Tag: how to start practicing minimalism

How to Declutter — Negative VS Positive Value

Posted on by Katie Coughran

Sometimes it’s really difficult to evaluate our possessions and determine whether something has earned its place in our home. I hope my take helps!

Watch by hitting the play button or read the recap by scrolling down.

There was a time when I didn’t understand when or why I should keep or ditch something. As soon as I realized that each item I own has both positive and negative value and vibes, it became so much more clear what I wanted to have around me. Things with bad vibes? Absolutely not! Beautiful, space-efficient things I love? Heck yes!

Here are just a couple of tips for determining negative and positive value:

How much space does it take? Items can be useful and wonderful but still have a lot of negative value if they take up too much space. This is where you have to decide if an item is worth the space or not. If it’s not worth the space but you still want that type of functional tool in your life, look for a similar item that is space-efficient.

Do negative memories surround an item? I’ve used this example many times in my books and podcast, but it’s the example that cemented negative value in for me. I had a blouse that was beautiful and looked great on me…but when I purchased it, somebody said something incredibly rude to me. I kept the shirt but hated wearing it and I tried to avert my eyes when I opened the closet because every time I saw the blouse, I couldn’t help but remember that comment. Ditching that shirt was like ditching that comment. Now when I use it as an example and remember it, I see that comment as that person’s character issue and not mine. Even though it stung at the time, I’m grateful for the lesson I—eventually—learned.

If you have items that bring back terrible memories and make you feel bad about yourself, why are you keeping them? Is there enough negative value there that you can let those items go?

The same goes for the opposite—if you have something functional and to your taste with great memories attached, try to make space for it in your home.

Is it adding to the style you want to achieve in your home/wardrobe? If you have something that doesn’t add to the vibes you’re trying to achieve in your space, why are you keeping it? The negative value is that you have something that isn’t making your home/wardrobe feel the way you want, therefore taking up space you could be using for something that would make your home exactly the way you want it to be.

When I bring something into my home/wardrobe now, I’m hyper aware of style, quality, and space. I never want something that won’t be well-loved and used in our home again. Of course, I know I’ll fail at this task at many points, but I find myself succeeding more and more often.

Whatever you need to declutter, I hope these tips help you make decisions about what earns a place in your home and what needs to find a home elsewhere. After all, if you have to spend your precious time and resources housing it, shouldn’t you make sure it’s truly worth the effort?

Good luck with your ditching and declutter and remember, it’s all about the experiences, not the stuff.

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How to be a Minimalist Q&A

Posted on by Katie Coughran

In this episode, I do my best to answer some of your questions. I hope you enjoy and that they’re helpful!

Click the play button to listen to the podcast episode or scroll down to read the How to be a Minimalist Q&A. Thanks for hanging out with me!

I absolutely loved answering these questions. It made me consider carefully and allowed me to see how far I’ve come. I hope you’ll take a moment to see how far you’ve come, too.

Here are the questions and my answers:

1. What do you do with photographs? Personally, because we so heavily invest in experiences and travel, I love having photo albums. We don’t have a ton, but my kids love them, it’s a bonding experience to look at them together, and it’s preserving our family history. In the future, I’d like to replace the albums we have with one that’s made of wood or something that will go beautifully with our home—a feature instead of an excuse of a place that holds our memories.

If you don’t want a photo album, go digital. Ask family members if they want the originals of the old black and white photographs and consider uploading them to a genealogy site where many can enjoy them.

In my opinion, it’s not so much a problem that we keep photos of memories, but that we take SO MANY on our smart phones and never go through to clean them out. This is a project I’ve been working on a bit and want to dive into more, but even more importantly, I’m trying harder to not remove myself from the moment unless it’s truly worth the photo to disturb it. Taking less pictures will most certainly help with this question!

2. Do you have any tips for going plant-based? Absolutely I do! Here are the things I wish I would have learned ten years ago: Eat the best produce you can afford and more of it in general, and make simple meals that have complex flavors.

I wish I would have been eating as much produce as possible all these years because it has drastically improved my health to get lots of greens, veggies, and potatoes and rice into my body. They’ve healed so much of what was messed up. Also, most of the time, big box store produce is awful and I’m not surprised when I hear that people dislike salads or veggies. I don’t like salads or veggies from big box stores, either! As often as I can, I try to purchase produce at farmers markets, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Sprouts, or other places like that. It’s far superior and worth the extra cost (if there is any—I often find savings).

Keeping the meals simple by creating new dishes with basic ingredients saves so much time and effort! I season and cook things differently, which prevents boredom and actually makes cooking interesting.

Eating plant-based takes effort and has forced a lot of change in my pantry, but it’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done. I feel amazing and so much happier.

3. Bullet Journals—how do you use one to achieve your goals? This question honestly needs a video, so watch out for that in the future. Basically, though, I use my bullet journal to plan out and achieve my goals, keeping a few lists of completed tasks in the pages.

1. Keep a write-out-your-goals page—don’t include how-to steps, here.

2. Keep a monthly spread page that has tasks you’ll complete within the month to be able to achieve your goals. Put check boxes next to the tasks because that’s just a nice feeling and also allows you to see success as well as areas you can improve.

