As I finished “The Magic Art of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo, she wrote that (and I could be remembering this incorrectly) that you should only do this huge declutter once.

And part of me finds that misleading. Yes, I haven’t done one to that magnitude, but I have done a series on mini cleanses since then, which I find very beneficial in my journey of keeping up with it all.

The most important part of that process is changing your mindset as you go along.

Because moving forward from that first initial cleanse you’re going to want to focus on being a conscious consumer more than anything. Staying on top of every item that makes its way into your home is much easier than having to do a giant declutter one a year.

Creating a Want List on my computer

If something pops in my head, i want that. Instead of impulse buying stuff I write it down on a list I have on my computer. Whether it’s clothes, electronics, a book or something for the apartment, it goes on the list. Then i can start searching for it, seeking out the exact one I want, at the right price. And in the end there are a lot of items that I don’t actually end up wanting/getting in the end.

Nixing the weekly shopping trips to the thrift store

I needed to stop buying things just because they’re super cheap, and it is something to do. I love a good thrift store hunt/find, but if you don’t go in with a particular item in mind you can end up leaving with 5 different pieces, and doing that weekly, ads up.

Buying with longevity in mind

Realizing it is OK to spend more if it will last longer. That’s the new goal for me, finding staple, quality pieces that will last long and not go out of style. Whether this is stuff for our house, clothes or beauty products. I want to surround myself with things I love and aren’t full of harmful ingredients.

Spend a few extra minutes every three months when I’m creating my capsule wardrobe to go through my clothes and donate pieces I don’t wear/have been holding on to

I can look back on that previous capsule at the pieces I didn’t wear, and even items from previous seasons and pass those items along to someone who needs them or loves them more.

Do mini declutters

Set yourself declutter goals. For example, this week I’m going to go through books, go through the bathroom drawers, kitchen cabinets, etc.

This saves you from giant declutter session once a year, or every few years. It also keeps it from getting out of hand.

Spending 15-30 minutes every morning tidying up the apartment as well as doing little tidies throughout the day

The dishes, making the bed, and putting stuff away after I use it. If you bite off small chunks it's much easier than trying to eat the whole cake at once.

Deep cleaning apartment once a week

- wash sheets

- vacuum

- dust

- wipe down bathroom, kitchen

Planning meals

Take a look at how often you are actually going to be home over that next week, how many meals will you actually eat. Look at what you already have in the pantry that you can build meals from. Make a shopping list. This keeps you from buying too much or what you don’t need and will waste

I always take five minutes when I get home with the groceries to go through fridge and clean out any old tupperware, food, etc.

Make big batches of certain meals that can last you few days.

Some of these may seem completely unrelated to what you think minimalism is. But for me, this mindset has spread out into almost every aspect of my life, far beyond what I've even written about today.

I think there is this huge misconception that minimalism is just about owning nothing. But for me it is all about learning how to be selective with what you allow into your life.