21 Reasons to Embrace a Minimalist Lifestyle
Before diving into a minimalist lifestyle, most minimalist living courses recommend clearly defining your “why.”
Why?
Because embracing a minimalist lifestyle isn’t easy. Choosing a life with fewer possessions goes against the grain of a consumer-minded society eager to convince its members that bigger, more, and newer is better.
I spent my 20s and early 30s steeped in this more-is-better mindset, never questioning it until my propensity to amass stuff resulted in a home filled with superfluous possessions that monopolized my time, energy, and attention.
To get my life back from my stuff, to find freedom amid a material-centered world, I embraced a minimalist lifestyle. This meant letting go of over 70% of my possessions, questioning my purchases, and practicing detachment.
But there was pushback. From family, from friends, from incessant advertisements enticing me to buy more.
My “why”—my reason to choose minimalism over my previously stuff-focused life—was what kept me going when the roadblocks surfaced.
Regardless of where you are on your minimalism journey, you will be more able to meet your decluttering goals by knowing your “why.”
Here are 21 reasons to embrace a minimalist lifestyle:
1. More presence: With less stuff vying for our attention and devotion, we increase our capacity to show up fully present to the people we love.
2. Less worry: If your time, energy, and attention are consumed by your possessions, then that’s what you worry about. Every possession you accumulate adds another layer of anxiety to your life, while every possession you let go of is one less thing to concern yourself with.
3. More creativity: Less stuff results in a freer schedule with more margin to create and more mental capacity for creative plunges.
4. More money: When you buy less stuff, more of your money stays in your bank account. Wanting less leads to consuming more mindfully and living within your budget. Now it’s science–in a study published last month, researchers discovered “adopting a minimalist lifestyle saves substantial money.”
5. Less stress: Less stuff to maintain, pick up, clean, and keep track of means more time spent pursuing what makes you come alive. Also, an uncluttered environment means lower cortisol levels and less stress.
6. A deeper understanding of your authentic self: Less stuff means fewer culturally influenced purchases to hide behind. When these facades are cleared away, an authentic life that’s in line with your values emerges.
7. More time and energy: When you embrace a minimalist lifestyle, you have less stuff to clean and maintain. This equals more time and energy to allocate toward what matters.
8. A better example for your kids: Living with less shows your children the most important things in life aren’t actually things (meaning your children will pursue greater things than consumerism).
9. Less busyness: Living with less facilitates slower living. When you realize your home doesn’t need to be overflowing, you realize your schedule and commitment load are also more meaningful with some breathing room.
10. More travel: Less stuff means easier packing and increased ease of mobility. You’re more free to relocate because moving is a less daunting task. You pursue more experiences when you’re less focused on possessions. With less stuff, your life can be filled with more travel and adventures.
11. More freedom: You feel more free mentally, physically, financially and emotionally when not enslaved by your stuff.
12. More contentment: You won’t find real happiness in your possessions. When you realize this, you stop using shopping to cover up hard feelings, and make space to uproot the areas of your life that are true sources of discontentment.
13. A deeper relationship with God: Excess stuff also stifles the soul and can numb us from feeling God’s activity in our life. When the soul is stifled, the desire for spiritual things begins to diminish. Less stuff means more time to spend with God and fewer attachments, freeing the soul.
14. Less distraction: Environmental clutter derails our attention; a clutter free space facilitates increased focus.
15. A better understanding of what matters: By eliminating the non-essential things in your life, you leave space for what and who truly matter. Your values become clear, your actions align with them, and life becomes much richer for it.
16. Less environmental impact: Consuming less means less damage to our environment (and less demand for products unethically produced overseas).
17. More generosity: When you’re not attached to your possessions, you’re more able to bless others with your excess stuff. (Plus, more money in your bank account means more funds to donate to causes you’re passionate about.)
18. Less resentment: When you edit your life frequently you embrace a “big picture” mindset. With laser-focus on what truly matters, you’re more able to let go of petty things that don’t. When letting go of stuff becomes your default mode, it’s easier to do the same with grudges.
19. Less comparison: When you live with less, you live with the things that support your best life and know you don’t need what others have to be happy.
20. Less decision fatigue: Owning fewer possessions results in fewer choices (ex. deciding what to wear). Studies show we have a limited amount of decision-making power each day. With less stuff, you minimize trivial decisions and save your mental charge for bigger decisions that matter.
21. Less work for someone else: When we own less stuff, our children and grandchildren won’t be tasked with the overwhelming responsibility of taking care of all our stuff once we no longer can.
Author Francine Jay said, “Minimalism isn’t emptiness for the sake of emptiness—but rather making room to move freely, think clearly, and open ourselves to the beauty and wonder of life.”
Embracing a minimalist lifestyle is a countercultural choice. One that requires a clear “why” and a firm resolve to take action.
If a reason listed above resonates, write it out, post it on your mirror, and start taking steps to build a more authentic and meaningful life with less.
***
Julia Ubbenga is a freelance journalist whose teachings on minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living have reached thousands of people worldwide through her blog. Julia practices what she preaches in her Kansas City home with her husband, two extremely lively young daughters, two-year-old son, and baby girl. You can also find her on Instagram and now also on Facebook.
***
Want to get serious about decluttering your life? My brand new courses will show you how to declutter your inner and outer environment for good. Now is the time to choose change. Now is the time to live lighter. Learn more here.