3. After each monthly spread page, create basic weekly pages much like you’d find in a planner. Here you’ll turn your monthly tasks into micro tasks to check off each day.

Because I’ve focused on goals for my bullet journal (these dotted grid blank journals can be used for anything!), it’s very centered on that and doesn’t include things other than my goals. I’ve gotten so much done using this form of organizing! I might get one for home schooling next year because I love the way they work so well.

4. What made me decide to practice minimalism? There were two key moments that convinced me that a firm commitment to minimalism would greatly enhance my life. These stories are a lot longer than I try to keep these posts, so you’ll have to listen to the podcast episode on the player above in order to hear the full scoop, but basically, I had two moments a couple of years apart that massively contrasted each other and that’s when everything began to change.

First, when we were traveling a decade ago, I realized that everything that was truly important and necessary to me was in the car and tent trailer we towed. It made me feel vulnerable for a moment before a feeling of focus and love for my family washed over me. It made me committed to keeping what was enhancing my life and ditching the rest.

Secondly, when we were settled into a home we were renting a year or so later, I found myself overwhelmed by the mess and dredges from letting too much stuff into our home and lives. I’d felt betrayed by minimalist expectations and had walked away from minimalism, but this was an even greater betrayal—stuff really doesn’t make you happy if it’s excessive, unnecessary, and unused.

I’m so grateful for those two experiences—my mental shift never would have happened without them.

5. Where can I find your recipes? First off, you can find most of them by scrolling through the blog right here. Also, you can find them on my YouTube channel—How to be a Minimalist—or at all the links I’ve conveniently placed below. There are a few special recipes that I give to Patrons. If you’d like to become a patron of my work, you can do so by clicking HERE. Thanks for your support!

Hope this Q&A helps and I’ll see you next time. Remember, it’s all about the experiences, not the stuff.

How to be a Minimalist YouTube Videos—52 videos in 2020 Goal:

20. Minimalist Tips for Beginners
19. 5 Chores that Keep Your House Tidy
18. Vegan Sour Cream and Salsa Dip
17. Meals for Maximum Weight Loss
16. Minimalist Nightly Routine
15. Goddess Dressing Recipe + Minimalist Weekly Food Prep
14. Vegetable Orzo Pasta Recipe
13. VLOG: Beacon Rock State Park—RV Minimalists Edition
12. 5 Things I Don’t Buy Anymore as a Minimalist
11. Homemade Hummus Recipe
10. Five Daily Habits that can Improve Your Life
9. Creamy Butternut Squash Soup (Plant-Based/Dairy-Free)
8. Soft and Fluffy Dinner Rolls (Plant-Based, Oil-Free, Dairy-Free)
7. Chocolate Cream Pie (Plant-Based with Oil-Free Crust)
6. Simple Crunchy Granola Recipe
5. Vegan Cheesy Fry Sauce
4. How to Make Cashew Yogurt
3. Sushi Bowl Salad
2. Cashew Milk Recipe
1. WeColor Silicone Straw Review

The Darwin Awards Podcast — My husband and his brothers’ podcast

Something Interesting: Embrace Intentions YouTube Channel & Instagram

You can now purchase my book, How to be a Minimalist — A Beginner’s Guide! Click HERE to see the details.

Your support of the show is so very appreciated! Ratings, reviews, and Patreon patronage all sustain this show. Don’t forget that Patrons now get bonus episodes! Thanks so much!

Want to leave a tip in my virtual tip jar? You can Venmo me @HowtobeaMinimalist Thank you so much for your support!

Instagram @howtobeaminimalist

Minimalist Tips for Beginners

Posted on by Katie Coughran

There are so many reasons to practice minimalism, but sometimes it’s easy to get lost when we begin to simplify our lives. Here are some tips to help you out.

Click the play button below or scroll down to read the article.

There are so many tips that can aid you in your minimalistic practices, but these are a few of my favorites that keep me going time and time again. I hope they help you, too!

1. Define your “Whys.” Sounds kind of cheesy, but it actually works. If you don’t know why you’re doing something, when times get tough, it’s easy to give up. However, if you know what you want to get out of minimalism and you’re either going to continue practicing minimalism or give up your goals and dreams, it’s a lot harder to throw in the towel than when you don’t realize what you’re giving up. Define your “Whys” — those wants and dreams. It’ll be a lot harder to quit and will ensure you get closer to what you want.

2. Declutter one micro space at a time. If you’re just starting out, I usually recommend starting small. Start with a drawer in one piece of furniture, then work on the next drawer in that piece, and the next until the entire piece is decluttered from top to bottom. You’re much more likely to feel really good about that piece, it’s easier to see progress than if you grabbed random stuff from around your home, and you’ll probably want to put in a little effort to keep the space clean. Grabbing random stuff from around the house isn’t quite as noticeable.

3. Don’t stop progressing—set aside items you’re stuck on and continue moving. Lots of times people stop their forward motion while decluttering because they get stuck on an item/set of items. Instead of setting them aside and continuing to ditch and declutter items they CAN make decisions about, lots of people simply stop their progress. Some even quit.

