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25 Things You Can Do to Simplify Your Life

Posted on October 19, 2021

Every day we are faced with a barrage of noise and stresses, such as ads, traffic, social media and other constant distractions. Sometimes the only way to reduce or eliminate these distractions that take away our time, focus and attention is to make intentional actions each day in order to simplify our lives and focus on what truly matters to us, and do our best to turn down the other unnecessary noise.

Here are 25 Things You Can Do to Simplify Your Life.

25 Things You Can Do to Simplify Your Life

Avoid Ads

Wherever possible keep your eyeballs off advertisements. If you don’t know what is for sale, you won’t be so tempted to buy it. A few years back I became very interested in learning how to do makeup and before I knew it, my wishlist for designer make up grew. It wasn’t until I stopped watching makeup videos that I stopped wanting to buy more and more and learned to be content with the makeup supplies that I had. Now that I avoid those ads I only buy makeup when I need to replace something that has run out. Replace makeup in this example with whatever thing you seem to buy too much of.

Avoiding advertising is no easy feat. There are ads everywhere but there are things you can do to avoid as many of them as you can and remove the temptation to consume.

Some practical tips you can implement to avoid advertising:

Don’t read magazines.
Consider paying for services like Youtube or streaming services for ad-free viewing.
Avoid watching free-to-air TV and instead stream ad-free content.
Keep shopping and dining in at places that have TVs and advertising around to a minimum.
Turn off your Facebook news feed and the ads that go with it by installing a browser Facebook News Feed Eradicator.

All of these attempts to avoid advertising still do not completely eliminate all ads that you’ll end up seeing, but they’ll certainly limit the number!

2. Be More Intentional With What You Watch on TV

Be more selective with what you are watching on TV, rather than just watching whatever is on at the time. I no longer just watch Operation Repo, RBT, or whatever show just because it is on TV at that moment. I limit watching TV to only watching specific shows I enjoy watching.

This has allowed me to get some much-needed time back into my schedule for more valuable things like going to the gym or working on my blog. Think of all the amazing things you could be doing with that newly freed-up time!

3. Downsize Your Stuff

Five years ago I decluttered over 70% of my belongings. This in itself has been a huge step in simplifying my life. It makes getting dressed, doing laundry, and cleaning my house easier just to name a few benefits.

When you own less stuff, there is less stuff to maintain, clean around, replace or spend money on. You might even realise that you don’t need as big a house as you thought you did, which will lead to even less work for you and more money in your pocket!

4. Stick to a List For Grocery Shopping.

If you walk into the supermarket unprepared you are going to end up buying things that you don’t need. Often you’ll end up forgetting the things that you did and you’ll have to waist time and petrol making an additional trip. Save yourself the stress of going to the shops and the guesswork and bring your grocery list with you.

This goes for all shopping. I will not step foot into a Kmart, Bunnings, or anywhere without my list! Not to mention it frees up time that would have been wasted wandering down aisles if that is not your idea of fun!

5. Use a Planner to Stay Productive.

Those super-productive people that you see on YT or on Facebook are not unicorns. They are most likely good planners and you can be too, simply by having all your To Do’s and schedule in one place.

I use my weekly schedule planner to tell me everything I need to know or do like:

What chores I need to do that day
When do I plan to exercise?
What I am eating on what day?
What To Do items I have for myself, the band, my website, and anything I need to buy like a gift for an upcoming birthday party.

I don’t know how I used to function without one, but it’s great to have a place to write down all your thoughts so you can forget them and yet feel confident you can get what you need, done. This helps you to let go of all that info rolling around in your head, get it down on paper, set your timers or reminders, and give your brain a much-needed rest. Simply write what you need on your planner and get back to focusing on your current task or goal.

6. Simplify Your Wardrobe.

One of the most effective things you can do to simplify your life is to minimise your clothing and adopt a Capsule Wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is a well-curated small wardrobe selected for each season on pieces that mix and match and take the stress and work out of getting ready each day. With so many things to juggle on a daily basis, not having to worry about finding outfits that go together will help you simplify your life every single day.

7. Avoid The Shops

I try and spend as little time as humanly possible at the shops. I don’t go shopping unless I have something specific in mind and usually even then it needs to be a few things to warrant me even driving there. Some might find the experience of shopping thrilling and enjoyable but for me, it is filled with stress from crowds, loud music or advertising, and frustration at waiting in long lines for parking or to pay for your items or the changeroom.

Simplify your life and your schedule by shopping less and only shopping when you genuinely need to, not just to pass time. Keep a wishlist of things you want or need to buy and build that up over time so you can hit the shops once that month rather than going multiple times.

8. Learn to Say ‘No’.

For some time, I felt extremely stressed thanks to not having enough downtime. On weekends I’d cram in band practice or a gig, on top of trying to see family, go to the city with friends, see more family, get groceries, attempt to catch up on housework, and still have an outing with my husband. After a few years of this, I found myself completely burned out and overwhelmed.

If this sounds like you, and you want to simplify your life, start making space in your schedule for rest and downtime. Don’t feel the need to fill every hour with some kind of social event. The next time someone asks you to do something you aren’t feeling, just say ‘I’m sorry but I won’t be able to make it’, and give yourself some time just for yourself.

9. Use Homemade Cleaners.

I know this seems the opposite of simplifying when I tell you to make something yourself, but stick with me here.

I started using homemade cleaners a few years back. I love that with only a handful of products I can clean my entire home as well as avoid nasty chemicals as much as possible. And best of all – no more overflowing under sink cupboards packed full of different cleaning products!

Instead of having 20 different cleaners, you’ll find that just a handful of homemade cleaners can do the work of many different products. Basic ingredients like vinegar, bi-carb, dishwashing liquid, and lemon you most likely already have in your home.

For more homemade cleaners be sure to check out Clean My Space for some of Melissa Maker’s amazing cleaning recipes!

10. Learn to be Content With Less

When you minimise the excess you can begin to enjoy the benefits of minimalism and simplify your life. Minimising your wardrobes make for less laundry and a less stressful time getting ready.

Minimising your makeup collection means you can easily find what you want to use and everything can have its own place and not clutter up your vanity top.

Having fewer books means you can see the ones that truly bring your joy and you can eliminate the guilt you always felt for not reading the others you never got around to.

It may sound opposite to what we are always told – having more is more, but I promise you when you own what you love and what brings you joy you will have a newfound appreciation for what is essential and not miss all that extra clutter in your home making your life more stressful and disorganised than it needs to be.

11. Let Go of Your Aspirations For a Carrie Bradshaw Esque Shoe Collection.

Before I discovered Minimalism, I was a shoe hoarder. At my highest count, I had about 50 pairs of shoes. That may not seem like a lot to some of you but to me it was. I have since eliminated the excess shoes I owned and now have selected a few shoes that are versatile enough to go with everything.

Most of my shoes are black and there is a reason for that. It means I can run out the door in whatever shoes I have and know that there’s a 99% chance they will go with what I am wearing and also be comfortable. Not all of us are gifted fashionistas, so having a simple shoes collection helps simplify leaving the house everyday.

It may be time to be honest with yourself.

