Did you know National Simplicity Day is on July 12th? Celebrate the day by simplifying your life with “8 Ways to Ease into a Minimalist Lifestyle | Minimalist Living”. Being a minimalist means doing with the basics and with what we truly value most in our lives – it’s a simple life. A modest way of living that goes beyond tangible items, and even into relationships, finances, and other activities in our lives. Living a simple, minimalist life is a lifestyle, not just a phase we go through when we want our home clean and organized. Living simply leads to contentment in one’s life – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Letting go of what is not important and keeping what we value most leads to a life of gratitude and more time for ourselves and other important people in our life. Less becomes more. Julie Blanner helps us ease into a minimalist lifestyle with the following ways: 1. Start Small This will help you make it a sustainable lifestyle instead of a phase. 2. Designate Space for Chaos Nothing in our home is perfect. The basement is another example for that. You have to allow chaos to live somewhere when you have children. Or at least I do. The basement is that one place where kids can be kids, get creative, make a mess and I don’t have to repeat myself 9 times begging them to pick it up. In fact, I rarely ask them to. 3. Get Everyone Involved We try to make de-cluttering and organizing an adventure. Like “girls, you received so many great gifts at your birthday parties, wouldn’t it be fun to give some of our toys to kids who may not have very many?” They get excited to let go of their things. I assign each kiddo a task like “collect all the markers”, “see how fast you can fill this trash bag” or “all dress up clothes in this bin”. 4. Declutter Take it one space at a time and ask yourself these questions: Does it serve a purpose? Do you use it? Does it bring you joy? If you answered no to any of these questions, let it go. Pare down to the things you really love and need. The rest is just “stuff”. Donate duplicates 5. Assess Assess how you use the space and how you can use it better. Our bookcases are valuable space that were under-utilized for some time. Rather than decorate them with trinkets, we added baskets which hold household items like batteries, our dvd’s, manuals, etc. The platters were just consuming space in a kitchen cabinet but can be used when hosting get togethers. We frequently mix drinks at the bar cabinet as well! 6. Blend Design and Function I always loved the way a wardrobe looked in a family room, but it consumes a significant amount of space, so it needs to be functional as well. We removed the coat closet in our foyer so in the winter it accommodates coats and in the summer, the same side is filled with throws we’re not using. The drawers hold games, candles, and pillow covers. My most frequently used platters and bowls are stored in the hutch for easy access, but also serve as decor. Any time a piece serves multiple purposes, it’s a win in my book, er, home. 7. Bring Less into Your Home Waste not, want not. Bring your bags to the store, take less home. Don't purchase something because it's on sale. Purchase because it fills a need or better yet, fills multiple needs! 8. Consider a Capsule Wardrobe Chances are, you have things in your closet you haven't worn in a year - eliminate them! Remove everything from your closet and choose the pieces you love. Play with them to see how you can mix and match and how many outfits you can create from those pieces. Eliminate the rest. (Reference: https://julieblanner.com/minimalist-lifestyle/ Ready for a simple life? Learn more with Julie Blanner’s “Simple Living | 20+ Tips to Begin Living a Simple Life” click here and The Minimalists’ Netflix documentary click here.
Let go of what does not matter and hold on to what truly does. Disconnect from social media and connect with nature. Live simply. Be content. 😊
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