How To Become A Minimalist: A Little Guide To Living with Less

You can't force others into minimalism, but you can inspire them. Focus on your own journey and show the joy of living with less. If they're curious, involve them in fun activities like a minimalist scavenger hunt. Share the benefits and let them explore minimalism at their own pace.

To embrace minimalism without frustration, start small and build gradually. Instead of making drastic changes overnight, keep a decluttering box by the door, tidy a single area like a pantry shelf or closet corner, and reduce social media use step by step. Rather than getting rid of everything at once, experiment by living without certain items for 30 days. Small, consistent actions make minimalism sustainable and stress-free.

When you are decluttering to become a minimalist or simply to create a little space in your home, there may come a time when empty shelves and sparse calendars make you uncomfortable. To ease the pain, you might want to buy more things, and commit to doing more. Instead, let the spaces you create give you room to think about how you really want to spend your time. This is how you intentionally start a minimalist life.

Be curious and have fun challenging yourself to live with less. Becoming a minimalist doesn’t have to be a project in suffering. You can have fun and learn along the way.

Make decluttering easier. The idea of not pushing and working so hard at making a change is one of my unpopular opinion. I just think we can get where we want to go in a gentler way. Before simplifying further, think about what you really want out of this life of yours. Is this the time to declutter more or is this the time to deepen a connection with someone you love? Is this the time to move on to your bookshelves, or is this the time to create something new, or serve in your community?

We often think that how we become more minimalist is directly correlated to how many things we own and what things look like around us. That’s part of it but the biggest shifts won’t happen around you, they’ll happen within you. You’ll begin to discover that you need less than you think to live a happier life. Because you won’t be juggling as much, you’ll feel more connected to yourself, overreact less and you’ll be able to direct more attention and energy to the things that matter to you.

We don’t remove clutter, reduce stress, and reject busyness to have a simple life. We do it to have a life. Don’t wait until your debt is paid off, or every room in your home is decluttered to start living. Minimalism invites you to be intentional about how you invest your time and energy, and how you want to fill your heart. Start now.

Don’t worry about following the advice of every popular minimalist or decluttering expert. You don’t have to live in a tiny house or carry all your belongings in a backpack. Don’t worry about how many items you own or don’t own. Don’t compare your journey to another. You can watch your favorite movies and buy what you need and love. You can call yourself a minimalist or not. This is your journey, your minimalism, your life.