Ask:

Do you really need 10 pairs of heels when you only wear them to weddings twice a year?

Do you really need 20 pairs of sneakers when you prefer to wear two of your favourites and the others just sit there on show?

Do you really need 10 pairs of $10 flats from Kmart or would one quality pair do you?

After a while of living with just the shoes you need and love, you’ll wonder why you didn’t downsize your shoe collection sooner!

12. Automate Your Finances

Simplify your life and take the mental workload involved in paying your bills by setting up direct debit billing.

This has saved me in late fees that are no longer an issue as the bills are paid before I can forget to pay them.

Don’t forget to do the same for your savings transfers each month! Taking the work out of paying bills and savings means you can ensure your finances stay under control without too much work from you.

If you want to learn more about about how you can spend your money with intention book in your complimentary 15-min financial coaching Q&A session.

13. Eliminate Paper Statements.

If you hate filing, I’ve got a simple solution for you, e-filing. Request your bills to be sent to your email rather than by mail. It means not only less time spend sorting mail and filing it, but leaves less in terms of paper clutter!

An added bonus is this saves you the fee most companies now charge to mail you paper statements and only takes a once-off quick phone call to make the change.

14. Learn to Delegate.

I used to think that I had to do it all. I soon learned that this is not sustainable and things getting done by someone else, is better than not at all, or that task staying on your never-ending to-do list.

If you have too much to do, ask for help from those around you. Get your partner or kids to help out around the house even if it is just 10 minutes every other day. Small amounts of help add up.

If you can afford to, consider hiring someone to help mow the lawns or clean your home once a week or fortnight to give you back a few hours of your freedom and make day-to-day tasks that little bit less overwhelming.

And the same goes for work, if you are snowed under speak up. There’s no shame in asking for help!

15. Unsubscribe

Something as simple as a full email inbox can be a huge stressor! Take a quick moment to action emails as you go, rather than letting them build up where you feel that you can’t catch up.

If you get an email for a store or a website you either haven’t signed up for or aren’t interested in seeing in your inbox, quickly open the email and select Unsubscribe. Then delete those emails from your inbox. (type in the search the company name and all emails will show up so you can quickly delete or prior ones from your inbox).

This will save you one set of ongoing emails from taking away your attention on more important things and will help you keep your inbox under control and organised.

16. Focus on One or Two Hobbies.

Sometimes we can get carried away with multiple hobbies and interests, but the most effective way to get good at something is to limit those hobbies to 1-3 max. For me, that is my blog, music, and gaming.

Sure I would love to add some DIY projects in, to learn to paint and learn more instruments but those expectations are just not going to happen in my life right now where I am balancing full-time work with my social life, cleaning, my current hobbies, and having downtime.

The last thing you want is for your passion to turn into another stressor in your life and chore. By limiting your hobbies to just a couple you can get the most out of those hobbies without them taking over your life. As a bonus, by limiting your hobbies you can also limit the clutter that can come with having too many hobbies.

17. Speed Clean

Cleaning used to overwhelm me on a daily basis until I discovered the art of Speed Cleaning. Instead of letting cleaning take over my entire weekend, now I try and speed clean for 10-15 minutes most days. This doesn’t always happen, but if I can keep the house reasonably tidy day-to-day, and save the bigger stuff like the floors and bathrooms for the weekends, I don’t get as overwhelmed. And the best part is, it’s such a short time family might be more willing to join in and help.

Speed Cleaning has simplified my life as it is not something I dread as much compared to a huge clean-a-thon and makes it easier to clean in smaller chunks rather than tackling a disaster zone at the end of the week.

18. Meal Plan

If you only adopt one thing from this list, I highly encourage you to take up Meal Planning. And I am not even talking about Meal planning where you cook for three hours on a Sunday and eat the same 3 meals day-in-day-out. That’s not for me, although you may prefer that version of Meal Planning.

I am talking about Meal Planning where you select your meals for the week ahead and shop accordingly.

This allows you to:

a) Not have to stress about what to cook when you get home – you’ve already sorted that part out

b) You don’t have to rush off to the shops after work to buy groceries meaning you get home even later and still have to cook. That part has already been done.

c) You can save money as you will only buy what you need and plan to eat. This helps reduce food waste

Once you have seen how much just 10 minutes of meal planning a week can help you simplify you’ll never look back!

19. Be More Mindful of Photos by Deleting As You Go

Have you ever gone through your phone to look for one set of photographs only to see hundreds of blurry, poorly shot pics.

Yep? Me too.

So here I am going to suggest that rather than leaving these photos to take up space in our phones and clog up our phone, laptop or cloud memory that we get into the habit of deleting these unnecessary photos as we go.

If it takes 20 photos to get the perfect selfie, delete the other 19 that looked not as good.

Better yet, don’t take hundreds of shots in a day, just take a few and enjoy the moment without the camera. Curate your photo collection to only the best shots.

This can also be applied to anything that you want. If you are done with a to-do list get rid of it. Have an app you used once but aren’t happy with it? Delete it as well.

Keep only what you love and need.

20. Less is More

The Minimalists always say ‘less is more’, but what does that mean?

‘Less is more’ is about all the things that come about from having less.

It means less time spent cleaning because you have less decor to dust around
It means less photos to sort through as you only kept the ones that bring you joy
It means less time looking for your favourite lipstick because you only have your two favourites
It means less time finding an outfit that matches because you have a capsule wardrobe with only the clothes you love!

When you eliminate the excess: the decor you don’t love, the clothes that no longer fit you, and the overflowing makeup collection, you can simplify and claim some of your time and mental energy back.

21. Downsize Your Home

Downsizing your home is a very practical way to simplify your life.

When you have a smaller home you have less space to organise, upkeep, and clean.

You have less bills to pay like electricity to heat your space and can spend less money on furniture and decor.

You also have smaller rent or mortgage payments so you can choose to work less if that is your desire.

Bigger is not always better.

22. Eliminate Wasteful Spending

When you spend more intentionally you can simplify your life. Eliminating wasteful spending can allow us to eliminate unwanted clutter from our homes and ensure that we only bring what truly adds value into our homes.

Instead of buying every book that takes your fancy, only buy books as you are able to read them. You can always write a list for new books that you want to get when you are ready to read them.

Buy clothes to fill the gaps in your wardrobe rather than just grabbing anything at random because it is on sale.

Don’t buy anything for your home unless you know there is a need for it, or you have a designated place to put or store it.

By being more intentional with spending we can simplify our life and reduce the excess stuff in our homes that can add stress and anxiety.

23. Create a Morning Routine.

Having a morning routine can make all the difference in simplifying your mornings and having a good start to the day. The best part is it can be completely catered to you.

Avoid just waking up and looking at your phone or hitting the snooze button and take charge of your mornings. Even if it is just a small 10-minute window where you try and enjoy the start of the day.

Your morning routine might involve sitting and reading before starting the workday with a coffee or glass of lemon water. It might involve a workout, yoga, or stretching. You might get started on tidying up so you can come home to a tidy space later on in the day or dedicate your morning to journaling.

24. Create a Nightly Routine

A night routine can also help set us up for a restful night’s sleep and a stress-free morning.

