How to create a cozy minimalist lifestyle (2024)

How to create a cozy minimalist lifestyle using what you already have

I love the idea of owning only what I enjoy and use. But when it comes to going minimalist, the pictures and videos I see of minimalist homes don’t look like places I want to live.

But while I love some aspects of minimalism, I also love colorful art and throw pillows and books. That’s why I was thrilled when I heard about cozy minimalism – yes, such a thing is possible!

Myquillin Smith of Nesting Place published Cozy Minimalist Home to address the question: can you minimize AND create a colorful, cozy, welcoming home?

Yes. Yes, you can.

Start by thinking of “cozy” as a tool. It’s the things you add to a room to serve people: comfortable pillows, a warm rug, a throw blanket or beautiful art. It helps you cultivate true hygge, the Danish/Norwegian word for a mood of warmth, coziness, and togetherness. Instead of adding multiple layers, only add what will serve the people who use the room.

With the idea of coziness as service you have a stopping point, because clutter does not serve people! Everything in your home has energy. Having too many objects that don’t serve you or bring you joy drains your energy and keeps you stressed and overwhelmed.

“If everything in your room has a voice, and every surface has 15 things on it, it’s like your room is yelling at you.” – Myquillyn Smith on Young House Love Has A Podcast

So how do you add cozy layers without clutter piling up? Focus on fewer, big items instead of lots of tiny ones. For example:

• Admire your shell collection in a glass box instead of spread out on your coffee table
• Look for large houseplants instead of tiny ones
• Use a large mirror or art piece, or group small art into one large collage for the centerpiece above your sofa or fireplace

“Instead of a lot of tiny things, think about big solid items with presence” ~ Myquillyn Smith

Myquillin Smith recommends the following steps to start minimizing your home. (I did not strictly follow these steps, but there they are!):

1. Quiet Your Room: going one room at a time, clear out all your extra stuff, knick knacks, lamps, rugs, curtains, etc. Leave only the big pieces of furniture you use. The goal is to truly see the room you’re working on with fresh eyes
2. Live In Your Quiet Room: experience your quiet room for a few days, paying attention to how you and your family actually use the room NOW. Let go of expectations for how you used the room when your kids were younger or before they moved out of the house.
3. Rearrange: you may choose to move your big pieces of furniture around to arrange them in the best places for your family today. Does it really make sense to have the TV on that wall?
4. Add your stuff: now it’s time to lovingly add back your accessories, art, and treasures. This is where warm, minimalist decor that is inviting but not overwhelming comes into play.

And there is a way to create a cozy minimalist vibe in your home without succumbing to stress and overwhelm – mindful decluttering! In over 17 years of supporting hundreds of clients in mindfully decluttering their spaces, one thing is crystal clear! Each and every person’s situation requires a slightly different approach.

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My desk was a riot of color: birthday cards, books, tchotchkes, pictures and more. It made me feel restless and busy instead of focused and calm, so I knew I had to minimize. Focusing on fewer + big instead of many + small. So I:

• Put the books back on the bookshelf where they belong, or next to my bed if I’m reading them.
• Stowed all the tiny tchotchkeslike tiny tea cups, a candle holder and shells. Maybe in the future I’ll bring them out one-by-one, or maybe I’ll display them all together in a small case.
• Recycled or saved the birthday cards (I tend to be sentimental!)

Here’s what the desk looked like after:

AAAHHHH! So much more space to breath and focus!

Every time I went into the kitchen I felt like I needed to tidy up – even when everything was put away!

That’s how I knew that there was too muchstuff in the kitchen, so I:

• Put away cooking utensils that we rarely use like the potato masher and fine grater. Instead of keeping them in a jar by the stove (they they create visual clutter) they now live in a drawer. They’re easy to access when I need them but are not cluttering my counters.
• Found a new home for cutting boards. We used to stack the cutting boards on top of the toaster oven or against the backsplash – again, visual clutter! Now they live within easy reach in a cabinet.
• Decluttered the fridge magnets. Magnets are fun but they were getting out of hand. I decluttered old papers and rearranged the magnets so they look like one art piece instead of a bunch of scattered tchotchkes.
• Made a sincere commitment to putting things away.

Doesn’t it look better? Here’s the before again:

I want to linger on this point because it’s made a BIG difference in the way I feel in my home. Do you ever have the thought,there’s no point in putting this away, I’ll just use it again tomorrow.That was my attitude towards:

• The tea kettle
• The jar of olive oil
• Cutting boards
• Empty water glasses
• Pens, and much more

But you know what all that creates?? Mental and visual clutter!

“Now I make it a priority to put away everything when I’m done with it, or at least before I go to bed. This has made such a difference in how I feel when I enter a room.

It also makes for a pleasant ritual in the evening, a transition signal to my mind that it’s time to rest. As I put things away and tidy for the morning, I’m giving myself the gift of a clear mind and space when I wake up. I find that taking care of my physical environment has a positive impact on my mental well-being.“

As I put things away and tidy for the morning, I'm giving myself the gift of a clear mind and space when I wake up. - Share on X

Your experience may be different from mine, and if so that is A-OK. If you love having something out, by all means keep it out! The idea is to become more aware of the way objects in your home make you feel and to consider whether making one or more small changes in your habits or routines can spark joy for you.

Does cozy minimalism appeal to you? Does your desk or kitchen look like mine did!? Let us know in the comments!

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This guest post is courtesy of Eva Jannotta of Medusa Media Group.

*Note: we love recommending books. If you purchase Cozy Minimalist Home on Amazon, we receive a small percentage of the sales price as a member of their affiliate program.