10 Easy Ways To Nudge Yourself Towards Minimalism

As most of my Facebook friends know, I'm on a quest for minimalism. I'm tired of STUFF. I'm tired of seeing stuff everywhere, of constantly straightening stuff up or feeling guilty about not straightening stuff up, of piles and clutter and counters I can't use. I'm tired of living in garbage piles of excess when there are so many wonderful causes and philanthropies that could use my time, energy, and resources.

So, in 2018 I resolved to start down a path towards minimalism.

Here's the thing, though. When I started looking around at resources to achieve minimalist goals, I was unhappy with the offerings. For one thing, I am trying to get rid of stuff so NO, I am not going to buy a book. Ok, no big deal, there's always Pinterest! But what the heck, internet bloggers... Those lists and challenges and plans were way too overwhelming for my current life situation. I'm a full time mom of two kids under three years old. Most days I'm lucky to get the dishes done.

I didn't want to start a challenge that had something like "go through all your clothes today" or any sort of checklist that had the heading "How to declutter your entire house in 30 days." I can tell you right now that I wouldn't make it through those and then I'd feel like a failure. I viewed these types of minimalism bootcamps as the fad diet equivalent when what I really needed was a slow and steady process that would add up to big results over time. So I decided to make up my own rules and follow my own path.

If you are like me and finding big chunks of time is impossible, and if you are like me and still want to pursue a more minimalist lifestyle, then maybe my thoughts and breakthroughs could help you. I'm taking lots of notes as I go and plan on doing blog posts periodically when I feel like I have enough of something valuable to say.

And here is my start! An easy list of ten simple, totally doable, not-time-consuming ways to dip your toe into the waters of minimalism. I'm listing them from easiest/fastest to slightly-less-easy/slightly-longer.

1. DO NOT SHOP. This is, if you really think about it, the easiest thing you can do. Even though you *think* you "need" something, you probably don't. I've only purchased about 5 things in the past two months (not counting groceries, gas, etc.) and they were things I considered for WEEKS before purchasing, or they were things that were necessary to complete "projects" (see #8). From clothes to kitchen utensils to organizational bins, etc. if you think you "need" it, remember that you have so far been living without it. And if it makes you feel better, it doesn't have to be forever. Set a certain time frame on it. For example, I'm staying on a strict, almost no shopping plan until at least the end of 2018 while I focus on revolutionizing my home. Buying any new "things" right now would be going against my goals. You could also give yourself a few months to really see how often you "miss" having the thing you want. If it's something you think about daily or weekly then maybe it's worth the space in your home... But I bet you the majority of the time, you won't miss it at all.

2. NO MORE TRINKET TOYS. This is somewhat related to #1, but I think it deserves it's own space. Don't get the kids' meals that come with toys. Hopefully your kids are either too young to notice or old enough to not care. Luckily mine fall into the former. Happy meals are cheap and easy but I started getting adult meals and splitting the food between myself and my two kids. No cheap crap toys. Additionally, I realized that all too often I would buy the kids some small POS thing when shopping for necessities because I was trying to keep them entertained while I spent way too much time comparing the ingredients and cost/ounce of whatever thing was on my list. So, I went through the toys at home and put together a "to go" bag of small, dumb things from past happy meals or the dollar store as well as a few snacks. I can take this bag with me on errands if I need to pull out something to entertain the kids while I finish my tasks. More "have it together" moms have probably already been doing this for a while but I'm slow and tired.

3. FACEBOOK UNFOLLOWS & EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBES. I can't begin to tell you the impact this has had for me. We all scroll Facebook too often. And I was constantly seeing posts from brands I love, or listings on local swap and sells, or pictures of amazing food at restaurants I wish I had time to visit... I started a pattern of unfollowing several pages every time I went on Facebook. Sometimes I "unliked" them too because I realized when push came to shove, I didn't really need to be connected with that cool t-shirt company. But the real gold is in unfollowing. If you never see that disgustingly cute throw pillow that Target posts, you'll never miss not having it. If you never see that hoodie with that character from your favorite tv show, you'll never want to buy it. If you never see that someone posted a fancy purse on the swap and sell for a steal of price, you'll never consider a new purse.

Beyond all the ad-type, brand-based pages there's still a benefit to unfollowing junk pages too. I started to take an almost KonMari approach to these pages. Does this page bring me joy, while not tempting me to buy? Does it offer me valuable information that I regularly click on and read? If the answer to these questions was "no" then UNFOLLOW. The results came so quickly... Very soon my Facebook news feed was almost entirely posts from friends, sprinkled with a few news highlights or funny mom blogs. Scrolling not only felt streamlined and interesting but it was quicker too! I used to be able to scroll through Facebook for waaaaaaay too long. Now, it's a few minutes and I get any new updates and then I can close the app and get back to my life. I highly recommend this.

So I've devoted this entire section so far to Facebook unfollows, but I doubt I need to explain to you why you should also unsubscribe to emails from Wayfair and Target and Carters and Gap and Nordstrom and everyone else. If you don't get the email about the sale, you won't buy something you don't need. My personal system looks like this: Every time I log into my email, I unsubscribe from whichever brand or unnecessary email list is at the top. Then I use the search feature and I delete all past emails from that same sender. This way I'm reducing junk email and I'm also whittling down the ridiculous thousands of past emails that are just sitting there taking up my google account space.

