5 Signs Minimalism Might Be for You

It wasn’t until I was well into my thirties and three kids deep when I began to understand what the concept of minimalism was all about. 

I’d heard of it before, but always figured it was just another home organization strategy reserved for the already organized. In my mind, minimalism would never be an attainable lifestyle for a busy, messy momma like myself.

But after an unlikely encounter with a minimalist mom at church, I went all in. For someone who spent decades living in a cluttered space and using my free time to purchase more and more material possessions, minimalism came surprisingly easy to me. Don’t get me wrong. It was a lot of work. It took us a full year to go through every cabinet, closet and corner of our home.

But the shift in mindset behind minimalism ended up coming pretty naturally to me. Why? Because, while on the outside minimalism appears to have a lot to do with “stuff,” it actually has very little to do with stuff. Beneath all that decluttering and conscious consumerism, it’s a lifestyle that allows you to spend more time on the things that really matter.

And that lifestyle is very much for me. Here are five signs it may be for you too.

5 Signs Minimalism Might Be for You

1. You Prefer to Wear Your Favorite Outfits on Repeat

If you have a closet full of clothing, yet find yourself drawn to wearing the same pieces over and over, minimalism might be for you.

Our culture’s default mode is, more. When we’re not paying close attention to what we’re purchasing and why, it’s easy to accumulate far more than we need. There are many reasons we acquire more clothing than necessary. Comparison, security, and nostalgia, are just a few.

Minimalism offers a better way. A simpler way. A more cost effective and environmentally conscious approach to clothing.

If despite a plethora of clothing options in your closet, you find yourself drawn to a simpler approach to attire, a minimalist wardrobe may be exactly what you’re looking for.

2. You Desire More Margin in Your Calendar

Minimalism is a sneaky little thing. What often begins as a clutter escape route, ends up completely upheaving the way you approach many other areas of your life as well. The next thing you know you’re crossing things off your calendar, establishing firmer boundaries, and reevaluating the mental clutter you’ve been lugging around for a lifetime. It can be pretty transformative once you go beyond the aesthetic of it all.

Minimalism won’t keep life from ever getting busy, but it gives you the framework to focus on what matters and build in margin to protect it. It allows us to approach our occasionally chaotic schedules strategically.

3. You Prefer More Memories to More Possessions

I’ve never been drawn to high-end handbags and fancy scarves. Give me a ten-hour road trip with my family over an abundance of accessories or a kitchen packed with the latest gadgets any day.

If you prefer to spend your money and time experiencing new things rather than accruing more stuff, minimalism might be for you.

“Stuff” never lasts. Instead, it’s the memories, the brave steps, the moments of connection with friends and family that we carry with us throughout our lives.

4. You Don’t Find Joy in Shopping

I used to think I enjoyed spending my free time shopping and browsing through stores. Whether I left with new stuff or not, I thought wandering through Target was the very definition of “self-care.” Turns out I didn’t love it at all, it’s just what I was used to.

Sure, you’ll need things from time to time. But we’ve been conditioned to see shopping as a hobby instead of an occasional necessity. As a society, we’ve traded contentment for consumerism.

If shopping for and returning excessive material possessions isn’t actually how you enjoy spending your free time, the practice of minimalism can help you break the habit.

5. You Don’t Enjoy Organizing and Tidying

I used to think I was just terrible at tidying. It always took me forever, left me feeling exhausted, and in the end, never actually felt tidy.

Turns out I’m not actually terrible at tidying my home after all. I just spent decades of my life trying to manage more stuff than I could care for. If you’ve always considered yourself to be rather terrible at keeping home, minimalism may be for you.

Once I let go of the excess clothing cluttering my dresser, the overabundance of kitchenware taking up all my cabinet space and the endless supply of bedding, towels and “back-ups” crammed into my closets, everything I did use found a home. Funny how that works.

Is Minimalism for You?

If you find yourself skeptically side-eyeing your cluttered home and jam-packed calendar, thinking to yourself, “Surely there’s an easier way to do life,” I’m here to tell you, there is.

Minimalism.

Not the picture-perfect, always tidy, aesthetically trendy version you see online. I’m talking about the minimalism that gives you permission to do less, own less, and focus more on what actually matters to you.

Minimalism didn’t turn me into a tidy, type A superwoman. It just gave me the freedom to own less, margin to breathe, and clarity to live on purpose. It just may for you as well.

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Rachelle Crawford is a writer and school nurse who lives in Michigan with her husband and their three children. She is the author of Messy Minimalism. Her newest book, How to Be Busy: Unhurried Living Even When Your Calendar is Chaotic, is available now. It is a lighthearted, story-driven, and practical guide for finding calm in seasons when being busy isn’t optional.

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You can now find my new book Declutter Your Heart and Your Home: How a Minimalist Life Yields Maximum Joy everywhere books are sold!