Living a more minimalist life will allow you to focus on the things you actually love - and need, without getting distracted by the noise of everything else around you.
1. SIZE DOWN YOUR CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES PER CATEGORY
You will be surprised how many bikinis you own but never wear and how many half-scratched sunglasses are to be found in the back of your drawer!
Pull out all your clothes and accessories out of your closet, drawers, from chairs and out of hidden corners and sort them into categories.
Allow yourself to have a certain number per category (and we’re not talking high numbers!). Sell all your excess clothing and enjoy the liberating feeling of not only more closet space but also a higher budget!
If you want to go even a step further, set a number of hangers for your closet, i.e. 25 and remove one piece of clothing every time you buy a new one.
2. ONLY SHOP PIECES YOU WILL WEAR AT LEAST 20 TIMES
Because everything else is madness and not only empties your bank account (money that could be well spent on amazing food or travelling!), shopping large amounts of clothing from fast fashion chains also supports unfair working conditions for millions of people and creating a large amount of waste ending up in landfills.
3. GET RID OF EVERYTHING YOU OWN TWICE
A minimalistic lifestyle not only applies to your closet! Go through your interior pieces, books, drawers, appliances and check for duplicates. Donate them to a local homeless shelter, friends that just have moved or sell them online on i.e. eBay.
4. CUT OUT ALL THE THINGS YOU DON’T ACTIVELY USE
Sounds like an obvious tip but we’re not only talking about the hand bag you still haven’t worn - what about the gym membership you pay for since years but barely use? What about that online subscription you forget to cancel every month?
Cut out everything you don’t actively use - or start intentionally using it (meaning, get your ass to the gym!). This won’t only give you freedom of mind but also a piece of financial freedom, freeing up more budget.
5. CREATE A CLUTTER-FREE ZONE
To start small, declare one space in your apartment clutter-free! Remove everything that is not needed for good night’s rest from your bedroom.
This piece has been contributed by @dom.overseas - browse her portfolio here.
All images via http://leibal.com/interiors/house-tm.