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The transition to a new calendar year is a time when many of us want to start fresh. We write resolutions and goals to create the lives we want. But sometimes, especially for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, the bitter cold and dark of January 1 is not exactly a high-energy time to implement change. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start new habits at this time. You just need a little extra motivation. If one of your goals is to start living a minimalist life this year, here are the best ways I’ve found to get inspiration.
Most of these suggestions are super low effort – you can do them even while hungover and sleep deprived on New Year’s Day. But they have a 99% chance of getting you pumped and full of energy to start your new minimalist lifestyle.
1. Watch a Documentary about Living a Minimalist Life
This is my #1 suggestion for a lazy New Year’s Day. Or just a Saturday morning when you’re not feeling up to starting a huge decluttering project. Every time I’ve turned on a documentary about minimalism intending to just sit back and watch, I’ve ended up so inspired that, before it even ends, I’m puttering around my house grabbing things to throw away.
Here are some I recommend:
Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix
This is a 8-episode series following decluttering expert Marie Kondo as she helps different families declutter their homes. You may have read her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (which I’ll suggest below). But there’s something inspiring about seeing the visual before-and-after of cluttered homes becoming peaceful and organized. Each family has different struggles when it comes to clutter – parents of young children, empty nesters adjusting after their kids have left the home, a couple moving in together – and you’ll almost certainly relate to at least one. So, turn it on and see how long it takes for you to get off the sofa and start ruthlessly chucking your old papers and knick-knacks in the recycling bin.
Minimalism on Netflix (also available on YouTube)
This is a great starter documentary for anyone who isn’t very familiar with or just isn’t completely sold on the whole minimalism thing. (A good film to put on if you have a partner who’s not so into minimalism.) It’s from Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who call themselves The Minimalists. They do a great job of summarizing why the materialist focus of our modern culture is a trap that will never make you happy. They also follow the lives of minimalists from all walks of life. You can see how various people with different lifestyles and life goals all benefit from living a minimalist life.
Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy on Netflix
If you’re already into minimalism and anti-consumerism, the information in this doc will probably not be brand new. But it’s still a powerful reminder of how companies are manipulating you into always wanting more. And how buying more is causing a catastrophe for the planet. By the end, you’ll be so disgusted with consumerism that you’ll likely vow to change your shopping habits for good.
The Social Dilemma on Netflix
This doc is a great place to start if you’re interested in digital minimalism and curing your smartphone addiction. The very people who led big tech companies explain how social media apps are designed to be addictive. And moreover, how they keep you miserable. By the end of two and a half hours, you’ll be ready for a more offline life. I personally consider that a vital aspect of living a minimalist life. I was never even particularly active on social media, yet my mental health improved by a shocking amount when I cut back.
Fed Up
You can watch Fed Up free on YouTube. It’s incredibly inspirational for those who want to move toward a simpler way of eating, beyond mass-produced junk food. Food choices may not be an obvious element of living a minimalist life. But it ties in with all the other consumption-focused aspects of modern life that keep us unhealthy and unhappy. Just like social media apps and advertisements keep us addicted to excessively consuming junk content and products, addictive processed foods keep us consuming too much low-quality food.
If you’ve already seen all of the above, This is My Everybody has a great list of dozens of documentaries on minimalism and simple living.
2. Read a Book about Minimalism
This is another lazy day suggestion if you want to veg out but have a bit of energy to put into reading. If finding time to read a whole book sounds intimidating, I’ll share a secret with you: listening to an audiobook while you do chores or even simply skimming a book are just as good for getting motivated and inspired.
Here are some of my favorites that I found the most inspirational:
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – Excellent for anyone looking for motivation to declutter. AND a simple, straightforward method for actually making it happen.
Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki – Fantastic motivation for living a minimalist life. It’s funny and enjoyable to read. Sasaki is open about how he was using stuff as a crutch and how letting go allowed him to achieve his true potential. He also has some great, pithy rules to live by that will help you get over your hoarding tendencies.
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport – Like The Social Dilemma documentary recommended above, this book will motivate you to beat your smartphone addiction. It’s not a great resource if you’re looking to declutter your closet. But it’s excellent motivation for decluttering your mind and reclaiming your time.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown – I recommend this one often on my blog because it was such a quick read that really changed the way I approach life. The philosophy of essentialism is bigger than minimalism, although it’s related. It’s the perfect resource for someone who has already started implementing elements of minimalism in their physical space and is ready to start “decluttering” other areas of life. It will put you in the right mindset for decluttering your home or setting new goals for the new year.
