5 Amazing Reasons To Downsize And Simplify Your Life

Are there legitimate reasons to downsize your life? Will downsizing really simplify your life?

The simple answer to those questions is a resounding yes!

“Every Increased Possession Adds Increased Anxiety Onto Our Lives” – Randy Alcorn

Every single day there is far more to do than we can actually do.  We have to learn to let go of the unimportant and prioritize what matters.

But the question is how do you do that when you’re constantly working on the urgent. Well, I’m so glad you asked! This is where downsizing comes in. When you downsize and simplify your life it releases you from the chains of the urgent. It frees you to focus on what matters most to you!

However, the truth is that downsizing, while exciting for the prospects it brings, is not easy.  It’s hard to let go of stuff and simplify.

The good news is that by focusing on the right mindset it’s so much easier to let go of all that stuff that’s weighing you down. Really, all you have to do is remember there’s a reason you started thinking about downsizing.

5 Reasons To Downsize Your Life

Focus on the amazing benefits you have waiting for you when you downsize and simplify your life.  You’ll gain more free time for experiences and time with your people.  This means less stress and more opportunities to live your best life.

Here are five amazing benefits of downsizing and simplifying they should be all the motivation you need.

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1. Downsizing Allows You To Remove The Excess

What keeps us weighed down is the excess in our life. Removing that excess enables us to reevaluate what’s truly important. And of course, knowing what matters most in our life is the only way to be intentional in pursuing it!

When you seek to downsize and simplify your life it requires you to take action and be purposeful in removing the excess from your life.

One of my all-time favorite ways for determining what is excess in your home comes from The Nester (Her book, the Cozy Minimalist is the bomb, a must read!).

The idea is to work backward.  Begin by removing everything. Don’t worry, you don’t have to get rid of it. Just move it all into another space.

Now you’re only going to bring back the things you love and the things you need. Once your space is clear and arranged the way you like it,  you’ll feel more comfortable letting go of the excess.

As you live in the space, slowly add back in those items that you miss. Everything else is excess.

2. It Improves Mental Health

The effects of clutter on our mental health are not always readily apparent but believe me, they’re there.  Our ability to think clearly, to stay focused, or to just sit and relax are all affected by excess in our life.  The hard part is that you don’t even realize it’s taking a toll on you until you’re no longer present.

Many studies show the effects of clutter in producing stress.  These studies also show that people with cluttered homes tend to be more depressed and physically worn out. Even science agrees that downsizing will have a positive effect on your life.

Plus, from a purely practical standpoint, when you place an item on a table or counter space that is free from clutter it’s easy to deal with.  You notice the item is out of place.  It’s effortless to grab the item and simply put it away.

However, when you add that same item to a space that’s filled with other items it becomes overwhelming. There’s already so much other stuff, it becomes easy to avoid dealing with the item and it stays there.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or carrying extra stress the solution is to downsize and simplify your life.

3. Downsizing Reduces Cleaning Time

There’s no getting around it, the bigger house you have and the more stuff you have the more time you spend cleaning.

The reality is that every area of your life is impacted by the excess you carry, including the amount of time you spend cleaning.

However, when you begin to downsize and simplify your life you eliminate the excess and spend so much less time cleaning.  There’s less laundry to pile up and fewer dishes to wash. If you live in a smaller home there’s less space to clean.

When you downsize your schedule you have more time to keep on top of things.  This also means fewer messes.

Reap the benefit of downsizing by spending less time cleaning and more time on what matters most.

4. Improves Your Finances

It’s just a simple truth: having a life filled with excess negatively impacts your finances.  A life of excess often leads to poor money management and excess debt.

The reality is that clutter and excess make it easy to misplace things. If you can’t find your bills, because they’re buried under piles, you’re looking at lots of late fees.

Not only that, if you can’t locate items when you need them, you’ll end up buying duplicates.

Consumer-driven habits are easy to fall prey to.  We believe that we need this or that and soon both our homes and credit card statements are overstuffed.

Downsizing is a great temptation reducer.  If you’re at all tempted to overspend downsize and simplify your life to reduce those urges.

5. Changes Your Perspective

We live in a time where most of us suffer from overabundance. There’s just too much in our lives, too much stuff, too much information, too much in our calendars.

Downsizing your life is as much about clearing out mental space as it is about clearing our physical space. This is because when you let go of the clutter in your physical space, you naturally let go of the clutter in your mind.

As this changes your perspective, you begin to look at things in a new way. Life begins to feel lighter and that feeling that you need to have new things goes away. Your perspective on what you need changes and you release the burden that excess carries.

Downsizing Simplifies Your Whole Life

When you downsize, the end result is simplifying your life. As you look at the benefits above, you can see all that you gain. 

This includes more free time for experiences and time with your people. Who doesn’t want less stress and more opportunities to live your best life? Start downsizing and simplifying life today!