Blog, Minimalism

Minimalist motivation: How to stay inspired

If you’re looking to take your first steps towards a minimalist lifestyle, then you’re in the right place. Finding sources of inspiration to stay motivated whilst on your journey is a great idea, and it can be the difference between success and failure.

Minimalism isn’t hard – on the surface, at least. Though the truth is that many find it difficult to begin with. Here’s what to do if you’re beginning to lose hope whilst on the long path to declutter your world.

Minimalist motivation: How to stay inspired

The truth is that most people struggle with motivation when it comes to minimalism sometimes. Many of us spend our whole lives accumulating things that the idea of less stuff can be overwhelming, and the idea of continuing on that path indefinitely can stop you from even getting started.

It makes sense to take inspiration from other people that have taken the minimalism journey, but remember that it is all individual. However, here are the steps that I took when I first started minimalism – you may find that they help you too.

Step 1: Write a list of why you’re decluttering

We all have different motivators for wanting less. For me, I decided I needed to live with less when we moved in with my family and found ourselves buried in clutter. Digging out from out of that clutter has done so much more than just clearing out our rooms.

Clutter takes on many forms. We have cluttered rooms, cluttered schedules, and cluttered priorities. Wherever you are on your journey to escape clutter, it’s always helpful to find sources of motivation to keep you going.

One of the best ways to do this is by documenting the decluttering process in full, and writing down the reasons why you’re interested in minimalism in the first place. Some of the most common reasons why people turn towards minimalism are;

More Energy

One of the main benefits of the minimalism process is that you start to notice you have more energy. This can translate into more ideas, increased desire and can help you to create the life you want.

Life can be draining, but decluttering your home can help get rid of some of the draining aspects of our lives – even if that’s just reducing the amount of clothes you have to choose from. With minimalism, you decide to get rid of the excess, which can give you more energy to concentrate.

Many people also notice that they begin to have more free time, this can then give them more energy to put into things that really matter.

Save Money

Is your closet filled with clothes you don’t wear, or your house filled with gadgets that you rarely use? This is just an example of When you declutter, you’re also setting a precedent for the future, and most minimalists find that their overall spend drops drastically within the first few months, even without tracking budgets.

And if you spend money like it’s water, this could be something that you want to consider – your bank balance may thank you for it.

Increased Focus

Minimalism is intended to make your own life simpler, and for some people, it can be the key to success in their personal and professional life. This is largely because minimalism aims to take away the distractions around you so you can focus on what really matters to you.

That may be success in your career. For others, it’s wanting to be more present with their friends and family. Either way, if you do decide to declutter your house, you’ll likely end up decluttering your mind too, which often leads to a more increased focus.

Some people just prefer it

For all the positives of minimalism, the simple fact is that it just suits certain people more than others. There are obvious benefits to minimalism, but the truth is, it’s not for everyone. There’s nothing wrong with not being a minimalist, and it’s absolutely fine to stop minimalism at times throughout your life.

Figuring out why you want to commit to minimalism can definitely help increase your motivation in getting started, and it’s the first thing you should do, as it’s difficult to know whether it’s right for you.

Step 2: Start with one room or space

The easiest way to get motivated is by starting small. This can be done by just starting with your bedroom, living room or your closet. If you’re particularly struggling to find motivation to start the decluttering process, even just one piece of clutter per day could be enough to get you started. Over the course of a month, you’ll notice the difference once you begin.

Working through one room at a time will enable you to free up more space slowly as you gradually get less and less clutter. People tend to find the best room to start with as the bedroom, but you can also potentially start with your office room to, or even just the desk that you work on.

The more things you have in your workspace, the more it can distract you from maintaining focus. Simply getting rid of any distractions can have a massive effect on your ability to work hard, and doing so could be your first step towards minimalism.

Step 3: Get rid of junk first

You’ll often hear people that you need to get rid of “stuff” if you want a new life as a minimalist. I don’t know what the definition of stuff is, but in my mind, there’s a difference between stuff and junk.

Stuff is things that you don’t necessarily need, but may come in handy from time to time. For the most part, it can be difficult to know which things you want to get rid of, and how much stuff is acceptable to keep. If you think there’s a chance you may regret throwing something out later down the line, leave it for now.

Instead, concentrate on getting rid of junk. Again, the definitions of the words are both blurred into one, but junk for me is worse than stuff. It’s the possessions that you accumulate over time that you don’t really need, and rarely ever use. It lays there taking up valuable space in your house,

If you buy things and only use them once or twice then abandon them, then you’ll be totally familiar with junk. Challenge yourself to getting rid of this first, and it’ll likely make it much easier to dispose of other stuff you don’t desperately need later down the road.

Step4: Commit to a Minimalist Lifestyle

The real goal of minimalism isn’t just about how much stuff you have hidden away in your closet. It’s intended to help you free time out of a busy schedule, give you more self confidence and overall have more space – both in your house, but also in your brain too.

Though you may not read about it, everyone has struggled to stay motivated at some point along their minimalism journey. As mentioned, over the course of a lifetime most people drop in and out of their minimalist habits – things change, circumstances evolve and there may come a point where you feel you aren’t making any more progress and you need to take a break.

A minimalist lifestyle can give great satisfaction. However, no one person is the same as another, and creating your own simpler life is the real goal of minimalism.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in a minimalist lifestyle, just remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Very few people get rid of all of their possessions immediately, and even those that do may end up may throw things out they wished they hadn’t.

Becoming a minimalist just to impress people on the internet is rarely a good idea, and although you may see people throwing all their stuff out in one day, it doesn’t have to be that way. Taking baby steps towards a new lifestyle with less stuff is just as , and it might allow you to stay motivated as opposed to just giving up.