Minimalist Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

How To Reduce, Reuse, And Save More Cash

Last Updated: April 13, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 13 Comments

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Hi, this is Michelle’s editor, Ariel! You may have seen me here before talking about taking my side hustle full-time, living in a small house, and real life frugality. When I’m not working for Michelle, you can find me spending a lot of time over at M$M, working as a staff writer and editor-in-chief.

The other day I found myself asking this question in a popular FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) Facebook group:

Anyone else focusing on a zero/low waste lifestyle and merging that principal with FI?

I asked this question because, while I don’t hang around in those kinds of communities a ton, I find that what I often see is more focused on sexier topics like investing strategies and increasing your income.

Both of those are incredibly valuable tools when you’re working to improve your financial health, even if you aren’t working towards FIRE, but I was searching for advice that felt a little more relatable to my personal goals.

It turns out that I wasn’t alone. [Read more…]

Are You Making Your Life Difficult? 18 Ideas To Simplify Your Life in 2021

Last Updated: March 20, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 51 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Learning ways to simplify your life in 2021 can completely change your life and future for the better.

Trying to manage your life, especially your financial life, can be difficult in today’s age. Between planning for retirement, paying bills, raising a family, etc. life can be exhausting. And, we all have a lot of clutter in our life – not just physical, mental as well!

Due to that, wouldn’t it be nice if you learned ways to simplify your life in 2021?

There is no better time than right now to start thinking about how to simplify your life for the future. The New Year is always a good time to make goals, and 2021 is the perfect year to focus on simplifying your life. You’ll be able to apply that knowledge and experience for years and years to come.

By simplifying your life, you can learn how to be happier, be in more control of your life, waste less of your valuable time, and more. All of this will allow you to enjoy life even more! [Read more…]

For Those Who Want Life To Speed Up – Are You Dreaming Too Much About Tomorrow?

Last Updated: November 24, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 49 Comments

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“First I was dying to finish high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working. And then I was dying to marry and have children. And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work. And then I was dying to retire. And now I am dying, and suddenly I realize I forgot to live.” – Sustainable Human

I recently saw this quote and it really made me think.

Pretty much everyone, myself included, is guilty of wanting to rush through life instead of trying to live in the present while also preparing for the future.

When I was younger, I wanted to be older so I could have more money, a bigger house, etc. I wanted to rush through high school, college and so on.

I dreamt of the future and spent much of my time dwelling on that. [Read more…]

Less is More: Guide To Becoming a Minimalist

Last Updated: March 20, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 32 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you interested in becoming a minimalist? Or, maybe you just want to get rid of some clutter and extra nonsense in your life?

Whatever your reason may be, cutting back on the number of things you own can help you in many ways.

Here are some interesting facts about how clutter impacts our lives:

The average house has 300,000 items.
Nearly 10% of households also rent a self-storage unit.
The average person spends 12 days per year looking for things they can’t find.
Every day the average office worker spends 1.5 hours looking for things (when a simple filing system like one of these would solve this problem!).
In a recent survey, 55% of consumers stated they would save anywhere from 16 to 60 minutes a day if they were organized.
23% of people pay bills late and have to pay late fees because they are unable to find their bills.
In the last few decades, the average home has nearly tripled in size.

If you’re looking for blog posts on how to become a minimalist and becoming a minimalist, then you’ve come to the right place. [Read more…]

Stop Comparing Yourself To Others And Live Your Own Life

Last Updated: April 25, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 47 Comments

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I think we can probably all agree that your life might be different if you decided to stop comparing yourself to others.

Over the years, I’ve compared myself to others plenty of times. I’ve compared myself to others when it came to school, looks, money, and more. I know that sounds bad, but without acknowledging that, it would be hard to stop.

Many people compare themselves to others too.

In fact, everyone has done it at one point in their life.

People often compare themselves to others to determine how well they are doing in life and base their personal value on that. However, that usually doesn’t lead to feeling too good about yourself. Plus, who actually wants to judge themselves in a negative way? [Read more…]

59 Things To Do Instead of Watching TV So That You Can Take Your Life Back

Last Updated: June 8, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 74 Comments

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Did you know that the average person watches over 30 hours of TV a week? Even if you used just half of those hours finding things to do instead of watching TV, you could probably accomplish something great!

Now, I’m not completely hating on TV.

I have my favorite TV shows and can sit in front of a TV for hours on end.

However, for the most part, the average person probably spends way too much time just flipping through channels or watching something that they probably don’t even like.

We got rid of cable and even Netflix over one year ago (I recommend getting a digital antenna!), and it’s the best decision we’ve ever made. We’re able to save more money, we waste much less time on TV, and we’ve found plenty of better things to do instead of watching TV.

If you feel like you aren’t accomplishing your goals in life or that you are always pressed for time, then you should first analyze how much time you’re wasting each day, especially when it comes to how much TV you watch.

You may not even realize how much time you spend in front of the TV! [Read more…]

The Less You Own, The Less That Owns You

Last Updated: February 12, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 83 Comments

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I haven’t always been a minimalist, nor have I always been interested in minimalist living. I used to purchase crazy amounts of clothing, random items for my home, wasn’t interested in becoming a minimalist, and so on.

I hoarded lots of items, hoping that one day I would find a use for them. I often thought that I needed things, so I would purchase crazy amounts of them even though I should have put my money to better use.

Then, around two years ago, I realized that I had too much stuff and that I had an unhealthy relationship with material things.

Over the past two years, I have donated or given away the majority of my belongings. I now pretty much only have the things I need to get me through the day or week ahead. There is no extra, and before I purchase anything, I always think about what use I’ll get out of it. [Read more…]