You might choose to have a shower or bath before bed to relax and wind down.

Moisturise and have tea.

Set out your clothes and lunch for the day ahead so it’s one less thing to worry about the next morning.

You might choose to meditate or tidy up rather than do those in the morning.

This routine is something you can curate and tweak over time to see what is the best fit for you and help you simplify your nights.

I have recently started tidying before I go to sleep, getting my work clothes ready, and preparing my lunch, and have found this to be a huge stress relief come morning and a great and easy tool to help me simplify my life.

25. Have an Emergency Fund

I have never felt as at peace financially, as I have since having an Emergency Fund.

When you have money set aside for unexpected financial emergencies you take a weight off your shoulders that many of us carry around with us everyday!

Having an emergency credit card is not the same. It needs to be a saving’s fund set aside purely for financial emergencies.

Once you have one you will never look back or miss the days when you were potentially a moment away from financial stress.

This weeks comment question: What have you implemented to simplify your life? Let’s discuss this in the comments 🙂

Want to Simplify Your Finances?

If you want help to simplify your finances and spend your money with more intention so you can create your ideal life book in for your complimentary 15-min Q&A call to discuss how I can help you.

A Beginners Guide to the Minimalist Lifestyle: How Less Is More

Posted on November 10, 2020

A minimalist lifestyle can lead to more than just the removal ofclutter.

Everyone has to start their own Minimalism Journey somewhere. Everything you do in life is completely unique to your own experiences and circumstances and your minimalism journey is no different. Mine started with a cluttered drawer and realising how must frustration that one little stuffed drawer had on my stress levels. I had been feeling overwhelmed and anxious for some time in my home after filling it with many, many things over the first 6 years that I lived there. After realising I didn’t need all the excess I had accumulated in my home, I began to research how to declutter my home and where to start. This was when I came across the term ‘Minimalism’ and started my journey to declutter over half of mine and my husband’s belonging.

If you have never come across Minimalism before, Minimalism is a tool that you can use to create a more intentional life to reflect your own values. And it can help you in more ways than just decluttering your stuff. For me it changed the way I see my finances, it helped me to prioritise the things that were important to me and to walk away from the things that weren’t. It helped me to define my values and live a life that is truer to me, and one where I don’t feel the need to be stuck in a consumerism trap of trying to look fake rich.

If you feel the need to declutter your home, minimise and simplify, this blog is going to help you get started on your own minimalism journey so you can start living a more intentional life.

A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO MINIMALIST LIFESTYLE: HOW LESS IS MORE

1. Start Small
When it comes to the Minimalist Lifestyle you don’t have to let go of your Nan’s favourite ring she left you in her will or your most treasured shoe collection. The best place and easiest place to start is with the things that don’t add value to your life. This will help you over time to assess what does and doesn’t add value to your life and get to know what is just taking away from your home and your happiness.

Start off letting go of the things that you shouldn’t hold onto; throw out rubbish and receipts you don’t need, recycle notes you have lying around you no longer need for reference. Donate, sell or toss the clothes that don’t bring you joy, the ones that no longer fit, aren’t your style or that are damaged beyond repair. Let go of your uncomfortable or worn shoes, any need to go in the bin. If you’ve got heels that you can’t walk in and therefore you never wear them; let them go too. Recycle, donate or sell your old phones and any older model electronics you no longer use.

This initial introduction to minimalism doesn’t need to be hard or scary. It’s not about letting go of things you are going to regret later, but acknowledging what does get to take up valuable space in your home (and mind!).

2. Minimise in ‘Rounds’.
I found when minimising my things, the more and more I did it, the easier it got and the more I was willing to let go.
It’s kind of a ‘minimised effect’, when you start decluttering your stuff you have a lower tier of stuff – if you will – of less desirable stuff. But with each minimising session you will have a new low level of what is less desirable to you to keep. And gradually it gets easier and easier to let things go.

Once letting go of the stuff you no longer want that was broken, holey, too small etc this next review will be more about taking note of what you have. Maybe you will notice you have 10 pairs of jeans and can let some of those go. Or you will notice you have clothes you no longer feel good in, or that are no longer suitable for your lifestyle. These are the ones you can work towards letting go of now that you have built your decluttering muscle up a bit.

Of course if you prefer to jump in the deep end with you can do this in one huge decluttering sesh and pull off the bandaid quick; grab all your clothes and shoes and declutter them in one session, declutter all your bathroom supplies in one sitting and so on. But if you want to ease into the minimalist lifestyle, or have limited time to dedicate to decluttering, this is another approach.

3. Start assessing where you can apply minimalism in your life outside of your stuff

When you first start decluttering you might focus on the physical clutter, the stuff you can see: clothes, linen and books. But as you progress through your minimalism journey, it’s important to look at other areas in your life that could help you to live a more intentional life.

You might want to declutter your digital space by, Unsubscribing from emails, deleting “friends”, unfollowing or unliking accounts to be more selective with what is in your news feed. Or you might again rip off the bandaid and just delete your distracting apps altogether.

You might want to declutter your schedule to leave space for downtime and eliminate hobbies that no longer bring you joy or take up new ones that do.

Adopting meal planning can assist you to be more intentional with your grocery shopping to help you buy food more intentionally and reduce food waste.

Or you could start reassessing what you do and don’t spend money on and reassessing your budget.

When taking on a minimalist lifestyle, don’t just stop at the stuff. Use your newfound minimalism principles to guide you through all areas of your life.

4. Change your habits to reflect a Minimalist Lifestyle
Minimising the excess in your home is only the beginning of your minimalism journey. There are still entrenched behaviors to review and adjust in order to continue living a minimalist lifestyle. Here are some things you can do to change your shopaholic ways and buy with more intention:

Shop less often. Rather than hitting the shopping every break or day off you get, only go shopping once a week or if you can, try and stretch it out to once a month. It might not be something you achieve straight away but could be a long-term goal.
Find new hobbies. With your newfound time gained back from not hitting the shops as regularly and not having to maintain so much excess stuff in your home, you can open up yourself to adopting new hobbies such as joining a gym, hiking or taking a dance class. What’s that one thing you have always wanted to do but never had the financial resources or time to do it? Minimalism is the tool that is going to help you get there!
Only shop with a list. How many times in the past have you bought something only to realise when you got home you already had a similar shirt or the same shade of nail polish? I know I have done this too many times to count. But that was the old me. Now I am much more aware of what I do and don’t own so I can make more intentional purchases. Eliminate buying duplicated items and things you don’t need by planning ahead and maintaining a Wish List of items so you can shop with more intention. I keep my Wish List in my Trello App which is free to use, or you can use your favourite organising app. Just note things you want on the list and resist buying it for a specified period of time. Ideally a minimum of 24 hours, but if you can stretch it out to a month so you give yourself time to really assess if you truly need that item.
Implement shopping bans, you can do a no spend month where you commit to not buying anything for a month or you do individual bans such as; not buying any makeup until you have used up what you currently have, or not buying a new pair of shoes unless you actually need to replace a pair that you have. These alone are a great tool to help curb spending and put a barrier between you and any impulse shopping habits.
Focus on Quality over Quantity. Instead of focusing on buying as many items as possible at the cheapest price, focus on buying more quality items that you can keep for the long term. As you do this, you will find that your clothes and other household items will last longer, saving you time and money down the track replacing them.

