Written by Cora Gold, Editor-in-Chief of Revivalist
Organization is a key skill to learn, as it affects your routines, surroundings and many other facets of your life. Unfortunately, disarray can happen occasionally and throw you off course. Get back into the swing of things by following a minimalist lifestyle.
Minimalism Influences Your Organization Skills
Minimalism is a philosophy about intentional living and mindfulness. It tends to affect the way people consume items. According to Euromonitor, over 18% of consumers worldwide will be classified as Minimalist Seekers in 2023. Much of it stems from placing importance on price, sustainability and the local community.
However, it’s also a lifestyle that can affect how you organize your things. You start to form principles about only keeping the essentials and discarding the excess to simplify the orderliness of your space. There’s also minimalism in organizing even non-material items, such as your finances and digital space.
Why It’s Advantageous to Be Minimalist and Organized
Becoming minimalist and organized can provide immense stress relief. It removes many unnecessary items that would otherwise distract you from what you need to do. That simplification helps you get essential tasks done quickly and offers more time and energy for everything creative and fun.
Building up your organization skills has other perks for your mind, as well. It promotes critical thinking and independence as you age. You also get to hone your focus and time management in the long run.
Best Minimalist Techniques for Organization
It can take a while to adjust to a minimalist lifestyle, but it’s more than worth it if you want to improve your daily planning and management. To get you started, here’s how you can use minimalism to improve how you organize different aspects of your life.
1. Think Before You Buy
Minimalists are selective about what they bring into their homes, as extra items require more time and storage for organization. It’s important to adopt this think-before-you-buy mindset whenever you’re considering getting a new product.
Ask yourself if you already own something similar. If so, are you replacing it or do you want to keep it as a backup? Gauge how necessary it is to get this very moment. If you can hold off on buying it for a bit, that means you can still keep your current home organization.
2. Have a Clear Budget
Organize your finances by having a clear budget for your day-to-day life. Start by tracking your income and expenses to see your cash flow. From there, you can set realistic goals like saving a certain amount of money or simply scaling back on your spending.
Similar to the think-before-you-buy mindset, you need to buy only what’s essential or brings you joy. You can still adjust your spending habits according to your circumstances, but focus on staying on track.
3. Cut Down on Extra Clutter
Fewer items mean fewer possessions to organize. Focus on decluttering what’s currently in your space to help make it more roomy. Whether it’s extra art supplies you no longer use or decorative pieces that no longer make sense, store them away or donate them.
Removing extra clutter can also work like a good mental clean-out. For instance, maybe you have books you know you’ll never get around to reading, or you impulsively bought a kitchen gadget that doesn’t even work properly. Set it free and give yourself some peace of mind.
4. Simplify Your Closet
Capsule or minimalist wardrobes have become more popular than ever. The goal is to get a set of clothes you can mix and match when creating an outfit. The core step to accomplishing this is finding the pieces you enjoy wearing.
Think of clothes you can wear and style all year round that can last for a long time. You can also practice shopping for secondhand or preloved pieces. This technique is quite environmentally friendly, as it minimizes the garment waste in landfills.
5. Focus on Reusables
Organizing disposables like cutlery, plates, cups and more can take up way too much space. Swapping them out for reusable options means fulfilling your needs with fewer items. You also get to save more money, as you can just clean them out and reuse them again.
This technique is especially helpful for even less regularly used items like tote bags and water bottles. It still builds personal responsibility about taking care of the environment and adopting more sustainable items in your home.
6. Explore Storage Styles
Everything deserves to have its own place. As a minimalist, organizing different items in your home can involve a variety of solutions. Here’s a dive into different storage styles and how you can use them:
- Hidden storage: Hidden storage is a storage solution that’s directly disguised or concealed. Think about hidden closets or couches with storage. These are perfect for storing out-of-season or rarely used essentials like winter clothes, spare pillows, extra blankets, and more.
- Semi-hidden storage: Semi-hidden storage involves options that are concealed yet easily accessible. Kitchen cupboards or bathroom cabinets are good examples, as they can hold several items but still keep them away from usual sight.
- Displayed storage: Displayed storage is for items you want to see every day, like books, collectables and other pieces of decor. You get to be intentional with glass display cases and open shelves.
Minimalism doesn’t always mean getting rid of everything; sometimes right-sizing means using off-site storage for seasonal gear, archives, or furniture during life transitions. If you’re in Long Beach, you can explore nearby cheap storage solutions to keep essentials accessible without crowding your home, selecting a unit size that fits a capsule lifestyle. Prioritize clean, secure facilities with flexible month-to-month terms and easy online payments so you stay organized, on budget, and avoid waste from re-buying items you still use.
7. Have a Daily Cleaning Routine
Being a minimalist still entails a variety of tidying duties, though they are more simplified with fewer items. Ensure you have only the essential supplies and cleaning solutions — bonus if they’re sustainable! Try out these tips, as well:
- Create a laundry routine: Dirty clothes can be quite an eyesore in your place, so it’s vital to sort those out by getting your laundry routine down. Some people find putting in a full load at the beginning of the day works for them, but those living alone may thrive with the weekly sessions instead.
- Breeze through the kitchen: The kitchen is one of the busiest parts of the home, as it has ingredients, meals, dirty dishes, garbage and a whole lot more. Make it a point to visit this space at least once a day just to clean and put away what you want to keep.
- Organize the bathroom counters: You can get some organizers for your bathroom counters to make the skin care and other products more presentable. Wiping down the surface once every night can also help you wake up to a more welcoming space.
8. Rearrange Your Layout
Analyze whether your current home layout fits your minimalist vision. If one part feels too crowded, you can spread it out for better balance. Doing so is especially important in an open living space, where everything feels much more visible.
If you prefer to distinguish spaces from one another, you can use carpeting or color schemes as a form of separation. Dividers can also work wonders in providing that clear distinction between your rooms and belongings.
9. Create a Good Meal Plan
Minimalism can also improve how you plan your cooking. Each person wastes about 1.3 meals every day, each year, so figuring out how you’re going to organize your breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks day-to-day can be a significant improvement. Try these tips:
- Know your favorites: Narrow down what goes into your meal plan by listing the food you like to eat or cook. You can even take note of the exact recipe. By having this log, you can avoid making any spontaneous decisions about what to eat throughout the week.
- Create a grocery list: Make a minimalist grocery list by buying only the ingredients you need for the dishes you cook. Having an exact amount of food means less waste, more space and cost-efficiency.
- Meal prep for the week: Take your minimalist meal plan to the next level by having a meal prep session. Making a big batch and portioning it out for different meals throughout the week is smart for time and resource management.
10. Adopt Digital Minimalism
Digital minimalism involves having a mindful and intentional approach to your technology use. Improve your organizational skills by setting app timers for nonessential platforms or rearranging the apps on your phone in a way that makes more sense.
It’s also important to note that some technology brands release frequent iterations of their digital devices, prompting consumers to buy the latest ones right away. Practice restraint on when to replace what you currently own.
Prioritize Minimalism
Minimalism can improve your organization skills and quality of life and be a key path to sustainability. Find the techniques that work best for you and incorporate them into your daily life to see the results.
About the Author
Cora Gold has a passion for writing about life, happiness and sustainability. As Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine Revivalist, she loves to share her insights and find inspiration from others. Follow Cora on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.