19 Easy Minimalist Tips to Simplify Your Living Space
I will share 19 minimalist tips that can help you simplify your space.
Even if you do not want to be highly simplified and live a minimalist life, there are some things that we can do to simplify our homes.
We can keep them manageable so that they don't overwhelm us.
1. Put things away
The first step you need to take is to establish a place for everything to belong. It will make it so much easier for people to find things when they need them because they know exactly where they are, and then they know exactly where to put them back.
2. Group like items
When simplifying your home, gather like items and consolidate them into one centralized location in your home or your space.
So what I mean by this is if you have things like light bulbs, batteries, pencils, pens, and even some medications, having them in a central area where everyone can easily find and access them is very helpful.
3. Fussy items
We all want our spaces to be comfortable and look nice, so we add throw pillows or cozy blankets, accent rugs, or thick drapery curtains. These things need to be cleaned and maintained, which can hinder us from doing other things.
4. Storage
Stop relying so much on storage. Storage gives us that false sense of security that if it fits in there, I can still keep it. We often have boxes or bins full of things we haven't looked at in years, and they're just taking up space.
5. Room to work
Have you ever felt the frustration of finding a parking spot? That's the same feeling we get when we have no clear horizontal surfaces.
If our counters, tables, and desks are filled up with clutter or just items sitting there, we can't use that space as a working space, which is what their intention truly is.
6. Piles
Stop allowing piles. Piles are the easiest things to create but are extremely difficult to eliminate once they've been created.
In a paper pile, that might be a bill or a form you'd meant to fill out, but you hadn't gotten around to it yet, so now you're searching through it, trying to find it.
It can be frustrating to go through these piles, so the best thing you can do is not make them in the first place.
7. Cheater spots
Give yourself some cheater spots. There needs to be a little bit of grace for ourselves. These cheater spots are meant as temporary holding spaces for a short time.
One that you are probably most familiar with is the dishwasher, which is a cheating spot to put dishes until you're ready to wash them. Choose spots that work for you.
8. Wardrobe
Pare down your wardrobe. It will help you simplify your space if you pare down all your belongings to a manageable level, but an excellent place to start is with your clothing.
So go to your clothing and decide what you are actually wearing now and what is stored there as a memory or something you hope to fit into eventually.
That extra space you create will make things so much easier for you and much simpler when it comes to picking clothing to wear for your day.
9. Color palette
Establish a color palette for your space or your home. You're looking for one primary base color and then a few accents to go along with it.
This will simplify things when you bring pieces into your space or home because you can evaluate if they work well with the color scheme.
10. Ten minute tidy
Do ten minutes of daily tidying. Ten minutes doesn't seem like a lot of time, but all these little moments added consistently will make significant progress in your space.
If you're starting with a lot of clutter, you might use the first five minutes of the ten to go around your space with a basket or a box and throw some items in there that could be decluttered or thrown away.
11. Container method
Utilize the container method. We're talking about containers making boundaries or limits on our belongings so they don't become uncontrollable.
Think about your dresser drawers or closet or if you have baskets like these containers, which can only hold so much. If it's not comfortably fitting in there, it won't work.
12. Knick-knacks
Get rid of knick-knacks. I don't know too many people who enjoy dusting. If you have a lot of knick-knacks and you're finding yourself frustrated with their care and maintenance, consider decluttering quite a few of them, if not all of them.
13. Efficiencies
Look for efficiency. Whether you are arranging your kitchen functionally or trying out some different furniture arrangements in your bedroom or living room, there are likely some little tweaks that you can make here and there to make your space more efficient.
14. Silent to-do list
Be aware of the silent to-do list. This is the principle that every single item in your space in your home will require some attention from you.
Whether you have five things to your name or 5,000, they will all silently ask for your attention. How many can you stand to listen to?
15. Shoes by door
Keep your shoes by the door. By keeping your shoes by the door, you're tracking in less dirt and grime into your space, which means you will simplify your cleaning routine.
It will also simplify the hassle of looking for things before you leave your house.
16. Personal care items
Limit the amount of personal care products that you keep. If you've tried something and didn't like it, it's best to eliminate them immediately instead of keeping them around.
Those bottles will occupy space in your cabinet where you need to access the things you use.
17. Furniture items
Evaluate the furniture pieces that you have in a space. A complicated setup with too many pieces or too large pieces can close in a space, making it difficult to clean or enjoy.
Likewise, not having the right furniture types can also be a problem. For example, having a small side table near the couch or chair to set up a drink or a book can help simplify a space.
18. Control
Control what you can control. Sometimes, we care more about something in our space or home than our other family members or roommates.
So control what you can control, realizing that not everyone else has the same expectations as you do; make your desires known, and hopefully, others will join in, or at the very least, they will appreciate what you've done.
19. Dreams
Make some dreams and take some notes. Maybe there are some things that you want to do with your space, but they can't be done immediately.
Projects take time and money, so if you write down an overall game plan and tackle one thing as you can, you will eventually get it the way you want.
Analyze and find the best ways that it can serve you, the best ways that you can simplify things that will work better for you.
Minimalist tips
With these minimalist tips, I'm sure you can simplify your space and home and learn to love it much more. What are you doing to live a more minimalist lifestyle? Share your tips in the comments below.
Next up, here's Everything You Need To Know About Swedish Death Cleaning.
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