5. Minimalist Lifestyle Rules of Thumb

Sometimes having some rules of thumb can help guide you and give you some perspective on where to start with your minimalism journey. Here are some that I have found the most helpful to help me live a more minimalist lifestyle.

101 Things to Declutter Right now – if you love a good decluttering checklist, you can download your free 101 Things to Declutter Right Now Checklist to get you started with your decluttering journey
Just In Case 20/20 Rule – The Minimalists have a very helpful rule that has helped me to declutter things I was unsure about letting go. The rule is that if an item is something you don’t think you will need but you are holding onto ‘just in case‘, if the item costs less than $20 and you can replace it within 20 minutes then you should let that item go. I know it seems crazy, you might think – what if I need it again, but the honest scenario is that you probably will never need it again. And if you did it probably will only be that 1 in 1000 items you have declutter that you need to replace and at $20 I think that is worth your sanity and having the home you want!
Would I buy this again? – One of the most helpful rules I have asked myself that helped me declutter things I was unsure about was this question: Would I buy this item again? And more than 99% of the time the answer is always no! If you wouldn’t buy something again, it helps you to realise that you don’t really need the item and that you can let it go. If it is under $20 it might even meet the 20/20 rule which gives you two reasons to let it go! 🙂
One In One Out – This rule is great to keep your clutter at bay over the long term. Each time you plan on bringing something home, plan ahead that you need to let one similar item go when you bring that item home. I.e. if you buy a new phone you should let go of the old one. If you buy a new pair of jeans, consider donating an older pair. It’s also a great tool to help you make more intentional buying decisions when you know that if you bring something home you will need to let go of something else in order to do so. That impulse buy might have some real consequences when you get home and need to get rid of something you love.
Experiences > Things – something most Millenials know well is that experiences are better than things. I came from a family that didn’t travel or attend many experiences like the theatre, concerts or anything like that. As an adult I have come to love all these experiences and will more often than not choose to spend my money on seeing a musical, going to a concert or paying for an experience over buying something that will just collect dust in my home or go unworn. At 33 I can honestly say I don’t really need more stuff so asking for experiences helps when it comes to minimalist gift ideas.
Minimise With Me Decluttering Course– If you want more support on your journal to minimalism and where to start check out my Declutter With Me Course, a room-by-room guide to help you declutter all spaces in your home and keep it decluttered! In this course I will give you tips on how to minimise each area of your home and how to keep it that way.

Well there you have it newbie minimisers! I hope this post has been helpful to you on your minimalism journey and will help you make long-term intentional decisions that make your life more simplified and happy!

Do You Want to Learn How to Spend Your Money With Intention?

If you want to take control of your financial future, stop stressing about money and learn how to spend your money with intention, book in for your free Q&A call to see how Minimise With Me Financial Coaching can help you gain clarity around your finances!

You can learn more about Minimise With Me Financial Coaching services here.

This week’s comment question: How did you discover the minimalist lifestyle? Please let me know in the comments below! 🙂

Minimalism

How to Declutter Your Digital Space and Limit Distractions

Posted on October 20, 2020

how can you limit distractions? Check out these suggestions on how you can minimise distraction and declutter your digital space. — Photo by William Hook on Unsplash.com

I have been on a bit of a mission as of late to limit some of the noise and distraction social media apps and other digital platforms have on my attention.

After watching the Social Dilemma on Netflix I felt even more motivated to take back a little bit of control when it came to my digital devices. I felt the need to implement some strategies to limit distractions brought on by these platforms.

After joining social media platforms as early as 13 years ago it was time to declutter my digital space and stop these apps from having so much of a hold on my life. They have taken our time, attention and more, for too long.

I unfriended people, unliked and unfollowed groups, unsubscribed and deleted things that were taking up digital space in my life. If you too are keen to limit distraction in your life I hope this post helps get you started in decluttering your digital space and taking back some of your time and attention so you can focus on better things and live a more intentional life!

Check out the 17 Ways You Can Declutter you Digital Space and Limit Distractions

17 Ways You Can Declutter you Digital Space and Limit Distractions

Unsubscribe from emails as they appear in your inbox.

If you see an email from a store or person you don’t want to receive emails from, open the email as soon as you see it and find the Unsubscribe option, usually found at the top or bottom of the email. Do this each time you get an unwanted email so you can curate your inbox as you go. Don’t forget to move non-important emails to your Social or Promotions folder or equivalent to only keep what is necessary in your inbox.

You can take this further by logging into your accounts like reward cards and changing your email preferences. I recently did this for 3 email lists I was on that were slowly sending me insane. I realised I had received emails every second day – or more, from these lists and it needed to stop! I went into manage my email settings and unticked the email marketing options and only allowed what I actually wanted to be emailed about. Alternatively, just unsubscribe from the list and limit distractions from these emails altogether!

2. Follow only your favourite blogs

I love keeping up with my favourite blogs, and other helpful tips that came into my inbox. But I realised that being subscribed to so many blogs and not having the time to read everything was causing me more stress and doing the opposite of adding value to me. Particularly when some emailed me every day and I was never, ever going to be able to read everything.

Instead, I selected a few of my favourite blogs to stay subscribed to and unsubscribed from the rest so now my email subscriptions are less overwhelming and the things I really find value in and enjoy reading. And ever since making these changes I have been reading a lot more blog posts that are more relevant to what I want to read which has been a welcome change.

3. Delete apps you haven’t used in the last 3 months.

If you have any apps taking up space on your home screen, it’s time to delete them. You can always reinstall it if you really need it back. Simply click on Settings and Apps on your phone menu and search the list for the apps you want to remove and select Uninstall on each of the Apps. This will declutter your phone screen from unused and unwanted apps and make it easier to locate the ones you do want to find.

4. Delete emails as you go

Emails can quickly get out of control and take over your inbox. A great way to stay on top of these is to delete emails as you go. Once you’ve picked up your lunch order, delete the notification email. Same goes for delivery email notifications, once the item has been delivered, delete any excess emails about the delivery you no longer need.

Don’t let your inbox get out of control by staying on top of your inbox day to day. It could just take one minute a day to delete unwanted emails and keep on top of that inbox number.

5. Put a time limit on your app use

The next time you are checking your emails or using your social media apps, set a timer on how long you can use them for. I just use my Fitbit Timer. Once the timer goes off, close the app and get back to more productive things!

Related Post: 6 Ways to Reduce Social Media Use in 2020

6. Delete your Friends list/Unfollow accounts

When was the last time you reviewed your Insta, Facebook or other friends/followers lists? If you have 1000 friends, followers or more, chances are you have too many and can’t possibly keep up with them.

I recently checked my Instagram account follows and realised I had over 1200. Many of them hadn’t made a post in two years. I have slowly been unfollowing accounts I no longer want to see posts from or inactive accounts to limit distractions, and look forward to my feed being more relevant to the accounts I still want to keep up with. This has been a fairly slow and painful process so I will certainly be more selective with who I follow in future.

