How to Be a Minimalist: 7 Easy Steps for the Wannabe
Want to learn how to become a minimalist but feeling totally overwhelmed? These 7 mantras for the wannabe minimalist will help get you started right away!
I’m sure you can relate, January just makes me want to get all of the things out of our house.
I think it hit me harder this year than ever before because we’ve now been in our house for 3 years.
We’ve also had a spoiled child living in our house for those years (I’m convinced that children’s belongings are the catalyst for most decluttering projects). Such is the life of the first grandchild.
RELATED: how I made an easy extra $100+ selling my kid’s stuff in one consignment sale
In my quest to declutter, I stumbled upon minimalism.
What is a minimalist lifestyle?
If you look up the definition of the minimalist lifestyle, you’ll get many varying answers.
What it all boils down to is this…
- getting rid of excess “stuff”
- living with purpose and intention
- putting value of experiences over physical things
I was instantly intrigued. Living with less, having more life.
It makes total sense, since most stress starts with disorganization and chaos in the home. At least that’s how I feel. It’s extremely hard for me to totally relax when my house looks like a tornado went through it.
In my research, I found a few tips and rules to follow in order to declutter like a minimalist that really resonated with me.
How to Become a Minimalist
I have had pack rat tendencies since I was a child, I hold on to too many “things” because of the sentiment.
Having some quotes (or mantras) to recite in my head when I’m trying to hold on to something unnecessary helped me finally get rid of things.
The following are my favorite mantras for the beginner “wannabe” minimalist:
1. If I didn’t already own this, would I buy it again?
I have Tico and Tina to thank for this one, they’ve got a fantastic series on exploring minimalism that you need to check out.
I usually start with this question. It can be applied to decluttering any area of the house.
This is also a great place to begin if you have a problem with being too attached to your items.
- If it’s a solid “YES”, then obviously it stays.
- If it’s a definite “NO”, then it goes in the trash/recycling or donation box. This post on 75+ things you can throw away/recycle now can help you get started!
- If it’s a “MAYBE”, then I ask myself a few more questions…
2. Does this serve an everyday purpose?
If you use it fairly often, then obviously you should keep it.
If you use it once every year, then it might be time for it to go.
A great example of this is specialty kitchen gadgets.
I have a wine bottle cooler that I got as a wedding gift that I have probably never used. The fridge cools my bottle of pinot grigio just fine, thank you very much 😉
There’s just one caveat to this:
If it’s seasonal, like holiday decorations, this question should be adapted.
If you put it out every single year, keep it. If you find yourself leaving it in the box while you put the other decorations out, it’s time to get rid of it.
3. Think of the thrift store as your storage unit
This way of thinking has helped me get rid of so much stuff that I either…
- thought I would use someday “soonish” or
- wanted to save for a project that I might do someday.
If I REALLY had a need for it, I could always pick a replacement up at the thrift store for pennies.
If I REALLY wanted to complete that “project”, I could probably find similar supplies at the thrift store. More in that same vein of thought…
4. “Just in case” will probably never happen.
This is one of the biggest hurdles that most people have to overcome when decluttering.
Have you used it in the past year? No? Then chances are you never will.
And the real estate space in your house is worth more than the item that’s taking it up.
5. Could someone else use it more?
Luckily the ease of donating things nowadays isn’t much more than making a reservation online and setting your boxes out on your front step.
In our small town, there are 3 different charities that regularly make the rounds. I go on their websites, see who is coming for pickups the soonest, and make a reservation.
Easy peasy, and I get to write it off on our taxes.
To find out which charities do pickups in your area, simply Google:
“(your location) donation pickup”
6. If I had to leave the house because of a fire, what would I take?
This question has helped me with dealing with sentimental clutter.
The items that I would no doubt risk life and limb to grab in the case of a house fire could stay. Items that had me pausing to question, those had to go.
Repeat after me, “it’s just stuff”.
7. A place for everything, and everything in it’s place.
Believe it or not, this is a quote from Benjamin Franklin.
If it doesn’t have a “home”, find one for it.
If you can’t find a “home” for it, refer to the previous statements.
This one is probably my most repeated and favorite decluttering mantra.
With the help of these mantras, even a former pack rat like me can learn how to become a minimalist and rid the house of unnecessary clutter.
Clutter-free is the way to be!
The Mary Poppins quote is something I”m going to have to start. Part of my issue is financial documents, I never know how long or what I need to save.
I used to be that way, until I researched exactly what to hold on to and how long to hold on to it for. For some reason 7 years stands out in my mind? I don’t remember, looks like I have to go back and research!
You could also see which ones you won’t need the original documents from and scan those. Keep them in folders on your computer for easy access. If you would ever need the paper version you can easily print them. Only keep originals from things like birth/marriage certificates and diplomas.
The Mary Poppins quote is something I”m going to have to start. Part of my issue is financial documents, I never know how long or what I need to save.
I love these mantras, I will certainly be putting them to good use as I have trouble with getting rid of things…I’m sure my husband thinks I’m crazy!
The main thing I have an issue with is throwing things away people have given me as a gift, I always feel bad as they’ve spent their money on it and thought about what to give me, I just no longer have a use for it
Thanks for the tips, hopefully they’ll go someway of helping with my guilt of letting go of things!
I can appreciate that. I suppose I never get rid of a gift right away, but if it’s still sitting around my house unused a year later then it’s time to go.
That makes me feel better thank you, I just end up keeping hold of them for about ten years!
