10 Minimalist Rules That Changed My Life
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares transformative life rules that have enhanced their daily life, including the 'House on Fire' rule to declutter by assessing the necessity of possessions, the '2020 Rule' for items replaceable under $20 in 20 minutes, and the 'Box Rule' for uncertain items. They also emphasize the importance of establishing habits with the 'Two Day Rule', investing in experiences rather than material things, assigning a 'Home' for every item, and not doing things for 'Other People'. Additional rules like the '90 Rule' for high-quality purchases and commitments, the 'Two Minute Rule' for immediate tasks, and the 'Nightly Reset' for daily preparation, contribute to a more organized and intentional lifestyle.
Takeaways
- 🔥 The 'House on Fire' Rule: Realize that material possessions don't define you, and letting go of unnecessary items can lead to mental clarity and calm.
- 🗑️ The '2020 Rule': If you can replace an item for under $20 within 20 minutes, consider letting it go to declutter your life.
- 📦 The 'Box Rule': For items you're unsure about decluttering, put them in a box and revisit after six months to see if you really need them.
- 🚫 The 'Two Day Rule': Establish habits by ensuring you don't miss them two days in a row to maintain consistency.
- 💰 The 'Investing Rule': Focus on investing in experiences rather than material things, as they enrich your life and create lasting memories.
- 🏠 The 'Home Rule': Ensure every item in your home has a designated place to avoid clutter and disorganization.
- 👥 The 'Other People Rule': Recognize when you're doing things for the approval of others and prioritize your own needs and desires.
- 📈 The '90 Rule': Only commit to purchases or opportunities that are a 90 or above on your personal satisfaction scale to ensure they bring value to your life.
- ⏱️ The 'Two Minute Rule': Complete tasks that take two minutes or less immediately to prevent procrastination and maintain productivity.
- 🌙 The 'Nightly Reset': Prepare for the next day by tidying up and setting up tasks before going to bed to start fresh each morning.
- 👕 The 'Favorite Stuff': Only keep items that you love and use regularly, ensuring that everything you own is something you truly value.
Q & A
What is the 'House on Fire Rule' and how can it help in decluttering?
-The 'House on Fire Rule' is a mindset where you consider whether you would be relieved or overly attached to the items you own, imagining that they were lost in a house fire. It helps in decluttering by making you realize that many possessions are not essential to your happiness, leading to a more minimalist lifestyle.
What is the '2020 Rule' and how does it apply to decluttering?
-The '2020 Rule' suggests that if you can replace an item for twenty dollars in under 20 minutes, you should let it go during the decluttering process. It helps in deciding what to keep or discard by focusing on the practicality and ease of replacement.
Can you explain the 'Box Rule' for decluttering?
-The 'Box Rule' involves placing items you are unsure about into a box and setting a reminder to revisit it after six months. If you haven't needed anything from the box by then, it's likely that you can either sell, donate, or discard the contents.
What is the 'Two Day Rule' and how does it help with habit formation?
-The 'Two Day Rule' is a habit-forming strategy where you commit to not missing a new habit two days in a row. It helps maintain consistency in habits like reading or exercising by preventing a break in routine from becoming a habit-breaking pattern.
What is the 'Investing Rule' and how does it differ from traditional investing?
-The 'Investing Rule' encourages investing in experiences rather than material possessions. It is based on the idea that experiences enrich your life more than stuff, leading to greater happiness and personal growth.
What does the 'Home Rule' suggest for organizing items in your house?
-The 'Home Rule' states that every item in your house should have a designated place. If something does not have a home, it may not belong in the house, and you should consider getting rid of it to maintain organization.
What is the 'Other People Rule' and how does it affect our purchasing decisions?
-The 'Other People Rule' recognizes that we often buy things to impress others or seek validation. It encourages focusing on wants versus needs and making purchases based on personal necessity rather than external opinions.
How does the '90 Rule' help in making purchasing decisions?
-The '90 Rule' advises not to buy something unless it scores a 90 or above on a scale of satisfaction. This ensures that every purchase is something you truly love and will use, leading to a more curated and meaningful collection of possessions.
What is the 'Two Minute Rule' and how can it improve productivity?
