<p><strong>To live a simple lifestyle, you’ll need a simple living space. Focus on keeping things that you value deeply, and toss things that you don’t need any longer. </strong></p>
<p>Giving yourself time will ensure that you are intentional about what you keep and what you discard.</p>

The decluttering process

<p><strong>If there is something in your life that you don’t love, change it. Cutting out the things that aren’t serving you is the first step for creating the life you want.</strong></p>
<p>An exercise that really helps is to write down what an ideal day would look like for you in five years time. Then work toward that goal.</p>

Minimalists live intentionally

<p><strong>Going minimalist also means spending time with only the people you want to spend time with </strong>and focusing your social time on people who lifted you up. </p>

Applying minimalism to your relationships

<p><strong>Every time you receive an invitation, make some time to think about whether it’s something that you are excited to be attending.</strong></p>
<p>Give the majority of your time to activities you enjoy doing.</p>

Be intentional with your time

<p><strong>A big part of minimalism is creating financial freedom.  </strong></p>
<p>Try setting up an automatic transfer, so that you can save without even trying. Think about cutting out unnecessary expenses and subscriptions that you don’t use to save even more.</p>

Apply minimalism to your finances

<div>
<p>Living in a more minimalist way can create more free time, more money in your savings account, and a more purpose filled life. I started my minimalist journey about two years ago, and since then I've quit my job, saved a lot of money, and traveled to over 20 countries.</p>
<img src="https://2rksgl1kc67f453y8rekkx01-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/how-to-start-living-minimalist-lifestyle-e1538964718122.jpg"> <p>Living minimally has led to so many opportunities for me, and it can do the same for you. To get started with a more minimalist lifestyle, you'll just need to take a few steps.</p>
<h2>1. The decluttering process</h2>
<p>To live a simple lifestyle, you'll need a simple living space. Take some time to declutter your living area. Focus on keeping things that you value deeply, and toss things that you don't need any longer. I took about six months to fully declutter my space. Giving yourself time will ensure that you are intentional about what you keep and what you discard.</p>
<img src="https://2rksgl1kc67f453y8rekkx01-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/minimal-interior-1-300x252.jpg"> <p>I like to complete the decluttering process in sweeps; the first sweep, get rid of anything that you know you no longer use. Take a few months to live without those things, and notice if the things you've kept are serving you. I did three sweeps in total, after noticing that I had held on to things following the first two sweeps that I still didn't need. After the third and final sweep, I was shocked to see how few possessions I actually used in my daily life.</p>
<h2>2. Stay mindful</h2>
<p>Minimalists live intentionally. If there is something in your life that you don't love, change it! When I started my minimalist journey, I was in a job and a relationship that didn't serve me. Within six months, I was out of both of those, and happier than I'd ever been. I like to think about what my ideal life looks like, and then work toward that. Cutting out the things that aren't serving you are the first step to creating the life that you want. An exercise that really helps me is to write down what an ideal day would look like for you in five years time. Then work toward that goal.</p>
<h2>3. Minimize your relationships</h2>
<p>Going minimalist to me meant that I was spending time with only the people I wanted to spend time with. Though I have a lot of friends, only a few of them are people who motivate and inspire me to grow and learn. These few people ignite my creativity and spending time with them is incredibly valuable to me. To me, becoming minimalist meant focusing my social time on people who lifted me up. This way, I was maximizing my social time, and also maximizing the amount of  time that I had to focus on things that I wanted to work on.</p>
<h2>4. Be intentional with your time</h2>
<p><img src="https://2rksgl1kc67f453y8rekkx01-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/journal-300x225.jpg">Instead of RSVP'ing "yes" to everything you're invited to, take some time to think about whether it's something that you are excited about attending. Be intentional with how you spend your time. When I started my minimalist journey, I decided to cut out 99% of my social events, and just do whatever I felt like doing. This included a lot of hiking, learning about photography, and spending a lot of time with my family. I felt so much more fulfilled and happy when I scheduled my time according to what I wanted.</p>
<h2>5. Create a savings account</h2>
<p>A huge part of minimalism is creating financial freedom. Creating a savings account and contributing to it regularly will help you build a little nest egg to quit your day job, build a tiny house, or start traveling. Try setting up an automatic transfer, so that you can save without even trying. Think about cutting out unnecessary expenses and subscriptions that you don't use to save even more.</p>
<p>When I took the journey to minimalism, I set up an automatic transfer for $100 per week to be sent to my savings account on the day I got paid. This helped me save my first $1000 pretty quickly. Once I got more into minimalism, that amount grew, until I was transferring about 60-70% of my paycheck into my savings. Simple living really pays off!</p>
<p>Minimalism has affected my life in ways that I never thought possible. I found passions that I didn't know I had, I saved a lot of money and attained financial freedom, and I deepened my relationships with family and friends. What could minimalism do for you?</p>
<h3>For more articles on minimalism, see:</h3>
<h3>Your Turn!</h3>
<p>
</p><ul>
	<li>How would simple living affect your daily life?</li>
	<li>Would you be willing to give minimalism a try?</li>
</ul>

</div>

Living in a more minimalist way can create more free time, more money in your savings account, and a more purpose filled life. I started my minimalist journey about two years ago, and since then I've quit my job, saved a lot of money, and traveled to over 20 countries.

How To Start Living A Minimalist Lifestyle

The decluttering process

Minimalists live intentionally

Applying minimalism to your relationships

Be intentional with your time

Apply minimalism to your finances

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