I started my journey into minimalism about 3 years ago, and it has been slowly changing my life for the better. While I still have a lot of stuff left to sort through, I have managed in the past 3 years to part with around 60% of my stuff. It took a lot of time and effort, and also made me really reflect on my life.
Why did I spend thousands and thousand of dollars to accumulate a bunch of stuff I didn’t need or really love? As I donated, gave away, and recycled these items I had to wonder if any of this stuff had ever really made me happy. Truth is, I don’t think it did. Fast forward to January of 2025 and I am still finding things to part with. However, I have parted with enough stuff that I have been able to free up enough time to enjoy new hobbies, spent time with my family, and adopt new habits.
I want to share with you five habits that I have adopted and put into practice. While, I definitely could have adopted these habits without taking steps towards adopting a more minimalistic life, I don’t think I would have found the motivation to do so without minimalism.
Table of Contents
Habit 1: Keep Your Wardrobe to a Minimal
I have never been a fashionista, so parting with two thirds of my wardrobe wasn’t as painful for me as it might be for others. However, having less clothing has made my life easier. I rarely spend time anymore trying on multiple outfits before deciding what to wear. I also spend less time washing, ironing, and repairing my clothing, simply because I have fewer items to care for.
Having less clothing items has also caused me to be more selective about what I do buy and put into my closet. Since I don’t own much clothing, I want to make sure that I buy stuff that fits well, looks good, and is durable. I am also proud of the positive environmental impact I am making through owning less clothing.
I recently read online that the average clothing item is only worn seven times before it is no longer used. That is just crazy in my opinion. I don’t have the money to wear something only seven times and then replace it. I also don’t want to waste my time on shopping for clothes constantly. Therefore, I will never buy a clothing item that I will only use seven times or less, my wedding dress being the one exception.
Habit 2: Keep Your Space Tidy
I have always been a fairly tidy person, but I will admit that I did have a lot of days where I was just too tired to wash up the dishes. When this happened, I would wake up the next morning and rush into the kitchen to clean up. This cause problems like stress and struggling to find enough time in the morning to clean, get my daughter ready for school, and prepare for my work day. I had many mornings where I ate food in such a hurry that I hardly had time to taste it or chew it before hastily swallowing it and running to the car.
Now, I try my best to stop whatever I am doing about 45 minutes prior to sleeping. This gives me time to go through the house and pick up anything that I didn’t clean up earlier in the evening, like the dishes. I am not perfect at this, and admit that there are days when I fail, but overall I see a huge improvement. My mornings are less stressful now, and I sleep easier knowing that when I wake up I will have a tidy house waiting for me.
Stoping what I am doing 45 minutes before bedtime also gives me time away from my electronic devices. Studies show that using digital devices right before bed disrupts our sleep. Most devices like cellphones, tables, and TVs emit blue light, and something about blue light affects our sleep quality negatively. Therefore, it is best to avoid using these devices right before bedtime.
Habit 3: Setup Your Environment for Success
One other thing I try to do before I go to bed is to set my environment up for success. A lot of people think that sticking to good habits is a matter of willpower alone. This isn’t the case. Sticking to good habits does take some willpower, but setting your environment up in such a way that it becomes easy to adopt a good habit is even more important.
As humans we tend to adopt whatever habits are easiest for us to do. If you have a house full of junk food, you are making it easy to eat junk and providing yourself with unnecessary temptations. On the flip side, if you have a house full of healthy food like fruits and vegetables, then you are making it easy to adopt healthy habits.
I used to drink a lot of soda, and sometimes I would even drink soda directly in the morning when waking up. I knew the habit was bad, but I had a hard time breaking it. If there was soda and water in the fridge, I would almost always choose the soda. To break myself of this unhealthy habit, I had to throw away the remaining soda cans in my house and stop buying new ones. I replaced soda with carbonated water that I make myself with a carbonation machine. I have now been soda free for almost 2 months.
Some other hacks I use to make good habits easier, are things like placing out my dumb bells on Tuesday nights so they are ready for me on Wednesday morning when I do strength training exercises for my arms. I bookmark the meditation programs that I like to listen to, so I can easily find them when it is time. If there is a book I want to read, I make sure I leave my ebook reader in a place where I will see it, like next to my tea kettle.
