. Don’t make excuses! Remember how much you enjoy the feelings of simplicity and cleanliness.
Let your outward spaces be a reflection of the inner peace you are striving for. If the first thing you see when you come home is a messy house, it’s going to have a negative impact on your practice of Minimalism, but if you see a tidy, beautiful space, you’re going to appreciate coming home so much more and feel in control of your life. What your spaces look like has such a profound impact on your inner peace, so keep your home, your car and your workplace tidy and keep up with your Minimalist lifestyle!
Minimalism gives you back control over your life and experiences and allows you to focus on what truly brings you happiness, without the clutter of day-to-day life getting in the way. These five easy ways to commit to practicing Minimalism will help ensure that you are able to adopt Minimalism as a permanent lifestyle change.