If you’re stuck on an item or space, move on. Set that item aside in a box or even empty the drawers of a particular piece of furniture (use a couple of boxes), then tuck those boxes away into a space labeled, “Still deciding.” Once you’re done decluttering and ditching stuff in the rest of your home or after several months, come back to the box and see if you’re ready to decide.

Call yourself a minimalist, practice minimalism, and don’t worry about whether your home has been decluttered 100%. We’re all works in progress and honestly, I don’t think it’s ever done. Minimalism isn’t about one massive overhaul, but about living mindfully about what you choose to allow into your life. The massive overhaul is just an initial clearing out that gives you more opportunities to make those choices about what you really want in your life.

4. Minimalism is about more than physical possessions. Check out your schedule—what’s cluttering it up? Or what ISN’T on your schedule that really should be? What about your budget—what’s on there that’s keeping you from experiences or isn’t on there that would enhance your life? What’s cluttering up your mind or not taking up enough space in your thoughts? My commitment to minimalism truly began once I realized it wasn’t only to be practiced with my kitchen gadgets.

5. Find YOUR kind of minimalism. This is pretty much the heart of everything I talk about when it comes to minimalism. It’s great to gather information about how to practice something, but the way you actually make it functional in your life is by trying it out and seeing what works for you and your home. Learn from others, but in the end, don’t worry about how they’re implementing minimalism—do it your way or it’ll never be all it can for you.

I hope these tips help! Remember, it’s all about the experiences, not the stuff.

Want to listen to the How to be a Minimalist podcast? You can find it here

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Want to become a patron to the show? Get two bonus exclusive podcast episodes each month by signing up for just $3 a month by heading over to Patreon RIGHT HERE. Thanks for considering!

How to Start Practicing Minimalism — Ep. 32

Posted on by Katie Coughran

If you’ve been enjoying the How to be a Minimalist podcast or are new to it but haven’t quite figured out where to start with minimalism, this is the podcast episode for you. I offer four steps I wish I would have started with when I first began practicing minimalism and I hope they help you on your minimalist journey. Listen to the podcast by clicking the play button below or read about the four steps below.

Step 1. Stop accumulating STUFF

This is important for two reasons — first off, this gives us time to evaluate what we have and what we actually need, which makes the process of getting rid of things easier. It’s also helpful to building better habits.

Secondly, this allows the “wear and tear” process to begin and ensures that we actually use up what we have. There’s nothing wrong with getting something new! You might consider if it’s the best choice to buy now, or wear out the thing you want to replace, first.

It’s worthwhile to note here that you should be mindful about what you bring in. Even thought it’s tempting to buy the first thing you see when you’re ready to replace an item, taking your time to purchase something that you both love and find perfectly useful will serve you well in the end.

Step 2. Write down your WHYS

We all need motivators. Understanding why you’re practicing minimalism is like creating a reward for yourself when you ditch an item, and also cements in why you’re practicing living this lifestyle.

When we finally decided to sell our home and purchase an RV to live in full time, I began getting rid of even more stuff than I ever had before. I would look at an item, tell myself, “I want to live in an RV,” then decide if I should keep that item or not. I can’t tell you how many things I got rid of just from saying that little mantra over and over.

Times will get tough. You’ll wonder why you are living simply. Saying something like, “I want to spend more time with my family and less time cleaning up my stuff,” or “I want a healthy budget” can help you to overcome those moments when you want to make a spontaneous purchase or don’t understand why you’re trying to donate your old prom dress.

Step 3. Ditch, Donate, and Declutter

I understand wanting the downsizing process to happen quickly, but many people that try to rush this step pass up developing good habits. Snapping our fingers and having everything we don’t want disappear would be amazing, yet it wouldn’t give us the same opportunities for growth. Making consistent efforts to work through your things until you’ve achieved your ideal minimalist home will most likely go better than one ditching session over a weekend.

On top of that, going through your things just once isn’t really enough. I’m constantly evaluating our possessions, determining what is still useful and wanted. Taking the time to do this has made me a much more mindful minimalist.

Step 4. Don’t forget minimalist practices on your calendar

Practice saying “no.” Look carefully at your activities and obligations — are they adding meaning and value to your life or are they simply running out the clock? In the podcast episode today, I talk about wanting my life to mean something. Ditching activities that weren’t getting me and my family to that end goal has been an important part of living minimalism to its fullest.

Good luck with finding YOUR kind of minimalism and remember, it’s all about the experiences, not the stuff.

Here’s the article from Beautiful Minimal Millennial and her Instagram

Instagram @howtobeaminimalist

My latest videos on YouTube:
How to Make Cashew Yogurt
Sushi Bowl Salad

My book, How to be a Minimalist with Kids: Finding YOUR Kind of Minimalism

Your support of the show is so very appreciated! Ratings, reviews, and Patreon patronage all sustain this show. Don’t forget that Patrons now get bonus episodes! Thanks so much!

Want to leave a tip in my virtual tip jar? You can Venmo me @HowtobeaMinimalist Thank you so much for your support!