Minimalism is a widely popular term nowadays. Many people seem to gravitate towards this type of lifestyle. Others may seem to think it is a bit extreme. Although there is a wide range of people that have embraced minimalism later in life, there are some serious benefits to practicing minimalism at a young age.
In this post, we’ll cover 8 easy ways you can embrace minimalism at a young age.
What is Minimalism (Really)?
Minimalism has many different definitions. I’ve read tons of different articles with different explanations. However, the common factor in all of them was the fact that these people were doing this to live life to the fullest. To improve their lives in some way.
In my book, there is no exact way to live this lifestyle. It will be different for each person…
However, I believe minimalism at the core (at least for me) is about focusing on what’s most important in life and getting rid of anything that doesn’t provide you with value.
In essence: “living more with less” as you may have heard or read before.
I don’t think people should get rid of all of their stuff and live like a monk (This might be one of the biggest misconceptions about minimalism).
For most people, this is not practical nor is it possible. Not to mention the fact that it is simply not something most people would want to do…
But what do the majority of people want to do at some point in their lives…?:
Find some way to improve themselves and add a little more happiness.
(Go here to learn some benefits of a minimalist lifestyle)
Oftentimes we think possessions will bring us closer to this happiness, but sometimes this just isn’t the case. Once the excitement of owning a new thing has worn off, we may feel that same sort of feeling of “I want more”.
Then we look to add more items into our lives and the cycle goes on and on…
This brings me to my next point.
A minimalist Lifestyle is Dynamic
The minimalist lifestyle that you choose is not set in stone. You can add or reduce items whenever you want. My point here is that this lifestyle isn’t about the “stuff” you own. This lifestyle is all about finding out what brings you the most joy in life.
So if you need to buy more things, there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, there are items that you can invest in that will make your life easier.
Depending on your lifestyle, I think it’s also fine to buy things occasionally that you may not “need” as well.
For example, I bought a new mechanical keyboard that was very expensive. After using it for a while, however, I decided to get a new one to customize myself. I bought a separate case, new mechanical switches, and finally keycaps.
This was all completely unnecessary and very expensive, but you know what, this was something I was going to use every day and something I wanted to invest in, so I bought it.
The point here is that it’s okay to buy things still, (yes, even if you don’t need them)
The emphasis is on removing the clutter that serves no purpose for you and that just lays around never to be used.
What about collections you may ask…? Well again, this would be totally fine if you find value and enjoyment in it.
Overall, I believe living a simple life and embracing a minimalist lifestyle can help bring you closer to this simple happiness that we seek. Especially if you are able to embrace a minimalist lifestyle at a young age!
Why Minimalism at a Young Age?
Now that we’ve gone over a brief explanation of a minimalist lifestyle, here are just a few reasons why this would be beneficial for you in this stage of your life:
- You will have less clutter in the future
- It will be easy for you to move if you plan on living in another state or country after college
- You will save a lot more money in the long run
- The items you do own will give you real value
- You will have the ability to pay off debt faster (college loans cough cough)
All of the reasons listed above are excellent reasons to consider this lifestyle as a young adult! Now let’s explore how to go about embracing minimalism at a young age! 🙂
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
Related Posts:
- 6 Super Simple Ways To Begin Living A Minimalist Lifestyle
- Top 7 Awesome Reasons to Begin Living a Minimalist Lifestyle
- 9 Amazing Reasons Why Minimalism and Simplicity Are So Great
1. Develop Your Minimalist Mindset
This is the first step in your transition. And it’s all about developing your minimalist mindset.
You will need to reverse your consumerist mindset and start thinking of ways to remove the clutter that you have accumulated.
The main thing to focus on in the beginning is your shopping habits. You will need to stop buying things (or keep them to a minimum), at least in the beginning because you must focus on decluttering first.
I know I said it’s okay to buy things, but when starting out you wanna keep these purchases to a minimum at least that way you can sell, trash, or keep the other things that you currently have first.
Buying a necklace or something like that is okay, but just remember it will be harder to get rid of things if there are still more items being added to your list.
Next, you will want to think about what type of minimalist lifestyle is ideal for you:
- Simple decluttering and getting rid of junk
- Minimal wardrobe
- Minimal total belongings
- Extreme minimalism
- All items fitting into a carry-on minimalism
2. Start Your Decluttering Process
After developing your mindset and ideal minimalist lifestyle (which can change over time), It’s time to start the decluttering process!
Declutter Your Wardrobe
Your wardrobe should be the number one priority when it comes to minimalism at a young age. This is where the majority of us have extra clothes hanging in our closets that never see the light of day.
Do your best to purge your wardrobe and don’t be afraid to get rid of stuff you never wear. For some great tips on going about decluttering your wardrobe, check out this article: How to be Ruthless When Decluttering Your Wardrobe
This will be one of the best things you can do for yourself. I can definitely say from experience that this has made my life so much easier.
Not to mention the fact that I have been able to remake my wardrobe and only wear the clothes I really enjoy.
Declutter Your Personal Items
Separate these items into 4 categories:
- Keep
- Sell
- Trash
- “Maybe”
This will be difficult but remember what type of lifestyle you are after as mentioned above…
If you are looking to fit most of your belongings into a suitcase and travel then mostly everything will have to go (unless you can keep some of your belongings at a family member’s place).
