How can minimalism change your life for the better?

There are so many ways that minimalism can change your life for the better! 

Here, we’ll talk about a few ways that minimalism can vastly improve your life, such as:

• You can live in a smaller home.
• Be able to buy less, and buy better quality pieces.
• Save money and create less waste.
• Easier to get organized.
• Avoid overstimulation and overwhelm in your home.
• Easier decision making.
• Others will benefit, as well!

Our minimalist journey

Many years of minimalism have been a huge blessing for our family.

It’s helped us avoid overstimulation for kids and parents alike. It’s helped us better manage our possessions.

We’ve even been able to stay in a home that we otherwise would have deemed “too small” for our large family.  

Saving money and living with less stress? What’s not to love! 

Well, it can be a little overwhelming upfront.

Where do we even begin?

Take heart; it is absolutely worth the effort. 

What’s wrong with clutter?

I think most people don’t even realize how unsettled we are with all of the STUFF. Our surroundings have a huge impact on our mental state. (Overstimulation is never fun.)

 Having too much clutter in our surroundings has been linked to many health issues such as memory issues and weight gain.

So what exactly is a minimalist lifestyle?

There is no “one-size-fits-all” definition of minimalism. The concept of minimalism is something that will look a little different for each one’s own journey. 

Some people will always love books and desire a beautiful library, and some people will want everything as empty and cleared out as possible.

Some people will want to keep their rock collection, and scrapbooks, while others will find themselves boldly throwing out their old track medals from grade school.

Either way is great! You just need to make sure you’re serving your individual home and family best. 

The goal is to make your life better, not make your life look exactly like anyone else’s.

Less is more!

The overall theme, however, remains the same. Life is better with less stuff.

Having fewer things to manage will make your life so much more relaxed. Some of us spend too much time dealing with material things.

We want to be able to focus on the most important things. 

Everyone wants a simple life, right? 

Decluttering your home will make it feel bigger.

Housing markets and mortgage rates have skyrocketed the past few years. We all know someone (or we ourselves) wish we had a slightly bigger home.

Keeping the clutter at bay will make your home feel like it’s actually bigger than it is!

Not owning a lot of things will make the biggest difference. We don’t have to keep up with the status quo of pinterest perfection.

We can truly create our homes to function as the comfort zone for our unique family. Customized just for us!

With simple living, our homes will feel so much more peaceful.

“Creating a peaceful home”

Being able to stay in a smaller home will save you a lot of money. AND it’s simpler to manage a smaller home.

We need to work with what we have in every season of life.

Who knows, once you get going with minimalism you might just decide to build a tiny house! (Never say never, right?)

A minimalist lifestyle will help you buy less, and buy better.

When you’re working on decluttering and you’re holding two similar items in your hands and deciding which one to keep, you will then learn about yourself what your strongest preferences are.

For instance, if I never use my plastic tupperware, but always grab my mason jars to store leftover soup, I’ll know I don’t need to buy plastic tupperware next time I see a sale. (Those sales can be tricky!)

It used to feel like I needed an extra income to support my habit of “getting a good deal”.

Now I know, if I didn’t need it before I saw the sale, I can pass on buying it.

It may just be a little bit of money, but the clutter will cost you a lot of time!

Having too much stuff will lead to too much waste. 

How many times have you purchased something because you didn’t know you already owned one? I’ve been guilty of this many times.

Having less items to keep track of helps us better care for what we already own.

Joshua Becker recommends having only one of every item you need. This works great for small appliances and most big clothing items, but I need more than one pen in the house! (and hair ties…where are they always going?)

Again, this is going to look a little different for each individual family, but the key is to improve your quality of life by having fewer possessions. 

Buying better quality items will make the most sense when you truly need to purchase new things.

If you have resolved to only have one jacket for yourself, you will be more equipped to make a thoughtful purchase. You’ll want to buy a better quality so you don’t end up decluttering something that isn’t serving you well. 

You’ll find yourself enjoying the items you do have much more.

A minimalist lifestyle will help you be better organized. 

You can’t organize clutter. You just can’t.

Trying to organize your home without first taking out some of the clutter is just going to feel overwhelming. 

What exactly is clutter? If you’re not even sure where to start, just go through your home and throw away the obvious garbage. After that, just doing the dishes will help you feel like your home is under control.

Sometimes we just need a simple win. If that’s where you’re at, don’t get discouraged. Just do the next thing!

Minimalism will make life run smoothly.

Once you have a manageable amount of material possessions, you will actually be able to find things when you’re looking for them. It’s absolutely revolutionary.