4. PERUSE "ISO" POSTS. Ok, now we are getting into slightly more instructive stuff. This is a super easy tip that takes almost no time. Once a week, hop into your local swap & sell sites and/or Craig's List and look over the "ISO" (In Search Of) posts. I used to respond to these only if I happened to see one while I was scrolling. Now, I seek them out. You might not be actively thinking about getting rid of your blender... But then you see that someone needs a blender and you realize that with your food processor and your hand blender, you haven't used your standing blender in 5 years! Great! You can offer your blender to someone who needs one and get paid for it. One item out of the house and some cash money in your pocket. BONUS: Many of these ISO posts are related to charities or good causes. Immigrant families who need some basics while they start their new lives, people who lost everything in a house fire, young struggling parents who are heartbroken over things they don't have for their baby, etc. These instances are wonderful because you realize that the thing they desperately need is something you can easily live without. It feels so good, and so easy, to part with something when you know it's making a difference in someone else's life.

5. LOOK AT YOUR STUFF WITH PHILANTHROPIC EYES. On the note of philanthropy and how good it feels to help others with stuff you can live without... Walk through your house and see if anything jumps out at you as something that could benefit a needy or deserving cause. Do you have a stack of old towels or blankets that would get more use at an animal shelter? Do you have lots of like-new clothes that could help domestic abuse victims get started on their new lives? Do you have a shelf of books that might be enjoyed at a nearby retirement home? Do a quick stroll through your rooms/closets and take note of the obvious. Then spend 10 minutes emailing a few organizations to see if they could use what you have.

6. DONATE BOOKS AND MOVIES TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY. Here's why this is easy... You aren't really getting rid of these things. As I was sorting out books and DVDs, it was so much easier to put things into the "donate" box when I told myself that if I got desperate to read "The Wheel of Time" again, I could easily go rent it from the library. Now, I realize that many donations to the library get sold in book sale fundraisers or end up at other branches but (A) there's never been a book/movie I couldn't get from my library from either their own shelves or through inter-branch sharing programs and (B) as with most things, once they're gone and out of the house you will not think about them ever again in 99% of cases.

7. FIND HIDDEN HOMES FOR SURFACE ITEMS. This mostly applies to the kitchen and bathroom. What are the things that "live" on your countertops? How many of them actually get used multiple times a day or even daily? Since a big part of what inspired my quest for minimalism is a desire not to see so much STUFF when I look around, I had to remember that even stuff I need to own doesn't always need to be seen. My electric can-opener, my toaster, my kitchen-aid mixer, my blow dryer, my makeup brushes... While these things get used enough for me to keep them, I do not need them filling up my domestic landscape. This is towards the end of the list because it does require more than 5 minutes. I'm sure you realize you can't just decide to store your toaster away and slide it into all that free space you have in your cabinets. It involves MAKING space. Which means going through a few cabinets or drawers and getting rid of enough things to make room.

8. COMPLETE OR BAIL ON "SOMEDAY PROJECTS." We all have them. If you don't then you're probably way too cool and on top of life to be reading my puny thoughts. Otherwise, somewhere in your house is a shelf full of empty candle jars to be turned into cute storage, or a bag full of t-shirts that are supposed to become a quilt, or a box of wine corks you planned to convert into a door wreath, or any number of space-sucking piles of would-be something-elses. Take a good hard look at one or more of your projects and decide if you're going to follow through or not. If you're going to follow through, then do it. Do it now. Either set aside the time to do it yourself or pay someone else to do it. But you have to do it and you have to do it soon. Otherwise, pitch it. Or donate it or sell it or recycle it or whatever it takes to get it out of the house. Be realistic with yourself about your time and resources and move on.

9. GET RID OF ONE THING A DAY. This could sound intimidating but it's not nearly as difficult as you might think. Seven items a week need to leave your house. I just casually walk through my house with an eye for "what can I live without." If it's something nice or pretty or useful but just not something that I specifically need, I may list it on a local swap & sell group to try and earn a few dollars. However, if something doesn't sell within a couple weeks, it goes into my on-hand "to donate" bag. You'll also pretty easily find broken, old, stained, ugly, stupid things that you have and don't need to. Things that you can trash without regrets. I have no doubt that this effort may get more challenging as time goes on, but I've been at it for two months and it has been super easy thus far.

10. ATTACK NOOKS AND CORNERS AS ABLE. The biggest thing here is no pressure. If you find yourself with a little extra time one day and a shelf or drawer or cabinet or tabletop is calling your name, do a little purging. You don't even have to finish the whole drawer. You could honestly spend 20 minutes checking to make sure all the pens in your junk drawer work and throwing away the duds. You could could spend an hour matching up your socks and tossing out any loners. You could go through your coat closet or your board games or your makeup or your shoes. For me, this has been a million times better than an overwhelming and unrealistic checklist that some picture-perfect blogger has come up with. Has my house been completely transformed in the past two months? Nope. Not even close. Is there evidence all around me that I'm slowly, but surely emptying and organizing my life. Yup. Bigtime. I feel productive and accomplished and committed. There are four drawers in my house that I can open and hear angels sing. There are surfaces that once held clutter and now hold a small assortment of carefully curated items. Good things are happening.

Hopefully you got at least one useful tip out of this list. I'd say these are a big chunk of my current program and a few of these have dramatically changed my life. I have quite a few other posts in the works on other topics related to minimalism, so stay tuned!