50 Very Short Tips to Help You Practice Minimalism in Real Life

A minimalist guide based on my 5 years of minimalism.

Contrary to popular belief, minimalism isn’t about rules and how many things you own. It’s a way of life where you focus on what matters.

You don’t have to get rid of all your stuff to experience the powerful effects of minimalism on your mental health and well-being. The following tips will help you walk this journey at your pace.

Minimalism with a big M came into my life in a state of flux: Between 2016 and 2019 I moved three times and traveled for a total of 12 months. This turned every excessive thing I owned into a burden.

I didn’t toss 90% of my stuff within a day and didn’t participate in any minimalism challenge.

Rather, with every move and flight I boarded, I got rid of more and more — it was a linear, non-dramatic process aligned with my needs at the time. I slowly realized how little I own and how liberating it feels.

Once I was ready to settle down again, my possessions were down to a laptop, a phone, a Kindle, essential clothing, and some furniture.

It was also the time I serendipitously stumbled upon the minimalist movement. I understood I can apply minimalism to more areas of my life, starting from digital clutter to my appearance, purchasing habits, and friendships.

Here are the 50 most important tips and lessons I learned from 5 years of minimalism.

1. Minimalism doesn’t exist for minimalism’s sake.
2. Its purpose is to free you of physical, digital, mental, and emotional clutter. It serves you, not your Instagram feed.
3. Therefore, don’t force minimalism where it isn’t necessary.
4. You can be an avid collector of certain items you love and still be a minimalist.
5. Don’t do minimalist challenges. Instead, identify the most cluttered areas of your life and work from there.
6. Don’t compete to own as little as possible.
7. Think as much about what you want as what you don’t want.
8. Meditate to find clarity.
9. Learn to say no.
10. Luxuries tend to become necessities and spawn new obligations. The hedonic treadmill is a great obstacle to lasting happiness.
11. All tangible things you own take up space, and all digital things you own take up digital space. Consider this before you buy them.
12. Everything you own comes with a set of obligations (cleaning, space, reparation, etc.).
13. Declutter. Start with what bothers you most — the packed storage room you can’t enter or the closet you don’t dare to open. The rest will follow.
14. Seven to ten days’ worth of clothing for every season is enough to be dressed all year.
15. Travel with hand luggage.
16. Don’t keep anything you didn’t use in the past 12 months.
17. You don’t need what-if and just-in-case items. They give you false security.
18. Get rid of items you wouldn’t take if you moved.
19. Ask: Do I have space for this?
20. Ask: Will I use this if I buy it?
21. Ask: Does it make me happy?
22. Don’t keep useless presents out of guilt. Here’s your permission to regift or toss them.
23. Sentimental items come with lots of emotions and carry heavy weight. Ask yourself how many of them you want to own.
24. We aren’t our stuff, and neither are the people and memories we hold on to. They live within us, not in the things we keep.
25. When you’re hesitant to get rid of an item, ask why you want to keep it. If the answer is guilt, reconsider.
26. Do the necessary maintenance work on your items.
27. Your things deserve your TLC and attention. Don’t buy anything you can’t care for.
28. Don’t shop hungry.
29. Repair before you replace.
30. Gift or sell before you toss.
31. It’s natural to never feel like we have enough and what we have is good. Observe this feeling but don’t believe it.
32. Don’t overwork, overeat, overshare, oversmoke, or overseduce. Stop causing harm.
33. Watch The Story of Stuff.
34. Read about planned and perceived obsolescence.
35. Digitalize your paperwork.
36. Switch from paperback to Kindle.
37. Beware of digital clutter.
38. Make your phone work for you, not against you.
39. Sort your apps into folders. Put apps that scream loudest for your attention away from sight.
40. Delete social media from your phone.
41. Don’t sleep next to your phone. Use a real alarm clock if you need one.
42. Turn off all notifications.
43. Close all tabs after every session.
44. All people you want in your life need your time and attention. Therefore, surround yourself with people you love to spend time with and listen to.
45. Learn to be alone.
46. People come and go. Strong friendships can grow apart. This is normal and doesn’t make you a bad friend.
47. In the end, only you know what’s trash and what’s a treasure for you. Minimalism asks you to be honest with yourself.
48. Minimalism means you care — about what you own, how you spend your time, and who you allow into your life.
49. Minimalism is a lifelong mindfulness practice.
50. The opposite of minimalism isn’t maximalism but indifference.

Finally, here’s the most important tip to all these tips:

Don’t use minimalist rules to become a better minimalist. Use them to focus your attention where it matters most. Use them to fill your life with joy and meaning.

I hope these 50 tips can serve as a great starting point to your minimalist journey. If you want to dive further into the practice, I also wrote a comprehensive tutorial about how exactly I practice minimalism.

Finally, I’ll leave you with wisdom from the author of The New Japanese Minimalism Fumio Sasaki:

“Minimalists are people who know what’s truly necessary for them versus what they may want for the sake of appearance, and they’re not afraid to cut down on everything in the second category.”

For more inspiration, join my Self-Letter. It’s a weekly email where I help you learn more about yourself, embrace your creativity, and make money while you live in alignment with your personal values.