that is realistic, challenging and not overstraining at the same time. This goal can best be subdivided into several subgoals - this works wonderfully with minimalism. After all, minimalism has incredibly many different facets and is more a development than a fixed concept. In the next chapter you will get to know many subgoals of minimalism. Maybe some of them suit you or you can think of other inspiring partial goals. Set one minimalist goal per week and divide it into seven steps. Let us take the example of the "minimalist bathroom project" as an illustration. This project could be a weekly project and can be divided into seven different steps:
- Definition of goal: What does my perfect bathroom look like and what purpose should it serve?
- Clean out the bathroom (more on this in chapters 3 and 4)
- Give away, sell or throw away misted-out things
- Seek inspiration for redesign
- Remodel the bathroom
- simple structures, clear shapes and unobtrusive colours
- Search for natural alternatives for chemically contaminated products
- Plan regular cleaning and clearing out
Of course, your seven-part plan could look quite different, after all, you have very individual demands on your bathroom. By setting goals, deadlines and sub-goals, you first change your environment and then lay the foundation for changing your habits. Clearing out and designing is an important step, because in a tidy and newly designed bathroom it is difficult to implement the old habits. The more goals and partial goals you achieve, the more motivated you will become and the easier it will be for you to replace your old habits with new ones.
Habits of minimalism
Minimalists are individuals and therefore there are no universal habits for them to live by. The basic idea of minimalism is to simplify life as much as possible and to get rid of unnecessary ballast in order to experience more happiness and contentment in everyday life. This can express itself for each minimalist in different habits. So your habits of minimalism will be strongly influenced by what contributes to your happiness in life. Anyone who strives for minimalism basically pursues the following goals: You want to have more time for yourself or your loved ones, you want to get rid of unnecessary ballast to live more freely and to concentrate on the really important things. Depending on preferences, the goals of minimalists can look quite different. What everyone has in common, however, is that they want to achieve an overriding goal with minimalism. The more precisely this goal is defined, the easier and faster you will achieve it. Let's assume your goal is to reduce your expenses by 50% in 6 months, clean out your apartment and accumulate fewer possessions. The saved money and time you would like to use to develop your career, maybe start your own business, finally have more time for your family, learn Qigong or finance a long journey. Ultimately, the great goal of a minimalist lifestyle is to experience more personal freedom and to live more self-determinedly, in other words to free oneself from the common paradigms - the habits of minimalism that emerge depend on your individual path.
30 Days Minimalism Challenge: Practical Tips for a Minimalist Lifestyle
It is finally time, we start together into practice! Of course you can live out minimalism very individually and accordingly not all of the tips listed here may fit you - or maybe not yet! In general, you should make the implementation of at most one of these tips as your current task per week. In some cases one tip per month is enough! What's the matter with you? Because we humans need around 30 days to integrate a new habit into our everyday lives. In these 30 days we have to fight daily with our old habits and have to concentrate with much strength on the new habits and tasks. If you now take on five or ten tasks at once, this can lead to chaos. The probability that you will not permanently maintain these changes is then correspondingly high. So, take your minimalist journey slowly, but more consistently.
Leave your comfort zone
Through the lived minimalism you have to leave your previous comfort zone and get involved in new experiences. Maybe that's why your neighbours will look at you crookedly or your friends will get to know you as a kind of changed person. You will quickly notice who is enthusiastic and willing to support you and who thinks your project is strange. Of course you don't owe anyone an explanation and don't have to justify yourself for your intention. However, if you live with your partner and/or children, then it is worthwhile to say a few words about your plans and involve the family in this process. There is of course a certain potential for conflict buried here, but with loving communication you will also overcome this hurdle - it is the first step out of your comfort zone! You made a conscious decision to take this step and for good reason. So stay consistent and self-confident with your decision, after all this is about your personal happiness, which only you can shape yourself.
Minimalism in thought
Minimalism is about consciously and attentively observing one's own thoughts. This succeeds wonderfully with regular meditation, yoga, playing the piano, dancing and similar activities. During these activities you are in the here and now and also concentrate on it. Especially in meditation and yoga you have the opportunity to become an observer of your thoughts and thereby change them. You will soon find that the negative thoughts you have lead to negative feelings. Even if many of our thoughts are formed unconsciously and subconsciously, we can recognize certain patterns through regular observation and, for example, work with affirmations to change these unconscious patterns. Minimalism is all about getting rid of inefficient, unnecessary and excessively negative thoughts that block you and inhibit your personal growth, and replacing them with positive, friendly and loving thoughts. Regular practice is of elementary importance! Of course, you should be aware of where your journey is going: Which areas would you like to optimize and where would you like to experience more luck? This determines the focus of your future minimalist lifestyle.
The minimalist gift giving
Minimalist giving is not about giving as little as possible, but rather about giving as valuable a gift as possible. However, this does not mean the material value, but the ideal value. An example: It is your brother's birthday and he would certainly be happy about a new Porsche. But honest, nicely meant words are also a wonderful gift. And instead of a book, a time spent together in a beautiful place can create something much more valuable: Common, loving memories. Gifts are about showing mutual recognition and love. This is also possible without large material purchases, which in themselves are meaningless. So before you give your next gift, think carefully about what you would be happy about and how you can express your feelings as authentically as possible.
Earn Money by Clearing Out
Of course the mucked out things must be accommodated somewhere after a large clearing out action. In the best case, this is not in the basement or in the attic, where they then continue to accumulate dust undisturbed. Instead it offers to sell the sorted out items. Thanks to appropriate Internet portals this is now quite easy to manage: Take a photo of the item, post it on the sales portal, set the price and wait for an offer. But many items can also be sold at flea markets or a garage sale. Every Euro earned is a success! Anything you don't get sold will sooner or later be given away or thrown away - your earnings in these two cases are zero euros. So make it easy for yourself and don't be too dogged when it comes to pricing, after all you want to live easier than before, don't you?
Donate superfluous items
Even if you personally don't need 45 towels, but maybe only 5, this doesn't mean that the other 40 have to go to the garbage. Especially non-profit organizations are
