Minimalist living has changed my life for the better in so many ways, and it really has
transformed my life. And so in today's video
I want to share 10 minimalist life hacks with you that can help you on your minimalism journey.
I'm always interested in learning more about minimalism.
so
Please leave your minimalist life hacks in the comment section down below, so we can all keep inspiring each other.
The first minimalist hack is to avoid buying things that are fast trends or fads. So things that suddenly
take over, everyone
you know has one, but you know that they're not going to last.
So either you will get sick of it yourself and stop using it, or
it will just be not very useful in everyday life.
Or it will get out of style again as quickly as it became in style and then you have to purchase something else.
A few years ago
We had these necklaces that suddenly became insanely popular.
With a big coin as a hanger, and they were quite expensive and
everyone bought one. And this trend lasted maybe six months or so, and then afterwards no one was wearing them anymore
It's good business for companies to turn things into fast trends, because they know that people want to fit in.
They want to have what everyone else has, and they want to join in the trend.
So by persuading people to buy them, they make a lot of money. And we as consumers
are then stuck with a product in our home that we hardly ever use anymore.
Because it was only trendy for a short while. So it's just a waste of your money, your space, and also your energy.
Because it takes a lot of energy to make sure you're always keeping up with the latest trends.
So when you find that you want to buy something new, it's always a good idea to ask yourself why.
Why do you want to have this? Is this something that you can get a lot of use out of for a really long time?
That's high quality?
Or do you just want it because everyone else has one, and suddenly you see it advertised everywhere, and you want to join in?
So I actually almost never buy things that are very trendy for a short while, and I never feel like an outside or anything.
It's just basically a mindset of being happy with your life. No matter what stuff you have.
Next minimalism hack is to go paperless as much as you can.
The question I get asked the most is how to deal with paper clutter.
And of course there are ways to organize your papers that help you to keep your home clutter free.
But the most important thing is to try and go paperless as much as
possible. Because if nothing is coming in, then there's nothing for you to organize.
We did own a really bulky printer a few years ago, and I just really didn't like it.
So for the last few years, we don't own a printer. We don't have to deal with paper and ink and nowadays.
You don't really have to print anything out anymore. Most things are digital if you have tickets for something.
Usually you can show them on your phone.
So if I have to get something printed, which is like once a year max.
I go somewhere where I can get it printed. Also get your bills digital contact companies that send you mail to stop doing so.
Get apps on your phone to track your bills and your payments, and unsubscribe from catalogues.
So every time there's paper coming into your home, see if you can either
unsubscribe from it, or make it digital in the future. We hardly get any mail here anymore.
Maybe one letter every couple of weeks and that's it. So dealing with paper clutter becomes a lot easier this way.
Next minimalist life hack is to avoid buying things that need other things.
So what I'm saying is, if you are thinking about making a purchase.
But that would mean that you would also need to buy something else.
Because otherwise you either cannot use it, or it cannot make the most of it.
So very simple example, if you are looking at buying clothing and you find something that you like.
But you don't really have anything else to go with it in your current wardrobe.
So you would need to buy something else to go with it. I have done
this so many times in the past, where I thought okay, no problem
I'll go buy shoes
To go with it then. And then I either could not find the shoes
So I couldn't wear it, or I did find the shoes
but they were more expensive than I thought. And I just thought okay
well
I might as well buy two shoes then, because otherwise I cannot wear
this thing that I already bought, and that would be a waste of money.
So see where I'm going with this?
So whenever possible, if you buy something new, make sure that it is ready to go.
You can use it immediately and it doesn't need anything else. And if that's not possible
Then try and see if you can find both items before buying them.
So, you know what you're getting yourself into if you make both purchases. By the way, while I was filming this video
I thought of another tip, so an 11th
minimalist hack that
I want to share with you. And I'm gonna do that as a bonus at the end of this video.
Next tip for minimalist living is quitting impulse buys and making it a rule for yourself that you always have to wait at least
three days before making a purchase.
And for me
this has been the best change that I have made with regards to minimalism and it really helps a lot.
Stores know how to get you to spend. They use music, lighting
big aggressive signs that are everywhere, color schemes, to get you to spend as much money as
possible. And then when you go to the cash register
They have this section where there's all those little things that are like a dollar or two.
You can quickly add to your cart as well and online shops do this too.
So the best hack to protect yourself from this is to wait three days.
And I'm not saying that you cannot buy anything new ever of course.
It's totally okay.
But wait a while. And during this time you can ask yourself do I actually
really need this, or did it just look good in a store?
And if you feel after three days, you still want to buy it, then it's okay to go back and get it.
This next one is more like a minimalist mindset, and that is to stop comparing your stuff to other people's stuff.
Here in the Netherlands
We don't really have that comparison culture of our stuff, but I know that that is very different in other parts of the world.
So this is about realizing that you don't have to have the latest of everything all the time.
So if your friends or colleagues or neighbors have certain things
It doesn't mean that you have to want the same things as well.
It says nothing about you or your value as a human being if you make the conscious choice not to
pursue these things. And small things can really pay off.
So if you don't about your image as much then you might be perfectly happy with a cheaper car.
That saves you a lot of money. Or if you have an older phone
even though there are newer models out there, you can still be really happy with it and save yourself a lot of money.