3. Reframe Your Mindset
Even if you don’t have time to watch a documentary or read an entire book, I recommend checking out these quick reads on establishing a minimalist mindset:
One Mindset Shift that Will Turn You into a Minimalist
Minimalist Mindset: How to Go Beyond Decluttering to Become a Minimalist
Before you get to work decluttering, it’s important to have the right mindset. Otherwise, you’re going to throw away the low-hanging fruit in your home but still have too much stuff and eventually fall into the same habits you had before. (Ask me how I know!)
Before you take any action, start thinking about what your clutter is costing you. Instead of considering the ways some item could potentially be useful maybe in a hypothetical future scenario, consider what it’s costing you to hang onto it right now.
And in order to commit to living a minimalist life – not just doing a quick declutter – you’ll need to change your habits. You’ll need to adjust things like how you approach shopping and your exposure to ads through TV and social media if this new lifestyle is going to stick.
4. Make a Vision Board
Personally, I didn’t get into vision boards until recently. I wasn’t very motivated to clip photos from magazines and glue them to a poster board. But then I realized how easy it is to use Pinterest to create a virtual vision board.
This is another fun and relaxing lazy day activity that will nonetheless light a fire under your feet to start living a minimalist life this year. You’ll start by reclining on the sofa and playing with pretty pictures on your phone. But by the time you finish, you’ll want to jump up and start making your vision a reality.
If you don’t already have a Pinterest account, sign up – it’s free! Start a board and title it “Vision Board [Year].” Search for keywords like “minimalist home,” “minimalist lifestyle,” “minimalist aesthetic,” and “minimalist fashion.” Pin the photos that excite you most to your board. The app will suggest related keywords based on your clicks, and you’ll easily gather a few dozen photos to complete your vision board.
Creating the board itself is an inspirational activity. But beyond that, you can keep looking back at your vision board throughout the year when you need a little extra motivation to do the work to make it a reality.
5. Deal with Your Unwanted Holidays Gifts Promptly
Ok, this suggestion requires a bit more effort than watching a documentary or playing with Pinterest. But it’s still a smaller project than decluttering your entire home.
If you’re reading this in January, you almost certainly have a pile of gifts somewhere just waiting to be dealt with. Decide now whether you want to keep or donate those items, and where you can take the donations. Then get them out of your house right away. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to keep something forever just because it was a gift.
I recommend this as a manageable little starter project when it comes to decluttering. Not allowing these items to rot in your home as reminders of the many things you need to “get around to at some point” is great way to start the new year fresh.
And for next year, read these tips for having a minimalist Christmas with fewer unwanted gifts.
6. Declutter One Area of Your Home
It’s intimidating to consider decluttering your entire home. If that’s your goal this year, you may feel frozen and unable to start.
Instead of thinking of it as a big home declutter, try setting aside one morning or afternoon to tackle one limited area of your home. For example, your bedroom closet is a great place to start. Follow these tips to ruthlessly purge your wardrobe within an hour or two. Then sell, donate, or recycle what you decluttered. Dropping off bags of clutter and seeing that one clean space in your home will give you the motivation you need to keep chipping away at your full home declutter this year.
7. Do a 30-Day Declutter Challenge
And of course, another simple and structured way to start your minimalism journey on the right foot is to do a 30-Day Declutter Challenge. This challenge is designed to take just 20 minutes per day, and it includes days dedicated to selling, donating, and recycling your clutter. By the end, you’ll have a significantly tidier and more peaceful home.
Completing a structured 30-day challenge requires a bit of dedication, but it also provides a simple guideline to getting the project done without having to strategize about how you’re going to tackle it.
The new year is a great time to start a 30-day challenge to set the tone for the year. But you can do it anytime of year when you decide you want to start living a minimalist life.
What Do You Think?
Have you tried any of the methods above to get inspired to start living a minimalist life? Do you have your own techniques for motivating yourself? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
You May Also Like…
Super Simple 30-Day Declutter Challenge to Kickstart Your New Year
A Step-by-Step Guide to Setting New Year’s Goals You’ll Actually Achieve
One Mindset Shift that Will Turn You into a Minimalist
Minimalist Mindset: How to Go Beyond Decluttering to Become a Minimalist
How to Declutter for Good: 10 Bad Reasons You Hold onto Junk