Are there things in your life that you can do to make your environment reflect the lifestyle you want to live? For example, if you want to exercise in the morning, try putting your exercise clothing out the night before. I know some people who even sleep in their workout clothing because they won’t workout otherwise. It may seem crazy, but it works. Do you want to eat healthier food? Try throwing away the junk food from your home and put out a nice bowl of fruit instead. Make your habit obvious and as easy to do as possible. Set yourself up for success through your environment.
Habit 4: Keep Your To-Do List to the Three Most Important Tasks
I used to write really long to-do lists at the start of my day, and I would feel proud as I worked hard throughout the day to complete all the tasks on it. I started to realize, however, that a large to-do list means your focus is spread out across multiple tasks. If you take many small steps in all directions, you don’t get very far. However, if you take many small steps in the same direction, you eventually make a lot of progress.
I try now to keep my to-do list to a minimal amount of tasks, three max. I ask myself at the start of each dat what the three most important things are for me to do, and focus on only that. I no longer try to be a jack of all trades. Instead, I try to be a master of one.
Sometimes stuff comes up that we have to do, even though it isn’t on a list. That’s life. The unexpected happens, but when it does ask yourself if this is really an emergency or something that needs to be dealt with. If it is, handle it to the best of your ability. If it isn’t and you can ignore it, do so. At first people might be annoyed, but after a while they will realize that you are a focused person who respects your time. Eventually, they will come to respect you for it too.
Habit 5: Practice Digital Minimalism
Digital minimalism, for those who don’t know, is simply the act of being very mindful about how and with what frequency technology is used. As a digital minimalist, I am very mindful of how I use digital devices. Let me give you some examples.
I have a Facebook account and what was previously called a Twitter account. However, I almost never use them. By almost never, I mean that with sincerity. I have not made a Twitter or Facebook post in the last year, as far as I can recall, and if I did make one or two, that was it.
Social media doesn’t fit in with my values and lifestyle choices, so I almost never use it. I don’t feel the need to compare myself constantly to others, and I don’t want to develop that “need”. This is one reason I avoid using social media. Another reason is that I value real one on one time with others. If I want to know how a friend or loved one is doing, I don’t need to view their Facebook page. I can pick up the phone and make the effort to call them.
My house has a TV, but we have no TV channels and while there is a Netflix account, I don’t use it often. I don’t want to be remembered by others as the queen of bing watching TV programs. TV can be fun from time to time, but it is not my main source of entertainment, and the time I gain by not watching TV allows me to do a lot of other things that I enjoy more, like playing games, practicing karate, and reading books.
I have a cell phone, but I use it mostly for sending text messages and making calls. When I am not using it as a phone, I use it for things like pulling up maps, paying bills, and playing the meditation tracks I listen to in the morning. I also use it for keeping a gratitude journal that I write in daily. I never check social media on it. I don’t use it for playing games, and I rarely watch stuff on it.
The average person spends 5 hours a day on their phone. I know I am well under this figure. Sorry folks, but life is short. Do you really want to spend 21% of your total life glued to your phone screen? I sure as heck know I don’t. In fact, when I have something to do that requires a high level focus, I swap out my high tech Samsung flip 6 phone with an old flip phone that can only do two things, make calls and send text messages. It is a dumb phone and on the days I use it I am relaxed and very productive.
I am not saying that technology is bad, but I am saying that we need to use it wisely. If you don’t make informed choices about what technology you buy, and how you will use it, it can easily steal hours, weeks, months, and years of your life. When you die no one is going to praise you for spending five plus hours a day on your phone, however people might praise you if you instead used that time to make awesome contributions to our society. How much awesome stuff could you do if you had an extra 2-4 hours a day?
Conslusion
Before this January comes to an end ask yourself what you will do to make 2025 your year. No one is going to take control of your life for you. You need to do that on your own. Having a plan to help you on the way is crucial. For me the five habits I mentioned above have been life changing. I encourage you to try these habits out for yourself and see what benefits they can bring into your life. Please let me know if the comments section if you have tried these habits out, and how it went for you.
Have a wonderful day!