How To Become a Minimalist | Start Here

There usually comes a point sometime in the year where I step back and evaluate if I'm living intentionally and practicing what I preach so to speak. Doing that this time around inspired me to create this list or sort of guide for someone who may want to start living as a minimalist or like me wants to revisit some of these old habits that made a positive change in my life. So today in this video, I'm going to do exactly that. Explain some of the most important things for getting the most out of a minimalist lifestyle. But first, if you're new to my channel, thank you for stopping by. Here we talk about minimalism, frugal living, tech, and things of that nature. So if that sounds good to you and you end up liking the video, be sure to like and please invite the subscribe button over to play Monopoly. And once you let them purchase all the properties, flip the board off the table and then storm out of the room. Let's get started. Simplify routine and hobbies. I always felt like this was one of the more important things that I implemented to make that positive impact. Simplifying my routine didn't mean taking up a new simple hobby, but more of just honing in on my favorite activities or the ones I found to be the most important to me. Because I definitely had a problem with just going all in on new hobbies that led me to having five or six things to do and spreading myself too thin. You may already know a few things you could probably cut down on out of your life to simplify your routine or just your day-to-day life. And even when I had everything as simple as I wanted it to be, I even sought out ways to trim fat off of those. Simplifying what I did to exercise or even allocating specific times throughout the day to those activities were just a few of the ways I simplified my routine. Be aware of and avoid unnecessary consumerism. And I say unnecessary consumerism intentionally. What I like to think of when it comes to this is advertisements that try to convince me that something I have needs to be replaced as soon as possible or I need to purchase some sort of product or service before it's too late. I talked about something similar before and I called it fear-mongering advertisement. This most obviously applies to technology because the most common ways companies advertise to us is by making it seem like what we're currently using is completely out of date or just a piece of garbage. I just think being more conscious or aware of these advertisements and marketing tactics made me want to step away from and even start to resent hyper-consumerism to a certain degree. And I quickly wanted to thank the sponsor of today's video, Trade Coffee. If you make coffee at home, get ready to discover how much better it can be with trade. They bring the country's top local roasters together and curate the best coffees in one place. Then they match you with options you love, recommending new roasts based on what you like or would like to try. Every bag is roasted to order and delivered to your home exactly when you need it. And I'll tell you from first-hand experience, this delivery was really fast and has set the bar really high for good tasting coffee. It's pretty much ruined the coffee I was previously buying. Head to drinktrade.com to receive your first bag for free. Trade guarantees you'll love that first bag or they'll replace it for free. That's drinktrade.com slash Nick G for your first bag free when you subscribe. Thanks again to Trade Coffee for sponsoring this video. Dress for yourself. I've always said one of the best things about becoming a minimalist was adopting a capsule wardrobe. And as a result of that, I'm just dressing more for myself and less for my image. Thinking back to high school or even just a half dozen years ago, if I put as much effort into my grades as I did worrying about my outfits, I would have probably been able to solve Hilbert's unsolved math problem of 1900. Dressing more for myself and wearing things I myself felt the most comfortable in was such a nice way to forget about trends, save money, and just have a consistent look for several years. I recommend just taking some time to go through your clothes and evaluate which of those you actually find yourself wearing the most. Turn off everything and unplug. Occasionally stepping away from every electronic that I use is important for my well-being and honestly, my sanity. I work with screens and I use screens for my entertainment and consumption. And as much as I do love my electronics, I love my time away from them just as much. Taking walks outside and reading from the physical copy of a book over the digital version is really just a nice way to switch it up sometimes as well as keep that healthy balance. And I noticed for myself by doing this, it's helped me to enjoy that time that I actually do spend in front of screens that much more. And I think the key to this was having at least just one analog activity. Being those short walks in the park, working out, cooking, sketching, reading, anything that just involves no electronic technology at all. I recently decided that all my time I'm going to spend in the kitchen will be without music or videos in the background. And yes, this is absolutely a small step, but a nice time of the day that I have dedicated for some peace and quiet. And this is really just a different way of saying be more intentional and selective of who you're spending your time around. I think most people would agree it's better to have a few very close friends than a large group of acquaintances. I definitely don't mean to cut off everyone you speak to and completely disappear, although that sounds pretty nice from time to time. For me, it's about spending more time with those you align the most with, as well as a little bit more time for yourself. I can say from my own experiences, who I spent the most time around did in fact rub off on me in terms of my general mood or interests. Starting myself with like-minded people and those I care about the most and removing myself from those who are draining has ultimately been a great decision. And that leads perfectly into this very broad statement, but the most important one in my opinion. Because most commonly in my essentialism videos, I spoke about the importance about being more selfish with my time. And as time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent how important that actually is. Taking more time for myself, for me at least, simply means focusing more on my physical or mental health. Consciously doing things like staying off social media and not paying too much attention to the news or just what other people are doing in general has absolutely been good for my general mood. I encourage you to try something that ultimately is taking a little bit better care of yourself, even if it's just some time alone or trying something you've always wanted to, but stopped because of others for some reason. And anyways, these were just a few of the ways I found minimalism to be the most rewarding. In some places, I would recommend one start when beginning their own journey. But as always, I appreciate the time you spent here and I appreciate you watching. If you did like this video and you like this type of content, be sure to like and consider subscribing to my channel. And I'll see you next time.