As a minimalist, I always evaluate what I own and what I am letting into my home. This is so important as things can so easily creep in almost unnoticed and your home is again cluttered before you know it. It is time to determine what things to let go of as a minimalist.
I am here to help you on your minimalism journey whether you’ve just started or you’ve been on this journey for a while. We all need a little encouragement, inspiration, and motivation to keep moving forward 🙂
This post is all about things to let go of as a minimalist.
1. Extra Electronics
I have to start this list off by mentioning something that is very common to us in the 21st century. Many of us are blessed to have so much technology and electronics at our fingertips. Our technology helps us in so many ways and it is incredibly convenient! But, it is time to let go of the extra stuff…meaning the things we really don’t need.
Now, I know that people have different lifestyles and like what they like so this is totally up to you to decide on what you deem as “extra”. Do you have a tablet that you just never use? Sell it. Do you have a smartwatch that you don’t really like? Time to get rid of it. Do you have all these extra cords, old chargers, and that old phone from 5 years ago? I think you know where I am going with this. It’s time to let go of some of these things.
2. Apps You Don’t Use
So this is another big one you have to consider as one of the things to get rid of as a minimalist. For many of us, our phones are glued to us most of the day. If you are anything like me visual clutter is not a good thing. It’s time to evaluate what is on our phones.
There are a couple of ways you can determine what apps you can let go of:
- You can go through your phone and ask yourself, “When was the last time I used this app?” And if you can’t remember the last time you used it, it’s probably time to delete it.
- You can do the same thing from #1 but instead of deleting it, put it in a folder, and after 30 days, go back to that folder and reevaluate if you still didn’t use the app and then delete it.
3. Old Acquaintances or Phone contacts
This might be an interesting one on the list of things to get rid of, but hear me out. If you were to check your phone contacts, or friends on social media, as yourself, “Is this person a part of my life?” or “When was the last time I contacted this person?” This is an interesting point as it can be a little touchy, but it is worth considering.
I don’t want to be that person that removes people out of my life, but I think there are certain times where certain people probably don’t need to be taking up that space in your life. Here are few examples:
- Exes
- Old school/work friends that you never really were friends with at the time
- That person you worked on a project with one time and never talked with again
4. Clothes You Don’t Wear
Ok, we are finally moving on from technology-related things to get rid of. Yay!
Clothes is a common thing to go through when starting a decluttering journey. If you have just embarked on this journey, check out my post on becoming a minimalist. A good way to determine what you wear is to either go through every single item of clothing, or separate what you are actually wearing every day and after a month look at the difference in your closet. I’ve personally gone through every item of clothing and find that to work better for me. Here are some things to consider when letting go of clothing:
- Let go of anything damaged, or not the correct size/fit.
- Ask yourself, “Have I worn this in the last 90 days? Do I plan to wear it in the next 90 days?”
- Do I actually like this item of clothing? Do I want to wear it when I see it?
- Would I repurchase this item of clothing again?
5. Food You Are Not Going to Eat
I was inspired to include this one on the list from by last fridge clean-out. There were so many things I had in my refrigerator that I thought I would eat, or some new food item I had never eaten before…and all of it had gone to waste. I had goo intentions of eating this or that, but never got around to it. I wondered why and realized, we are creatures of habit. We like what we like and are accustomed to what we are accustomed to.
Here are a few things to consider when getting rid of the food you don’t eat:
- Did I have a plan for this food? If so, why did the plan fail?
- Is this part of my normal plan of meals I typically eat?
6. What People Think of You
This is probably the hardest on the list of things to get rid of. I struggle with this all the time! I am working on it though and have improved over the years. It’s just not worth worrying about what others think of you. To be honest, most people are not really thinking of you, they are probably thinking about themselves.
It’s time to focus on what you need to do and your responsibilities and priorities because worrying about what others are thinking is not going to help you in any way.
7. Guilt
Time to get rid of guilt! This one is closely tied to the previous point. Don’t feel guilty for making certain decisions, make a decision and commit to it! I know it’s probably easier said than done. Letting go of guilt can make you gain confidence. Don’t feel guilty for being yourself and pursuing what you want, like a life of minimalism, for example ;).
This post was all about things to let go of as a minimalist.