-The 'Two Minute Rule' suggests that if a task takes two minutes or less, it should be done immediately. This approach helps in tackling small tasks promptly, preventing procrastination and improving overall productivity.
What is the purpose of the 'Nightly Reset' and how does it contribute to a successful next day?
-The 'Nightly Reset' involves preparing your environment before going to bed, such as laying out clothes, setting up tasks, and tidying up, to set yourself up for a successful and organized next day.
Outlines
🔥 The House on Fire Rule: Minimalism and Mental Clarity
The speaker introduces a personal realization about the insignificance of material possessions after losing their clothes during a trip due to a luggage mishap. They coined the 'House on Fire Rule' to signify the idea of detaching emotional attachment from belongings. This rule encourages the listener to consider the hypothetical scenario of losing all possessions and to evaluate whether they would be relieved or overly attached to their stuff. The speaker found that reducing possessions led to increased calmness and mental clarity, challenging the notion that 'stuff' owns us.
📦 Decluttering Techniques: The 2020, Box, and Two-Day Rules
The script discusses several decluttering rules that the speaker has found effective. The '2020 Rule' suggests letting go of items that can be replaced for under twenty dollars in twenty minutes, promoting a non-wasteful decluttering approach. The 'Box Rule' advises putting undecided items into a box and revisiting them after six months to determine if they are still needed, helping to trick oneself into decluttering. The 'Two-Day Rule' is a habit-forming strategy where missing a habit once is acceptable, but missing twice in a row is not, ensuring consistency in maintaining new routines. These rules collectively aim to simplify life and enhance personal well-being.
💡 Investing in Experiences Over Possessions
The speaker emphasizes the value of investing in experiences rather than material goods, which they found to be more fulfilling and less stressful. They describe how focusing on experiences, such as travel and shared activities, can lead to personal growth and lasting memories, as opposed to the temporary satisfaction derived from material purchases. The speaker also mentions the practice of gifting experiences instead of material items, which can contribute to a more meaningful and less cluttered lifestyle.
🏠 The Home Organization and 'Other People' Rules
This paragraph delves into the importance of assigning a specific place for every item in one's home to maintain organization and prevent clutter. Items without a designated place are considered unnecessary and are candidates for removal. The 'Other People Rule' addresses the tendency to acquire items for the sake of impressing others or seeking validation, rather than genuine need or personal satisfaction. The speaker encourages focusing on personal needs and desires, rather than external perceptions, when making decisions about possessions.
👕 The 90 Rule and the Two-Minute Action Principle
The '90 Rule' is introduced as a decision-making tool for both purchasing and committing to activities. The speaker only buys items or agrees to opportunities that score 90 or above on a scale of satisfaction and importance, leading to a curated collection of favorite items and a more streamlined calendar. The 'Two-Minute Rule' is a productivity hack that encourages completing tasks that take two minutes or less immediately, preventing procrastination and promoting a more organized and efficient lifestyle.
🌙 The Nightly Reset for a Productive Tomorrow
The final paragraph of the script introduces the 'Nightly Reset' routine, which involves preparing for the next day before going to bed. This includes laying out clothes, preparing the dishwasher, filling the kettle for morning coffee, and setting up reading materials. The practice of nightly preparation is presented as a life-changing habit that sets the stage for a successful and organized following day.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Stuck
💡House on Fire Rule
💡Decluttering
💡2020 Rule
💡Box Rule
💡Two-Day Rule
💡Investing Rule
💡Home Rule
💡Two-Minute Rule
💡Nightly Reset
💡90 Rule
💡Other People's Rule
Highlights
The realization that material possessions do not define happiness after losing luggage during a trip.
The practice of decluttering by questioning attachment to belongings and their impact on personal well-being.
The 2020 rule for decluttering items that can be replaced easily and inexpensively.
The Box rule for temporarily storing items to assess their necessity over time.
The Two-day rule for maintaining consistency in habits without the pressure of perfection.
The Investing rule, which emphasizes investing in experiences over material possessions for long-term happiness.
The Home rule for ensuring that every item in the house has a designated place to prevent clutter.
The Other people rule for recognizing and reducing the influence of others' opinions on personal decisions.
The 90 rule for evaluating the necessity and quality of purchases and commitments.
The Two-minute rule for completing small tasks immediately to prevent procrastination and increase productivity.
