Meaningful Minimalist Self Care Routines

I used to get stuck on the topic of self care, figuring I had no time for hour long bubble baths or getting my hair done every week. But as I progressed on my minimalist journey, I discovered that self care goes so much deeper than that. 

Self care is choosing to consciously nurture your well-being and health by doing certain activities. It’s taking time to focus on replenishing your physical health, but also building your emotional and spiritual health and resilience too.

After embarking on a simple living philosophy, I had taken on the task of decluttering and organizing my home.  The results were incredible and I loved living in my newly calm and uncluttered space. It was so amazing, I created a free decluttering guide to help out anyone who wanted to minimize their possessions and organize their home in just 6 weeks. 

But I also realised that tending only to the physical was falling short. I needed to not only declutter my home environment, but my mind too. This is why I developed 6 minimalist self care rituals that tended to my emotional and spiritual well-being, that nurtured my creativity and pampered my soul. 

Here are the minimalist self care rituals I implemented in my life.

Waking Up Early

This was the first ritual I implemented. Waking up early helped me set the tone for my day and spend time doing things I loved. You can read more here about why I love early mornings and how I got into the routine of rising early with ease. 

Getting up early is an amazing way to create more time in your day for activities that feed you. This simple discipline also improves and develops your mental strength, a very helpful quality to have.

Meditation

Using some basic guided meditations, I got started with this amazing practice. There are so many different types of meditation that you’ll absolutely find one to suit your schedule. I love body scan meditations for dealing with stressful days and reconnecting with myself. 

Developing mindfulness helps us to realise the effects of our surroundings on us. We are able to reconnect with our feelings, tune out the chaos and find inner peace.

Journaling

Journaling regularly helped me organize my thoughts and work through emotions. When the busyness of modern life would become overwhelming, I sought the refuge of my little journal, and spent many early mornings exploring ideas or simply allowing my creativity to flow onto the page.

Journaling can take on many forms – it really depends what you need it for. I really encourage you to use journaling to design your life. Write down your dreams and then start figuring out how to make them a reality. I’ve written more about how to design your life here. 

You could use journaling to work on your mindset with positive affirmations to improve your self esteem, help you stay focused and encourage you to stay on track despite negative criticism.

Developing a Yoga Practice

While we may not all have time to attend yoga classes, there are many high quality, free resources online that will enable you to practice yoga in your own home. Even 10 minutes of yoga practice regularly will bring amazing benefits. In my experience, it improved my mindfulness and brought my attention back to my feelings and how my body was feeling. It helped develop my focus and find calm and peace in the present moment. The simplicity and zen nature of yoga continues to inspire my life of minimalism. 

Spending Time in Nature

Modern life is fast paced and complicated. There are many opportunities for distraction. Clutter, both physical and mental, waits in the wings, ready to disturb our peace and sense of space and freedom. 

Sometimes we need an escape. We need to fill our senses with beauty and simplicity. We need to breathe fresh air, listen to birds, smell the earth. 

Connecting with Mother Nature is cleansing, healing and rejuvenating. Take a walk in a forest, try some gardening, enjoy a stroll in a park. Taking the time to slow down and appreciate the natural beauty of the earth will soothe you, calm you and inspire you.

Listening to Inspirational Audiobooks

I’ve spoken before about why I love audiobooks (even as a ‘real’ book lover). As I go about my day, I’m able to listen to my favorite self help, simple living and inspirational books. This form of self care encourages you to stay on track with your minimalist life goals and teaches you ways to develop yourself and build a healthier you.

Minimalist self care to me is about nurturing the seed of meaningful living you’ve planted within yourself. These simple self care rituals will bring you back to what is truly important. They will help center your thoughts on what inspires you and encourage you to pursue your life goals.

With meaningful self care rituals, we nurture our motivation, sense of purpose and intuition – all driving forces that guide us and help us create happy and meaningful lives.