801: Minimalist Do-Over: Seven Things I'd Do Differently by Britt with No Sidebar

It's a minimalist Monday edition of optimal living daily episode eight hundred and one minimalist do over seven things I do differently by Brit with no sidebar.com I'm Justin Molick your personal narrator reading to you every day just like an audiobook but free of charge mostly from blogs But sometimes from books and always with permission from the websites today's post for minimalist Monday comes from a guest author on no sidebar Brit who actually has her own blog called tiny ambitions and Online space dedicated to documenting her journey to simplify her life with the ultimate goal of building her very own tiny house You can find that at tiny ambitions calm for now Let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life Minimalist do over seven things I do differently by Brit with no sidebar calm I've been calling myself a minimalist for almost five years in that time frame I've purged 75% of my stuff decluttered my digital and social lives and made good head away and breaking my compulsive shopping tendencies But now that I'm five years in I've had a chance to reflect if I became a minimalist today There are a few things I would do differently number one I would have gone slower after months of reading about minimalism I finally kick started my journey by playing the minimalist min's game over the course of a month I decluttered over 400 things from all areas of my life clothes kitchen stuff books electronics But like I've said before I'm both impatient and a methodical turtle if I got to go back and do it over again I'd spread it out over two to three months that way I would have the time to really interrogate what I wanted to keep in my life And what I wanted to pass on to someone else Minimalism for me is all about making mindful decisions And I'm sad to say I wasn't very mindful when I first started out I just wanted everything gone which brings me to number two number two I would have reused repurposed and reclaimed This is a big one for me I donated and tossed so much stuff at the beginning of my minimalist journey that I'm certain I missed opportunities to reuse Repurpose and reclaim items riffing off of our next life's use it up challenge I truly believe we have a responsibility to utilize as much of the stuff We own to the best of our abilities before we minimize it from our lives Jars from old beauty products can be used for other purposes I use an old deodorant jar to hold hand cream at work unwanted clothing can be given a new life think t-shirt quilt old Old books can be turned into a million different useful things interest is very helpful here Still some things just can't be reworked to fit into your life Which is where number three comes in Number three I would have chosen to donate the right way At the beginning of my decluttering journey I dropped everything off at my local value village A second-hand charity store for non-North Americans Knowing what I know now about where our stuff actually ends up I'd be much more particular about where I donate now These days I donate beauty products I can't use to project beauty share And when I do another closet clean out soon I'm going to take the items to a local women's shelter I live in northern Ontario so winter clothes are at a premium for our homeless population I'm going to hold on to those items plus hats mitts and blankets until they are needed again next year They'll take more time and effort to donate this way But being mindful in this crucial part of my minimalism journey Will ensure my unused stuff is better utilized by those who can actually use it Number four I would have told my family sooner Even though I have been a minimalist for almost five years now I've never actually had the I'm a minimalist conversation outright with any of them I've told them I don't want or need gifts or any other material objects But and this is crucial to their respect of that decision I've never actually told them why I think if I had it would have made the thanks But no thanks conversations a little easier because it wouldn't have been coming out of left field Number five I would have cut myself more slack Over the years I found myself getting sucked into the minimalist ideal And it often left me with a feeling of inadequacy Because my life didn't look like the pictures of other minimalist lifestyle bloggers AKA white rooms empty modern I've spoken about the issues I have with minimalist design in the past episode of Tiny Bites And I stand by that My minimalist life looks exactly the way it should Like my life and no one else's If we're all aspiring to look like the same version of minimalism that we've seen perfected on Instagram How different and unique actually is that? Number six I would have enjoyed the journey Once I got myself out from under the mountain of stuff that was suffocating my life I realized I wasn't the person I thought I was I learned a lot about myself during the decluttering process And I wish I'd savored those experiences and that learning process when it was happening in real time Is a weird and wonderful feeling to realize who you actually are Man, there's one thing I know for sure I am not my stuff Number seven I would have started sooner Looking back now and realizing how much I've simplified my life compared to what it looked like If I got to do it again, I'd start sooner I wouldn't waste another second shopping online to buy something to impress other people I'd stop saying yes just to be polite when no is what I needed to say Most of all, I would start trusting that I know the right path for me Even if it looks different than what everyone else thinks my life should be I would also start blogging about it on day one I can't imagine where Tiny Ambitions would be today if I'd taken that next step And put my journey online as soon as I started A life with no regrets I just want to say that I have absolutely no regrets about how my minimalist journey has unfolded Regressed imply that I did something wrong or that I'm ashamed And nothing to be further from the truth My journey has been slow, fast, weird and wonderful And I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to share it with you Is there anything you'd do differently if you had the chance to restart your minimalism or simple life or slow living journey today? You've just listened to the post titled Minimalist Do Over Seven Things I'd Do Differently by Britt with no sidebar.com I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health What supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on Superpower finally takes the guessing out of it One simple lab test covers over 100 biomarkers And their app gives you a complete picture of your heart, liver, hormones, metabolism Even environmental toxins Plus it used to cost $499 Right now, it's just $199 And head to superpower.com and use code old at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership So if you haven't heard of the minimalist min's game Usually you'll hear about it at the end of the month Because it's a challenge that you start on the first of the month And each day of the month you get rid of that many items So on the first of the month you get rid of just one item On the second day of the month, two items and so on It gets difficult for sure, it's not easy That's why they call it a challenge But you can make it fun and compete to see who lasts the longest Like with a friend or family member Or go it alone and see how long you can do it If you make it a full month, you'll get rid of around 500 items So yeah, that's a lot But try it out, whatever works for you And I'll leave it there for today, I hope you're having a great start to your week And I'll see you tomorrow Where you're off to my life Oh, wait