Minimalist Challenge
Every 1st of the month a new 30 Day Challenge will be posted consisting of a particular task or activity for you to focus on every day without fail for that whole month. This task could be about beating a fear, trying something new, to make better room for ”you-time”, to develop a new skill or hobby or to just keep yourself more accountable for something. All of which is great for your mental clarity and well-being. You can either follow the ones posted monthly in The Green Space as part of The Room - Psy, or assign yourself some of your own you create! You can post about how your #30DayChallnge is going by tagging @theroompsy on Instagram or by using the hashtag #TheGreenSpace30DC ! Good luck!
COVID-19 has forced many of us lately to stay isolated in our homes, defer our social events and life plans. For many of us this is an incredibly daunting, boring, and lonely time. There is only so many times we can scroll through social media, contemplate starting that workout we’ve been putting off, and wear the same pyjamas – ew, gross.
Therefore, this month’s challenge is all about helping you to live an easier, more carefree, easy-access, minimalist lifestyle. Being stuck in the house can only be made worse by being enveloped in clutter and grime – be that mental or physical. So let’s get rid of it and start living a less busy, happier life.
So what is minimalist living?
Living a minimalist lifestyle is an inclusive lifestyle. It is all about having a minimal, clutter-free environment, including the way you spend your time, your money, and even the way you think.
YouTuber ‘simply by christine’ introduces her fantastic short guide to ‘Minimalism for beginners’ by explaining how the minimalist movement began in response to society being consumed with filling their lives with unnecessary things. That in America, apparently the population annually spends around $1.2 trillion on non-essential goods – AKA, things they don’t actually need. Christine continues, explaining how some reports indicate that we now consume twice as many material goods as we did 50 years ago. This feels like an absolutely grotesque amount of spending, hoarding, and showboating – why do we do it?
Joshua Becker, best-selling author of ‘The More of Less’ and ‘The Minimalist Home’, explains why people are turning to minimalism and how it is beneficial. Becker explains how this shift seems to be due to worldwide financial turmoil; that due to rising levels of unemployment, stagnant wages, and falling stock prices, people have had to re-evaluate their lifestyles and purchases.
Other reasons are due to increasing levels of environmental mindfulness, such as growing public concern over plastic pollution, animal exploitation, and CO2 levels. People just don’t want to fund this kind of activity any more, and as an environmentalist, I can’t say I blame them.
Minimalist art and aesthetics have also blown across many of our screens in recent years as something desirable, different, and quite frankly kind of cool looking. For example, Vogue regularly features and promotes distinctive, understated (yet very statement-oriented!) looks.
Instagram trends hail the famous ‘flat lay’ showcasing of one’s desk, latest beauty haul, or even food they have prepared in simple minimal style.
There even appears to be a step-by-step art to attaining this desirable aesthetic:
Minimalist art even takes a new form with stunning, unusual pieces becoming the go-to for game designers, galleries, and interior designers.
I’ve got to admit, some of these looks absolutely kill!
Tighter budgets and learning the difference between essential and non-essential purchases, in the modern world, seem to be both returning as a necessity and emerging as fashion.
Want to learn more about how to adopt a minimalistic lifestyle and its benefits? Check out Lana Blakely’s beautifully shot, aesthetically pleasing mini doc:
So without further a-do, here we present to you your April minimalist challenge!
Will you take the pledge?
Day 1
Appreciamate
Pick your favourite buddy, your best friend, your pal! And write down a list of all the best qualities you see in them. Send them that list and let them know how appreciative you are of their existence! Ahh, can’t you just feel the love?
Day 2
Order up!
Go through all of your cupboards and storage units that you keep food in and throw out all out of date items – including things in your fridge. While you’re at it, have a think about how you can store what’s left in a simple, orderly way. For inspo, check out this link: (click here!)
Day 3
Log It
Make yourself a gratitude log and record each item in a creative way for you to reflect on. Note down things that also make you unhappy or resentful. It’s time to start decluttering these things. Give thought and implement a plan of how you can constructively do this.
Day 4
Digging For Gold.
Time to evaluate the savings you are depriving yourself of. Take today to sit down and set out a budget plan for your expenditures, what excess you can use for fun, and what you need to save.
Day 5
“Is it worth it? Let me work it
I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it”…sorry I got carried away.
Take some time today to evaluate your last few purchases. Was it worth the money and what purpose did it serve? What could you do different/better next time?
Day 6
Time for Change:
Empty your wallet or purse of loose change. Count it up and store it somewhere for now to cash in to your bank account later. Also, time to throw away those faded receipts and bus tickets you have in there, don’t you think? We both know the writing isn’t even legible on that one anymore. It’s definitely time to clear it out!
Day 7
NegativaTEA is always a sour order.
Make a conscious effort not to complain or gossip all day.
