A little library?
Probably over the years you've accumulated a small pile of books. That's wonderful, because books are great! But have you ever thought about selling the books, which only serve as dust catchers, on the Internet? On corresponding portals for the sale of books a considerable sum can be collected. The books can also be given to the local library. There are many nice ways to better house the dusty treasures. In times of urban libraries and digital libraries, reading should not be too difficult either. You can invest the profit from the sale of the books in new literature! Maybe you have also subscribed to one or the other magazine - is this subscription still worthwhile or can you also read the newspaper comfortably in your local library? Do you know someone with whom you could share your subscription or is your subscription perhaps not so important to you? Here, too, the motto is: Be creative!
No more presents for you?
Can you imagine a birthday where your guests don't bring presents for you? For example, how about asking your guests not to bring gifts, but to raise money for a charity instead? Wouldn't that be a wonderful enrichment for your anniversary? Otherwise the money can also be used to organize an unforgettable party! Hopefully, you will spend your birthday with many loved ones, so that you will have a wonderful time even without gifts, of which you will have many great memories. Remember what is really important and put it into practice on your own birthday: Collect memories, not objects!
Insurances, contributions and Co
We Germans are careful and that's great! But maybe you have one or the other insurance that you really don't need anymore. What about contributions for associations and the like? Take a look at your regular financial commitments and sort them out vigorously. We are sure that half of these financial obligations do not enrich your life, but rather burden it. This is not "just" about the financial aspect, but also about making your finances more minimalist and above all more mindful.
Newsletter and Advertising
Advertising and newsletters are now available in two forms: Printed and digital. Of course, it is not a big act to put a newsletter into the waste paper or to move the advertising mail into the digital wastepaper basket. But look at the big picture: How much time do you spend each day sorting your physical and digital mail? Five minutes? That's not much, of course, but in a year that's around 1,825 minutes, more than 30 hours. That doesn't have to be, because in these 30 hours you can also sit in the sun with a cup of coffee or listen to an interesting podcast. What helps against the flood of advertising is a sign with "Please do not insert advertising" on the letterbox. With every advertising mail that lands in your digital mailbox, you click on "unsubscribe newsletter". Sure, it's interesting to know what's on offer. But this is only interesting until you start to define for yourself what is useful for you!
Chaos in your wallet?
Also in the purse accumulate well and gladly receipts, small cards, visiting cards, notes and the like. That doesn't have to be the case, because a well-assorted wallet makes life much easier. Do you really always have to have your credit card with you? Which loyalty cards do you actually use to collect points? If you're honest with yourself, it's amazingly little. Maybe you just go to the specific café to finally get the point card full or buy a specific fabric softener because you got a discount card through this consumer-driven reward system. Your wallet says a lot about you and your consumer behavior. Letting minimalism take over at this point can have a positive effect on the next purchase. A monthly check is also worthwhile here to sort out receipts and similar everyday collectibles.
Stay minimalist
For many people, it is much more difficult to remain minimalist than to carry out a major clearing out operation. But why is that? Because every day our habits urge us to buy, buy, buy. So to stay minimalist in the long run, you have to change your habits. This works best when you set yourself ten big goals - based on the inspiration in this chapter, for example - and then set one of those goals as your weekly task. So you are constantly busy with the topic of minimalism and its implementation and you will get many more ideas. So always make sure that you pursue new goals, challenge yourself and constantly develop yourself further! A weekly, monthly and annual check-up helps: What have I planned and what have I achieved? In order to clearly define your goals, you should write them down. This brings structure to your project and you always have your written thoughts at hand.
Maintaining minimalism
We are only too happy to slip back into our beloved habits. You have already learned how to prevent this. Changes in our habits are also accompanied by changes in our mindset. Accordingly, regular smaller clearing out actions can help you adjust your domestic status quo to your minimalist mental status quo. The more often you question yourself and your behaviour in this way, the more profound the changes will be. You will see that in one year you will think quite differently about the necessity of the second pair of sneakers. Stay open for these developments and regularly give yourself the chance to deal with your living environment. When cleaning up, sometimes not only material entanglements but also mental entanglements dissolve and you notice "Hey, I only go to Pilates because XY does that too. I'd like swimming much better!" - be curious!
Drink tap water
Water in plastic bottles is usually not only expensive, but also unhealthy. Finally, with every plastic bottle of water you drink, you also drink tiny plastic particles that come loose from the bottle and swim around in your delicious water. Sure, now you could reach for water in glass bottles, but carrying that isn't necessarily comfortable either. So why not choose the simplest solution: Drink tap water. If you live in an area with not quite as pure tap water, a water filter is of course a good idea. If you have been drinking cola and co. so far, you can do your health a big favour and switch to water. When it comes to drinking, make it as easy as possible!
Search for challenges and practice mindfulness
Letting mindfulness return to everyday life is part of the minimalist lifestyle. How will you feel lucky at breakfast when you're distracted by radio and smartphone? To eat breakfast consciously, to really enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and to participate in breakfast with all your senses - that's luck. In this way you can make your entire everyday life more conscious and mindful and consequently more minimalist! We all live in the belief that multitasking will get us ahead. We are strongly in favour of singletasking gaining the upper hand. Once we focus on just one thing, we can perceive ourselves much better in this situation. So the daily cooking, the daily walk, the daily washing up and the daily sunshine can become a reason for a good mood!
Effects of minimalism: More serenity, satisfaction, success and happiness
What happens to us when we implement minimalism in our lives? Less is more and this is exactly what minimalism is all about. We throw all the unnecessary stuff out of our lives to have more time and space for the really important things in life. The focus is on the things that offer us real added value - we become more productive, we intensify our relationships, we set ourselves goals and make our lives more inspiring. Our focus is moving away from the consumer society towards more joie de vivre. You decide for yourself what is useful and what is useless for you. So what do you want to fill your life with? It is important that you decide for yourself and not some advertising or social pressure. You pedal your way freely through the minimalist lifestyle, removing the outer shells to be close to you. You may not even know what you really want because of all your consumerism and you will find out on your minimalist journey. So the effect of minimalism is that you are