Simplify Your Life: 21-Day Minimalism Checklist

Minimalism does not mean living a life of austerity or monotony. It's about eliminating unnecessary complexities and redundancies from life while meeting basic needs, making life simpler, more orderly, and harmonious.

Minimalism helps us reduce the burden, both material and spiritual, allowing us more time and energy to focus on truly important things such as family, friends, health, and personal growth.

21-Day Minimalism Plan:

Day 1: Assessment and Preparation

List all items in your daily life, including clothing, furniture, electronic products, etc. Examine these items, distinguishing between "essential" and "non-essential." Develop a preliminary list of minimalist living goals.

Day 2: Wardrobe Organization

Sort clothes in the wardrobe into "regular wear," "occasional wear," and "unused" categories. Donate or discard unused clothes. Develop a reasonable storage and access plan for regularly worn clothes.

Day 3: Kitchen Organization

Check the ingredients and seasonings in the kitchen, discard expired items. Clean out infrequently used kitchen utensils and tableware. Develop a simple kitchen storage plan to ensure items are orderly.

Day 4: Study Room Organization

Clear unnecessary documents and items from the desk. Organize books, storing less frequently read ones in storage areas. Develop a convenient access plan for commonly used study or work supplies.

Day 5: Electronic Devices Management

List all your electronic devices. Analyze which ones are truly necessary and which ones are rarely used. Develop a usage and management plan for electronic devices to reduce unnecessary screen time.

Day 6: Simplify Daily Activities

Examine daily activities to identify areas that can be simplified. For example, merging similar tasks.

Day 7: Review and Adjustment

Review the organization process of the past six days and make adjustments based on actual conditions.

Day 8: Deepen Wardrobe Organization

Organize and rehang regularly worn clothes, ensuring easy access. Use storage boxes or bags to properly store seasonal clothing, keeping the closet tidy.

Day 9: Simplify Kitchen Cooking Utensils

Develop a weekly cooking plan to reduce food waste and unnecessary cooking activities.

Day 10: Electronic Devices Organization

Use electronic labels or software tools to categorize and label electronic devices for easy retrieval and use. Organize electronic device cables to ensure neatness.

Day 11: Simplify Daily Commuting

Review daily commuting methods, consider reducing commuting time or choosing more environmentally friendly travel methods. Evaluate commuting routes and transportation methods, choosing the most convenient and sustainable options. Also, schedule travel times sensibly to avoid peak hour congestion and increase commuting efficiency.

Day 12: Deepen Bedroom Organization

Deepen bedroom organization, tidy up the bed and bedside table, ensuring items are neatly arranged. Assess storage space in the bedroom, optimize storage solutions, use storage boxes or bags to organize seasonal items. Also, develop a bedroom cleaning and maintenance plan to keep the living environment clean and comfortable.

Day 13-14: Simplify Shopping Habits

Simplify shopping habits, create a shopping list and stick to it, avoiding impulse purchases. Only buy items that are truly needed and try to choose high-quality, sustainable products. Assess shopping needs and budgets, reducing unnecessary expenses and waste.

Day 15: Simplify Dietary Habits

Review dietary habits, reduce waste and unnecessary purchases. For example, create a weekly shopping list to avoid frequent outings for shopping.

Day 16: Mental Organization

Examine your mental self, such as social media use, TV watching, etc. Reduce unnecessary mental inputs and make time for genuine interests and hobbies.

Day 17: Time Management

Develop a reasonable time management plan to ensure enough time is allocated each day to accomplish truly important tasks.

Day 18: Exercise

Start a simple exercise plan, such as walking daily, practicing yoga, etc. This helps simplify life and promote physical and mental health.

Day 19: Social Simplification

Examine social activities, reduce unnecessary socializing, and stay connected with those who truly care and support you.

Day 20: Financial Organization

Assess your financial situation, develop a reasonable budget and savings plan. Reduce unnecessary expenses and prepare for future life.

Day 21: Review and Summary

Review the entire 21-day minimalist living plan, summarize your achievements and changes. Develop a continuous minimalist plan for the future.

Read Also:

The Friends We Lose in Middle Age

Listen: Podcast

Middle Age Minimalim: Stop Doing These 5 Things When You're Broke!

Some friends say they earn just a small monthly salary and don't have any side gigs, so they can't save any money at all! For ordinary office workers who follow the same routine every day, it's indeed difficult to save a large sum each month without any additional sources of income. However, the advice on saving money has always been: it's not about being frugal to the point of stinginess, nor is it necessary for everyone to start a side hustle; it's simply about avoiding wasteful spending.

