Living a Minimalist Lifestyle – 8 Ways To Happily Live With Less

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Looking for ways to start living a minimalist lifestyle? Here are some of the ways I started and why you should too!

I am an aspiring minimalist.

And let me be clear – when I say minimalist, I don’t mean a hardcore minimalist where my house is pretty much bare and I only have the necessities.

But I do strive to keep my home and lifestyle as minimal as possible for my own standards. 

I like to joke that I prefer to keep my home looking like no one actually lives in it, like a staged magazine photo. That’s just my preference.

But let’s be honest, with a dog and a husband it’s kind of hard to achieve that with the messes they make lol.

What Led Me to Living a Minimalist lifestyle?

To be honest, I’m not quite sure what prompted me to set out on my journey to minimalism. Even in my younger years I was obsessed with going through my belongings and getting rid of things I didn’t use or want anymore.

The best way to articulate it for me is: it gives me peace of mind knowing I don’t have heaps of things sitting around that I don’t need.

It actually wasn’t until recently though, that minimalism became cool or even a thing. I just knew there were hoarders, and then there were people like me who fell on the other end of that spectrum. 

Since minimalism is kind of a big deal now, I figured I would share with you all some of the basics of how I practice it and also the perks of it as well!

Tips to start living a minimalist lifestyle

Out with the old, in with the new

Anytime I purchase anything new, I try to get rid of something “old” to maintain balance.

For example, when I go grocery shopping, I toss out anything that has expired, went bad, or things we ended up not liking before I put the new groceries in the fridge or cabinets.

This is also a great way to clear up space so that everything fits where it needs to go. Plus, you don’t end up with things sitting out on your countertops.

Which leads me to my next tip…

Clear Countertop Rule

Call me crazy, but something about a clean, pristine, and mostly bare countertop just brings me joy.

You have probably noticed that minimalist kitchens don’t have toasters, food, and gaudy decorations sitting out on the countertops.

You can achieve this by utilizing the above tip as well as using organizational tools that allow you to fit things practically in your available cabinet space. 

Bonus Tip: cut down on the amount of decor pieces you have sitting out, too!

One of each type of product

This tip is especially useful for maintaining a minimalist bathroom.  Instead of filling my shower with 6 different types of shampoo and conditioner bottles, I keep 1 shampoo and 1 conditioner at a time.

The same thing goes for my skincare and makeup products which I talk about here. (If you haven’t hopped on this skinimalism trend already you need to!)

I can see the appeal of having a bunch of options. But even when I do, I still usually gravitate towards one item 90 percent of the time. So I have cut down on clutter by keeping one product of each type at a time. 

Go through your things often

Several times a year I donate belongings I don’t use or want any more to Goodwill or sell on Facebook marketplace. 

Not only is this a great way to free up space, you can make some extra cash on the side or donate to those in need.

Don’t impulse buy

This tip has helped me immensely. Before I go shopping, I try to figure out exactly what I want and make note of it in my phone.

One way I’ve found to help cut down on my impulse buying for home decor and fashion in particular is to stick with a color palette. Not only does it limit your options, I’ve found you will be less likely to make spur of the moment purchases on things that don’t groove with the look you’re going for.

Try starting a Pinterest board with inspo that you can pull up and reference back to before you make a purchase on a whim.

Quality > Quantity

Recently I have really started implementing this tip by buying quality pieces of decor, clothes, etc.

Instead of just buying something as a place holder until I can afford the item I really want, I have just temporarily went without.

This mindset also ends up giving me more motivation to save my money up for things I really want. Otherwise you could end up displeased with a house full of cheap things you didn’t even really love in the first place.

Don’t buy in bulk

This again is personal preference but I hate buying things in bulk.

This could be because I am indecisive at heart and like to explore all my options and change things up. Unless I really really love something and I know it’s going to be discontinued soon, I really don’t see the point in having 5 bottles of Aveeno body wash on backup.

An over abundance of products means you have to find a place to store said products. Which brings me to one of my favorite minimalist quotes ever:

“You don’t need more space, you just need less stuff.” 

Joshua Becker

Recycle

I have learned to cut down on waste by emptying and rinsing all containers before recycling or throwing away.

We literally only have to take out our trash once or twice a week because we just don’t accumulate that much waste.

I can’t help but cringe when I see peoples trash cans sitting on the sides of the road exploding. Once you get in the habit of recycling, rinsing it becomes second nature and not only is it beneficial from a minimalist standpoint, it helps the environment.

Win win!

Perks of living a minimalist lifestyle

• Makes my mind feel less anxious by giving me total control of my environment
• You don’t lose things easily because everything has a designated spot
• Helping the environment by producing less waste
• Saving money by buying less
• Less tempted to spend money on things I don’t really need or want
• Your home automatically looks cleaner with less stuff in it cluttering it up and collecting dust

Final thoughts

With all of that being said, I am sure that living a minimalist lifestyle is not for everyone. And that’s okay!

I would love to know your thoughts on living minimally and if you think you could!