How to Own Less Stuff: 10 Simple Strategies For Minimalism
The beginning of the journey of minimalism can be confusing and overwhelming. Once you decide to maintain a minimalist home, the next obvious question is: how do I own less stuff? Today I want to share with you some simple strategies that will allow you to declutter your home and own less stuff. Let’s dive in!
How to own less stuff
1. Be grateful
Understanding and appreciating what you have will help you feel more content with your home and with what you own. This is what makes you stop craving other things and desiring to fill a void that you do not need to fill. So make sure to utilize your belongings to the maximum, realize how they enrich your life, and be grateful.
2. Get a vision for your space
Be mindful of the space within your home. What is it meant for? What is important about it? How are you going to use it? What should this space definitely contain? This helps you to visualize your minimalist living aesthetic and to know what you are working towards.
Once you know what is important within each space, you will know which items you want to keep and which ones you are willing to let go of, because you know that they do not serve that purpose and do not add anything to your life.
3. Declutter regularly
This goes without saying, really. Creating a minimalist home is not a one-time action, but rather the creation of a habit of maintaining it. If you are trying to keep a minimalist home, the key and easiest rule you can have is decluttering regularly.
4. Go for quality over quantity
Think about the purchases you are making and consider whether they are going to give you true value. Is it going to pass the test of time? Is it going to really add something to your home or to your wardrobe? Is it going to serve its purpose well?
By rethinking what you need, you are breaking the cycle of overbuying. Think about the quality of the item and only buy things that last, so that you will not have to keep buying them regularly.
Internally, this will give you a bit of a mindset shift. Investing in key pieces is going to create a very different look in your home. It is going to help it look a bit more put together and more curated, which is the quality look that you are looking for.
5. Adopt a “one in, one out” policy
The easiest way to maintain the level of items within your home is to decide that anytime you bring something in, you then let something go that is of similar standing or similar usage. This way, you know you are not keeping duplicates and not adding to excess within your home.
6. Wait before purchasing
Ideally, you want to wait a month before purchasing. This will help you make sure that this item is truly something you need rather than just something that you want. It will also help you consider whether or not you got the best price, if you are going to use it, if it is going to add purpose to your life.
Waiting will help you to think about whether or not it is an important item to buy, and that is a very important question to ask yourself before every purchase.
7. Develop a capsule wardrobe
Getting key pieces that work really well in a mix-and-match scenario will help you to keep a really structured style. This means your wardrobe is so much easier to maintain, you do not have to spend hours putting together looks, and you get to develop your own sense of style.
8. Avoid sales and discounts
When the sales are on, it is so tempting to just go shopping and start impulsively buying unnecessary things on a whim. This is an easy trap to fall into.
Even though it may look like a good deal, chances are that what you buy is not something that has been on your list, but rather just another item that does not bring value into your home and your life.
So before going shopping, always make a list, and as mentioned earlier, do your best to wait 30 days to know that you really need it. That way, your shopping will be purposeful.
9. Avoid trends and trying to keep up
You do not need the latest and greatest gadget, you just need something that works. If your current items or devices still work, you do not need to update them with your next contract.
Think about just keeping on top of the things that you need and replacing things when they break, rather than trying to get the latest and greatest thing. Utilize what you have and make the most out of that.
10. Stop replacing items unnecessarily
Before replacing an item, truly look into whether you actually need it. Are you sure you will use it again? Are you going to get the most out of it? Do you have other things that you could use up first before you replace the item that you really liked?
Think about how you use that item or whether or not it is really worth replacing, and avoid replacing it unless you absolutely have to.
How to own less stuff
I hope that my ten easy rules for owning less stuff will help you maintain a minimalist lifestyle and have an organized minimalist home.
What rules do you follow on your minimalist journey? What do you think is the hardest part of going minimalist? Let me know in the comments!
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