7 ways to… live more minimally
Introducing minimalism into your life will have many wonderful benefits By Amy Rohu
Did you know there are many benefits to living a minimal lifestyle? It can lower your stress levels, improve your focus and also result in a calmer home in general. Not only is it good for you, but it can also benefit the planet too. Living minimally encourages you to spend less money on things you don’t need and create more room for what’s truly important in your life.
Minimalism used to be portrayed as a type of unattainable Instagramable lifestyle, where unlived in homes in a white aesthetic made it seem like an impossibility for us ‘normal’ folk. When talking about minimalism in 2022, we need to discard what we thought we knew about this way to live and instead, make it work for us.
It isn’t about throwing out all your possessions in the search for calm and it isn’t about hiding everything in one part of your house, so you give off a minimalist illusion to your visitors. It’s a slow-paced lifestyle change that we could all use a little more of.
Here are seven easy ways to introduce minimalism into your life and if you aren’t sure to start, pick one and begin from there.
1. Declutter, but do it right
Decluttering your space when you want to live with less seems like a no-brainer, right? Having a de-clutter is a great place to begin when you embark on living more minimally, but if you want to make this more of a lifestyle change, then it’s about doing it right.
Start small with little sections in various parts of your home. When we think of decluttering, we usually go straight for clothes, but to make things different, why not start with your make up bag or beauty products, the drawers in your hallway or the shelf underneath your coffee table?
Donate things that are in good condition and you no longer use, or if something is out of date or broken beyond repair, then it’s also okay to throw these things away, being sure to recycle where you can.
The decluttering process when seeking a more minimal lifestyle is, of course, extremely important. Try and be a little more ruthless than usual, if there’s a candle holder you haven’t used in years or a set of book ends that look cool on your shelf, but you have no use for, give them to a friend or donate them
“Be honest with yourself during this process and really figure out what items you are why” attached to and
to a charity shop, where someone else will give them all the love they deserve. Be honest with yourself during this process and really figure out what items you are attached to and why, allowing yourself to keep a few sentimental items along the way too.
2. Try audio books and e-books
Whether you invest in a Kindle, read on your iPhone or listen to books on your daily walk, reading books has certainly changed with the times. Books are a wonderful part of life, and a good book can be a treat to help us relax and unwind while cookbooks make excellent gifts. I’m not suggesting you abandon books altogether, but if you are an avid reader, maybe it’s time to switch up the way you consume books?
Audio books are a great way to get a book read to you while you’re occupied in other ways, whether that’s cooking dinner or at the gym. Sites like Audible offer all the bestsellers and any kind of book you could imagine and most audio book subscriptions also have monthly free books and other perks for members too.
E-books are a great alternative for those of us who like to get cosy under a blanket on the sofa and get lost in a good book; these are a great alternative for someone who reads a lot and doesn’t have access to a library or their genre of preference isn’t stocked there.
You can live minimally and still read lots of books, by avoiding getting the physical copy unless it’s something you really, really want (more on that in the next tip).
3. Think, do I really need this?
Get comfortable with asking yourself ‘Do I really need this?’ a lot, especially at the start of your minimalist journey. While it’s perfectly fine to buy yourself new clothes when you need them, or treat yourself to a new vegan leather bag when your old one needs to be replaced, if you find yourself owning three similar bags and standing in a shop pondering over another one, this is when you have to take a step back.
Asking yourself whether you really need something can be enough to make you realise that you probably don’t. When it comes to shopping the best thing you can do if something isn’t a necessity, is leave it and come back another day; most of the time you won’t even remember you wanted it and if you still really do, you can always buy it then. Impulse buying must become a thing of the past if you want to learn to live with less.
“Asking yourself whether you really need something can be enough to make you realise that you probably don’t”
4. Invest in high-quality items
Investing in high-quality items when you can is a much better option that will not only work in favour of your minimalist goals, but also reduce your waste.
We’ve all been guilty of buying cheap pots that burn at the bottom or those little novelty pans to make teddy-bear shaped pancakes. Instead of wasting money on these items at the time, try saving up for a few weeks and invest in a really good cast iron pan or a fancy casserole dish. Whatever item you go for the most and you know you’ll get the best use out of. Try to invest in good quality clothing, accessories, cookware and everything else and eventually you’ll have a collection of great items that you’ll barely ever need to replace.
5. Follow a vegan diet and lifestyle
Because you are reading a vegan magazine, it’s safe to assume
you’re either vegan or interested in the lifestyle, either way, this is a great way to live more minimally, and it deserves a mention in this list.
By following a vegan diet, you will naturally gravitate to more fruit and vegetables. Because these can be bought very often plastic-free, you are dramatically reducing your plastic use.
Gone are the days where our fridges were filled with plastic bags and containers of potatoes and apples; now, we can buy loose produce that will leave no trace once you pop your peelings into the compost bin.
By buying loose veg, you can also get into the habit of only buying what you need. This will use up less space in your kitchen and also ensure you don’t waste too much food either. Hearty vegan classics like Chickpea Stew or Lentil Dahl are every minimalist’s dream meal, using few ingredients with little to no waste and enough left over for lunch the next day. What’s not to love?
6. Go paperless
Going paperless is something that more and more of us are doing, but there’s still lots of letters and bills that pop through the door every day. While some paper documents are important, most bills and notices can be delivered to our email inboxes where we can manage them there instead of in a messy pile in our hallways.
The next time you get in a bill in paper form, contact the company and enquire about going paperless. Most have it set up now that you can switch over to it so it should be an easy fix. If they don’t offer the service yet, then you can always enquire if it will ever be available and perhaps submit some feedback to the company that it’s something you’d like to see.
While we’re talking about paperless bills, lets tie this into our final tip…
7. Go minimalist online
Minimalism isn’t all about decluttering your wardrobe and buying less stuff. In 2022, almost all of us have some type of online presence. Whether you’re old-school and that’s simply just an email account or if you’re an influencer and have social media accounts on everything, whatever your online persona looks like to you, chances are it needs tidying up.
How many emails have you got today from websites you bought something from once or a newsletter you signed up to long ago but no longer read? Make a habit of every time you get an email that you don’t read, you go into it and unsubscribe from it. Remove yourself from old mailing lists that no longer serve you and reduce the overwhelming number of messages you get on a weekly basis.
If you have a social media account, or several, remember to take regular breaks and spend some time without scrolling or posting. You could try a scheduler app if you have a business that requires you to post regularly or you could set a reminder on your phone to remind you to log of at a certain time.
Taking a look at your home screen and deleting any unused apps is another great way to make your online life a little less busy and more relaxed, you could even try deleting one of the social media apps in favour of a meditation app instead, now that would be living minimally.
“Remove yourself from old mailing lists that no longer serve you and reduce the overwhelming number of basis” messages you get on a weekly