Step one. Decide who in your life is actually truly good and healthy to be in your life. The hardest part about step one is being objective and avoiding subjectivity and investment guilt for how long you have known them. Let's face it...we all have at least one person who is a shit factory and we cannot make manure for flowers and vegetables with all the shit they toss in our lives. This can be the guilt troopers, drama bringers, straight out of the DSM-V motherfuckers that refuse to get readily available help because 'they are fine. Yeah, Fucked Insecure Neurotic & Emotional.
Step 2 Decide who gets your social scalpel.
This part hurts like chewing your leg off from a bear trap in the middle of the woods. You see the need to do it to get to a life as what an asshat and bitchmouth free (years of interesting decisions leafing to interesting friends/ aquaintances and a family that would make even the Devil blush will do that) life in short order. Giving people the axe especially mildly terrible ones must be done with finesse, grace and a certain artistic flair while remaining objective. Before I come across as too cold, mind you I only cut out people who treated me like shit and in my kind nature I let them get away with it for one reason or another.
Step 3
Step Back and Look... now you know who your true friends are. I am a true gypsy and we are originally from the Carpathian Mountains of Poland, Hungary, Romania etc. Before she died my grandmother made me matriarch of our clan. I have my cousin in Ohio and a sister I adopted per our traditions in 1999 out here in Tacoma at the time.
Step 4
True Minimalism starts by painting with life. It is that age old stupid ass question, " does life imitate art or does art imitate life?" Fuck that. Pull out the razor and coconut oil and get to shaving life however you want her to look. The Italians have an expression that I live by, "work to live; not live to work for if you do you will have lived thrice" Shit...I will be 120 years old soon. Iggy Pop Lust For Life. Been there done that and will write about it when I get around to it.
So with tabula rasa everything is at your fingertips I have discovered with only the people who TRULY have your best interests in mind. It is like the best karmic reset button...one warning love. I did not say it is easy. Yes emotionally it is like cutting out tumours without anesthesia but in my opinion it beats a life filled,with Assholes who are fair weather but great at faking friendship dur to their own needs. We humans are sneaky like that. Think I am wrong? Take a look at your own circle. You can probably find at least one. I am going to Med school for psychiatry. I have been doing diagnoses an for fun and referring patients since 2000.