Minimalism Monday - Update

So to bring you up to speed, I finished the initial hardcore minimalism clear out where I seriously culled my wardrobe, makeup collection, files and pretty much all possessions.

If you are interested in a detailed look of what that process was like, you can catch up on other features from my minimalism series including;
Getting Rid of Your Filing Cabinet, Culling My Makeup Collection, Social Media Detox, Managing Your Inbox and Easy Money Saving Tips.

Now I've moved on to the stage of maintaining the minimalism lifestyle and using up what I have - which I'm going to be talking you through today.



Maintaining the minimalism lifestyle
While it was a huge ordeal at the beginning, as time progresses living a minimalistic lifestyle becomes easier and easier. I have found that now I have less items, I care for and appreciate the ones I do have more. Instead of having 100 pairs of shoes I never look at, I value the 10 pairs I do have and they all get good wear.

I covered absolutely all bases when first starting out including;
- switching to paperless billing
- unsubscribing from junk emails
- throwing out duplicates of things
- getting rid of sentimental items that don't bring me joy
- setting up budgeting accounts with my bank
- culling all junk from the pantry / fridge
- unsubscribing from services I don't use
and of course...using up what I already have which brings me into the second section.

 

 

Using up what I already have

This is a really important step because once you have committed to keeping the items you have in hopes you will use them, you need to make a conscious effort to use up these things before you buy new versions. An example of this is finishing up old skincare before getting a new routine or resisting the urge to buy that gorgeous hand cream because you have 3 at home you have committed to using.

 

So how I keep myself on track to use up all these products are by creating a basket of things to use filled with items like face masks, candles, body scrubs, moisturisers, face oils, serums, shampoos...you get the picture.

 

They're beautiful products from great brands so I couldn't bring myself to throw them away but I need to keep on track to using things up before I purchase the latest and greatest in beauty (which is difficult for someone like me with the industry I am in).

 

I have been resisting purchasing candles, even if they are on sale, because I know I have at least 10 at home that need to be used first.

 

A tip that I've found works for me is to stick to one of a product at a time rather than alternating between. If that doesn't make sense, what I mean is consistently using the same shampoo rather than switching between 3 because it will take triple the amount of time to get through the products. Knocking them off one by one is a great way to consistently knock off your goals to further become a minimalist.

 

So that's a little update of where I am at so far with the minimalism lifestyle. I have some more in-depth and specific minimalism posts coming up soon so keep at eye out.

 

How have you been going with minimalism? Is it something you would try?