Five-Minute Minimalism

By
Have you read about minimizing, thought about it, dreamed about it, but just haven't gotten started yet?


Or maybe you did get a start – last year some time.  You did a first pass through your wardrobe, pared down the kids' toys, got rid of your chipped dishes and glassware, and donated a few dusty knickknacks to the Goodwill.  But then you stalled.  Decluttering can be a huge job, and you just lost steam.


You can start again – it only takes five minutes.


I know you have five minutes.  Five minutes is a commercial break.  You can scramble eggs or make a cup of tea in five minutes.  Forget scrolling through social media and take five minutes to get back into decluttering.


The payoff will be bigger than you think.


uncluttered living



33 five-minute decluttering tasks

1.  Declutter the contents of your purse.

2.  Clear off your dresser or nightstand.

3.  Declutter your underwear or sock drawer.

4.  Donate three to five excess tee shirts, shorts, or pairs of jeans.

5.  Remove five items hanging in your closet.

6.  Clear off the bathroom counter.

7.  Declutter the contents of the medicine cabinet.

8.  Clear the area under the bathroom or kitchen sink.

9.  Declutter the shower keeping only what you use every day.

10.  Clear off the dining table or coffee table.

11.  Recycle all magazines, newspapers, and catalogs.

12.  Remove five books from your bookshelf.

13.  Remove five DVD's, Blu-ray discs, game cartridges, or board games.

14.  Go around the house and remove five knickknacks.

15.  Clear off the top of your desk.

16.  Pare down your digital desktop, or organize items into folders.

17.  Remove unused or rarely used smartphone apps.

18.  Sort through a pile of mail.

19.  Clear off the top of the refrigerator.

20.  Clear off the refrigerator door.

21.  Remove three to five things from your kitchen counters.

22.  Pare down your food storage containers (start with items that are chipped, warped, stained, or missing lids).

23.  Clear out expired or unused foods from the refrigerator and/or pantry (start with just one shelf).

24.  Fill a box with excess water bottles, mugs, promotional glasses and the like.

25.  Remove one small appliance or piece of cookware you never use anymore.

26.  Declutter old or unused coats and umbrellas from the coat closet.

27.  Remove excess towels, sheets, or table linens from the linen closet.

28.  Box up the tools and supplies for a long-neglected hobby.

29.  Fill a box with outgrown children's clothes; toss any that are stained or torn beyond repair.

30.  Remove five toys from your child's stash, and all of the freebies (party favors, Happy Meal toys, etc.)

31.  Clear out one junk drawer.

32.  Declutter one piece of outgrown or unused sports equipment.

33.  Declutter the inside of your car.


Empty the trash and take donations out to your car for drop-off as soon as possible.


Choose just one of these activities to get started, but don't stop there.  You could work through the list over the course of a month, or keep doing one activity over and over until you feel you've reached the right balance for you and your family.


Before you know it, you'll be on your way to living with less stuff and more space, time, and freedom.





MINIMALIST BASICS OMNIBUS EDITION book
Want more encouragement and strategies for living a simpler life?  Look for my book, Minimalist Basics: The Omnibus Edition, available on Amazon.*


This special edition contains four favorite volumes in one.  Decluttering: The Simple Guide from A to Z is the cheat sheet you've needed to keep your clutter-free journey on track.  Minimalism 1-2-3: Simple Steps to a Better Life focuses on the balance between too much and too little – not the "more is always better" mindset of our culture, but not "monk-in-a-cave" austerity either.  Simple Beginnings describes 15 tiny steps to streamline daily life.  Finally, The Minimalist Experiment details 36 activities that let you try out the possibilities of simplifying your life in six areas:  physical clutter, digital clutter, mindset, schedule, finances, and personal well-being.


You can be happier with less, and Minimalist Basics is the useful, inspirational resource you'll turn to again and again.

* This blog is reader-supported.  If you make a purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission.


Updated January 2025


Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2024 at 6:46 AM

    Great ideas thx

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2024 at 10:02 AM

    I would love to purchase your book, but I will not do so with Amazon. Never have, never will. I don’t want one company to control all goods, which is the way they’re headed.

    So, is there another way for me to buy the book?? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen TrefzgerJanuary 30, 2024 at 3:05 PM

      I understand your feelings about Amazon. However, they make it possible for me to publish and earn money for my books without a huge up-front fee. That's why I've gone with them.

