How to Go Minimalist: 11 Simple Tips & Ideas

Ana Goldberg
by Ana Goldberg

I'm going to share with you 11 simple tips for how to go minimalist. You can also use these tips to freshen up your minimalist lifestyle. I will also tell you three bonus tips for staying true to your unique self without becoming a cookie-cutter minimalist.


A calmer, simpler, and more meaningful everyday life is often out of our reach only because we have too much stuff and even possess full closets, but we still want more of what other people have, and we don't, or what we are told we need to get.


We turn our time into money and money into things, and then we dump most of our things, never use them, or hate them for taking away our true selves. There is no magic solution to our deeper problems, but minimalism can become a great starting point for figuring out who we really are and what we need.


Automatic purchases

1. Question the activities that you do automatically

Question what you do by inertia, the things you were told to do, or you have forgotten why you're doing them in the first place. Doing nails, lashes, and hair; going to an expensive gym without even using all its benefits; or no longer enjoying a subscription box service.


Decluttering frees the space to see better where we are at the moment.

Clearing out lists

2. Clear out your lists

Clear your lists or boil them down to the best of the best. There are so many things to do, listen to, watch, and visit. The list can grow so overwhelming. I try to stay realistic and accept that I don't have all the time and energy in the world. Decluttering our excessive ambitions and plans can be so liberating.

Running barefoot on the beach

3. Rethink your values and their visual representation

What is success for you visually or regarding beauty or relationships? Is it printed bags or gold jewelry, or frequent vacations? Or a matcha latte? See where you rely solely on physical manifestations and why. Then maybe it's something that can be decluttered.

Decluttering "just in case" things

4. Part with your "just in case" things

I know this may sound counterproductive in terms of frugality, but really, how many times did you use your actual just-in-case things? I find it very liberating to address my inherited scarcity mindset and transform it.

Setting minimalist challenges

5. Have fun challenges regularly

A no-spend day, a cook with only what you have on your pantry day, six months without new clothes, a swap day, or any challenge works. Reducing possessions, decluttering, and saving can be so much fun.


Gamification makes even the most dreaded experiences enjoyable. Let's remind ourselves what it's like to be children again, at least in this respect.

Making cakes instead of buying them

6. Turn consumption into making

When you have the urge to buy, create something. Of course, it's very easy if you're a maker, but if you are not, it's still doable. Just get inspired and recreate outfits, for example, with what you already have in your closet.


Taking a photo of an item you liked immensely in the shop and taking it back home can be a cool trick of owning a thing without buying it. 

Setting money aside

7. Save and lay money aside every week

No matter how small the sum, $5, $20, or $100, any money will work for you long term. Turning saving into a simple routine will make it less intimidating and the goals more achievable.


The sums might seem like nothing to you at first, but after saving $100 by laying aside $5 a week, you will see how much joy and confidence it brings.

Drop of water

8. Let your challenging emotions out mindfully

Mindfully being constantly positive and sharing only good moments does not mean your life is like that. We tend to share the ups with others, but we keep the downs to ourselves, which can lead to heavy mental clutter. It's life, after all, and if we don't process its dark sides, we can miss the bright ones.

Simple pink flower

9. Focus on your own life, not on everyone else's

On so many occasions, social media makes us feel less, and then we tend to compensate for that through shopping. It's a vicious circle. Don't be afraid to declutter people online or offline. Sometimes it's just needed. The dashboard of your personality lies in your head and your heart, not in outside things. 

Don't overdo it

10. Don't overdo

Stay mindful of your own personal preferences and comfort things. For example, I love fresh-cut flowers, and I allow myself to buy them occasionally. Is it a waste of money? Maybe, but what a beautiful, fragrant, and eye-pleasing waste of money.


I have an old hard drive with tons of old movies and TV shows, and books that I will never declutter. It was a gift from my father, and although the hard disk is outdated and doesn't work well, I'm still keeping it because it's so precious. It helps me spend time offline enjoying something that my father recommended to me years ago.

Don't go 100% digital

11. Don't go 100% digital

We are now in such a race with AI and mindless digitization that our sense of reality is constantly challenged. Our physical presence needs to be celebrated, too, through something that you enjoy and love doing and that bears a special meaning to you.


Is it a creative hobby? Analog photographs, actual books, or a vast collection of spices? Try to simplify and shrink your possessions where it can be done without compromising your unique self.


For example, I don't like keeping all my photos digital. I love photo books, especially old photo albums. I regret not taking more of my old family photographs with me outside my home country.


How to go minimalist

We are all so different. Let's celebrate that. Feel free to share in the comments which aspects of minimalism resonate with you the most, your tips for how to go minimalist, and what you are just planning to try out.

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  • Joyce Lane Joyce Lane on Jun 26, 2023

    I appreciate that you are not campaigning for everything we own to be digitized and for us to destroy originals. Thank you. AI is NOT foolproof. Digital is a backup.

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