You may think that minimalism takes a lot of time and energy, however, once you reach that minimalist sweet spot it takes little effort at all. Chances are it’s because minimalists have specific things in place that make life simpler- other than having fewer things. Here are just a few thoughts on what you can do to make your lifestyle as streamlined and fuss free as possible.
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Avoid lids: Lids add extra time to many a task- throwing laundry into the hamper, putting toys away, tidying up throw blankets, dumping things in donation boxes… take a look around your home at all the things that have lids on them and ask yourself if you truly need them or if the lid is simply a waste of your time. The easier it is for you to tidy up your space, the more likely you are to keep it in order and minimal.
Use fuss free tools and supplies: I cannot recommend a cordless vacuum highly enough for minimising the amount of time spent on hoovering carpets, laminate floors, cars etc. Switch to cord free and you will be thrilled by how much time you don’t have to spend on cleaning. Move over to a multipurpose cleaner and you don’t need to locate and store all the different lotions and potions for whatever task you’re tackling. Imagine what you could do with that time instead!
Have a permanent donation box in your home: Have one central place for all the things you no longer want and once you identify something that isn’t serving you anymore- place it straight in there. Once the box is full, take it to the donation centre. This is a quick and easy way to minimise the amount of times you have to declutter your space.
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Stop things before they enter your home: Unsubscribe from junk emails and post and you won’t have to deal with recycling it or deleting it from your inbox when it lands. Cancel catalogues you no longer have an interest in and be sure to let your friends and family know if they plan to bring anything into your space so you can prepare for it or decline it before it crosses the threshold.
Let your gadgets do the work: Set up a streaming service for all your viewing and listening needs. There are so many to choose from; Now TV, Amazon Prime, Netflix and Spotify to name just a few. Download books onto a Kindle rather than buying the paper or hardback variety. The fewer DVDs, CDs and books you have, the less cleaning, organizing and maintaining of these items you have to do.
Get your groceries delivered to your home: By doing this you will minimise the travel time to the store, the petrol spent to get there and the hour or so spent wandering up and down the aisles. You may have to invest a little time putting a list together online, but you can save favourites to make it a faster process on your next shop. Plus, you reduce the likelihood of impulse purchases if you are bypassing the end cap offers.
Adopt a low maintenance approach to your appearance: Have one beauty product that does everything such as coconut oil. Wear only a handful of colours so replacing items is easier and all your clothes are interchangeable. Invest in a capsule wardrobe. Reject supposed ‘must haves’ if they don’t apply to you such as wearing make up every day or painting your nails. Owning multiple products for your face and body and more clothes than you could ever wear requires a lot of commitment from you, so if you would rather spend the time doing anything else- minimise in these areas if you can.
You can be lazy and a minimalist- just follow these simple steps and see how much time you can regain for yourself!
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Today is Optimist Day, a day to celebrate all the hopeful, positive people all over the world who shine light into other people’s lives with their cheery disposition. But what tools do these people use to be so happy? Well, minimalism could be one of them… here’s why... to read more click HERE
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