Day 8
Power Off.
Cleanse your mind by staying offline for a day.
Day 9
Get out into nature.
Sunbathe, garden, read outside, or play with your dog. Whatever and however you do it, get some of that valuable fresh air into your lungs today and get some sun on your skin.
Day 10
Clap Fo’ Yo’ Damn Self!
Write down a list of your best qualities. Be honest and be detailed. Keep this list somewhere you can view it regularly. It never hurts to remember why you’re so great does it?
Day 11
**Phil Mitchell voice** “It’s all about faaaamily”
Spend some quality time with your loved ones today. If you are in quarantine right now due to COVID-19, make a plan to video chat with them.
Day 12
Feeling Zen.
Your bedroom needs to be a place of comfort and a reflection of you. Dedicate a couple of hours to re-shifting your space into an area you will enjoy spending time in, free of clutter and knick-knacks. Check out this link for ideas! (click here)
Day 13
Ditch the devices.
How many old smart phones are you hoarding in that draw you never go into? Time to unload everything off them and prep to sell those babies.
Day 14
**Cue Rihanna** “Shut up and driiive!”
Head on out to your car with a bin bag and some cleaning supplies. It’s time to get that baby empty, organised and gleaming again!
Day 15
Only bad habits die hard.
Start a new habit where you will set at least 20 minutes aside every day or two, to journal. Let your creative and reflective sparks glitter. If journaling isn’t for you, what other positive or useful habit can you start?
Day 16
Let’s get organised!
Do you have a workspace in your home that you regularly sit at? Take today to organise this space, file away things into correct places, throw out things that aren’t needed, and clean down any dirty or dusty surfaces.
Day 18
Are you one piece of linen away from making a new building?
Do you have ‘The Cupboard”? Or, ‘The Drawer’, that is just filled with excess, or unused, or random, un-matching, or downright manky items of bedding, towels, laundry, table cloths, tea towels etc.? Yeah, maybe its time to work through some of those.
Day 19
It’s time.
It’s time to purge your bag. Empty out the receipts, the wrappers, the loose tobacco crumbs, the random ketchup sachet from KFC that one time, and that screwed up stale packet of gum. What’s wrong with you? How long has that actually been in there?
Once it’s clear and safe again - dedicate new areas and pockets in your bag for different things, such as your wallet/purse, keys, sunglasses, books, etc.
Day 20
Meditation is Medicine.
Design a ‘Chill’ playlist on your YouTube account and sit for a minimum of 10 minutes a day with your eyes shut and do some deep breathing. Allow yourself to let go of any negative thoughts, or busy-ness in your mind from the day before.
Day 21
“Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to work we go!”
Create a to-do list, rate each item out of 3 in relation to its importance, and then re-write it in order of priority.
Day 22
Important paper, or just a decorative fire hazard?
We all have ‘the stack’. That bunch of papers, documents, statements and old mail that we just can’t be bothered to deal with. It’s time to work through it, deal with what we need to, create dedicated storage spaces, and recycle what we really don’t need anymore.
Day 23
Change is a good thing!
Now I know you’re perfect. But I’m sure there are a couple things you either do – or don’t do! – that you wish was a little different. Maybe you smoke, or bite your nails, or can’t be bothered to walk your dog as often as you should. Note these things down and make a plan and a decision to tackle them/do better.
Day 24
Hit The Books
Sort through all of your old books and textbooks. Donate the ones you will never look at again, and recycle the ones that are tattered beyond use. If you’re in quarantine due to COVID-19, make a pile ready for you to take out, once this has all blown over.
Day 25
Storage or hoardage?
Declutter your cupboards, drawers, and surfaces.
Day 26
Delicioso!
Make a plan for a regular food-shop schedule. Identify some healthy go-to’s, snacks, and staple meals. Dedicate a regular day in your week (a Sunday?), to bulk cook/prep a load of your meals. Bonus points if they’re plant-based and healthy (just sayin’!)
Day 27
Out with the old!
Purge your wardrobe – put every item into categories:
1. Keep
2. Throw Away
3. Donate
What you decide to keep, re-organise in your wardrobe according to function and colour.
Day 28
You’re not Britney Spears. You don’t have to deal with toxic.
Who in your life causes you frequent misery and frustration? It’s time to have a conversation with them about boundaries and expectations. If they don’t/can’t have this conversation with you, do they need to be in your life?
Day 29
Is your favourite music genre grime? Because your beauty supplies sure are full of it.
Spend some time working through your ‘goo’. Your make-up, body lotions, perfumes, hair and/or beard products etc. and recycle old and expired ones. The items that are left, give a little wipe down of any ‘leakage’ and organise them in a neat and easily-accessible way.
Day 30
Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Get your eco-warrior on and work through the remainder of your belongings. What can you throw away, organise, fix-up, donate, or repurpose?