It will be so much easier to put things where they belong, because the junk drawer won’t be stuffed to the max. … Oh, the junk drawer.

Everything will have a place, and it will all fit in the space. It’s amazing.

Minimalism will help you not get so overstimulated and overwhelmed. 

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating. Our brains are always taking account of our surroundings (even if we don’t realize it).

Subconsciously, our brains will see the pile of mail on the table and see it as something “to-do”. The sink full of dirty dishes is another thing “to-do”. The clothes piled in the accent chair is another “to-do”.

We could just be trying to walk from one end of our house to the other for a completely different task, and as we are passing all these other “to-do” items, we are eventually going to find ourselves overwhelmed and overstimulated. 

It seems, people are starting to realize how common overstimulation is.

A lot of overstimulation we do to ourselves by scrolling social media, and being on screens. But there are some things we just can’t avoid (like our families).

If you’ve ever had three people ask you a different question at the exact same time, you know what I’m talking about.

Relationships are important, and that’s where our prime energy should be going. 

Our brain power doesn’t need to be wasted on clutter. 

It will just take a little effort on our part. But it’s absolutely worth it.

Easier decision making with minimalism.

Let me explain. Once you have a capsule wardrobe, and only have clothes that fit well and look nice, it will be so easy to get dressed in the morning. “Have I worn this in the past year?” 

Decision making fatigue is such a real deal. (Back to being asked multiple questions at one time) How many decisions do we need to make in a day? Too many, in my opinion. 

This concept applies to any area of the home, from which whisk you’ll use to make pancakes, to which lip gloss you’ll wear for your date.

If we only have items that we genuinely like using, and avoid owning duplicates, we won’t have to make as many small (rather unimportant) decisions. 

Again, we should save our brain power for the truly important things in life. 

Others benefiting from your minimalist choices

The next item on my list is one that isn’t talked about much, but has helped me a ton.

How minimalism can bless the ones we live with

There are many ways that minimalism can bless those around you, starting with the ones you live with. They will feel the difference, I promise.

The kids will play better (it seems counterintuitive, but it’s true!) when they have less toys overwhelming them. If you have any family members with special needs, this can be especially noticeable.

Your family will feel like they can breathe better.

If your family members are not on board with minimalism, then just focus on your personal items first. Once they get a feel for how great it looks and feels to be surrounded by a calm space, they’re more likely to get excited about minimalism.

How minimalism can invite hospitality

Your home will be much easier to keep at a “company ready” status, and you’ll be able to offer hospitality to guests. 

How cool that we can even bless the outside world by our wise use of space.

 Our clutter can live on…

And Lastly; others will be blessed when you declutter things that can be reused. 

I love treasure hunting at second-hand stores.

I have found some of my favorite things at thrift stores and rummage sales. So from that perspective, I’m grateful for someone else decluttering! 

When I’m unsure if I want to donate something, and I find myself thinking, “What if I need this someday?!” (The struggle is real.)

I can remind myself how it could truly be a blessing to someone else. It’s best to pass it on if I don’t really need it.

Plus, it’s best to donate things sooner rather than later, so they don’t end up getting damaged or destroyed in our storage.

It’s best if those things can be used to their full potential now by someone else. 

Minimalism isn’t just about getting rid of clutter.

In my post on “Homemakers taking dominion in the home” I talked about how I lived for years with some really obnoxious decorative trim in my kitchen before it dawned on me… I can take it out!

No one was going to come check on my ugly frilly trim boards. It’s my space and I am allowed to alter it to best serve my family.

Minimalism can look like us getting rid of things that we’ve ALWAYS wanted to get rid of.

It’s not just about donating things that you have once desired and acquired.

A minimalist mindset can change your life.

A few lifestyle changes can make your entire life much more peaceful. Minimalism can improve your mental health, and save you so much money. You deserve the peace of mind that comes from feeling restful in your space.

There are so many different ways that a minimalist mindset can offer a huge benefit to your life.

It’s such a simple concept, but it can make a huge impact.

Decluttering is a never ending process.

This is not something you’ll ever complete. Clutter will always be finding its way into your home. The key is to not get defeated and give up.

This is not failure!

Keep a donations box in a specific place in your home (mine is next to my closet) and every time you find something that isn’t serving your family, just toss it in the box.

A minimalist lifestyle is a cycle that just keeps going. We will always be working to create order out of the chaos!

Remember… Less is more!

Related: How to declutter when your family won’t let you.