My 5 Year Minimalism Anniversary ~ 5 Things I’ve Learned

In just a few weeks, I will celebrate five years of being on this journey called minimalism. Five years ago is when I discovered this concept and decided in November of 2018  that I would get serious about the things that I owned in my home. I never saw all of the ways that minimalism would change my life.

In no particular order, here are some ways my life has been changed.

1. Things naturally stay organized. There is so much more room to breathe in my home. I love things being neat and organized. And I found myself organizing and reorganizing and spending a lot of money on “the right product” for my closets and cabinets. And now I rarely have to reorganize a space. I have what belongs there and it just seems to work with very little effort. Having less is the key to maintaining organization.

2. My house is easier to keep clean . This was one of the biggest reasons I started on this journey, but I never imagined what a difference minimalism would make in how easy my house is to keep tidy. But it just makes sense. Owning less means that I have less to manage. So when I unload the dishwasher, it is easy to put everything away. When I do laundry, I find it easy to put everything away because there’s naturally more space in my house.

3. I have become a mindful consumer. This was definitely not one of my goals setting out, but it has just naturally happened. I think a lot more before making a purchase than I did in the past. I only buy things if I really need them or if I know that they will be something that I truly enjoy. I tend to purchase quality over quantity as well.

4. I care less about stuff. I would much rather receive brunch with my friends as a birthday gift, than a new sweater or candle. I was never someone who had to have the latest and greatest of everything, but I was a sucker for that clearance end cap at Target and Home Goods. Now I truly think through my purchases.
   
   Last month, as I worked through the September, Minimalism challenge, it was different than the other years. In years past, I have gotten rid of a lot of things. But as I have moved through this journey, I have found that now I only own the things that I truly enjoy and use. Recently I put on a sweater and the sleeves were tight, so into the donate bin it went. If I put something on and it just doesn’t fit me like I would prefer, I will immediately return it if it is new or toss it in the donate bin right away. Because of this habit , I now only have the things in my closet, in my cupboards, and on my desk that I use, need, or enjoy.

5. Prioritizing works! I have found that I prioritize what really matters. Rather than having six different face lotions. I have found the one that works great for my skin and I’ll only buy a back up as needed. Before, I might have multiple types of cleaning products or multiple hair products that I would use a little of and then push to the back. Now I quickly relieve my home of something that doesn’t work for me and prioritize what does work. Of course, this has moved into my time and my productivity. I do not want to waste my time on something that is not going to truly benefit my life. This has allowed me to remove tasks that are not important and caused me to really hone in on the areas that I want to move forward in.

I have zero regrets about this journey. (Ok, maybe one. I really wish I would have taken more photos to document this journey early on.) I am so thankful I found minimalism.

Have you adopted the concepts of minimalism? If so, I’d love to hear what you have learned!

P.S. My new sweatshirt is here! You can grab one HERE.