7 Things I’ve Learned from 7 Years of Minimalist Living  

Seven years ago this week, I made a choice to embrace minimalist living; a choice that changed my life.

I was at home with my kids, drowning in stuff, and not the present, happy mom I wanted to be. Then, I asked myself a question…

What would my life be like with less stuff?

I decided to find out.

I let go of 75% of my possessions and stopped buying more because I realized I didn’t need more. The lightness I felt was immediate.

I started smiling more at home, really engaging with my family, found time for a hobby I loved, and felt like myself again. 

Over the past seven years, I’ve shared my minimalist journey on this blog, on podcasts, and in my book. 

Writing and speaking about minimalism holds me accountable to this lifestyle. Researching and reflecting on a life with less stuff ensures I won’t go back to my consumption-driven ways (listen to my story here). 

It also reminds me that the things that make life rich aren’t actually things at all. 

The choice to live with less stuff and more focus on what matters is deeply life-giving. And it’s one you can absolutely make too.

I’ve gleaned many lessons over the past seven years of living as a minimalist, but wanted to share seven of my favorites here today.

Here are 7 things I’ve learned from 7 years of minimalist living:

1. You don’t miss what you let go of—you never really needed it anyway

As I journeyed into a minimalist lifestyle, there were moments where I felt paralyzed in my decluttering efforts, worried that I’d miss or need the things I let go of.

After seven years of living with less stuff, I can safely say that you don’t miss what you donate—you never needed it anyway. 

You may feel angst or worry as you have a box of possessions out of your trunk and hand it over to a donation center employee. After about a minute’s time your mind is onto other things—freed to enter the present moment more deeply with less stuff. You’re no longer concerned about your just-donated items. And you won’t be again.

Eighty percent of the possessions in your home are likely unused or unloved (most of us use just 20% of our stuff).

We need so much less than we think to be happy. You won’t miss that 80%. If you’re feeling called to let it go—go for it.

2. Minimalism is about more than your possessions

Before embracing a minimalist lifestyle, I thought the only thing I’d be letting go of was my stuff. Turns out, possessions just line the surface of letting go. Once you remove your excess physical stuff, you unveil other areas of your life that need to be decluttered: your calendar, your mind, your heart, your habits, your relationships. 

Often, our physical clutter is a physical manifestation of what’s going on inside of us. Removing outer clutter gives us more space (and time) to observe and address our inner clutter.

Maybe decluttering your closet reveals your attachment to caring what others think—you bought most of those outfits to “fit in,” not because they aligned with your personal style. Maybe decluttering your bedroom uncovers that you’re habitually hurried or stuck in “doing mode.” Perhaps, previously, you didn’t have a true place of rest in your home because you didn’t think you deserved it. 

In the words of Eleanor Brown, “Clutter is not just physical stuff. It’s old ideas, toxic relationships, and bad habits. Clutter is anything that does not support your better self.”

It’s in letting go of both the outer and inner clutter that real lightness is found. 

3. The things that matter most are aren’t things

Minimalist living has shown me what matters most: relationships. I’ve learned my most important work isn’t a viral social media or blog post, or even a bestselling book. 

It’s sitting with a bubbly three-year-old, slapjack cards between us, watching her slyly slip the jack to the bottom of both of our piles as she deals. Or, it’s making a special trip to the store so my husband can have his favorite coffee on his first day of a new job. It’s a phone call with my mom and listening as she verbally processes my dad’s cancer journey. 

To bring more intentionality to your life, do a quick “what matters” audit. Ask, “What matters most to me?” Write down your top three answers. I’m guessing your possessions didn’t make the list.

Let go of excess physical clutter to make space for the intangible things that matter.

4. Often, you don’t realize the true weight of your clutter until it’s gone

The clutter in our home is not neutral, but often we don’t realize how truly heavy it is until we let it go. We can feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and scattered at home, but don’t always realize how much our environment contributes to our inner state.

Studies show cluttered homes lead to increased stress (higher cortisol levels) and anxiety. Clearing the clutter has immediate benefits—your nervous system relaxes with each excess possession that you relinquish.

In my experience, a minimalist lifestyle is an opportunity to shed what’s weighing you down and fill your life with what makes you feel lighter and come alive.

5. Kids really do thrive in a simple environment

Society sells us the message that more stuff equals a better childhood for our kids. After seven years of living a minimalist lifestyle with five kids, I 100% disagree. 

Before minimalism, I bought our kids more and more stuff constantly. Until I read the research, and realized that kids thrive in a simplified environment.  

Once we let go of 75% of our kid’s stuff, their play became deeper and more independent. Their problem-solving skills and creativity skyrocketed. And when excess was no longer normalized, they stopped asking for “more.”

Minimalist living is shaping their character. They’ve become kids who put people over possessions, value experiences over things, and know their self-worth isn’t found in what they own. 

6. It’s okay to live in a way others don’t always understand

Minimalist living is countercultural living. Not everyone is going to support or understand your choice to live with less stuff. And that’s more than okay. 

You’re not obligated to explain your choices around possessions to anyone. You don’t need to be “on guard,” always ready to justify living with less.

Truth is, so many people are living heavily influenced by our consumer culture, designing lives around how they’ve decided they “should” live instead of living intentionally and authentically. 

By choosing a minimalist lifestyle, you’re breaking the cycle of living life with material markers and social standards as your compass. You’re realigning life with your values and focusing on the intangibles that actually matter (not the stuff).

Many people won’t understand this, which again, is more than okay.

7. Life isn’t a push to do more or own more

Minimalist living has given me space to go beyond surface-level living and contemplate life more deeply. Life, I’ve realized, isn’t a push to do more or own more, as our culture implies. 

After seven years of living simply, I’d say life is about learning how to live with souls that are awake, in awe, and connected to our creator. In my experience this connection comes when we significantly slow down and clear the clutter.

An unhurried and present existence opens you to the moment, which is where God waits to meet you. And it’s that union that makes your soul feel awake, alive, and at peace. In my experience, living connected to God is what makes life rich (not owning and doing more–that just makes life cluttered and exhausting).

In conclusion

One of my favorite quotes about minimalism is by Fumio Sasaki, author of Goodbye Things.

“Minimalism is built around the idea that there is nothing that you are lacking,” Sasaki writes.

To lack nothing, as the 23rd Psalm echoes, is an inner shift that changes your outer environment. Perhaps the biggest lesson living a minimalist lifestyle continues to teach me is that, truly, I do lack nothing and need so much less than I think to be happy. 

A minimalist lifestyle continues to show me that, contrary to our consumer culture’s push for more, the “good life” isn’t one we can buy.

Happiness simply isn’t found in bigger, updated, or trendier things, but in less.

Reflecting on seven years of minimalism, I wouldn’t change a thing. If you’re considering living with less, go for it. 

I’m grateful for the lessons a life of less have taught me—my life is unquestionably richer for it.

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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!

(It’s on sale for only $8 on Amazon today!)