Minimalism, as I’m sure most of you know, is the practice of removing unnecessary things from your life so that you can have more focus and appreciation for the things you do have. We’ve all seen people who would fall under the category of “extreme minimalist” but a majority of people who practice minimalism do not take it to that extreme. In all reality, minimalism isn’t so much about “having less”, rather it’s about appreciating what you have more. If that means only having one fork and one spoon, five articles of clothing,no furniture, and you’re happy with that? Fantastic, follow your bliss! But I think that for most of us, that is not what will make us happy.

Personally, I am a creature of comfort; I enjoy having things other minimalists might see as frivolous such as slippers, fuzzy blankets, and multiple mugs. But am I still a minimalist? Yes, I am. My minimalist journey began when I started watching “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, I’ve always loved watching cleaning and organizing videos so this was a natural next step for me. Her primary mantra is “keep only what sparks joy”, that way you’ll only be surrounded by the things that spark joy for you and a happy byproduct of the whole process is that you’ll have less clutter to have to worry about keeping clean.

The other byproduct of practicing minimalism is that the quality of the things you own will slowly get better overall. If you are trying to just have one pair of flip flops instead of seven of the Old Navy, plastic, dollar flip flops, then you might want to go for Rainbows or Olukai’s. They may be more expensive but if you’re already saving money because you’ve stopped buying things you don’t need and you want one pair that will last you a long time, it might be worth the investment. And not all quality items are expensive, that’s not the point, the point is rather that you put more active thought into your purchases before you pull the trigger. Does this spark joy? Will I use this? Will this last me a long time? And things like that.

This is a challenge that I’ve compiled from all the things I’ve read about and practiced in my day to day life. In this new year, if you’re interested in simplifying your life and practicing having a life that brings you joy, I highly suggest you give it a try!

• Minimalism in the House
  • Marie Kondo has a fantastic program for decluttering your house in the least stressful way possible. Instead of starting in one room and just doing the entire space before moving on, she rather divides it up into categories of items. This way, things won’t just be shuffled from one room to another, but rather, they will be dealt with all at once and then put away in an organized way.
  • The order in which Marie Kondo suggests that you begin decluttering is the following:
    1. Clothes
    2. Books
    3. Papers
    4. Komono (Misc. Items)
    5. Sentimental Items
  • One thing that I think we all struggle with as people is letting go of items that have sentimental value. The way that the program is designed, it has us go through literally everything else before the sentimental items so we can create a better idea of what we actually want to keep in our lives before we get to the point of having to make emotional choices.
  • She also talks in her book about the process of thanking the items you are getting rid of for everything they’ve given you over the time you’ve had them. This is practice in part from the Japanese culture but also because it tends to help people feel better about letting go of things they may not need anymore.
  • If you’re interested in more of what Marie Kondo has to say (which I highly suggest as she is both helpful and adorable); I suggest you give her Netflix show “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” a shot. You can also purchase her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing“, on Amazon by clicking on the title of the book in this sentence or the picture below. 🙂

• Minimalism in your Life
  • One of the most empowering things I ever did for myself was learn how to say “no”. I have always been the sort of person who is always there to lend a helping hand, the first in line to volunteer when needed, and a “yes man” when it comes to plans and favors. I do love that about myself but it does give me a tenancy to get overwhelmed very easily and neglect my own personal self care. Only say “yes” to things that you genuinely want to do and that you know you have the time and energy for. Just taking that one step will without a doubt simplify your day to day.
  • Practice quality over quantity with the people in your life. I learned this the hard way, so I will say it once, then I will say it again for the people in the back. You do not have to give someone your time or energy just because they want it. You are allowed to be selective about the people you spend your time with and you are allowed to be picky about who you choose to call your friends. In fact, I’d recommend it. Surround yourself with people who help you grow as a person, people who when you’re around them, you are the best version of yourself, people who you love and care about who love and care about you in return.
  • Purge activities that do not spark joy, yes we are back to Marie Kondo. Keeping only what sparks joy can apply to way more than just the items you have in your house. Obviously we all have to do things that we don’t want to do; like cleaning, doing taxes, and going to the doctor, but when it comes to things that you are doing in your free time, make sure they are only things that you genuinely enjoy. Don’t do something just because you think you should, do things because you want to.

• Minimalism in your Mind
  • When our lives and homes are cluttered, that clutter tends to also take up space in our minds. So, taking care of our surroundings and the things we choose to do and people we choose to spend our time with should help clear up some of that immediate fog, which is why I chose to write about this step last. However, as with anything, nothing is a cure all, so even though decluttering your house may help with a chunk of your anxiety, it may not fix everything.
  • Write it down. Writing things down can absolutely help declutter the mind, getting those thoughts out of your head and onto some paper can be a fantastic step in stopping the cycle of worry. If you’d like, you can even go a step further and burn that piece of paper as a symbolic gesture for letting it go.
  • See a therapist. Therapy is fantastic; there has been a lot of stigma against going to counseling that is now, thankfully, being eradicated, but it does still exist. Therapy was one of the best choices I ever made when I decided to go; I did therapy for years and now whenever anyone in my life is struggling, it is one of the first things I suggest. The best part is, you don’t have to go consistently to benefit from counseling, if you’re having a particularly hard time with something, it might be helpful to go two or three times to work through it. Then vice versa, if you struggle chronically with intrusive thoughts and mind clutter, seeing someone regularly might be a really great way to keep yourself regulated, sort of like a weekly re-balancing. I am so pleased that more and more people are suggesting therapy as a viable first step instead of a last resort because just as you wouldn’t wait until you are dying to first go see a doctor, you wouldn’t want to wait until you’re on your last leg to see a therapist.
  • Mental Health Apps. If seeing a therapist is not an option immediately, not the route you’d choose to take, or perhaps you’d like something to use intermittently between visits, I’d suggest checking out one of the many mental health apps on the app store. The one that I use fairly consistently is called Youper; the base app is free and one of my favorite things about how the app is designed is that it looks like a text conversation. When you check in, you see the three little dots like someone is texting you and then Youper says hello; you can talk to the app just like a text message conversation and it will track what things are making you feel which emotions. So, not only is it a great tool to have if you tend to get anxiety in the middle of the night or when you’re alone, but it is also a journal of sorts that you can use to look back and determine the things that made you happy, excited, frustrated, and everything else.

It seems like a lot, but the truth is that just like anything else, you have to start somewhere. My minimalism challenge for all of you this year is not only to practice it in your home, but also in your life and your mind. I think that you’ll find that putting in the work on the front end, is more than worth it on the back end and the best thing about it all is that there isn’t a time limit to the challenge. Start it, do your best, then come back and continue it later; life isn’t a race, it’s a journey and every journey begins with a single step.