So minimalism is a very newer concept to me! I’ve been decluttering for years now, but the idea of minimalism really intrigued me as a family of 6, sports, and all of the things. I felt like we were accumulating all of these things, and it was bringing me so much anxiety. My household was no longer a sanctuary, but a place I found overwhelming because it was no longer a space of peace, but a space of…..well….clutter. So I went on this journey to minimize our things, and after months of minimizing, I’ve become so much more happy with our spaces. I’ll share more on that soon! So what is digital minimalism? For me, digital minimalism is getting rid of the things digitally that don’t bring you joy and really leaning into the things that do bring you joy and help you create the amazing life that you want.
Decide what are your family’s core values. Our core values are to be debt free, live an intentionally meaningful and purposeful life. Enjoy the outdoors and nature. Enjoying being together! Having less stuff, and making memories together! Being on social media all day takes away from our core values!
Set boundaries around social media usage, electronic usage. I try to work only 1-2 days per week! And honestly, I’ve made more this month working less than any other month in the last 18 months! I set boundaries around my work schedule and being on my computer, and I set boundaries (even loose ones), around the kids and their electronics! I’m much better holding myself accountable if I’m honest! I really need to do better with the kids, but I just loss my aunt, so I gave them tons of electronics after homeschooling so that I could process my aunt’s death and allow myself to grieve. So there’s grace!
Our youngest cooking up some pancakes!
3.Go through emails, photos, and apps and minimize regularly! I go through my emails daily because I hate hate hate clutter in my inbox. So I go through my inbox and delete emails probably 4 times a day at least! Also, I go through photos on a weekly basis to delete photos. I noticed I had almost 40,000 photos, so I made it a priority to go through them weekly. So now, I’m down to 18,000! Hey! Baby steps! Also, apps that I’m not using. I try to delete apps that I haven’t used or that are just hanging out taking up space!
4. Focus on the things that bring you joy and create the life you want! Scrolling through IG definitely brings me joy sometimes, but so does playing a board game with my children. So really focus on the things that bring you joy and add value to your life! Scrolling brings me joy, but unless I’m intentionally posting and creating content for my business, scrolling IG is not adding value to our lives. While fun, it really takes away from my quality of life or the life I want to live! So really focus on the things that bring you joy AND add value so that you can create the life you wish to have!
5. Do a digital fast weekly! Every single week, I try (i’ve been better the last few months) to go one day without electronics/social media! I try to take one day away from my phone, away from social media to really connect with my family! Try it! It is absolutely amazing! Just one day a week! You can do it! Usually mine happens on the weekend, but you can do it any day!
In these crazy times, we do not have to be consumed by the media, social media, and digital things that take away from our families! We can really lean into less and disconnect to be more present with the ones that we love!
Until next time friend,
Shelly
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