Is there a better way to start the year than with a fun challenge? This 30-day minimalism challenge will help you eliminate distractions in your life to make room for a fresh start.
The minimalism challenge consists of 30 days, each with a different topic, and its purpose is to ease you into your minimalism journey. It’s not so much about decluttering, but more about the minimalist mindset and philosophy. After this, you’ll never look at minimalism the same way again.
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Minimalist Philosophy
Minimalist philosophy teaches you about what is most important in life.
Minimalists believe in quality over quantity in everything they do. That means that they own less stuff but the things they decide to keep bring value or function in their life. Everything they own serves its purpose.
It’s not only about decluttering
They look to minimize their belongings in order to live more simply and have time to focus on what’s more important to them. That can be spending time with family, traveling, work, or something else; it completely depends on their own personal preferences.
Minimalism should more be looked at as a useful tool in your everyday life than a lifestyle. It’s something you can utilize whenever in order to clean clutter both in your home and mind.
Jump to the 30-day minimalism challenge.
Minimalism for Beginners
When you think about minimalism don’t focus only on material belongings. It’s so much more than just decluttering.
Minimalism as a mindset is about keeping your life simple, both physically and mentally, in order to have the time and energy for the things that matter to you.
Minimalism is also, completely personal. Whereas it means one thing to one person, it means something totally different to another.
Don’t focus on the number of things
Yes, to start with material belongings is the most obvious way to begin your minimalist journey, but it can get too overwhelming too soon and many give up before they even give it a proper try.
That’s why you shouldn’t focus on a specific number of belongings you should have, but rather get to know what you like and work to clear your life (both mind and space) of the unwanted things.
You can consider yourself a minimalist and still love your books, clothes, or other collectibles.
Don’t get easily confused, minimalists can have collections of stuff they cherish, and the people who judge some minimalists for having “too much stuff” are simply wrong.
Your minimalism journey as a beginner should start with you getting to know yourself and your lifestyle preferences. Learn what you like, what your goals are, what’s preventing you from achieving them, etc.
Minimalism is not for everybody and it shouldn’t be. If you are interested to try minimalism for yourself a 30-day minimalism challenge is a great way to see if a minimalist lifestyle is something that resonates with you.
How do I become a minimalist in 30 days?
You don’t. Minimalism is a journey that takes time and in 30 days you can check whether you like minimalist philosophy and lifestyle.
In the first month, you can start working towards minimizing your belongings but for the real change in your mindset to take place it can take months.
30-Day Minimalism Challenge
The goal of the 30-day minimalism challenge is to help you understand minimalism better and decide if it resonates with you.
Minimalism game is for:
✅ beginners to get acquainted with minimalism and start implementing it in their lifestyle
✅ people who have been on their minimalist journey for a while but need a little push to get in the groove again
This minimalism challenge focuses not only on material belongings but also on your relationships, mindset, and daily distractions.
It encompasses all spheres of life. Every day you will work your way through a different part of your life and simplify it. The tasks will be simple and (most of them) short in order not to take a lot from your day.
After these 30 days, you will be able to make conclusions for yourself and hopefully, continue your minimalist journey with even more zeal! 🙂
Day 1: Create a bucket list
Create a big list of things you would like to do and achieve in your life. This exercise will help you see your goals and wishes more clearly. You will also have a physical reminder of your deepest desires.
Day 2: Get inspired
Sometimes it’s hard to just start. Minimalism is a long journey so you’ll need as much inspiration as you can get. Read through minimalist quotes by prominent minimalists and learn more about their minimalism motivation.
Day 3: 10-minute cleanout
Set a timer for 10 minutes and collect things around your house. Put them to place or throw away what you don’t need. Sometimes even a short cleanout session can make a lot of difference at your home.
Day 4: Plan your day for tomorrow
Plan your day in advance. Take the time in the evening to go through your plans and tasks for tomorrow and wake up with a game plan already set up for you. Notice if it makes any difference in your mindset.
Day 5: Be thankful
There are many benefits of gratitude like lower anxiety and stress levels, and better sleep. To practice gratitude makes a gratitude list of all the things you are thankful for in your life. Try to list as many as you can in one sitting. Use this list as a prompt to get you going.
Day 6: Evaluate your purchases
Go through your bank and card statements from last month and notice where most of your money goes. Evaluate the unnecessary purchases and promise yourself you’ll be more careful with your money in the future.
Day 7: Minimize your finances
After you find out what you spend the most money on, you can work towards minimizing your expenses. Create a monthly budget and roughly split your income into different categories: housing, utilities, groceries, discretionary expenses, savings, debt, etc. It’s easier to simplify your finances when you have a budget to stick to.
Day 8: Clean out fridge / pantry
Go through your fridge and pantry and toss the expired food. Donate what you won’t eat and take a mental note of why you didn’t like it. Disinfect all the surfaces and organize the left food for easier usage.
Day 9: Take a hard look at your diet
Now that you have cleaned your kitchen, take a look at your day-to-day diet.
Can you cut something out? How healthy are your eating habits? Can you switch unhealthy food with a healthier alternative?
Look to simplify your diet and incorporate more whole foods. You will feel much better and have more energy throughout your day.
