I will be the first one to admit that minimalism can be hard. I will also be the first one to admit that I have the maturity and dedication of a four-year-old. What does that mean? That means that I need constant rewards and "feel good" moments to get anything done. I know this may not be a good thing in some people's eyes but I get stuff done when I reward myself with simple things that make me happy (like making hot cocoa before bed, or watching one of my favorite movies). I think sometimes it's nice for adults to embrace their inner child.
“Sometimes it’s nice for adults to embrace their inner child...don’t be afraid to bribe yourself.”
The minimalist journey can be a long one, so I have to figure out ways to motivate myself. I wanted to share a few of them with you today. Often I will work on the weekend. Normally, it would take a day to finish a task because I had so much of one category to go through but now since I have been working on it for over a year, I can break-things down into smaller more manageable time chunks.
I will pick my task for that weekend, and I will assess how long I think that it will take. I subtract 10 minutes to add a sense of urgency, then I set the time and put music on in the background. No one is allowed to interrupt me for that amount of time. I work until the task is done, and if I win the game (finish before the bell rings), then I get the prize from my list. My list includes things like a bath with a lush bath balm, a mask, a treat at the grocery store, watching my favorite movie…things that are simple that really bring me joy.
Another really effective way that I motivate myself is the graph paper. Every time something leaves my house, I color in a square. I label the month that I am in and keep a tally of everything that I got rid of that month. I will have a limit of what I want to get rid of and anything over that I should feel really good about. At the end of the year I can see how much I have gotten rid of.
When I started my simple living journey over a year ago, my average decluttering sessions would look like this. Now, it is probably just one box or bag per decluttering session.
If you really want to make it fancy and much more accurate, on the other side of the graph paper I keep a tally of how many things come in (I usually label it so I know what the item is). That way I am held accountable and can really keep track of what I am bringing in and see if there are any patterns that I wish to stop. For example, on the tracking side of the graph paper I noticed that the things I brought in last year spiked in beauty products in January and July. Why is that? Is it because I run out in that amount of time, or does it take me that long to get bored with it, or simply I get tanner in the summer so my colors don’t match anymore? If it's because I get bored with it, I would say that is a problem for me that I need to address. However, if its because I need the change or to refill then I would think that is an acceptable spike.
At the end of the month or the year this really makes me feel good and keeps me motivated. At some point, I notice that there aren’t as many boxes filled in, and that is because I start slowing down. This means I finally hit my "happy spot" in my house and everything that I have will bring me joy or I know to be useful. That is the day that I will set the calendar for less decluttering sessions, and I will be very happy with all my hard work...just like my chart tells me so.
So many people dread the stockings but stockings were my favorite part. I have a great formula for you that will take the guess work out of stockings and will keep things at a reasonable price and minimize the things coming into your home to stay.