As a digital nomad family, you’re about to experience more freedom than you ever imagined, with one colossal restriction – your luggage allowance! Minimalism is an essential, unaviodable part of the full-time traveling lifestyle.
And I have some great news: Minimalism is good for your mental and physical health!
Even if you’re not planning on becoming digital nomads or giving up your home, decluttering is always a good idea. We’ve found that keeping ourselves in a reduction mindset helps us save money, space, and our sanity.
Here are some strategies to help you (and your family) reduce the clutter.
Minimalist Mindset #1: Start ASAP!
Trust me – you need to start today. Put a box in every room for the items you no longer need.
Start today. Sort through a drawer or cabinet and get rid of the things you don’t need—or the things you forgot you owned. I routinely sort through our suitcases and storage containers. If we haven’t used something in a month, I sell it. After schlepping my 22 kg suitcase around Eastern Europe for two weeks, I quickly parted with everything that wasn’t necessary, like my copy of Cards Against Humanity.
Minimalist Mindset #2: An Item A Day Keeps the Panic Away
Reducing clutter in your home does more than clear out physical space. It also creates mental space.
I’ve been following this simple strategy for over two years, and I love it.
Get rid of at least one item a day.
Ridding yourself of one item daily helps you in three ways:
- It lightens the load by making minimalism a daily task.
- It’s a daily reminder not to purchase unnecessary items.
- It keeps you in a reductionist mindset.
Minimalist Mindset #3: Gift-Giving
Three months before our departure, we discovered a life hack. Gifts.
I began regifting our belongings to EVERYONE we saw. Local preschools received bags of arts-and-craft supplies, and anything a visitor complimented landed in their mailbox a few days later.
Little by little, we got rid of our belongings.
Along the way, we discovered something magical. Giving our things away made us happier – gift-giving made us feel useful, helpful, and kind.
Now, we’re passing this tradition on to the next generation. Whenever we go to a neighbor’s house for tea or meet up with a playgroup, we bring something to give. This teaches our son that giving someone a present can feel as rewarding as receiving a gift, and prevents us from being overwhelmed by toys.
Minimalist Mindset #4: Get Rid of Each Other’s Stuff
Throughout the week, my husband and I fill a bag up with each others stuff. At the end of the week, that bag is dropped at a local thrift shop.
If the other person notices what you put in the bag is missing, it comes back out. If not, it’s happily given away.
In over 3 years, we’ve never noticed what went into the bag.
Minimalist Mindset #5: Marry, Bang, Kill
After a couple of weeks of sorting through our things, we noticed something shocking. We owned way too much! We began to sort everything into three categories: Useful, Sentimental, and the Rest. To keep it fun, we referred to this sortation process as the Marry, Bang, Kill strategy. This strategy helped us choose what we could easily (or not easily) replace.
Marry
Marriable items are dependable. They make sense. Some of them were investments, like my amazing bicycle, others are essential to our everyday lives, like my balance board.
Either way, these items are so essential that we need to take them with us on our trip, or things we cannot easily (or cheaply) replace.
Examples of “Marriagable Possession” are:
- Work Tools – Computers, Cameras, Computer Mice
- Furniture – Office shelving we built, End Tables from Morocco
- Winter Clothing – Winter coats, boots, and ski pants.
Bang
Bangable Possessions are things we love, things we have a personal connection with, or things that are irreplaceable.
Examples are:
- Home Decor purchased while traveling the world.
- Childhood collectables like stuffed animals, books, and toys
- The furniture we inherited from our grandparents
We each got a moving box to fill with sentimental items – no questions asked.
Kill
Killable possessions are everything else—yes, everything. If it’s easily replaced, is not a gift, or doesn’t have a fond memory or warm feeling associated with it… 👋
- Kitchenware
- Towels
- Everything in the Junk Drawer
Once you start taking this game seriously, most everything ends up in the “kill” category.
Minimalist Mindset #6: Social Networking.
Social Networks are a digital nomad mom’s best friend. You can sell or give almost anything away in less than a day. It’s addicting.
Find a Facebook Group near you with “Free” or “Buy/Sell/Trade” in the name.
Through these groups, I was able to contact social workers who came to our flat and picked up unwanted household items.
If you see something you don’t need, snap a picture and upload it instead of walking past it.
We sold our books and video games on Amazon. Don’t expect to get rich; I earned about 150$.
Minimalist Mindset #7: Get Rid of Redundant Items
One thing we’ve gotten rid of is redundant items or things that only fulfill a narrow purpose.
We don’t own a tablet. Why? Tablets are larger versions of our phones and smaller versions of our computers. We each already own two items that work better than a tablet.
If you’re debating purchasing an item that serves a singular purpose, it’s worth the time and effort to try replacing it with something you already own.
Minimalist Mindset #8: One in, one out.
Living life out of two suitcases has plenty of downsides.
The biggest downside is our constant lack of space. Everything we own needs to fit into these two suitcases – and weigh under 50 lbs.
Hence, the one in, one out rule. If you buy a new T-shirt, one shirt has to go. A new pair of shoes? Goodbye, old trainers.
While this method seems dramatic, it helps us realize how often our brains reward us for purchasing something new, even if we don’t need it.
Minimalist Mindset #9: Avoid Chain Reaction Purchases
If there’s one thing I’ve learned through this crazy minimalism process, it’s that our stuff doesn’t free us. Owning more means taking care of more things. It means more chores, more restocks, and more cleaning. We call these purchases “Chain Reaction” purchases.
Here’s an example of a popular parental chain reaction purchase: Wipe Warmers.
You buy the wipe warmer to help your baby. Wonderful! But once you’ve purchased the wipe warmer, you need:
- A changing table to put the wipe warmer on.
- An extension cord to plug in the wipe warmer.
- A cord cover to hide the extension cord.
In addition to all these new purchases, you also have an additional chore: Cleaning + reloading the wipe warmer.
Sound familiar?
Now, we try to avoid the chain reaction purchases. We try our hardest only to buy things we really, truly need. If an item causes us to purchase more items just to use it, we won’t get it.
Minimalist Mindset #10 Embrace the Process
Minimalism is a lifestyle; like all lifestyles, it’s a process. Living an minimalist lifestyle is a constant battle between societal expectations and moderation
Society is constantly bombarding us with the message that we need more.
That purchasing this shirt, that bag, or this Dodo Bird Pincushion is what makes us free.
I know that’s not true after three years of living with as little as possible. The stuff we own ends up owning us, not vice versa.
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