Day 10: Make a meal plan for next week
Create a meal plan for next week. Plan to prepare your meals at home and make a list of groceries you need to prepare them. Also, incorporate time when you’ll prepare all the food in your calendar.
Day 11: Turn off notifications
It’s time to get rid of unnecessary distractions.
Turn off notifications for all apps that aren’t essential to you. For example, that can be to all social media and mobile games. When you want to check those apps you’ll see all the notifications, there’s no need to get bombarded with information all the time.
Day 12: Clear out your inbox
Go through your e-mails and delete those that you don’t need anymore. Answer those that you still haven’t. Unsubscribe from newsletters that are cramping up your inbox. E-mails can pose a lot of distractions daily.
Day 13: Go through the photos on your phone
Today we take so many photos of one and the same thing. There are surely so many duplicates of photos on your phone. Go through them and delete those that you don’t need. You’ll feel so much lighter.
Day 14: Limit social media usage
While at the topic of distractions, social media might be the biggest one.
Did you know that your phone has a setting to limit social media usage? You can set an allowed time period for social media apps after which those apps are blocked on your phone for the rest of the day.
Day 15: Erase unused phone contacts
You probably have many contacts stored on your phone that you don’t even know where they came from. Delete those unused phone contacts and make space for new ones. If you don’t remember who that person is you don’t need their number.
Day 16: No phone in bed
Before going to bed leave your phone in another room. Staring at the screen before bed can postpone sleep and prevent you from reaching the deep sleep phase. Notice how much more rested you feel in the morning.
Day 17: Purge your closet
This is a harder task. Go through your closet, take everything out, and purge your closet from unwanted clothes and shoes. Check out this closet purge guide for detailed tips and tricks.
Day 18: Tend to your clothes
After you purge your closet you should take care of the clothes that you decided to keep. Wash them, sew the holes, iron them, polish your shoes, etc. Tend to your clothes and they will last longer.
Day 19: Make a wishlist
You’ve decluttered your closet and during that process noticed you miss a couple of key pieces to complete your wardrobe. Make a wishlist of items you would like to buy. Make sure you invest in quality items and wait for the sales to acquire them.
Day 20: Toss out expired beauty products
If you have a large collection of beauty products that chances are there are a lot of items that expired. Go through all of your makeup, skincare, and beauty products and toss out those that are expired. Your skin will thank you.
Day 21: Create a makeup routine
By creating a daily makeup routine you will save a lot of time in the morning getting ready and always look put together. Check out our guide to an easy minimalist makeup routine and get inspired.
Day 22: Clean out your junk drawer
Everybody has a junk drawer in their home where they put all sorts of random stuff in. Go through them, declutter them, and return things to where they belong to. Chances are you will find something that you thought is lost.
Day 23: Go through your papers
Paper is a massive category for most people because it not only contains important documents and receipts but also random pieces that you somehow decided to keep.
Focus on all of the papers in your home today and carefully declutter them. Work to file important documents in one place where you’ll always be able to access them.
Day 24: Declutter books
Books take a lot of space in your home and unless you are a bookworm you probably don’t cherish all of them. Keep the books you really love and depart from those that just don’t resonate with you anymore. You can donate them to your local library.
Day 25: Clean out your car
Most people work so hard on clearing out their homes but they forget to clean their cars. Today focus on your car, declutter it and wash it thoroughly. You’ll enjoy the smell of a freshly washed car in your next drive!
Day 26: Evaluate your relationships
Minimalists cherish their relationships and invest a lot of time in people they love. Evaluate the relationships in your life and see if there is somebody you need to let go of. Don’t waste your time on toxic relationships. Focus your time and energy on people who bring you joy.
Day 27: Call your mom
Your mom (or dad) is the one person who will love you unconditionally no matter what. Take some time in your day today and call your mom to ask her how she’s doing. She will appreciate it a lot.
Day 28: Have a coffee with your best friend
How long haven’t you seen your best friend? Today is the perfect day to make plans to have a coffee with your best friend. Even if you don’t have time today, you can at least set a date when you’ll meet with them.
Day 29: Stop comparing yourself to others
Comparison is truly the thief of joy. It can lead to feelings of inferiority or superiority but neither creates a healthy surrounding for human beings. The only person you should compare yourself to is yourself. Today make a deal with yourself to stop comparing yourself to others.
Day 30: Make a list of your successes
You made it to the last day of the 30-day minimalism challenge! Today’s task is to compile a list of your successes.
The first one can be the completion of this challenge and the rest of them can be anything you consider a success from your whole life.
In the end, you’ll be left with a big list of wonderful things that you can look to anytime when you feel unsure about yourself. It’s your ticket to feeling good at any place any time! 🙂
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You Completed a 30-Day Minimalism Challenge
Congratulations! You’ve completed a 30-day minimalism challenge! How do you feel?
Now, take some time to analyze the whole experience and make a conclusion about minimalism. Is that something you would like to pursue in the future? Does it go with your lifestyle? Or is it something that just doesn’t resonate with you but you are glad you tried it out?
Share your thoughts in the comments! 🙂
You might also be interested in these articles:
Minimize Your Life in 15 Simple Ways
The Best Minimalist Shopping Tips for People on a Budget
15 Minimalist Life Hacks for a Simpler, More Meaningful Lifestyle
