8 Minimalist Challenges to Transform Your Life

1. No buy month

Spend money only on your essentials, such as rent, utilities, and food–the items that you need to function. Then ban buying anything else. The idea is not to spend any money unless you have to. This will stop a lot of extra stuff coming into your home which is half the battle when you are decluttering.

2. Limit makeup

Simplify your routine and you’ll spend less time putting on and taking off your makeup. If you only keep a bag of makeup, it makes it easier to keep track of what you need and you won’t buy excess items.

3. Keep surfaces clear

Keep your window sills, tops of cabinets, counters, and the dining table clear of clutter by putting everything away. This habit improves the visual clutter in your home. Less visual clutter is very calming.

4. Rotate toys

I highly recommend getting containers and storing half of the toys in one room. Store the bins in the attic or garage. Then once a month you switch the toys from the boxes out and put other toys in the bins for storage.

This rotation of toys will make playtime new and exciting for your kids. There is only so much they can play with, anyhow, so you don’t need an excessive amount of toys around all the time.

Kids go in phases when they play with toys, too. Maybe they will spend one month playing more with dolls or cars and the next month they prefer playing with another type of toy.

5. Meal plan

I do this a lot to prevent food waste and it saves money. If you have a lot of expired food, get in the habit of using up products that are near the end of their freshness or mapping out times to eat up food while it’s fresh. This helps you be mindful of eating healthier and this habit will reduce your impulsive urges to eat out.

6. Remove furniture

Sell or donate excess furniture so you can embrace the space around you. This was a hard habit for me. I had to fight the urge to fill up every empty space in my home. But empty space helps a room feel bigger, calmer, and more relaxing. It also gives children and animals more space to play and run around.

7. Switch off devices

Do this for a day or a weekend – you decide how long. Having no-contact and no-screen time so you can live in the moment will have a great positive impact on your mental health.

There are plenty of other things to do. Play board games, go out for walks, and get more adventurous with your activities. You’ll create amazing memories and become more connected with your family when you are purposeful and engaging with your time.

8. Have one of each

By this, I mean have one mug, one plate, one set of cutlery per person in your household. Then, get in the habit of using only your set. Wash your set right away after using it. This helps avoid dishes piling up and reduces the inventory of stuff you have in your cabinets.

Minimalist challenge

These are eight minimalist challenges to try to help you become more intentional with your daily life. I’m going to definitely try switching off my devices so I can get more connected with others.

Let me know in the comments if you try any of these, if you have a favorite, or which ones you find tricky to follow.