I love these mantras, I will certainly be putting them to good use as I have trouble with getting rid of things…I'm sure my husband thinks I'm crazy!
The main thing I have an issue with is throwing things away people have given me as a gift, I always feel bad as they've spent their money on it and thought about what to give me, I just no longer have a use for it
Thanks for the tips, hopefully they'll go someway of helping with my guilt of letting go of things!
I love this. I think I’m going through a quarter life crisis, & have been perpetually cleaning & organizing my little apartment for the past few weeks. I’ve been struggling to get rid of things, so I appreciate this post so much. It was just what I needed to remind me of the things I REALLY need and REALLY don’t. Thanks. :]
I’m going through a just past a quarter-life crisis (I’ll be turning 30 in September, yikes!) I know it helps me get things done when I’ve got a list and little tips to follow. Glad to help 🙂
I love this. I think I'm going through a quarter life crisis, & have been perpetually cleaning & organizing my little apartment for the past few weeks. I've been struggling to get rid of things, so I appreciate this post so much. It was just what I needed to remind me of the things I REALLY need and REALLY don't. Thanks. :]
I used to be that way, until I researched exactly what to hold on to and how long to hold on to it for. For some reason 7 years stands out in my mind? I don't remember, looks like I have to go back and research!
I can appreciate that. I suppose I never get rid of a gift right away, but if it's still sitting around my house unused a year later then it's time to go.
I'm going through a just past a quarter-life crisis (I'll be turning 30 in September, yikes!) I know it helps me get things done when I've got a list and little tips to follow. Glad to help 🙂
We are kindred spirits!! I have been living by all this for the past few weeks!! I’ve been a decluttering fool!! Love this!!
I am all about minimalism lately!
We are kindred spirits!! I have been living by all this for the past few weeks!! I've been a decluttering fool!! Love this!!
I am all about minimalism lately!
Oh I am such a wannabe-minimalist, and I fail every day. I am like you – everything is sentimental! I am getting better but so slowly. These tips make so much sense!
Let me know if they work for you, I’m sure they will 😉
Oh I am such a wannabe-minimalist, and I fail every day. I am like you – everything is sentimental! I am getting better but so slowly. These tips make so much sense!
Let me know if they work for you, I'm sure they will 😉
My husband and I combined households 4 years ago. Just the two of us then.. and we still haven’t opened some boxes, and had extra set of knifes…
I ended up going through mine, and donating 2 boxes of books (minus 4 individual books I loved, and kept ALL my CD’s) and 5 boxes of miscellaneous items. I figured, if I had been storing them for 4 years (even if they were out of the way in the basement), I clearly didn’t need the items (I did go through hastily to make sure nothing of value was in them..).
Now to try to get the sentimental hoarder to follow suit.. minus the fact that he said he wanted a corner curio/buffet cabinet last night, I asked why – his response: just to have.
Will be printing out the 7 Mantras in hopes my husband can maybe get rid of at least his non working garage stereo- that he already replaced… 🙂
That’s so funny, I think in most relationships the wife is the sentimental hoarder. At least that’s how it is for us. Hope this can help “cure” your husband 🙂
My dad is the hoarder. My mum is always ringing me to moan firstly about the lady she visits (to clean and help her as she’s disabled) because her house has stuff piled from floor to ceiling… and then mum goes home to find Dad has cluttered up their place even more. She’s quite jealous I’ve married a minimalist (who has one pair of jeans!) and that I’m able to easily donate and get rid of things without having a ‘domestic’ !
That's so funny, I think in most relationships the wife is the sentimental hoarder. At least that's how it is for us. Hope this can help “cure” your husband 🙂
Hey there! I’ve been striving for minimalism for almost 2 years now, and it has honestly made my life so so so much better. Especially since I’ve had to move 3 times since then! I found your pin and followed it here, and I just had to stop and say that I have never heard of or considered the “think of thrift stores as your storage closet” one. And. My. Eyes. Have. Been. Opened. I do give away to Goodwill frequently, but I’ve been holding onto some craft project things, and… they need to go. So, thanks!
“If I didn’t already own this, would I buy it again?” Best one ever! I’ve finally overcome the sentimental parting of the ways, but have a way to go yet, but getting there.
Great post with some great mantras for minimalist living. I use a lot of these in my decluttering process too.
One that I use a LOT is to take a photo of my sentimental stuff before I give it away. I learned this in a very pleasant way: I made a lot of clothes for my kids when they were small. It was hard to give away the little homemade corduroy baseball jacket and the flannel pajamas they both wore. But when I was going through photos, I realized they were WEARING those things. So my sentimentalism is satisfied by the photos. Even better, I’m digitizing all the photos and storing them in the cloud. When I feel sentimental I don’t have to dig through musty boxes. Just jump online and play my own personal slide show.
Great idea! I do this with my kiddos’ art, too. Well, I’m going to… 🙂
Yes! Thank you for posting this!! <3
I pinned this from inside Ahalogy a while back and noticed that it was having a lot of good traction. Just now I was doing some housekeeping and saw it’s been sending a little traffic our way so I came to check it out and was surprised and pleased to discover your mention – apparently I somehow missed it when it posted. Thank you, and I love your list! 🙂
Your pin has generated a ton of traffic for me, thank you as well! Ahalogy is awesome 🙂
I think I’m gonna print each of these sayings out and frame them (and hang them up around the house). I need to be reminded of these at least until I’ve minimized everything. Then I could pass them on to someone who needs them when I no longer need them.