Living intentionally is all about living your life on purpose, and being mindful about yourself and what’s going on around you. Over the years, I’ve made some changes that have helped me live a more intentional life which has helped me to simplify everything and hopefully they can inspire you as well. Here are 9 ways that I choose to live intentionally:
Intentional Living & Minimalism
To me, living intentionally and minimalism go hand in hand. To truly live with purpose, you need to eliminate distractions and clutter. How can you expect to be able to focus on anything when your mind isn’t clear?
Minimalism doesn’t have to mean sitting alone in a room with just a chair, or throwing everything away and only having one shirt. For me, minimalism is only keeping things/people in my life that are essential and/or add value to my life. By simplifying my life in this way, I am free to so much more. I feel happier and more clear about what I want in life.
Living with purpose and incorporating minimalism makes everything a lot easier, and I think everyone can benefit from fewer complications! Here are some changes that worked for me and can hopefully inspire something that works for you:
9 Ways to Live Intentionally
DITCH YOUR DEBT
Having debt can really weigh you down and hold you back from doing the things you want in life. Getting rid of your debt will simplify your life dramatically.
When we decided that we were going to become debt-free, we became laser-focused on what that was going to look like for us. I created a spreadsheet so that we could see all that we owed, and we used the snowball method to pay off each debt. It didn’t happen overnight, but each month we would pay a little more off until we reached our goal. It’s so freeing to not have to think about random car loans, student loans, or credit cards, and it’s made my life a lot easier.
When you set your intention to reach a goal like paying off your debt, all of your other decisions fall in line. You know you shouldn’t randomly go out to brunch with your friends because you have bigger plans for that money, and you aren’t tempted to upgrade your perfectly working iPhone just because everyone else is. When you change your mindset, you change your life. Living intentionally aligns your day-to-day actions with your bigger goals.
Once your debt is paid off and you have an emergency fund saved, you are free to make a clear decisions; it gives you options you wouldn’t have if you are a slave to monthly payments. Make this year the year you get rid of any debt and build up that emergency fund.
ONE CAR
This may not be for everyone, but we have been a one-car family for a little over a year now and it really works for us. There are so many expenses associated with a vehicle, and if you don’t really need it, it’s so much simpler.
Our other car needed a lot of maintenance and it wasn’t cost effective to keep it, so we sold it last year. We started looking for a replacement but decided that we didn’t really need it, and that one car could work for us. It’s much easier for us now, living in a more populated area where we are able to walk to most places, and not worry about parking. It’s more simple managing the fees, registration, insurance, repairs, and gas for one car too.
If it works for your family, consider having only one car. It’s a lot less complicated for us, and more convenient!
REDUCE YOUR SQUARE FOOTAGE
Bigger is not always better. Living in a large home may seem like everyone’s dream, but consider if it’s right for you and what your needs are.
We recently moved to Southern California and reduced our square footage almost 70%. A change like that could be overwhelming for some, but we already were embracing minimalism so it was an easy transition for us. We love our space because we have everything we need, and nothing extra to clutter everything up. It can be easy to want to fill up your home with furniture and decorations, so a bigger home usually equals more stuff. I love a more open/clean feel to my space, and I’m really happy with where we are now. Personally, home decor and seasonal things that are stored away for 95% of the year are such a waste to me. I prefer to only have things I love, and keep them out all year because I love having them around.
When you are intentional about the things you own, you can live comfortably in a smaller space.
CLEAN UP
Having a smaller space means that I spend less time cleaning. It’s really freeing to be able to clean my entire house in 30 minutes, max.
If you can be intentional about the things you purchase and the things you have in your home, clean up doesn’t have to be a chore because you use and love everything you own. We used to have a ton of dishes — plates of all sizes, glasses, bowls — but it’s just the two of us. We would pull out a new dish for every meal and the dishwasher just piled up. But we have since decluttered our belongings and no longer have extra stuff “just in case”. Now, we have 3 sets of dishes (bowl, big plate, small plate), and just a few glasses. We spend a lot less time doing dishes and cleaning in general since we decluttered the things that no longer serve us.
I did a post of 27 Things to Get Rid of This Month that will help you examine some of the things you might be holding on to.
Living intentionally doesn’t mean you have to try to be perfect or try to be extreme minimalist; it’s just being purposeful with your actions, what you have, what you buy.
CUT CABLE & STOP STREAMING
TV watching can be a time-waster, or prevent you from focusing on something more worthwhile. If you have a show that you love and want to watch, that’s great; enjoy your show. But if you just have the TV on in the background…what are you doing?
