Minimalist Living 101: Think Like a Minimalist

A minimalist lifestyle does not just apply to the amount of stuff you have. Instead, it is very much tied into how we think. Thinking minimalist or intentional thoughts can make it much easier to make simpler and more intentional choices, no matter what we are talking about. 

For the video version of this post, click here to watch it! 

While there are many ways that people can develop a minimalist mindset, I will address three key concepts in today's post!

3 Ways to Think Like a Minimalist

1. Overcome Functional Fixedness: The term functional fixedness refers to only seeing one use or one purpose for each item that we own, rather than being creative and being able to problem solve with objects that could serve multiple purposes. When we think creatively about the items that we own, we are more likely to understand that they can be used in many different ways, which will prevent us from purchasing new single-use items. This...

Minimalist Living 101: Delayed Gratification

As we continue our Minimalist Living 101 series (check out last month's post on batching), the concept of delayed gratification must be addressed.

What is delayed gratification? It is the concept of putting something off that is not truly or immediately needed, which means we can put our money, energy, and time towards other things. Sometimes putting things off makes us more able to do better things later, simply because we were patient.

For the video version of this post, click here to watch it! 

Delayed gratification is so important because we live in a society of instant gratification, whether it's with concepts of fast food, "buy now, pay later", or two-day shipping. We are constantly trained to want things right away, and not have to wait for them. While there can be situations where this is beneficial, it also leads us to act more irrationally or make impulsive choices.

How can you practice delayed gratification in your...

Minimalist Living 101: Batching

When living a minimalist lifestyle, there are several key mindsets and methods that can make life more simple, and help you save time, energy, money, and more. Over the next few months, we will unpack these topics here on the blog, as well as on the Abundantly Minimal YouTube channel. In today's post, we will talk about batching.

For the video version of this post, click here to watch it!

While the concept of batching is often used when referring to productivity, we can apply it to a minimal life as well. There are 8 specific examples that you might find helpful with a minimalist lifestyle.

Batching Examples for a Minimalist Lifestyle

1. Meal Prep: Prepping your meals in advance can save a lot of cook time and make you more likely to eat at home. If you are new to meal prep, consider doubling the portions when cooking and save the extra servings for a meal later in the week.

2. Prepping Your Outfits: While many recommend prepping one's...

As many people continue to spend more time at home and less time eating at restaurants or grocery shopping, more time is spent in the kitchen, cooking up the ingredients you have in your home. 

If this is the case for you, do you enjoy your kitchen or the way it is organized? If not, I'd love to help you out!

I recently uploaded a Minimalist Kitchen Tour video which went through every cabinet, drawer, and countertop of our kitchen. (Watch it here if you are interested.) 

Here are a few key takeaways from the video that might help you in your efforts to simplify your kitchen or your cooking:

Keep Surfaces Clear: You've heard it from me before, but eliminating surface clutter is one of the best ways to simplify your space. In your kitchen, what actually needs to be out on the counters? What could be tucked away? This simple switch can make a huge difference!

Analyze the Numbers: How many plates does your family need? How many mugs? How many sets of...

How to Declutter Sentimental Items

Letting go of sentimental clutter, mental clutter, or emotional clutter is really difficult, and I often hear from viewers that these types of clutter are their biggest struggle. However, it doesn’t have to be this way, and there is one strategy that can help you move on from this.

I first shared this tip in an epic Clutter-Busting Scavenger Hunt with my monthly challenge group, (click here if you want to join us and get access), but I felt like this tip or strategy was too important not to share, so I wanted to dedicate this post and a video to it. 

Our sentimental items and clutter usually stem from a relationship in our lives. Sometimes it is items from our parents, or other loved ones we might have lost. Sometimes it might be items from our children, or even items from our own childhood. Certain items might be from a certain friendship or past partner or spouse. 

If you have a certain sentimental item from a particular...

12 Habits for More Intentional Living

Intentional living is all about living your best life according to the values and beliefs that you resonate with most. In order to make the lifestyle shift from more conventional to intentional, there are many different minimalist habits that you can begin to implement into your everyday life. While some of these habits for intentional living may seem difficult to follow along with, you just need to break them down little by little. These 12 intentional living habits are practices that you can incorporate on a regular basis that will help you to live a more mindful and intentional life, feel better, deal with less overwhelm, and really align your lifestyle with what is most important to you. 

A quick disclaimer before getting into the habits: you are shooting for balance here, not perfection. It may seem exciting to start implementing all of these habits at once, but if you try to do too much too fast, the habits won’t stick. I...

100 Things to Declutter | Easy Decluttering Ideas

Declutter your home before the new year with these 100 easy decluttering ideas! In this post, you will find a list with 100 things to declutter, which can help you simplify for your space in many areas of the home. 

Before checking out the list, if you haven't already watched the video that goes along with this post, I highly recommend it! Watch it here.

Entryway/Coat Closet:

Excess coats
Shoes you never wear
Shoes that aren’t comfortable
Purses that you don’t use
Purse clutter or garbage, like receipts
Unused membership cards or gift cards...use them up or pass them on!
Broken sunglasses
Old backpacks
Reusable bags that you don’t use
Boxes and extra shipping materials
Extra plastic bags or the bag of bags
Duplicate tools
Duplicate globes, mittens, hats, and other outerwear

Bookshelf:

Writing utensils that no longer work
Books you haven’t read and realistically won’t
Books you have read but probably won’t...

If You Need to Declutter: A Decluttering Pep Talk 

If you are looking for some decluttering motivation to inspire you to tackle your clutter, this is the post for you! I put together a video that can be one of your go-to decluttering motivation videos whenever you need some decluttering inspiration or want some minimalism motivation!

Text From the Video:

Hey there,
If you clicked on this video, you must be feeling frustrated by the stuff in your life.
Perhaps your space makes you feel out of control
Perhaps you know that something needs to change
Perhaps you are sick of not knowing where your stuff is
Or sick of buying so much and bringing new things into your space.

If you feel that way, I hear you. That used to be me. There was so much going well with life, but my space, and my mind, was chaotic and filled with clutter. Can you relate?

But here’s the good thing.
Your stuff, and your past, do not define you. Each new day is an opportunity to live better and more...

8 Types of Decluttering Guilt + How to Avoid Them 

Decluttering is a difficult process to begin with, but it can become even more so when you factor in feelings of guilt, fear, and insecurity. These feelings can stall you in your pursuit to declutter your home, and can prevent you from making the progress that you want within your space. That is precisely why I have made this list of eight different types of decluttering guilt, to get you out of your decluttering rut. I am going to walk you through these different types and offer a strategy for each on how to avoid these guilty feelings in the first place. These mindset shifts will ultimately help get you to a place where you can actually enjoy some guilt free decluttering.

(1) Financial Guilt

This type of guilt often crops up when you have purchased something but have not actually used it or gotten your money’s worth out of it. You may also have something that you think is valuable, so you don’t just want to let it...

4 Habits to Keep Your Home Clutter Free

If you have already gone through the process of decluttering your home, you may not have many excess items to continue to declutter. However, you may now need to focus on how to prevent the over-accumulation from happening again in the first place. These four habits to keep your home clutter free will help you to tackle the problem of too much stuff at the root of the issue. By taking the time to implement these habits for a clutter free home into your own life, you will find it much easier to manage the amount of stuff that you already have. Decluttering your space is one thing, building habits to maintain that clutter free space is another.

Habit #1: Reduce Items on Counters and Other Surfaces

It is time to consider what actually needs to be left out on your surfaces. Only the essentials should be out at any given time, whether it be on kitchen or bathroom counters, desks, or coffee tables. Some things are sitting on countertops because we...