If you feel that you have some excess follows and friends in your social media accounts, go through your list and delete or unfollow anyone that you no longer know or keep in touch with. That’s the old school “friends” you never spoke to and people from your past you have lost touch with and don’t see the need to rekindle those friendships.

Ideally, this will help to free up your news feed so you can see the posts from the people you actually care about.

Related Post : 25 Things You Can Do to Simplify Your Life

7. Unfollow Facebook Groups you no longer enjoy

It can be easy to join different groups on a whim without ever really participating or finding any value in those groups. Review your Facebook Groups and delete any that you are no longer interested in, particularly if those groups are no longer that active. When you have fewer groups you can free your digital space to participate in the ones that truly add value to your life.

I recently reviewed all the Facebook groups I was a member of to help limit distractions and unjoined any that I no longer found value in. Groups who go off-topic aren’t worth your time and attention so if you have any in your list, or find any you have joined where Admins are not monitoring the posts are appropriate to the group goal, just leave the group.

You can also unfollow groups as well to keep the posts from taking over my feed like groups tend to do. You can just view group’s post simply from the Facebook menu list and select Groups to see all the recent posts from each group in one place and keep them from saturating your home feed.

8. Delete photos when you have a spare moment

Digital photo albums can easily get out of hand when we are carrying around cameras in our pockets 24/7. To try and stay on top of these photos, get into the habit of deleting photos on a regular basis. Take advantage of any time you are waiting for your Doctor appointment or on a tea break to get on top of your photos.

Delete any that are duplicates, blurry or accidental shots with fingers covering the lens. Keep only your faves, it’ll be much easier to find the ones you want later with a more curated album. This is another thing that will take time so if you can just dedicate a few minutes each day when you have a spare moment to this you will eventually make a lot of progress.

9. Change your habits around taking photos

Once you start deleting photographs on your phone, you will wish you took at least half the ones you did. Deleteing these is a tedious process.

Take your digital minimalism a step further and implement steps to limit how many photos you take in the first place. Avoid taking 30 selfies to get the right one. Take one or two of the area and then put your phone away and enjoy the moment. This means you can limit distractions, be more present, as well as have more opportunity to remember your day or event rather than being on your phone the whole time and you’ll save yourself having 1000 of photos to sift through when you want to look at them. I currently have my down to 3555 photos that need to be reviewed and organised – wish me luck!

10. Delete your downloads folder regularly

Download folders can often go unchecked, but not anymore. Delete your download folder on a regular basis to know the amazing feeling that comes with an empty download folder! File what you need where appropriate and get rid of the rest!

11. Back up your phone photos frequently

Declutter your phone storage by backing up your phone photo albums regularly and then delete your phone storage once it has been backed up. This will keep your phone working fast and mean you have all your photos backed up in case it is lost or stolen. You can set up your photos to automatically sink when WIFI is on to do this without you having to remember.

12. Put your phone down

This is one many of us no longer seem to do. My husband and I have a phone policy if we are together having a meal our phones are put away. And I can’t tell you the number of people we have seen whilst we are out having dinner looking at their phone constantly whilst the other partner either sits there bored silly or are on their phone as well. Be present in the moment with who you are with and save your browsing for other occasions. It’s rude and disrespectful to the person who is across from you. Limit distractions and put the phone away.

But don’t stop there, put your phone away as much as you can and instead do something that adds to your day; take a walk, read a book, meditate, do that thing you have been procrastinating. I’ve recently adopted going for walks on my tea break and leaving my phone at my office. I can instead focus on me and my walk and what I can hear and see around me.

No one wants to look back on their life and realise they spent most of it browsing social media. It has a hold of most of us on some level so the little things we can do to limit that pull to use our phones, such as putting it away will go a long way to helping curb that addiction to our phones.

13. Turn off App notifications

When I first got my new phone, I was constantly bombarded with notifications from social media apps about every little thing they could possibly bother me with. After a few days of this, I’d had enough Instagram and facebook notifications and went into my app settings and realised my apps were all set to notifications ‘On’, which of course is the default setting. I turned everything off, and now only have text messages, Messenger and email notifications turned on.

You might even take it a step further and turn off your email or all message notifications and instead check those as set times in the day like Lauren, from the Millenial Minimalists suggests. This is a great way to limit distractions and remain productive for longer.

14. Turn off In-App notifications

If you have done the above, don’t stop there, there is more to be done! How many times have you logged into facebook to see 20 odd notifications about absolutely nothing in particular? Comments on a post you commented on, an event your friend is interested in, blah blah has an account you might like to follow.

The noise never seems to stop but there is something you can do to turn off as much of it as you can, without having to delete the app altogether.

When you are on Facebook, if you receive a notification, click the three buttons at the side to turn those notifications off each time they appear. Over time you should receive less and less of them. There are still limitations here but it will go some of the way to eliminating pointless notifications.

And if you are receiving notifications on a post you commented on and no longer want to be notified, simply go to that post and click the three dots to the top right and select ‘turn off notifications for this post’.

15. Unfollow Facebook pages you no longer find value in

I joined Facebook back in 2007 which means to this day I like some random pages I am not even aware of and I am sure there are some lame 2007 pages like ‘I like walking in the rain’ or some crap ‘;) .

Unfortunately, Facebook is not about to make unfollowing these Pages too easy for us so this one takes a bit of work. I have decided to unfollow pages as I see posts on my feed that I don’t care for, to curate my feed over time. Over the past few weeks I have noticed since doing this and unfollowing groups and friends my newsfeed has more interesting content so I can keep up with the posts I actually care to see.

16. Take opportunities to put your phone away

Leave your phone at home when you take a walk, put your phone away in a drawer when you are at home so you won’t feel the urge to keep it in your hand. Keep it in your handbag when you are dining out with someone and give them your undivided attention. And that doesn’t mean on the table where you can still see it blinking! No one can resist the allure of that blinking light.

The less that phone is in your hand, the less chance that incessant flashing blue light will have of distracting you from the important things you want and need to do.

You can take it a step further and do The Minimalist’s Screenless Saturday where you avoid using your phone for an entire day.

17. Avoid taking on too many social media platforms

There will always be the new ‘it’ social media platform, and using all of them is only going to eat up more and more of your time. I personally have Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube for personal use and my blog accounts, and I promise you that takes up more than enough of my time. I am not about to add more to that distraction-zone!

I never got around to getting a Twitter account, Snapchat or the latest TikTok and I am completely okay with that. I don’t need to be on every single platform and either do you. Use the platforms that you enjoy and that add value to your life and delete the others. Or just avoid adopting them all together and take some of your life back!

**This week’s comment question: I would love to know what strategies you have implemented to declutter your digital space and limit distractions! Let me know in the comments.**

Freebies Minimalism

7 Day Simplify Challenge to Simplify Your Life

Posted on June 2, 2020

Are you keen to #simplify your life and clear some of the excess, but you struggle for time? Here are 7 Day Simplify Challenges for you minimisers, to help you get started on your minimising journey.

Each day of the week there will be a little challenge for you to do to simplify your life. These are designed to be quick, minimal challenges that can be done in as quick as fifteen minutes or less.