When you live intentionally, you are focused on what you are doing and everything has a purpose. Don’t just let life happen around you, pay attention. Only turn the TV on when you intend to watch something specific or purpose to spend time that way, don’t just leave it on all day and flit in and out of watching it mindlessly. You may feel like you’re good at multi-tasking, but you probably aren’t; and why split your attention across multiple things? Be present in the moment.
We haven’t had cable for years, and it’s the best decision ever. I just don’t understand how cable costs so much and there are still ads? I don’t really want in-your-face ads blasting at me all day, so we switched to Netflix for all of our shows where there aren’t any ads. There are a lot of separate streaming services now, and we have a few: Netflix, Prime Video, Funimation, and a free trial of Apple TV+, but honestly, how many services can one person use during one month? If you have a show you love that’s exclusive to that service, then definitely keep it, but if you’re just keeping a service to run shows in the background, it may be time for a change.
By making small changes to only watch a show intentionally, you will have time to do more things that are important to you. Be present when you’re at home; it makes life more enjoyable.
CLOSET PURGE
A cluttered closet can make it hard to see what clothes you have, and cause a lot of stress each morning trying to decide what to wear.
I have a pretty simple style so my closet has never been too crazy, but I did do a purge a while ago which has really helped to simplify my day. I went through all of my clothes and really thought about what was working for me. I donated any clothes that I wasn’t wearing regularly, and purged any clothes that were old/worn out. It really freed up a lot of space for me, and now I don’t need to spend tons of time trying to decide what to wear (since I have fewer options to choose from). It makes my day a lot easier, and now I only have clothes that I love. Having fewer clothes also makes doing laundry a lot easier!
Take some time to be intentional with your wardrobe. Do you love that shirt? Do those jeans still fit? When was that last time you wore that dress? How many shoes do you really need? Just things to consider. If you don’t love it and wear it regularly, why keep it? Here are some more tips for intentional buying.
EASY EATING
I find it so much easier to have a few go-to meals that are easy to prepare that I eat all the time. At our house, we rotate through our favorites without any fuss. Simple meals that don’t take that long like pasta, rice bowls, roasted vegetables make meal time easy.
If you spend a lot of time prepping and cooking a main dish with lots of sides, consider scaling it back a bit to something simpler. A nutritious meal doesn’t need to be complicated. Having a menu routine can simplify your grocery shopping, and reduce time spent in the kitchen.
Being intentional about what you eat can also help you lose weight. If you mindlessly eat and snack throughout the day, you may not really be aware of what you’re taking in. When I lost 30 pounds in three months, I had to be really intentional with my eating habits and what I ate. Intentional living helps you to be more mindful about yourself.
MAKE A LIST
This one is probably the easiest change one can make that will have the greatest impact. If you are going shopping for something, put it on your shopping list first and stick to that list. Don’t buy anything that isn’t on the list. Simple, right?
It may seem obvious, but stores do a lot of research on product placement and signage to encourage you to make an impulse purchase. Those cute mini samples at the checkout line; the 3 for $25 underwear bins — don’t be tempted to deviate from your shopping list.
Just to be clear, intentional living and minimalism don’t necessarily mean being frugal. I still spend money on the quality that I want, or convenience — the difference with minimalism is that those purchases are intentional. I don’t go to a store to “just look around” and “see what looks good”, I have a list of things that I need and I stick to that list.
If you’re someone who just “likes to shop”, consider this list technique and be intentional when you make a purchase. Plan for it; ask yourself if it’s really something you need. If not, then don’t get it. Buying things doesn’t make you happy; it can’t fix a bad feeling. When you take the time to plan and be intentional with your purchases, you are in control; not things.
GET OFF INSTA
I really like Instagram for scoping out places I want to go, or looking up knitting projects, but it’s easy to get sucked in to the explore/recommended page. Before I knew it, an hour would pass and I felt like I wasted so much time. I put a time limit (Screen Time > App Limits) on Insta so I can never spend more than 15 minutes a day on it. So now, my time is more intentional — I look up a hashtag and get off, and it’s so much better for me.
Instagram has some pretty pictures, but I wasn’t feeling happy looking at other people’s vacations, or having fashion bloggers try to hock their latest product. I am more intentional with what I do on there now, instead of mindlessly scrolling away.
I’m not saying Instagram is bad, but in general, if you’re just aimlessly scrolling through any social media and not being intentional with your time, you may want to reconsider.
Overall Thoughts
I definitely feel better being more present in the moment, and not allowing distractions get in my way. Choosing to be mindful and intentional can make your life so much simpler. I hope that reading through some of the ways I choose to be more intentional in my life has helped to inspire you.
