Our lives changed when I decided to become minimalist. Here is a look into a minimalist day in the life of a mom of two boys.
Minimalist Habits and Routines
As I write this it is currently summer time and we are in the middle of a pandemic. Even though everything is different because of the pandemic our day to day life is very much the same.
Years ago I started decluttering and simplifying our lives so we could have more time together as a family. This simplifying led me to become minimalist and incorporate daily habits that streamline our lives. Such as, decluttering items as soon as I know we don’t need something, and cleaning my home throughout the day as needed.
For instance I just finished reading a book that I had bought from a secondhand book store near by. Since I know that I will never read that book again and no one in my family is interested, I immediately put the book in my decluttering bag. Of course I use the library, but I also like to support the local bookstore in my town.
Let me show you what our typical minimalist day in the life looks like.
Our Typical Minimalist Summer Morning
Since school is out and we are in a pandemic, we are mostly staying home. I still like to wake up early. Usually it is easier to get more done in the morning and my children are naturally happier in the morning. So I take advantage of that fresh feeling in the morning.
I try not to check my phone or my computer until after we have had breakfast. I am a creature of habit so most of the time I have the same thing for breakfast everyday. Oatmeal and coffee with creamer.
Most mornings my boys make their own breakfast. They are 3 and 6 years old. Sometimes I have to help, but most things they can make on their own.
Once we are all done with the morning routine I like to clean the kitchen. We don’t have a dishwasher where we are living right now, but even when we did have one I usually washed our dishes by hand. We have a minimal amount of dishes and they have to be cleaned after every meal.
Midday Activities
Most summer days are spent going for a bike ride or playing in the backyard. When it is really hot we play with toys inside. I try not to have a regimented schedule because that is what minimalism is about for us. Having a simple life so we don’t have to rush from place to place or activity to activity.
Once my boys are set up with an activity I will spend time working on this blog or the videos that I make. Recently I deleted the Instagram app off of my phone. I found the app to be extremely distracting. I started to question if it even made me happy to see anything on the platform.
After deleting the app and only visiting Instagram from my computer once a week I gained a lot of time. I also felt a relief, it turns out that app was stressing me out.
Once I saw the benefits of deleting the Instagram app I decided to remove the Facebook app as well. I still have both of these on my computer, but by removing them from my phone I gained time and a sense of calm.
Early Evening
Around 4pm I start to figure out what we are going to have for dinner. I have been meal planning and I have a list of the meals that we like to eat regularly. This list helps us to stay on a food budget and it takes all the guess work out of dinner.
I still like to be flexible so our dinner plan is never set in stone. With it being summer a lot of the time we eat a little later than normal.
Every afternoon I like to tidy up our home. I no longer clean and tidy all day long like I did before we became minimal. Now I let the kids bring toys and games out and then before dinner we put everything away. Since we are living with less toys the mess never gets overwhelming.
A few weeks ago my boys kept pulling all the decorative pillows off of our guest bed. It started to drive me crazy and then it dawned on me that we had too many. I narrowed those pillows down to 3 and now it is no big deal to tidy them up.
We all sit down together as a family for dinner, the time may vary, but we make sure that we are eating together.
After dinner is done I have the habit of cleaning the kitchen so we are ready for the next day. Now that it is summer and the days are longer we have been going for an evening walk after dinner.
End of the Day
Around 8pm we read stories and our boys go to bed. This is when I have some more time to myself to work on my videos and blog. My husband is currently learning how to play the guitar so that is when he practices. Around 10pm I read and go to bed. I find it is easier to wake up early if I go to bed at a reasonable time.
A Minimalist Day In The Life
So What Was It Like Before Minimalism
Before we were minimalist my typical day was full of tidying, cleaning, and reorganizing. I also spent a lot of time in stores. Even if I wasn’t buying something, I would use shopping or rather window shopping as a hobby. TV and social media were also big distractions in my life.
These were ways to fill my time without actually doing or accomplishing anything.
Those habits have been replaced with gardening, reading, writing, creating art, and helping other people declutter. Of course I still do some of the above mentioned things, but I am now aware of how much time I am spending on these things.
Before minimalism I felt as though every second of my day needed to be scheduled and filled with something. Now I am more relaxed with unused time.
My husband also changed when we became more minimal. I don’t know if he would notice, but I do. Like I mentioned now he is learning the guitar, before he would sit and watch a lot of TV in the evening. Now I see him looking for other activities that are more interactive and relaxing.
I love to hear about how other minimalists live their lives. Here is a related article about a minimalist day in the life of an entrepreneur.
Let me HELP you Declutter! SOMETIMES ORGANIZING JUST ISN’T ENOUGH. I WANT TO HELP YOU GAIN SOME TIME TOO!
If you are spending a ton of time continually organizing the same area, check out The Declutter Your Home Minicourse. I created this course for anyone who is sick of all the time wasted tidying their home. This course is easy to follow and helps you figure out a decluttering schedule so you can declutter your entire home.
This is the perfect course for you if:
- You worry about your home before having people over (aka shoving things in closets).
- Things are always “missing” in your home.
- You wonder why your home doesn’t ever look clean or tidy, no matter how much cleaning you do.
If you need direction on how and where to start on your decluttering journey check out The Declutter Your Home Minicourse!
Read More About our Minimalist Journey:
How to Part with Sentimental Items
10 Minimalist Practices that are Life Changing
A Minimalist Day In The Life Pin:
Are you a minimalist? What does your typical day look like?
I like that fact that you turned off the social media notifications on your phone. I find those annoying and it really can irritate you without realizing it.
I like to turn off all notifications too and just check it when I have time.
Thanks for the mention Shannon! I love your YouTube videos! 🙂
Thank you! =)
Nice article Shannon! It was relaxing just reading it! I find that my life is simple and easy because I have chosen for it to be. I do a lot of things I love almost every day. Right now instead of wasting time scrolling I’m using duolingo to learn some languages and I always write play violin and exercise! Sometimes I sew which I absolutely love but I try not to make too many things lol and I love the fact that I can do those things. For me minimalism is about guarding my time and my energy for the things that I love.
That is awesome that you now have spare time for learning a language! That is something I love about minimalism, having time for other things.