If you are keen to minimise the excess you should give the 7 Day Simplify Challenge a go 🙂

7 Day Simplify Challenge

Day One : Declutter Clothes

Day One’s challenge is to declutter some of your clothes

Go through your wardrobe and drawers and pick out 3 items to get rid of that either:

Don’t fit you
Are no longer in ‘your style’
That don’t bring you joy
Are Torn or beyond repair

Of course, if you feel motivated to get rid of anything more than that, go for it!

Day Two: Unsubscribe

Day Two’s Challenge is:

To Unsubscribe from three unwanted email mailing lists.

Of course, if you feel motivated to get rid of anything more than that – go for it!

Day Three: Delete Apps

Day Three’s Challenge is: To Delete any apps on your phone that you no longer need or use.

It’s time to clear up that phone background and get rid of those apps that are adding no value to your life!

Day Four : Declutter Beauty Supplies

Day Four’s Challenge is:

To get rid of any beauty products you don’t need.

Let go of anything:

you bought but didn’t like
that has expired
that is empty
that you no longer need

If you have anything new that you don’t want, see if you can donate it to a friend or local charity!

Day Five : Clean Out Your Fridge

Day Five Challenge is: To clean out your fridge!

Let go of anything:

that has expired including leftovers that weren’t eaten

anything that is empty
Whilst you are there give any spills a quick wipe and put like items with like items so you can easily find them to use em up next time.

Don’t forget to make a mental note, of what needs to be used up over the next few days so it doesn’t end up in the bin!

Day Six : Clean Out Your Pantry

Day Six Challenge is: To Clean out your pantry.

Throw out anything that has expired
Top up any near-empty containers or spice jars
Throw out anything that is empty
Do a quick tidy of things and put them back where they belong
and if you have the time, give your pantry a quick vacuum and wipe down!

Day Seven : Tidy Up Outside

Day Seven’s final challenge is: To tidy up your outdoor space.

Throw out anything that needs to be in the bin
Move anything back to where it belongs.
Do the things you need to do: weed, trim dead leaves off plants, & give your plants a much-needed water
Wipe down the table, chairs, and any cobwebs so you can come out and enjoy your space!

Good luck with the challenge, Minimisers!

And let me know how you went with Simplify Challenge when you are done! I would love to know:

How much did you end up minimising?
Did you find value in this challenge?
Would you like more of them like this one?

Do you feel that you have done a little bit to simplify and love your home more? Let me know in the comments

If you found value in this post I would be super appreciative if you could share it with others who might also find value in it 🙂

Minimalism

15 Intentional Ways to Simplify in 2020

Posted on January 26, 2020

A coffee cup on a bed with sheets. A cosy space.

We are often running on autopilot. With work, social commitments, hobbies, exercise, cleaning and kids in the mix there is little time left over to take a step back and access what we can do to reduce anxiety and stress and what changes we can make to simplify our lives. Sometimes it is not until a really overwhelming and stressful period that we even realise we are taking on too much, developing habits that are bad for us and we might need to reassess our current habits and lifestyle and the people and things around us.

We can all use more tips to simplify our lives and live a more intentional life so here is 15 to simplify in 2020 for you to try out.

**This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase of a product from the links in this post I will receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This allows me to keep my blog advertisement free and support the running costs of my blog. I only recommend products I believe will add value to others and that I love myself.**

15 Ways to Simplify in 2020

Get more sleep

Some people say they can live with a handful of hours of sleep a night. I am not one of them. If I don’t get at least 6.5 hours a night of sleep, than I am useless. When you don’t get enough sleep, it creates chaos in your day. You end up sleeping in late and being rushed. You’re irritable and unmotivated. You might even end up needing a nap at some point later in the day so less gets done. Simplify in 2020 by making it a goal to get more sleep! Even if it is just an extra half an hour a day, it can make all the difference. I recently invested in a Manta Eye Mask and it’s now my must have every night to get a good night’s sleep.

Ditch toxic friends/family

Do you have a friend, family member or other relationship who adds unnecessary stress and drama to your life? It might be time to say goodbye to those relationships. Whether it is leaving a toxic work environment, breaking up with a partner who doesn’t have the same values as you or letting go of the friendship you seem to always be holding together. Set yourself free from those who are weighing you down and bring toxicity and drama to your life. Even if it is just you finally setting appropriate boundaries for relationships.

If you have people in your life who choose not to respect your boundaries, people who continually make bad decisions and expect you to pick up the pieces, people who cause you constant anxiety and headaches, or even just someone that doesn’t seem all that interested in having you in their life anymore, it might be time to say goodbye to those relationships for good. Life is too short to spend with people who don’t appreciate you and take advantage of you.

Start looking after yourself

Do you need to do more to look after yourself? I know I can often find myself choosing between practicing for the next gig, writing a new blog post or having an hour to myself and it has taken me a long while to realise that sometimes productivity and other goals need to take a back seat to my own self care.

Simplify in 2020 by starting to look after yourself. Use that gym membership you are paying for, go for a small walk everyday, read a book you’ve had on your read list for too long, drink more water, book in that dental check up even though you prefer to put off those visits. A little effort goes a long way. And trust me, when you hit the big 3-0, your body is going to insist you make better choices :p

Declutter the clutter you’ve accumulated in 2019

It’s time to say goodbye to the clutter that’s been impeding the enjoyment of your space and making clutter eyesore hotspots in your home. Simplify your life in 2020 by letting go of the excess in your home! Let go of the clothes you no longer love, donate the excess Tupperware you don’t have space for and say goodbye to the books you know you are never going to read.

A good rule of thumb is, if you haven’t used it in 12 months out it goes. If you need the extra cash you can sell your clutter otherwise bag it up, get it in your boot and drop it off to your nearest donation bin or charity as soon as you can.

Watch less TV

I absolutely love my TV time, I am a #NetflixandChill girl at heart, like any other millenial but I decided to simplify in 2020 by reducing the amount of TV I am allowing myself. Instead, I am going to the gym three times a week. I’m minus 1.5 hours a week of Netflix but feeling great knowing that I am better utilising that time!

Have a think about how much time you spend in front of the black box a week and how much time you would need to dedicate to a new goal of yours – whether it be to hit the gym, read more books, work on some craft or DIY projects or learn a new language. Even if you can cut out just 30-60 minutes a week of TV there is a lot of value adding activities you can squeeze into that new found time! Give it a go! And let me know in the comments how much screen time you gave up and what you replaced it with!

Set small goals

Simplify in 2020 by setting yourself some super achievable small goals. As the saying goes, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

If you have a goal in 2020, such as reading more, set yourself a super easy to achieve target such as sitting down every day at 3pm to read for fifteen minutes. Set your timer and go! If 7pm works better for you – go for it! Maybe you can squeeze it in while you’re in the car at your kids dance practice or get up a little bit early in the morning. The key is to find a time where most days you are able to do that activity.

Maybe you want to learn a new language for your upcoming holiday, how about you do just two Duolingo lessons a day which take at most 10 minutes!