The Nightly reset for preparing the next day's environment and routine for success.
The importance of letting go of 'just in case' items that accumulate without being used.
The strategy of setting reminders to reevaluate stored items and potentially declutter them.
The benefits of investing in experiences such as travel over material goods for personal growth and memories.
The practice of assigning a specific place for every item in the home to maintain organization and reduce clutter.
The recognition of the psychological impact of seeking validation from others and the shift towards personal needs.
The method of evaluating opportunities and purchases based on a '90 or above' criteria for high personal value.
The technique of using the Two-minute rule to tackle small tasks immediately, leading to a more organized and productive lifestyle.
The routine of preparing for the next day before going to bed to ensure a smooth and successful start.
Transcripts
I used to feel really stuck in my life
and unmotivated I'd always try these
extreme things to change my life 30 day
challenges that I saw other people doing
but over the past few years I've built
some small simple rules for myself that
have really improved my day-to-day life
and I hope it can improve yours as well
the house on fire rule recently on our
trip through Europe British Airways lost
our luggage we kept our backpacks but we
lost all of our clothes and it was at
that point I had a really cool
realization I didn't really care about
any of that stuff it didn't make any
difference to me if I never saw all my
clothes again it wouldn't really matter
so I've been practicing this rule
recently and the rule is think about
your attic or your closet your storage
unit whatever it is what would happen if
it just went away it evaporated Into
Thin Air your house burned down and you
lost all that stuff would you actually
be relieved are you overly attached to
it does your stuff actually kind of own
you a little bit for me I had this
realization there's a few things in my
house that I wouldn't love to lose for
the most part it wouldn't really affect
me as a person my happiness levels
anything if my house burned down and
that's a really freaking concept because
the stuff we own ends up owning us so
the more stuff I've gotten rid of the
more like calm and mental Clarity of
ended up having in my life the 2020 rule
or just in case I think I first heard
this rule from the minimalist but
especially in my beginning stages of
decluttering when I was going through a
bunch of stuff and I realized that we
have so many things that we hang on to
for just in case just in case people
come over just in case I need to make 18
cups of coffee at once just in case I go
up a size or I go down a size we've got
all of this stuff for just in case so as
you're decluttering you're trying to
figure out what to get rid of if you can
replace an item for twenty dollars in
under 20 minutes then just let it go
obviously without being wasteful but
when I've used this Rule and I've
exercised this there really hasn't been
one thing that I've actually needed to
replace so if you're on the edge with
something use the 2020 rule if it fits
in there just let it go the Box rule
this Rule and actually the last two are
my absolute favorite rules so make sure
you stick around for those but the Box
rule kind of expands on the last one
where if you're going through
decluttering stuff you're unsure about
it maybe it doesn't fit in the 2020 rule
throw it in a box put it in your attic
put it in the garage and set a reminder
on your phone for like six months from
now that you will go through that box
and decide that so this is for the
people who have a hard time getting rid
of stuff and you're like well I'm not
getting rid of it I'm just putting it in
a box and when that time comes maybe six
months from now and you realize that you
haven't gone to that box because clearly
you didn't need anything out of it you
have two choices you can either go
through it and decide to sell or
declutter it or you can just take the
entire box and donate the entire box
because clearly you don't need anything
that's in there so if you want to trick
yourself into cluttering this is a great
by the way if you're enjoying this and
getting some value don't forget to
subscribe it's free and I only post once
a week so I won't clutter up your
YouTube feed the two day rule I'm pretty
sure I already originally learned this
one from Matt this rule is super simple
it's pretty much that you're not going
to miss a new habit two days in a row
for me I use this a couple different
ways I read a page of a book every
single morning and it's okay if I miss
one day because I've got an appointment
in the morning or whatever's going on
but I can never miss two days in a row
and that has kept that habit extremely
consistent for over a year now I also
use this with going to the gym where I'm
going to do some type of exercise every
day and it's okay if I miss one day but
I can never miss two in a row but it
also keeps you from like falling off the
bandwagon for habits that you really
want to keep the investing rule this is
a rule that I've like followed but I
don't I don't really know what to call
it if you have any ideas let me know I
just called it the investor rule but
pretty much instead of investing into
stuff into into random books what is
this hence Christian Andersen I didn't
