Minimalist living sounds peachy but sometimes it can be hard working up the motivation to actually get started - especially when your day-to-day routine doesn’t leave much time for sorting through the mess of old receipts, shopping lists and bills which seem to accumulate on every surface in the home! Here are a few tips for getting that show on the road.
1. Designate a “miscellaneous” space, like a junk drawer, to house items that frequently come and go.
2. Put anything you haven’t used in six months into storage.
3. Start a filing system to keep track of loose papers.
4. Get into a good cleaning routine - sometimes a little vacuuming pick-me-up can make all the difference to the atmosphere of a space.
5. Set goals and make lists to distinguish between items you want to keep, store, donate and throw out.
6. Aim to always get surfaces, like kitchen counters and dining tables, bare by the end of the day.
7. Keep all of your craft-related products, such as wrapping paper and sticky tape, in one location.
8. Invest in more storage to unlock the floor-to-ceiling potential of your home.
9. Cut back on decorations like rugs, pillows and wall hangings - remember the timeless mantra of "less is more".
10. Hide any wiring, including from lamps and computers, out of sight.
11. Cull books or lend them to friends to free up some shelf space.
12. Always put away kid’s toys back into their bedrooms.
13. Don’t hold onto possessions “just in case” especially if you had forgotten you even had it anymore.
14. Maximise natural light to keep the space feeling airy.
15. Put any excess crockery or cutlery into long-term storage.