If you want to learn new recipes, set a goal to try one or two new recipes a month! Throw that ambitious once a week goal in the bin and make the goal so easy to achieve that you can’t possibly fail!

Buy less

The more we buy and bring into our homes the more effort we need to put in to maintain these items.

Simplify in 2020 by aiming to buy less. Spend less time shopping, less time researching, less time rearranging things to fit in the cupboard, less time cleaning said items whether it be dusting, washing etc. And save future your from the chore of decluttering any excess later on! And a great bonus – you’ll save lots too!

You might consider doing a No Spend Month as an extra challenge to take in 2020 to help you curb your consumer spending. Even if just for a few weeks of the year.

Create space in your schedule

A few years ago I was completely overwhelmed by my schedule. I worked full time as well as a second job on Sunday nights. I was studying for my CPA, playing in a band and had moved out of home so had all the cleaning, cooking, washing, socializing and so on to squeeze in as well.

Since then I’ve learnt the importance of creating space in my schedule. I looked at what was and wasn’t a priority and reworked my schedule to reflect that. I quit my second job and realised that more time was more important to me than more money. I became more selective of what I said yes to and acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly keep squeezing 3 or 4 social gatherings into 2.5 days on top of house work and some much needed downtime.

My new routing involved planning ahead in my schedule and blocking out dates or times to create space in my schedule. This means that our weekends are no longer consumed by multiple social gatherings where we have no time to rest after a big work week. Time to rest is factored in every single weekend.

You can simplify in 2020 by doing the same, creating times booked into your calendar to recharge. I use Google Calendar for this. As events get locked into your calendar, be sure to add in some block out zones for your sanity. If Friday night is a friends party, it might be work keeping Saturday night free. If you have a few mid week catch ups scheduled and know it will be a stressful period at work, maybe that week you keep the weekend relatively free.

Declutter your digital space

A cluttered digital space can cause you unnecessary frustration and stress. Take the time every so often to review your digital space and remove anything that is not adding value. Delete apps that you no longer, or never use. Delete blurry or bad photos and keep only the quality shots. Delete memo notes you no longer need and review any to do list items that you can clear off. Do the same for your laptop or PC. Don’t forget to unsubscribe from social media accounts or emails that no longer add value.

Tidy your pantry

Your pantry is something your family will access multiple times every day. A disorganised pantry can make meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking harder than it needs to be. Not to mention, not being able to see what you need can make you waste more money and food!

Whether you have large or short window of time, set your timer and get started tidying your pantry. Even if you only have fifteen minutes you can make a lot of progress in a short space of time.

Throw out anything that has expired. Usually you know at a glance what has been sitting in your pantry for too long
Put any open packets into storage containers to keep the food fresh
Group like items so they are easy to find
Give the shelves a quick vacuum and wipe down. If you are short for time just do a spot clean

Declutter Makeup

Less is more when it comes to make up. Simplify in 2020 but going through your make up stash and tossing anything that is empty or that you no longer use. Keeping only the makeup you use and love will make getting ready a lot easier and keep your makeup storage area much easier to keep tidier.

In 2020, consider a more minimalist approach to buying makeup, by only purchasing makeup to replace items as they are used up. Most make up items have an expiry of 18-24 months so the less you buy, the more chance you have of using up what you do have within the expiration period.

Set up a donation box in your wardrobe

A great way to donate items, especially for those too busy to dedicate a lot of time to decluttering is to set up a donation box in your wardrobe so you can declutter as you go. Each time you pull something off the coat hanger or put something back from the wash you can make a decision about whether it is something you want to keep, or something you want to let go of.

The easiest way to simplify and declutter for those short on time is to do it as you are assessing the piece. When you are trying on a piece of clothing that no longer fits, that is uncomfortable, or is simply no longer your style you can easily toss it into your clothing bin and donate it when it gets full. You can of course chuck anything else in to donate from around the house that you come across that needs donating as well.

Declutter your jewellery collection

Too much jewellery can add too many decisions to getting ready every day. Review your jewellery collection and donate anything that you no longer wear or love. Let go of mismatched earrings, discoloured jewellery or anything that is no longer in your style. Group like items together so you can select what you want to wear as you get ready at a glance.

And as with your makeup collection, consider limiting how much jewellery you buy going forward. Consider a jewellery ban for a period of time where you don’t add anything to your collection or set a one in one out rule, where you can only bring a new piece in if you have let something else go.

Don’t forget to be honest with yourself and only keep the jewellery you will wear that you still love. If you have a collection of rings but only enjoy wearing your wedding set, let the others go to someone who will love them

Organise your paperwork

Papers can easily multiple once they come through your front door, before you know it you have too many papers piled up and don’t know where to start. Simplify in 2020 by limiting what comes into your home in the first place:

Putting a no junk mail sign on your letter box can go a long way to stemming unwanted mail.
Sign up for email statement listings for your accounts to reduce paper mail being delivered to your home that requires filing.
Set up a paper station for items you need to Action, File, Scan and Shred. Try and get to this pile once a week for action items and once a month for the Scanning, Shredding and filing so you piles don’t become Mount Everest!

Once you have limited what paper is coming through the door it will be a lot easier to manage and you will have less physical paper to action and sort.

Lastly, scan your receipts when you get home from shopping. I simply take a photo and upload it to a Receipts folder in Google Drive and recycle the original. Or grab a box for receipts and go through and scan them once every now and then to keep on top of them. You will never misplace a receipt again and will tackle your paper clutter before it gets too out of hand and feels too overwhelming!

Create a chill zone

Simplify in 2020 by creating a ‘chill zone’ space to unwind. It can be as fancy or simple as you like, for me it is just my lounge recliner where I keep a throw blanket and candle nearby, and some comfy cushions. It’s a place I can go to, to unwind, read a book or some articles.

Keep everything you need nearby so you aren’t running around grabbing things and getting distracted on your way to the chill zone (Oh look – mess! Let me just clean that up…).

Depending on your home, you may have a room for this or just a small nook in your lounge room, or just a chair somewhere in your home. It’s a space where you can get away from the dishes, laundry pile and anything else that is distracting you so you can unwind.

Want more tips on how to Simplify?

For more tips on how you can simplify your life check out these 9 tips and these 15 in this post.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Comment Question: I would love to know how have you simplified your life? Let me know in the comments!

If you found value in this post I would be super appreciative if you could share it with others who might also find value in it 🙂

Minimalism

How We Do Our Minimalist Christmas

Posted on December 18, 2019

Christmas gifts laying on a wood floor with a dark blue painted wall and green christmas tree cuttings placed around

Inspired by J. Money’s post earlier this week, Are you done with your Christmas shopping already?! and his families ‘gifting habits’, I thought I would throw together a post on our Christmas Gift Giving and attempt at a Minimalist Christmas.

Of course, these are our Christmas traditions and gifting ideas, and your gifting traditions don’t need to reflect what we do, and likewise, we won’t do that same as your family. I just think it is cool to see what other people’s Christmas gift giving traditions looks like! So here we go!