For example because I have this old guy
I only have to pay eight dollars a month for it. And it does everything that I needed to do so I'm perfectly happy with it.
We live in a consumer world and people are obsessed with keeping up with it and keeping up with the rest.
But if you choose to let that go and just focus on yourself, focus on your blessings
It's surprisingly easy and you will end up saving a lot of money.
This next minimalist life hack is very simple yet very effective, and it is the one in one out rule.
I've talked about this before on the channel and it just makes a really good sense.
This means that if you buy something new, you have to get rid of something old.
So, okay. Let's say you want to buy a new tea mug.
That means that you have to be willing to let go of an old tea mug
to replace it with. And this makes sure that you are not adding on to your things and keeping your home clutter free.
But the thing I love about it even more is that it forces you to think
before you buy. So let's say that I see a pair of jeans I like
I have to be willing to let go of
something old to replace it with. So I have to think about the fact that is this really necessary
Does it add any value to the things that are already own?
Of course
This is a general guideline and it doesn't always apply, so you don't have to use it a hundred percent of the time.
But it is a good guideline to have. This next tip is a very important part of minimalist living and that is quality over quantity.
So if you want to live that less is more lifestyle and shop more intentionally
it makes a lot of sense to go for one quality item over five low quality items. And it may cost
a bit more, but it's always a good decision because it will last you way longer and it will be a better
investment over time. I do want to add something to this though. Because quality doesn't always mean more expensive.
On average, those really low quality crappy things are usually cheaper.
But the really high-end super expensive stuff doesn't always guarantee high quality.
So don't let yourself be fooled by the high prices thinking that it must be really good then. Do your research.
Read reviews about it, because sometimes the mid-range items are
just as good as the high range items from the fancy brands.
If you are the type of person who loves to shop and finds it really difficult to shop less
Then this next minimalism hack is to find your shopping triggers and try to avoid them as much as possible.
So some people are emotional shoppers. And they shop when they are stressed or sad or anxious or bored or
insecure. And if that is you, then it helps to identify this and make sure that you don't allow yourself to shop emotionally.
And this also means no window shopping and I include online shopping to this as well.
Just scrolling through pages and pages of things and getting them into your cart and then taking them out again.
And if you do go shopping, then protect yourself by writing a list and going searching for these items
specifically. And leaving the rest. I've said this before
But if you go out looking for something to want then you're always going to find something to buy.
So protect yourself and avoid your shopping triggers.
This next minimalist life hack will help you to keep your home clutter free and also avoid the
gradual build-up of stuff in your life, and that is to say no to the free stuff.
Just because it's free, doesn't mean it's free.
So what I mean by this is, just because you don't have to pay money to acquire the item
That doesn't mean that you are not paying for it. If the item is in your home
That means that you are paying rent or mortgage to store all your items.
You are also paying for it with your time and energy to keep everything clean and organized.
So even free things will end up being things that you are paying for.
So if you are lucky enough to get something for free that you really like and you find very valuable, then great.
Take it. And another way to kind of test this for yourself is to ask yourself
If you would have also bought it if it wasn't free. And if the answer is yes, then you know
you got a really great freebie.
And if the answer is no, then apparently you don't really find it valuable enough, and then it's a good idea to say no.
Last minimalist hack for today is to keep an inventory of your wardrobe. And this doesn't need to be a very
complicated one, it can be very simple.
It doesn't need to take up much time.
But it can really help if you just know what it is you have in your wardrobe, to
prevent you from getting that feeling of I don't have anything to wear, and then going out shopping. So you can do this super
professionally, just take pictures of all the items and catalogue them if you have that time and you find that stuff to be fun.
I usually just keep a very simple list with number of items that I have.
So I have the number of jeans, dresses
shirts, sweaters
everything that I have. And then if I like see a summer dress that I really like I can consult my list first and if
I see that I already have five dresses on there I can think okay
do I really need a six one then? And sometimes I will still see the value in getting it and I do, and
sometimes I will just be
reminded of the fact that I already have five and I don't need to go out buy a
sixth one. If you happen to know a good way of keeping an inventory of your wardrobe, maybe there's an app for it
I don't know, please share it in the comments with the rest of us.
Alright, so now for the bonus minimalist life hack and that is gift cards. Make sure to use gift cards as much as possible.
Because they are so handy
So for example
If your birthday is coming up, or the holidays are coming up people want to give you a gift
Ask for a gift card for a store that you would go to normally anyway.
So this way you can buy something that you really like yourself, and you might have even bought
Yourself spending money on it.
But this time you have a gift card and this way people can still give you a fun gift
You can even
What I always like to do is just take a picture of something that I bought with their gift cards
Let them know what I got with it. And also for my birthday that's coming up
I recently asked for a gift cards from
several people for a store that I like to go shopping at.
So that the coming year, if there is anything that I feel like I need for my wardrobe
I can first look in that store and use my gift cards. I have a video about
common things I don't buy anymore right here.
And right here is a video you want to watch before decluttering your home. As always
Please help me out by giving this a big thumbs up and subscribe to the channel.
Questions comments conversations down below, and I will see you all again soon. Have a great day. Bye. Bye