      I do have a possible work-around for you, but you would need to email me personally so we can communicate about it. My email is karen@maximumgratitudeminimalstuff.com

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

20 Minimalist Hobbies to Try That Don't Require a Lot of Supplies

By
Image
Trying a new hobby is a great idea, but if you're the type who usually goes all in, that can get complicated and expensive very quickly.  You could buy a guitar and sign up for lessons, only to let it sit and collect dust after watching one YouTube tutorial.  You could purchase a tennis racket and a cute court-approved outfit, but discover that you don't have the speed or hand-eye coordination to play the game. If you want an activity that doesn't require an investment in a lot of expensive new supplies, minimalist hobbies are the answer.  They're low-budget, easy to abandon if they're not the right fit, and don't require lots of shopping to get started. Whether you're looking for a new way to be creative, a way to get some exercise, or a way to get mindful and calm, these minimal-gear hobbies let you start right away without the pressure of a big commitment. * This blog is reader-supported, with NO ADS.  If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small ...
Read more

52 Minimalist Hobbies to Benefit and Enrich Your Life

By
Image
Everyone benefits from a hobby or two.  Hobbies reduce stress by letting you spend time on something you enjoy provide scope for creativity and imagination make you more knowledgeable and interesting help you develop patience and skills improve your sense of accomplishment and self-esteem promote mindfulness and concentration can create a social life and let you bond with others who share your interests can allow you to stay active and physically healthy I've known people with entire rooms dedicated to their hobby – studios for painting and pottery, sewing rooms, woodworking sheds, and basements filled with wine-making apparatus or a model train setup. But even if you live in a small space, like my husband and I do, or you want to pursue hobbies that require less equipment and expense, you're in luck.  Many hobbies take a lot of space and tools, but many do not, and you can probably find one of those that you'll enjoy. There are some tricks to making a hobby work in a small...
Read more

21 Essentials Every Minimalist Should Keep (even when decluttering)

By
Image
When we adopt a minimalist mindset and lifestyle, we gain more peace and security for ourselves and more to share with others.  Minimalism is good for us, for others, and for the planet too! But streamlining what we own doesn't mean we should let go of essentials.  What are those essentials?  Your answers may vary (my essentials include books, my laptop and phone, a kitchen table with padded chairs, some family photos, and a comfortable bed), but there are some possessions we all need. Emergency essentials I'm not a prepper (not even close), but I know that storms, power outages, illnesses, and breakdowns are not only possible, but likely at some point.  It's helpful to keep some emergency supplies in your home and vehicle.  Don't declutter these items. 1.  First aid kit Create your own or buy one online .*  Keep it stocked, and replace what you use. 2.  Emergency car kit This should contain basic tools, including a jack, lug wrench, and spare tir...
Read more

40 Simple Decisions to Make Daily Life a Breeze

By
Image
We make thousands of decisions every day.  Should I wear this or that, or this other thing... or should I buy something new?  Should I eat this or that?  Should I answer my phone or let it go to voice mail?  Should I do this task first, or that one?  Should I take the short cut or the scenic route?  Should I cook or go out, or order in, or just eat a bowl of Cheerios?  Should I read this book, or check social media, or go to bed early? On and on it goes, day after day.  Decision fatigue is a real thing. Someone has done the math.  A study conducted by Barclays Plan & Invest in the UK found that we spend about 2.5 hours every day making these small but necessary decisions.  This huge effort steals time and attention we could be spending on more important things, like relationships, big projects, and long-term plans.  That's why the simplest decisions can make so much difference to your happiness. What do I mean by simple decisio...
Read more

Why a 20th Century Lifestyle Might Be the Only Way to Retire

By
Image
My husband just retired after teaching 6th graders for 42 years.  Congratulations, Jon!  We're retiring on his pension and an IRA I contributed to for almost 15 years.  Plus about $350 per month I'm getting from Social Security, which is what happens when you  teach for two years homeschool your kids conduct church choirs become a freelance classical singer work as a bookkeeper for a non-profit organization tutor adult English language-learners at a community college Small income, small benefits. Today, we're being told we need between $1 and $2 million to retire comfortably.  And maybe that's true if we keep living like middle-class people do now. But here's what I keep coming back to:  In the 1990s, most of us weren't living luxurious lives.  At least not what would be considered luxurious by today's way of thinking.  We were just paying our bills. Full disclosure:  In the 1990s, I had a problem with constantly buying new stuff for my house...
Read more