In daily life, if you can consciously avoid wastefulness, while you might not save big bucks immediately, you'll certainly be able to save some pennies.

Many people might think, "Since I don't have much money anyway, why not enjoy life to the fullest?" Forgive me for being blunt, but this is not the mindset of someone who's living life well. Particularly with these 5 things, the sooner you stop them when you're broke, the better!

1. Stop staying up late

I know quite a few people who stay up late either to work and earn money or to self-improve in hopes of making more money. But if staying up late to earn money compromises basic health, won't it lead to even more financial strain when your health deteriorates? During a period when my children were very young, I tried to improve myself as quickly as possible by working super hard and being extremely disciplined (often staying up late to finish tasks). However, that was also the time when my immune system was at its lowest, and I frequently had to visit clinics for injections and medication. Not only did I not make any money, but I also spent quite a bit, not to mention the suffering. Eventually, I came to a conclusion: Regardless of whether you make money or not, prioritize your health, stop staying up late, and take care of your body first.

2.Stop impulse shopping

I truly understand the impulse to buy things. Just last weekend, I bought a pair of jeans myself. However, jeans are a necessity because the ones at home are either very old or too tight (okay, I admit I might have gained a bit of weight in middle age). But did you know? At that time, I also really wanted to buy a top to match the jeans. I tried on about six or seven options, and there were two that I really liked: one was a light green striped linen shirt with 3/4 sleeves, and the other was a cream-colored long-sleeved T-shirt. I was truly tempted to buy them all. However, after a moment of thought, I realized I already had two shirts at home and several white short-sleeved ones. Thinking of this, I controlled myself and left without making any purchases. Thank goodness for that moment of reflection, which prevented me from making an impulse purchase.

3.Stop being idle

From childhood to adulthood, I've always been aware that without any special resources or innate talent, hard work is the key to success in both learning and life. After all, isn't living about finding things to do for ourselves regularly? I've always had a somewhat biased view: once someone becomes idle, trouble follows. So, you see, wherever there are many idle people in a household, things usually don't go well. Many years ago, there was a young man who hadn't studied much. Later, through a referral, he got a job at a mobile phone repair shop and has been working there for many years. It's said he's still there now. Yes, people aren't afraid of you earning less or lacking big ambitions; they're afraid of you being idle all day and drifting aimlessly. Don't ever try those shortcuts to make money; sooner or later, you'll land yourself in trouble. If you're broke, find a decent job, work diligently, and enjoy the warmth of family life!

4.Stop complaining about being poor

I truly can't understand why some people keep complaining about being poor. Complaining about being poor doesn't solve any problems or earn any money. So, remember, don't cry poverty in front of others because they won't give you any money; they'll just laugh at you. Also, don't often think to yourself that you're just like this and will be poor for the rest of your life. I believe that in life: you must often encourage yourself, keep yourself energized, and then work hard to make money. This kind of outlook on life may not make ordinary people rich and prosperous, but living a stable and comfortable life shouldn't be a problem. Look around, those families that were once very poor but kept quiet about it later turned out fine. Parents' hard work is seen by their descendants, who then tend to be more capable. I think this is how most individuals, through self-motivation and effort, achieve family transformation. So, never cry poverty; strive and work hard at all times.

5.Stop comparing

Comparing yourself to others brings nothing but frustration. When poor people compare themselves to rich people, it feels like they've fallen from heaven to hell. When I was young, my family was really poor. Our family squeezed into two small rooms. At that time, I envied classmates who had their own houses. My mother probably sensed what I was feeling because she said: "You're students now, so don't compare what you eat and wear with others. Instead, compare who studies better. If you study well, you'll get a good job in the future and can have whatever you want." Looking back now, those words might have been a bit crude, but there was nothing wrong with the values they instilled: don't compare what you don't have with others; create what you want for yourself. So, whenever I hear about who's rich and what they've bought, I'm almost indifferent, and I don't feel any vanity or jealousy. Because I know: what others have is what they've created, and what I want, I'll create for myself.

Some friends might think, "We work so hard every day to earn money, isn't it for spending?" I admit, it's for spending. But, the key is how you spend it: I have no hesitation when it comes to: buying books for myself, buying jeans (I try them on in stores rather than endlessly comparing options online), signing up for lessons with experienced teachers when I want to learn a new skill… These are non-negotiable for me. What people see might be my frugality and simplicity, but only I know: this is my abundance in life, and I find joy in it.

Read Also:

30 Tips for a Minimalist Life

Listen: Podcast