Curious about minimalism and what it’s all about? Also really love a challenge? Then this is the post for you. Minimalism has changed my life; reduced stress, freed up time and created ease. Which in turn means I spend my time doing a lot more of what I like to do rather than what I have to do. I’ve eliminated some of those have-tos that come along with stuff, for example, repairing broken items or cleaning and maintaining. One of the things that sparked this journey of mine were minimalist challenges. So I highly recommend giving one a try, it’s fun and low commitment. Plus you’ll gain something from the experience no matter what.
What is Minimalism?
Minimalism is not about the stuff, whether you have a lot or a little. It’s about adopting a mindset where you know what enough is, you value intangible things over stuff and you make decisions intentionally and based on what you need, not necessarily just want you what. When you choose minimalism you are choosing simplicity and intentionality because you value yourself and what you want for your life more than stuff. Also, you do not need to get rid of ALL your stuff and only have 4 shirts but maybe you could stop hoarding old take out menus and throw out those 2 pairs of really old pjs?
Why Minimalism?
The wonderful thing about minimalism is it’s for everyone. What it looks like is different and everyone has their own version because it really is about your individual life and what matters most to you. But there are some great benefits to minimalism.
1. More space
It feels awesome to move around your space freely. There is so much ease in letting go of all the extra, you feel lighter. You release stress and all the effort that went into the stuff. It really is worth the work and when you put the work in you will realize that letting go becomes easier and easier. In fact you crave that lightness.
2. Less distractions
It is easier to focus without stuff everywhere. You’ll have less ends to meet and therefore more time for what matters most to you and the people that matter most to you.
3. More money
When you stop buying as much you’ll have more money in the bank, which is awesome! Imagine instead of having 20 different tops to wear, you had some money in the bank and went on an amazing weekend getaway? I’m telling you what you build from living with less is better than the stuff.
4. More time and energy
Maintaining, buying, cleaning and organizing all that stuff is eating up your time and energy. As Mary Oliver said “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” I bet it isn’t take care of all your stuff. I bet it’s more along the lines of having adventures, sharing laughs, making meals together and watching sunsets. So let go of what’s holding you back from that.
And what better way to kick off a new habit or to try it out than with a challenge? I’m sharing these five fun minimalist challenges to inspire you into action. You’ll feel so good about yourself just for trying and following through!
1. The 30 Day Minimalist Game
This comes from The Minimalists and it’s fun and challenging. The idea is you find a friend and over 30 days you get rid of your extra stuff. On day one, you get rid of one thing, on day two, two things and so on. Until you get to day 30 and you have to get rid of 30 things! I did this one back in 2014 when their book Everything That Remains came out (I’ve since decluttered it! ha). I went to their book tour stop in Toronto, where I live, with a friend. We both read the book and she invited me to do the challenge. It is the challenge that really introduced me to minimalism and got me started in earnest.
I started strong but admit closer to the end it was a lot harder. At that time I felt like I didn’t have anymore to let go of. It’s amazing how years later along this journey, I would say I had tons! You gotta try it. This will have varying degrees of difficultly depending on how much stuff you have. But I’m fully on the 30 day challenge bandwagon and highly recommend it. Use #minsgame on social media and check out others who are doing it too.
2. Project 333
Created by Courtney Carver from Be More With Less, this is a challenge for your closet. The rules are to live with 33 items for 3 months. The 33 items include jewelry, coats, shoes, everything except jewelry you wear daily, lounge wear and work out wear (that actually do those things). If you follow on Instagram there is lots of inspiration of what other’s Project 333s look like
I started my Project 333, unknowingly, at the beginning of March 2020(!) So I definitely think it hasn’t turned out to be the same challenge it will be once lockdown ends for us. But it has meant I have gone through my closet several times, lived with less clothing and gotten rid of A LOT of clothing that I don’t love more easily. I really recommend trying this one, clothing is such a hard category to declutter. You can pack up everything not part of your 33 in a box and tuck away, so you don’t have to purge it all right away. Just live without it for a bit. You will get the experience of a sparse closet and unstuffed drawers. That feeling is enough to make you get rid of the extra!
3. 30 Day Minimalism Challenge
From Anusch Karees, this is a series of one day challenges to “dip your toe into minimalism.” The rules for the challenge: Do one assignment every day, the order is your call. Don’t skip a day. She’s made a lovely graphic calendar with something for each day. You can find it in the link above and I’ve also pinned it to my 30 Day Challenges board if you are looking for some other ideas.
That’s it. Simple, minimal approach and a way to try a series of new things and practices. A little dabbling in minimalism. Such a low bar way to enter and get started, really fun ideas and some of them take 30 minutes or less.
4. No Spend Challenge
So this one isn’t a formalized challenge like the others but as far as minimalist challenges go, this checks a lot of the boxes. It’s a great way to become more mindful and intentional with spending and save some money. You can make your own rules but generally the idea is not to have any unnecessary spending for 30 days (or whatever length of time you’d like; a week, a year).
You can find different ways that people make this challenge their own but it was really popularized by Cait Flanders with her book The Year of Less. Ultimately, it’s an opportunity to sit down with your finances, take a close look and push yourself to try something hard. It gets you to examine your spending and look at where your money is going, so maybe in the long term you will save money on some of your regular expenditures. Then you can take what you save and put it towards whatever goals matter most in creating a life you love. Paying off debt, a sinking fund for a canoe, some amazing books or a meal out with a loved one.
5. KonMari Tidy Up Challenge
I’m sure you’ve heard of Marie Kondo and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Which if you read the book, is a minimalist challenge. However, she also has a free 8-week course, that guides you through her method and gets you to dive deep into what ‘sparks joy’ in your life and what you want your ideal life to look like. I’m intrigued and will be trying it myself. She also has a 10-week guided digital course, which is paid but I imagine it is a more in-depth version of the free one. That being said, if guidance is helpful for you, then it may be worthwhile if her message clicks with you.
The KonMari method wants you to act quickly with your decluttering, spend a weekend fully completely your declutter. Of course, you can adapt it for what works for you but the intention is for you to immerse yourself in the process. I read her book a number of years ago and it was very motivating. I also watched her Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and my daughter’s socks are still folded in paper boxes. And truthfully I try to maintain her folding method for my own belongings because it enables you to see everything and I agree with the sentiment of care for your belongings. One of the benefits of minimalist challenges is you get to try different methods and find what works for you. I do find Marie Kondo a bit triggering for my own personal perfectionism. She makes me want to buy beautiful containers and make my home look perfect, which is not necessarily helpful for me.
So are you convinced? Let me know in the comments if you decide to try and challenge and which one. I’d love to hear which inspired you the most.