Remember it’s a process and this will take time depending on how much stuff you have acquired over the years.
I am personally still in the process of getting rid of a lot of my stuff hahah.
3. Be Smart With Your Spending
As stated above this does not mean you can’t buy “stuff” anymore.
Most people who live a minimal lifestyle recommend buying stuff if they need it and replacing the old items instead of keeping them. This way you’re not accumulating more things again.
But, you will still want to reduce your shopping habits though. You have just gotten rid of clutter, you don’t want to add more if a simple lifestyle is what you are after.
4. Take Action
Now that you have your plan in place, start practicing what you’ve learned above…
Plan everything out. Start figuring out what type of lifestyle you’d like (while you’re young) and start the decluttering process.
This will take up the majority of your time and is the step that will actually make the change instead of being lazy and not doing anything about it at all.
This seems obvious but needs to be said to encourage you to go after what you want and don’t just sit around waiting for things to change.
It may seem like a daunting task if you have tons of stuff already, but don’t worry…
Just pick a day. Maybe sometime on the weekend where you will categorize all of your stuff and organize it all for where it needs to go.
Maybe sort your clothes one day and then go through other personal items on a different day.
5. Maintaining The Minimalist Lifestyle
Now that you’re on the simple living path, it’s time to talk about maintaining this way of life.
In life things change, we may get a new job, get a new pet, get married, have children, the list goes on…
When these types of life-changing events happen, we will need to adjust our lives accordingly. Just because you have lived a certain type of minimalist lifestyle in the past, doesn’t mean you can’t make some adjustments.
Naturally, when having children comes into play, many changes will need to happen:
- You may buy a house and have more space
- Need to buy more things
- May have to change your minimalist mindset
When these lifestyle changes happen, just remember to find a minimal lifestyle that corresponds to your ideal life in that particular time and situation.
In this case, spending and acquiring are necessary but just be wary of falling back into the cycle of buying too many unnecessary things (even though you may hypothetically have a family).
6. Read Different Articles About Minimalism
I believe this is an important part of your minimalist journey. This is ultimately where I started. I was in college and looking for ways to improve my life. The articles I came across provided inspiration and gave me the courage to try something different.
Reading articles and watching YouTube videos about minimalism can bring many benefits:
- See other people’s stories
- Gain inspiration
- Find a lifestyle to model after
- Find a new perspective on life from others
7. Invest in Items That Will Improve life and Take up Less Space
Now when it comes to a minimalist lifestyle we definitely want to get rid of a lot of junk. However, investing in certain items can be very beneficial to your new simple lifestyle.
Also, many of these items can replace your previously owned items…
One of my favorite items that I bought was my minimalist wallet. After noticing how bulky my old wallet was and how much space it took up, I decided to give this wallet a try. After using it for more than a year now, I can say that I really love it!
One of my favorite items that have saved me money is my water filter. This water filter jug has saved me tons of money because I never have to buy bottled water anymore.
Finally one of my more underrated purchases was my wireless earbuds. I use them every day and have barely used my wired earbuds since.
(I mention more useful items in my article here)
8. Start a Blog and Be Your Own Boss
Now blogging and minimalism don’t really go hand in hand but hear me out…
Many people think you can’t make money blogging but this is totally untrue. A successful blog will give you the ability to live whatever lifestyle you want:
- If you want to travel full-time, you can do it
- Do you want to live in a different state? You can do it
- Want to move to a different country? You can do it
The point is that this type of business is simple and can be done anywhere. This allows you to live not only a happy life but a life that will enable you to downsize and live minimally if you choose.
Blogging Recommendations
For my full blogging recommendations visit my “recommendations” page.
Web Hosting
If you are interested in starting a blog, I recommend using a self-hosted site with SiteGround.
It’s relatively inexpensive to start out and gives you the freedom to run your own website, unlike a wordpress.com site which has limitations (All Full-time bloggers use a self-hosted site).
Blogging Courses
If you’re a new or aspiring blogger, I recommend one course to get you started (I’ve taken other courses but this course is all you need). This course is: Launch Your Blog Biz by Create and Go.
Canva
I highly recommend Canva to any new bloggers. It’s a visual design publishing tool. All of the designs that you see on my site have been made with Canva!
Legal Pages
Finally, you need to make sure that your site is legal. There is no easier way to do this than investing in Legal Pages from a real lawyer and blogger.
Amira and her blog A Self Guru are determined to make sure your website is legal and protected.
Once purchased, her legal pages take no more than 15-30 minutes to set up and have on your site. Now compare that to writing your own legal pages for months or even worse paying thousands for a lawyer to write them for you.
Summary
Overall, a minimalist lifestyle is beneficial for people from all walks of life. However, it can be especially great for young people. This is because at this age (most likely in college) you’ll have your whole life ahead of you and it’s the perfect time to start embracing these habits.
Practicing minimalism at a young age will undoubtedly give you some great benefits!
Closing thoughts
Lastly, whichever minimalist lifestyle you choose, just remember that you can always change if your personal life changes or if you just feel like it!
Don’t forget it’s all a process and don’t forget to have fun with it. It’s about your personal happiness after all.