Minimalist Living in College – 5 Tips To Make It Happen
If college is supposed to be one of the best experiences of your life, then it makes all the sense in the world for students to embrace a minimalist lifestyle.
Minimalism is about getting more experiences out of life rather than being consumed by items.
Whether you’re starting college, or have a son or daughter getting ready to, here are some tips that can help you become a college minimalist.
1. Digitize all your books
Now more than ever we can have anything at the press of a button.
Back when I was in school, which wasn’t even that long ago, I had to carry a bunch of books in a bag all the time.
They would take up a lot of space on my desk or in my room. But now you can access most textbooks and novels on your phone or laptop.
Save yourself some space in your room and your bag by accessing all your books on Amazon Kindle. Now that’s some simple living!
2. Minimize your school bag
With less school books to carry, you won’t have any need for a large backpack.
Instead, you can choose to have a small shoulder bag or man purse to carry around the items you need.
Nowadays you don’t even need a pencil and paper to take notes.
So all you might really need is a laptop bag to carry your laptop, calculator, and pencil whenever you’re going to take a test.
3. Bring only a few hangers
It may seem like a simple trick that’s too easy to believe, but it might actually work for you.
The thing that you might struggle with the most is taking too many clothes.
But if you decide that you’re only going to bring a few hangers with you, that leaves you to bring only enough to hang on them.
And if you think you can’t trust yourself to cheat, tell yourself you’re only allowed to hang two items per hanger.
Choose to not bring more than 7 hangers. This will help you focus less time on what to wear, and more time on going out and having fun.
4. Bring what makes you happy
Deciding on what you need to take with you can seem daunting.
You feel like you might need this or you might need that and you might need everything.
But don’t think about what to bring from a place of fear. Think about what to bring from a place of happiness.
As Marie Kondo would say, ask yourself if it sparks joy.
Only take with you what makes you happy. Do you have paintings that make you happy?
Take those and hang them up on your wall. Do you really like playing your guitar? Take that and jam in your dorm room.
You’ll find if you focus on bringing what makes you happy, you’ll feel less like you need to bring much at all.
5. Limit what you buy
Once you’ve reached your dorm with only the items you need, make sure you leave with the same amount you came with.
You’re going to eventually move out of that dorm and either into another dorm or your own apartment.
The move will be a lot easier if you don’t accumulate more. Only buy what you intend to use and enjoy beyond the time you’ll eventually move out of your dorm.
Ask yourself before you buy an item if it’s what you really need to bring you joy, or if you already have enough that does that for you.
You can save money by shopping at thrift stores, sharing with roommates, or accessing computers on campus.
You could also bike and bus to avoid spending too much on gas.
As you practice being a minimalist in college, you’ll be able to look more outside your space for things to do.
You’ll get to enjoy meeting more people and have more new experiences that will develop you into a better person.
