Is Minimalism Right for You?

a living room with modern furniture

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So you’ve read about minimalism and want to know if minimalist living is right for you?

Well, first of all, minimalism is not all about white walls and IKEA furniture that fits into a 500 square foot space. While that can be minimalism to some, it’s not for everyone. Many people who live a minimalist lifestyle may have brightly colored walls and big comfortable chairs, and there’s everything in between. But what’s at the core of the minimalist movement is the idea of simplifying and letting go.

It’s the idea that you should simplify the things in your home to say YES to things that make you happy and NO to the things that don’t or have gone way past their lifecycle. So is minimalism right for you?

1. You don’t enjoy cleaning

Cleaning and tidying can be such a time suck. You may spend hours cleaning a room just to walk into the next room and start over again. If you enjoy a clean and organized space with minimal effort, then minimalism may be a good fit for you. When you own fewer things, it takes less time to get things clean. 

And here’s another tip… you can simply your cleaners and go minimalist under the kitchen sink too (instead of filling it to the brim with chemical cleaners that do more harm than good when it comes to cleaning).

You can clean your entire home with basically 4 things:

It can’t be that easy right? Yep! You can make all kinds of DIY and homemade cleaners for your home with just these 4 things:

2. You want to spend less money

Buying fewer things can have such a positive impact on your life outside the home. When you buy less, you spend less money – AND you have more money to live the life you want. Win all the way around! That means you can pay off debt, sock more away for savings, donate more to your favorite charitable organizations, or save away for retirement. 

The added bonus is as you purge your things to simplify your life, you may be able to even sell some of those old clothes, furniture, electronics, toys, etc. in yard sales, buy/sell/trade groups, etc. and save even more money.

3. You want more time in the day

Remember that quote from the movie Fight Club… “the things you own end up owning you.” ~ Tyler Durden

Those words never rang truer than it does right now. When you own a lot of things, you spend so much time cleaning, organizing, repairing, or shopping for new things. The items you own not only demand your space and your money, but your time too.

When you go minimalist and simplify, you don’t spend time shopping the stores without a clear picture of what you intend to buy. And you don’t have to waste time maintaining the items you own since you own less stuff. 

4. You’re tired of feeling stressed all the time

Clutter can be many things. A cluttered space filled to the brim with a lot of things you don’t need. A cluttered scheduled filled with things you don’t want to do or leave your running from one thing to the other. A cluttered mind filled with things you late on doing because there’s no time to think.

Aren’t you already exhausted reading all that? But it’s so true. Clutter – whether it’s taking up physical space in your home or in your mind – adds to the stress you already have with your job, family, after school activities, household responsibilities, and just plain ol’ adulting. That clutter can distract you from what is ESSENTIAL.

Minimalism can help you to reduce the clutter in your home and your mind to help you limit those distractions. Simplifying the things in your home, your schedule (especially you moms with a crazy after school schedule), and your mind can help to reduce stress and help you feel more content with what’s going on right now. 

Check out the book The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own by Joshua Becker. It’s an excellent read to learn how you can simplify and feel more content with less. 

5. You want experiences over things 

As you simplify your life, you’ll find that things take up space, time and money. Some things are essential like chairs for your kitchen table so each person in your immediate has a place to sit for mealtimes. But other things like a closet full of clothes you got on sale but don’t wear anymore aren’t essential and just take up space.

With minimalism, you’ll learn to focus less on material things (like that new purse) and more on experiences (like a family weekend getaway to the mountains). You’ll spend more time focused on hobbies, traveling, and crossing things off your bucket list. At the end of the day, the experiences are what you’ll remember and give you long-lasting memories.

So what do you think? Is minimalism right for you?

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Photo credit: Bigstockphoto.com / Kasia Bialasiewicz

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One Comment

  1. Oh my gosh, I didn’t hardly even have to read past the first reason. But seriously, every single reason you gave spoke to me. Now I have to convert from non-minimalism to minimalism 🙂