Let’s face it, we all get stressed out and life can get crazy. Many of us have been guilty of cramming our lives with stuff to fill the void we may feel when the chips are down. But as it turns out ‘therapy shopping’ isn’t healthy therapy at all…it just leaves us with a bunch of bric-a-brac while bruising our budgets. Ironically, the harder we work at avoiding conflicts or depression, the more chaotic our lives can potentially get. A better solution to reducing stress might be to slow down, get still and start savoring the simple pleasures life has to offer.
Easy Tips to Living Minimally
How we deal with trauma, grief or anxiety has a huge impact on our bodies, minds, and emotional wellbeing. Learning how to be more positive and making small changes in your life can bring about major improvements in your outlook and attitude. For example, adopting a more minimalist lifestyle can calm the clamoring voices, settle confusion and make room to breathe a little easier. If you think about it, a simpler life means less clutter which offers better opportunities to experience tranquility. The truth is, life is meant to be enjoyed, and here are a few easy tips to living minimally to manifest more peace and joy in your life.
Morning Mindfulness: Starting a practice of meditating first thing in the morning has proven to reduce stress and improve your mood throughout the entire day. You don’t have to get in a fancy position or go through an elaborate process. Simply keep your eyes closed upon awakening, take a few relaxing breaths and get into a peaceful, positive mindset. When you’re finished, think about doing a few gentle stretches before getting out of bed. These easy actions only take a few minutes before you start your day and can work wonders to improve a sense of joy in your life over time.
Simplify Beauty Routines: Go through your beauty products and try to minimize as much as you can. Look into multi-functioning products such as a high-quality all-in-one cleanser to reduce the steps in your routine. Think about zero waste skincare products that are both refreshing for you as well as minimize negative impacts on the environment. If you can’t entirely let go of a complex beauty regime, then try to whittle down to core beauty basics on the weekdays and then go into more intricate skincare practices on the weekend. This frees up your time and simplifies your workweek, while still fitting in intensified pampering time and self-care on Saturday or Sunday.
Easy Eating: Taking a minimalist approach to planning meals is a simple way to reduce anxiety and make life much easier. You can start by stocking the pantry with the basics upon which you can build a foundation. These basics might include rice, beans, soup stocks, and your favorite condiments. Keep your freezer stocked with the basics too like veggies and meats (or plant-based proteins if you don’t eat meat). With these few basics, you can whip up an easy, last-minute stir fry or simple hearty soup. Also think about hauling out the Crockpot so you can toss in the ingredients, set it and let the pot do all the work for you. Cooking doesn’t have to be (and shouldn’t be) a chore. A well-stocked kitchen with prime ingredients can get you cooking up yummy meals with minimal effort so you can enjoy more important pleasures in life.
Radical Decluttering: One of the most effective ways to simplify your life is to do a major overhaul in the home. Go room by room and start gathering up the clutter that serves no purpose other than collecting dust and getting in the way. Radically removing clutter from the home has a funny way of unclogging emotional energy. It’s almost like the act of physically removing useless bits in living spaces has a corresponding effect by releasing blockages in our lives making us freer to move, breathe and enjoy life.
These few tips to simplifying your life aren’t extreme or dramatic, and that’s the whole point. Living simply and minimally means easy changes that can make your world less complicated. The more you make tiny little shifts that contribute to living a simpler life, the more you will begin to see positive results reflected in your life.
