Six steps towards minimalist living.
Ever since reading The Dispossessed, I have been adamant about removing unnecessary possessions from my life. This started off simple–I added to my list of Sunday evening chores “get rid of something.” However, as the quick-wins diminish, I have resorted to a few tricks:
1. Treat every item as a to-do
Looking at friends’ phones, I’ve observed two types of email inboxes. Those with 0-100 unread emails and those with thousands. There’s not much in between. That’s because people either approach their inboxes as a to-do list or as a stream of information. With the latter approach, the clutter builds up.
If you would prefer to live in an inbox-zero home, start treating your possessions as to-do items. If you haven’t engaged with an item in the last 30 days, what are you waiting for? Grow that chia pet your mom gave you for Christmas. Light that candle that you bought because the label was so nice. Draw something in one of your ten notebooks. Live the experience and move on.
2. Make an outbox
Once the quick-wins are gone, the remaining objects present a myriad of questions. Will the local charity take this? Do I know anyone who might want it? What if I need it again? Should I just throw it away?
Remove these barriers by having an “outbox.” When you come across something you haven’t used in a while or don’t like anymore, toss it in the box. When the box is full, or when you’re in the mood, sort through everything all at once. Make a charity pile, a trash pile, a sell pile, perhaps an e-waste pile. Then throughout the week deposit each pile to its respective new home (Goodwill, the garbage, eBay, etc).
The best part of the box is you can change your mind. Throwing out those bath salts made you realize you want a bath? Take it back. It actually feels great to use something you had considered throwing out. And it will make you more likely to throw out things in the future, knowing you have an “undo” button.
3. Consolidate technology
Living minimally doesn’t preclude getting new things. In fact, shiny new technology can help simplify your life and home.
For example, do you have multiple sound systems with various remotes, cords, receivers, and antennas? Replace them all with a sleek Sonos system.
Have a TV or projector that is rarely used? Replace it with a portable LED projector. Bonus: you can take it with you on trips or camping, and still use it if the power goes out.
Have a big slow cooker and/or rice cooker? Give it to your parents and hook yourself up with the super efficient mini TIM3 MACHIN3.
Those lanterns and flashlights you use a couple times a year? The solar charging Luci inflatable lanterns deflate to the size of a pancake.
Unless you’re really into baking or making smoothies, knock out your food processor, blender, and mixer all at once with a handheld immersion blender with multiple attachments.
4. Just eat it
Ever have trouble deciding what to cook? Don’t know what to bring to the potluck? Let your pantry decide. Find a recipe to use up that half bag of risotto. How many kinds of pasta do you really need at a given moment? Use them up! Your fridge likely has even more urgent ideas.
Similarly, audit your bathroom. Did you abandon Head & Shoulders when that dandruff problem went away? Either start washing your hair with it until it’s empty, or just throw it out. And you likely don’t need multiple kinds of deodorant or sunscreen.
5. Showcase your sentimentality
When I try to talk friends into decluttering, they often respond along the lines of “I know I don’t wear all those t-shirts, but they have sentimental value to me.”
You can still be sentimental — it’s what makes you you. But if you’re never going to wear those shirts, consider converting them into wall hangings or a quilt. Hang those chess club awards somewhere private, like in a closet or study nook (unless you really want to show them off). Frame and hang newspaper mentions.
As you adorn your home with these sentimental items, make sure to replace less meaningful or beautiful decorations rather than just adding wall clutter.
6. Kill your media
It’s difficult to throw away a CD you once paid $18 for — not to mention a whole binder’s worth. However, it was an experience you were paying for, not just a CD. That experience is over now; the disc is merely a relic. If for some reason you really need that Dave Matthews in physical form again, you can likely find it for half the price on Amazon anyway. The same goes for books and DVDs. You can always buy it again (but you probably won’t ever need to).
7. (Bonus step) Unsubscribe from postal mail
I’ve created a service that makes it dead-simple to opt-out of physical junk mail. Check it out:
