Less is more, and not just when it comes to possessions: applying minimalism to many aspects of life decreases stress and increases peace of mind.

Minimalism – or the intentional choice to live with less – is attractive to many over-worked and overstressed Americans. Those who intentionally simplify attest that minimalism offers the precious gifts of free time, mental clarity, and financial stability. But there’s another benefit to living with less that no one is talking about: minimalism is key to saving our planet.

Read on for 6 minimalist lifestyle tips that prioritize free time, manage interpersonal relationships, and promote sustainability.

tackle the dreaded task first

Mark Twain famously said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

Have a dreaded task looming over your head? Do what minimalists do and get it done right away.

Perhaps you have to make a phone call you know is going to be uncomfortable.

Or maybe you know you need to exercise (but you hate exercising).

Complete the dreaded task first. Procrastination leads to dread and dread creates anxiety; anxiety will distract you until eating that frog – or accomplishing the activity you hate – is complete.

Once completed? You can then tackle the rest of your day knowing your most difficult task is behind you. 

organize and prioritize your free time

Organizing time provides both focus and motivation.

Prioritize it, too: what activities must get done? Put them at the top of your daily to-do list.

Those activities that could reasonably wait until tomorrow? Put those items toward the bottom of your to-do list.

The minimalist way is to schedule free time, too. What do you find restful or beneficial? Schedule it. 

While I enjoy walking my dog,  I could very easily get caught up doing something else – anything else – than taking Lucy out for a quick walk.

But if it’s on my schedule –  if it’s written in ink – it gets done.

The main benefit to scheduling free time is that you will find yourself prioritizing activities that offer the most bang for their buck. You will effortlessly feed your soul with the inspiration it needs as a result.

When you schedule free time, you probably won’t bother to write, “Check social media”, “Watch 3 episodes of Real Housewives” or any other time-sucking activity that in the long run won’t offer rejuvenation. 

You’ll naturally prioritize true self-care, instead.

start where you’re at

Have you ever gone apple picking? Here in New England, apple picking is a must-do activity every autumn. It’s a feel-good outing for the whole family precisely because everyone experiences success. 

My toddler grabs the apples on the bottom branches. 

My husband and I pick from the middle of the tree. 

And my six year old? Ever the daredevil, she loves to grab the ladder, climb to the highest wrung and pluck the untouched fruit at the top. 

I prefer to view sustainability through the lens of an apple tree. It’s smartest to pick the lowest apples first; it’s easiest, too. As one attempts to adopt a new lifestyle, the prudent choice is to start slow and start easy.

Choose a single lifestyle tweak that you could reasonably stick with: maybe it’s as simple as using the clothes dryer less or wasting less food. Then challenge yourself to master that single change before taking on a new one. 

Before you know it, you will have tackled all those low-hanging fruits; you’ll be ready for bigger sustainability challenges, too.

buy less stuff

Never before in the history of humans has it been easier to buy. And because we can buy, we do. 

Both online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores know that consumers purchase more when they lower barriers to purchasing.

While e-commerce lowers buying barriers with saved shipping and billing information, brick-and-mortar stores churn out coupons, sales, and reward dollars to entice consumers into stores. 

Once inside, corporations expertly curate consumers’ shopping experiences with familiar music, calming colors, and pleasant scents so shoppers feel comfortable to buy, buy, and buy some more.

Capitalism is an economic system whose premise is fundamentally flawed. While capitalism promotes infinite consumption, our planet does not offer infinite resources. 

Manufacturing “stuff” exploits Earth’s precious and nonrenewable resources including water and fossil fuels.

And then there is the not-so-pretty reality of where it all goes: our discarded possessions ultimately head to landfills where they release greenhouse gases during breakdown and decomposition. 

Buying less stuff – even if only for one month – provides the opportunity for introspection about past purchasing decisions. It will help retrain your brain to desire less, too.

expect just 50 percent

Many of us have high expectations for for our loved ones. We require an awful lot from others, especially when we feel as though wealways show up often for them.

Yet we never check in with ourselves to determine whether such expectations are justified. Many times we expect things from loved ones that are simply unreasonable.

In my relationships – and particularly in my friendships – I follow the 50-50 rule:

Is my friend putting in 50 percent of the effort?

Does this relationship exemplify equality?

Am I receiving enough benefit from this friendship to make the time, effort and energy I put into sustaining it worth it?

The 50-50 rule makes instances when I’m doing more than the other person clear.

It also shows me when I’m not doing my part in a friendship, and this happens often. It’s not because I don’t care about the friendship; it’s just that life gets in the way. And because I know this about myself I am able to give friends grace because it makes me acutely aware that life happens for all of us.

It’s not personal. We all get caught up in the daily grind. 

Expecting just 50 percent is a nice check-in because a friendship – or any relationship, really – must be a partnership in order for it to be sustainable.

When one party consistently puts the effort to get together or solve conflicts, a friendship becomes unbalanced.

And things that are unbalanced often tip. 

just say no

In our culture, the mark of a good woman is related to how selfless she is.

How much does she give?

I was first introduced the the possibility of saying no on my own podcast. A guest aptly said, “you don’t have to bring organic cupcakes to your child’s bake sale.”

When she said this, I gasped on air. I didn’t have to bring organic cupcakes? What blasphemy!

But since that episode I’ve come to adopt her words as my mantra. I find myself saying to myself, “I don’t have to bring organic cupcakes!” often.

If I have the time and energy to bake organic cupcakes I certainly will. But if I don’t? I’m not going to kill myself to do so.

Did someone request something of you that you know will stretch you too thin? You are allowed to say no.

You are in charge of your own well-being. No one cares if you got enough sleep. No one will inquire whether you’re adequately juggling all the balls necessary to keep your household – and perhaps your career – afloat. Everyone is too wrapped up in their own daily stressors.

But you must care, because you must be your own top priority.

How do you say no without being rude?

Employ the sandwich method: Sandwich your no between two positive statements:

“I’d love to support the PTO by baking organic cupcakes for the bake sale, but unfortunately I have to decline this time. Please let me know when the next bake sale is and I’ll do my best to contribute.”

Saying no to expectations that don’t excite you will free you up to accept preferred invitations with gusto.

You’ll be freed to give 110 percent to the opportunities that light you up (as opposed to giving 60 percent to obligations that don’t actually matter).

Stephanie Seferian is the host of The Sustainable Minimalists podcast and soon-to-be author of Sustainable Minimalism to be published by Mango Press in December 2020.

Stephanie believes incremental minimalism is the key to saving our planet. As such, she offers actionable content that inspires listeners to incorporate slow-but-steady tweaks toward sustainability into their daily lives. Her podcast focuses on demystifying the tenets of sustainable minimalism including eco-friend parenting, conscious consumerism, and responsible decluttering. 

Stephanie is a frequent guest lecturer at The University of Arizona and has been featured by numerous media outlets including Reader’s Digest, NBC News, SELF Magazine, and more. You can find her posting away on Facebook and Instagram.