I know right now that there are probably five tubes of chapstick in my bag. I also have a half full shampoo bottle that I haven’t used in months. Yes, it is the worst. Having clutter can be super annoying, now to mention difficult for finding anything. Clutter is one of those things that prevents us from living a simpler life.

Whenever we have clutter and junk around our house, our minds get kind of cluttered too. Have you ever have that feeling that you have ten tabs open in your head right now? Here’s the trick to a simpler life: minimalism.

I’m not saying you have to become one of those people that live in a house that is 600 square feet, but I think tossing things that you don’t need is where to start. I don’t need those five tubes of Chap Stick, and I can probably just keep one and throw away the others. Throwing away things you don’t need is a great way to free up your space, and, in return, it frees up your mind to stop worrying about the countless possessions you own. Your living space wasn’t meant to be a storage unit, and neither is your car. Start small, go ahead and clean out those receipts in your purse only use one tube of chapstick and then buy another one when you're done with the first one. Start with one area of your room. Clean off a night stand or tackle that closet with the ten pairs of sandals you don’t need. Start downsizing.

Also, making goals is a way to simplify how you spend your time. Find goals that matter to you and reach them. Don’t commit large chunks of your time to not fulfilling these goals. Okay for example, I love helping out at my local church. So when I put things on my calendar, I gear my time to helping out at the church and other things like extra curriculars come second. Also make sure you’re accomplishing tasks one at a time. Don’t try and do too many things at once. If I'm trying to study and watch an episode of Gotham it will take me three hours of studying. Don't waste your time. You’ll be scatter-brained and burned out if you try to do everything at once. Create to-do lists and put your goals and daily reminders on them and strive to complete them.

Besides clearing out possessions you don’t need you and freeing up your time of unnecessary time wasters, strive to clear up your mind as well. Take every thought captive. Not every feeling or mindset is necessary, and in order to simplify your life you have to take every toxic thought or unnecessary grudge by its arm and kick it out of your mind. You have to get rid of the things that don’t matter and allow your mind and heart to be filled with joy and love. You may not think this is a huge deal but those negative thoughts take a lot of energy out of you and it's pointless energy. Minimalism and simplicity is all about tearing out the weeds in your life and allowing God to replace them with Him. Minimalism and simplicity isn’t about effort on our part, but it is about God’s Spirit entering in our hearts and clearing out all the filth and decay to make room for His love to pour from us.