Can’t believe it’s already 4th of January and where I live, everyone is back at work or school, marking the first week of the year tomorrow.

Today feels like the last day to be lazy and even I felt that way too. In about a few days, I need to start to go back to hustle and bustle of life. Obviously, this year it’s all more special because unlike previous years when I have more say on how to manage and run my day, this time I have only 70% on how I can control the situation.

During this holiday, I was taking the time to do a lot of reflection on my 2025 and my minimalist journey. Truthfully, this year has been my most chaotic and challenging year and somehow all the things I have developed were taken out of the window. It’s almost like a lifestyle that became a habit somehow was gone and I was a new person.

Early in 2025, being back home meant I had to deal with parents who don’t believe in the idea of minimalism. It was a challenge on its own because I got sucked into the same habit as they are.

However, late 2025 after my father passed, we started downsizing our life and my mom slowly followed my path. We’re still on a journey to downsize our possession at home and slowly getting there.

At the same time, being on the new job and back on the road late in 2025, kickstarted my good habit and got me into my senses again. I started to realize that I’ve strayed away from all the practical things I did and advice I wrote here or even did in my life. Now, here are some of the things I realized about my minimalist journey and lessons I learned in 2025.

Out of sight, out of mind......

The other day I was reading a post about clothing items audit by @shanibeer . It opened my eyes up on purchases of 2025 that was wasteful. I investigated my make up collection that I used only halfway through then forgotten about it. I thought about all the lipstick shade I owned, and I bought out of curiosity. I barely used them and only used 2-3 shades. Then, there were creams and serums I bought out of curiosity that I barely used because I simply forgot about them as they were not accessible to my eyes. So, now I only have this one tiny pouch that fits everything I need.

I am someone who only cares about what’s really in front of me. If it isn’t in front of me, I might not remember it. With friends/family they’re the ones who reached out first but with things, it’s not like they can speak so it gets my attention. So, it’s best to only have a few items I truly need that are always/often in front of me and I will use.

I don’t believe in the idea of Living below our means so, I don’t mind repurchasing when something is used up especially when I use it well and it has a good impact on my life.

Living with people of different values

When it’s your loved ones having different values, it can be challenging to do. What worked for me might not work for you but in my case, having some clear boundaries and communicating your expectations or lifestyle to them is important. They are not mind readers nor do we.

The less things you have, the less stressful it is

While I know of that fact, I realized that this year, it was not the guideline I remembered. I am not saying you should have less possessions but, in my case, having lesser things helped a lot.

In my case, having lesser things helped a lot in decision making. I don’t have to constantly decide on different shirts to wear, pants or even which cutlery to wear. I like to use the same thing, being practical with what I wear, having less time to decide which watch to wear, or accessories to use or even shoes to wear.

For me, I follow 2 items’ rules for some necessary things. I can be a bit clumsy, so I need to have replacement that is easily accessible whenever I might lose it. But when it comes to things that are slightly affordable such as clothing, I don’t use those rules as if my only shoes were broken, I could buy one.

This rule also helped me with using what I really have rather than hoarding them and never really use them. Again, out of sight, out of mind…

In 2025, I purchase quite a bit of things that are now in hindsight, something I shouldn’t buy. But I also did a lot of downsizing which make up for it.

Always and always invest in quality.

Quality things cost a bit more and require a bit more patience for a lot of us, me included. But it’s better to invest in quality, especially in things that are easily broken. One of the things that I am guilty of buying lesser quality is my phone accessories and audio devices. I could have saved up for 3-4 months to get a quality one, but I kept skimping on it.

Now that I am back at work and have a lot of meetings, I need to have a good audio quality and microphone rather than a low quality one. I learned what it means to have patience last year and I am quite confident with how this year will unfold.

Have one or two hobbies than multiple hobbies…

One of the things I slowly learned is that it’s best to have one or two hobbies in a year or two. I used to constantly change my hobbies which made me know a lot of things but it’s not productive because I was stuck never to master anything. During 2025, I learned to limit my hobby to just one which was swimming. Rather than being competitive and trying to do it all at once just as I liked to do, I do in my free time.

This year, I am trying to take up just one hobby that would help me throughout the year. Still though, not sure what it would be but mostly education based and upskilling.

One big travel with more meaningful experience than sporadic travel

As someone who used to be on the road once every week, last year I learned how fun it is to do just one big adventure. Most people have plans but I typically don’t. It’s a huge lesson that I am slowly realizing in my adult brain. So, this year that’s what I am going to do, just one big trip than a lot of sporadic travels.

I came to realize how I enjoyed just one big travel with more experiences than traveling frequently doing things that sometimes I have no words to explain them nor I even enjoy them. You know, it's that paradox of choice in play.

Since there’s new aspect of my life that’s changed a bit, I want to address that one too.

Minimalism in the workplace

My work life used to be relatively stress free. I decide a lot of things on my work and how I run my day. These days those have changed a bit. These days my work stress is increasing, and I am feeling the same pressure as 9-5 and must live with some sort of schedule instead of a carefree work style.

These days minimalism stretches more than just space but also my headspace. Some of the things I learned recently to reduce my stress are also applying principles of minimalism where less is better.

Where I am working now, we deal with so many documents and references. As the one managing them, I need to have a good understanding of filing system but also good management. To reduce my stress of missing the file or even duplicate files, I only keep the recent file on the laptop and keep the junk (something I might not need now but might be used later) elsewhere.

Respecting downtime and holidays...

Another thing that is also respect is my downtime and the holiday. I used to try to work 7/24 but recently, Saturday night to Sunday Morning is my day off. I do not accept calls, work inquiries or any revision about work. Now, I mostly spend the Saturday with family or friends and Sunday Morning to church. The same goes with holiday where I enjoy it a lot more than usual because now I have people to spend it with.

And the thing is always, keep it simple and practical. I managed to reduce a lot of stress as I am applying minimalism principles even at work. Another thing that I learned last year is also about patience.

It was all about patience and self-control...

Throughout 2025, my journey in minimalism teaches me a lot about patience and striving to have more self-control that is applicable to many aspects of my life. While I sometimes still fall into the trap of FOMO, 2025 taught me that there is a big cost of falling into the trap of those and impatience. Embracing minimalism to me means I am personally halfway shielded from lifestyle traps that sometimes cost us more than just our own sanity.

How has your 2025 minimalism journey been or your future 2026 look like?