Our Minimalist Christmas

Who we buy gifts for: Our nephews (4), step nephews (8), step nieces (2), parents & step parents (6), siblings (4), grandparents (2)

So essentially we buy gifts for everyone in our entire immediate family. We have a reasonably big family so that’s 26 in total. (Or maybe that is considered small to some? hehe).

Who we don’t buy gifts for: Friends & Colleagues. Sorry to our friends & colleagues, but buying 26 gifts twice a year or more is a job in itself! I even opted out of my works Secret Santa and have done so for most of the recent years. John Smith who works down stairs and I have never spoken to doesn’t need a gift from me 😉 and I don’t need some random knick knack either.

Donations: For the past three years I have donated bags to the Share The Dignity #itsinthebag promotion and contribute to my works Salvos Christmas appeal.

What about for us?
When it comes to my husband and I we have a Christmas budget of $150 each to spend on each other. To some that will see like a lot, and to others that will seem like not much at all. To us it is a reasonable amount that won’t hack into our savings too much, but gives us enough to afford something we really want or need 🙂

Personally, I usually struggle to spend it all, as my birthday is two weeks after Christmas so at least by my birthday, my gift list is looking pretty empty.

This year my husband wanted some pricey Chilli sauce and European beers – which was fine with me. Consumables are the secret to this Minimalist’s heart! And I always find it so funny, when my husband often appears to be a bigger minimalist than me! (Maybe he is?! :p)

And for myself?

My Christmas gift is usually just a concoction of things I have seen over the months leading up to Christmas that I want or need. More often that not I will just buy what I need when I need it, but I do try and save a small number of items to put on my Christmas List as I know how much easier it is to just ask someone what they want, rather than trying to guess, and I certainly appreciate when others help me in the gifting process to know what they would find value in.

As a minimalist I am not keen on having people guess what will add value to my life, and I certainly don’t expect my husband to read my mind so this year we went shopping together for what I picked out.

I’m pretty boring and consistent and generally ask for the same things each year, my gift list usually looks something like this:

A new handbag or wallet to replace my old one. I buy one handbag a year and carry the kitchen sink around in it, so by years end it is usually a bit ‘how you goin’
A new pair of pajamas. I am the girl that will recycle old shirts as pajamas until the end of time, but once a year (or so) I will spoil myself with a new pair of pajamas
A small block of my favourite Lush soap
A lovely scented candle
A book I really want (it’s usually the only physical book I will buy the whole year)
Something zero waste I have been keeping my eye one (this year it is a safety razor)
Chocolate, I buy a sneaky box of my favourite Quality Streets. Yum! 😉 I’m a big kid at heart so decided to do a Chocolate hunt on Christmas day last year which is a tradition I think this chocolate lover might just keep 😀

Minimalist Inspired Gifts

Where we can, we will try to gift Minimalist Inspired Gifts. We try and avoid gifting things we don’t think our loved ones will absolutely love, I know the guilt of holding onto an unwanted gift so if something I really want to avoid doing to anyone else as much as possible. We aim to give things that won’t take up a lot of space (especially for the kids!), or potentially add to clutter especially when we know a loved one has recently downsized. We also keep in mind that the perfect gift is not something you will necessarily find in store! Or at least that is what we believe.

More often than not we will gift the following minimalist inspired gifts:

– Consumables: Chocolate, Alcohol, Christmas Confectionery stockings etc

– Movie vouchers

– Money – generally given with the intention it is used for a meal out or travel or an experience.

– Our time – we offer to babysit our nephews for the day and take them out

– Experiences – We take the kids to a movies for some quality time

If you want more ideas for Minimalist Gifts you can check out some others I have thrown together here and here

Keeping Organised at Christmas

With such a large family, I like to start our Christmas Shopping List as early as possible. I already have a bit of a list going by early November and add to is as I go. I use this Christmas Shopping List to keep track of who we need to buy for, what we are buying, which store to get it from, the budget and the actual cost, and of course have a check box to tick off and feel all those good vibes!

Every year it is my goal, for my sanity to finish Shopping before Dec 1st! I was a little bit behind this year as I got hit with an unrelenting virus, but didn’t finish too far off the finish line.

I used to shop up to Christmas Eve in the past and just found it super stressful, especially when you have to deal with parking, crowds etc. It was not enjoyable at all, so now I like to keep the lead up to Christmas as relaxing and stress free as possible and find finishing shopping earlier is just something that adds a lot to Christmas and is worth starting early. (Let me know when your Christmas shopping “deadline” usually is in the comments!)

New Christmas Gift Giving Traditions

If you want to start some new Christmas Gift Giving Traditions and minimise the number of gifts you are buying, or the amount you are spending on gifts at Christmas, you may wish to give these a try, or create your very own!

Something you Want, Need, Wear, Read – This gift tradition is a great way to not go overboard at Christmas with your kids, but still give them a selection of things they want and need. Let them pick out one thing they really want, and you can skip the excess, poor quality ones that will soon be across your floor.
Experience, Toy & Book – Mix up your kids gifts with a memory to create together, something they can keep and play with and a book to read many times together. Or any other combination you can come up with! Maybe yours will be consumable, new quilt, new pajamas, new book, new toy x 3. Or anything you like!
Experience/Holiday – you may choose to skip out on gifts all together this year and instead spend your money on a holiday or experience for your family to share that will create memories for many years to come, long after the usual toys are broken or no longer played with.
Secret Santa – If you have a large family, a Secret Santa is a great way to give one good, quality gift rather than many smaller, less quality gifts. Simply set a budget everyone is happy with and draw a name out of a hat.
Opting out of gifts for adults – Gifts for kids only – This can be a slightly more controversial option for some families as some people are adamant about keeping the gift giving tradition up for adults, but this one I believe does makes a lot of sense, particularly if you have a lot of kids in your family or even just a huge family.

When You Can’t Afford Christmas

If you are struggling financially, or even just gazelle intense with paying off your debt, and splashing out on gifts this Christmas is not an option, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to turn up empty handed to Christmas and feel like you’re going to miss Christmas.

There are so many things you can do together to make Christmas as special as ever, even without having a pile of gifts to open at Christmas.

Here are some frugal ways to still enjoy Christmas with your family:

Bake Home made cookies together or make Christmas Bark
Play board games as a family
Grab some Christmas themed books at a thrift store to read together each night
Watch a Christmas movie in the nights leading up to Christmas
Go Christmas light looking around your area.
Make some Christmas themed arts and crafts together like Christmas wreathes , or Santas with paper plates and cottons balls you have left over.
Go to your local Christmas carols event

And some extra frugal gift ideas for your family they will love:

If you are artistic, gift them a drawing or painting
make a DIY Scrub or face mask
Gift them a DIY gift, Brittany from Vasseur Beauty has some amazing ideas in her video
Bake some home-made cookies, hot chocolate or Christmas Pudding
Find a second hand book in the thrift store that they will love
Give a home cooked meal
Gift your time: Babysitting, something you can teach them
Walk around your house and see what you can gift e.g. repurpose a spare picture frame with an inspiring quote you printed off

[Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash]

This weeks comment Question: What are your holiday gift giving traditions? Have they changed over the years? Let me know in the comments!

If you found value in this post I would be super appreciative if you could share it with others who might also find value in it 🙂

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