even know we had that these are Meredith
books by the way we should be investing
into experiences investing into stuff
has generally led me to being more like
stressed it all takes up space and my
mind it doesn't really make me happy
even when you buy a new car it's cool
for a little bit and then it's just a
car again same thing with clothes and
most things but experiences really help
change you as a person they're great
memory they help you learn and expand
your horizons so I've been really
focusing on taking that money that I'm
not spending on stuff and investing it
into travel for holidays we gift each
other experiences instead of gifting
each other like random crap that we
don't need and that should be like
literally in our budget is to invest
money and experiences
have a home rule I really gotta get
better at naming these things this is
this is embarrassing if stuff does not
have a home in my house I just get rid
of it since I took the time and I found
a place for everything to go I've
stopped losing my wallet stop losing my
keys my phone has a place to go all my
clothes have places to go all the toys
have places that they go everything in
my house has a place where it belongs
and if it doesn't have a place where it
belongs it probably does not belong in
my house and because it'll end up on the
counter it'll end up strewn all over the
place and if it doesn't have a place
strongly consider getting rid of it like
this is just a good overall rule that if
it doesn't have a place where it belongs
and it's always just sitting around you
probably don't need it other people rule
a lot of times we do things either
consciously or subconsciously for other
people when we're getting the newest
iPhone it's partly because we want that
new flashy thing but it's partly because
you can kind of show off it's cool to
have it's a status simple same thing
with maybe a pair of shoes or a car or
the house in the neighborhood or closed
part of it's for you and part of it is
for other people even like posting to
social media unless it's like for work a
lot of that is just to get some
validation from your day for other
people and kind of make yourself feel
better because maybe you're not having a
great day and you want people to tell
you how great you look or how hard
you're working or or whatever so this
one actually took me a while to get out
of but instead of worrying about what
other people think especially when I'm
buying stuff I've been really focusing
on wants versus needs is this something
that I actually need or do I want it
because X Y and Z because maybe people
think it's cool like when I spilled
water on my laptop I realize that I
didn't need a second laptop I was able
to share Meredith's for like a year
almost and then when we went to travel
and I needed to edit while I was
traveling I bought a laptop because I
needed it not because it was like ah
that'd be cool to have I don't really
care what other people think I'm doing
what is best for me I don't really care
the 90 rule I use this rule two
different ways first when I'm looking at
stuff to buy I try not to buy it unless
it is a 90 or above so 1 out of 100 does
this shirt reach a 90 for me does it fit
well will I wear it a ton and if it's
below there I'm not gonna buy it and as
a result every shirt that I own is my
favorite shirt I can reach my hand in
grab it I love it I used to have a lot
of stuff that was maybe 60 70 and be
like oh that's pretty cool yeah I like
that yeah it's not bad and I never wore
it because I would wear my favorite
stuff and now everything's my favorite
stuff and since I found all my favorite
stuff I I don't really buy anything
anymore so that's really strict criteria
to buy pretty much everything in your
house and while sometimes that might
mean spending a little more money to get
a more quality thing in the long run at
least for me I've spent a lot less money
because I don't shop ever like for
anything like obviously I need some
stuff but I I don't like cycle through
anything anymore and then the second way
to use this is when somebody asks you to
do something an opportunity comes up is
that a 90 yearbook is it a heck yes and
if it's not then it's a no and doing
that has cleared up my calendar
incredibly I do so much less stuff now
the two minute rule I think I've done a
whole video on this let's give you the
quick version life-changing rule if
something takes two minutes or less just
do it put away the dishes clean up your
room bring that thing upstairs that's
been sitting on the staircase for a
month finish that repair put on your
workout clothes and go sit in the car
only commit to the smallest thing
possible and by doing that you'll trick
yourself into doing the big stuff and
you just clear up like a bunch of crap
that you've been avoiding the nightly
reset every night before bed I walk
through and I reset my house I lay out
my clothes for the night before I load
or unload the dishwasher so we never
leave any dishes around fill up my
Kettle so that I can make coffee by just
clicking the button in the morning I lay
out the book that I'm going to read I
set up my next day for Success the night
before and it's been life-changing
almost as life-changing as subscribing
to this channel because trying to hit
half a million by the end of the year so
thank you to everybody who has
subscribed and I'll see you next week
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