9 Big Reasons To Pursue Minimalism and Simple Living

There are many reasons to pursue minimalism and you don’t even have to become a minimalist.

Have you ever heard of Flylady? If you haven’t, she has a popular website where her main focus is to help you stop spending your entire weekend cleaning your house. She sends out daily emails and regular cleaning schedules to keep you on track.

I discovered Flylady when I was working full time. As a working mom, I was tired of constantly spending hours and hours every weekend cleaning my house. There was little time left to enjoy my kids, my home, or the things that were really important to me.

I knew I needed to make changes in my life and I was desperate to do them. So I signed up for the daily Flylady emails and began following a lot of her advice. During this time I learned a lot about creating a workable cleaning routine and schedule.

However, no matter how hard I worked, I was still finding it nearly impossible to stay on top of all the messes, laundry, and dishes. In fact, it seemed as if the harder I worked the less time I had for the things that really mattered to me. Nothing changed no matter how many routines, schedules, tips, and tricks I tried.

Eventually, I unsubscribed from the daily emails and pretty much gave up.

I’d convinced myself that the problem was my house was too small, I needed more storage solutions, my kids were too messy, my husband didn’t help enough, etc. I had accumulated a pretty large arsenal of excuses.

But the real problem was I had too much stuff.

Enter minimalism and simple living.

As I began to pursue minimalism and simple living, I was also eliminating overwhelm and stress. Without being aware of it, I was clearing space for those things that mattered most to me.

For the first time in years, I had time to focus on the people that I love instead of our things. This meant being able to enjoy and live a real life. Suddenly there was even time to relax during my day!

Finally, I was able to live in a clean, organized, and functional space while being present for my family. You can read more of the details of my journey to simple living here.

But to start I think it’s important to understand what minimalism is and isn’t.

What is Minimalism

An article was recently published in the Wall Street Journey entitled “Minimalism is Overrated: How I Learned to Love a Little Clutter”. The tagline for the article reads: [the author] “still finds herself sitting sadly in her barely furnished living room, she realizes minimalism is not a virtue but merely a decorating style”.

The article goes on to recount how the author had given away nearly all her personal furnishings. She realizes she has gone too far when she finds herself sitting in a nearly bare living room on a rainy day and her husband asks “Do you think we could get a space heater?

Friends, this is what minimalism is not!

Minimalism isn’t about a specific definition, a decorating style, or even certain rules you must follow. Minimalism is about what works for YOU!

You don’t have to live in a 500 square foot house to be a minimalist. Nor do you have to have a capsule wardrobe or live with only 100 things.

What minimalism is about is focusing on being intentional and purposeful in how you live your life. This includes eliminating the nonessentials that take your time but add little value.

What that looks like is different for everyone. A single man can fairly easily live with no more than 100 possessions. On the other hand, expecting a family of five to live with 100 possessions is irrational.

Minimalism is simply about cutting out the excess so that you can clear space for what matters most. When minimalism is correctly applied there are some very powerful benefits. Here are just a few of the big reasons to pursue minimalism that will greatly enhance your life.

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9 Reasons To Pursue Minimalism

Now that you are clear on what minimalism is and is not, is it something worth pursuing? While I don’t consider myself a full minimalist, I do pursue minimalism in some ways.

Whether you choose to become a minimalist or not, you can still benefit from many aspects of a minimalist lifestyle. Here are some of my favorite benefits.

1. Cleaning is Faster and Easier

I kid you not when I got rid of the excess clutter I also got rid of the days of spending my entire weekend cleaning the house. Today my home is so much easier to keep up with.

Here is the reason why …. before simplifying literally every square inch of every drawer, closet and cabinet was stuffed to the brim.

This meant that towels and bed sheets needed to be physically shoved into the linen closet in order to make them fit. Several appliances had to be pulled out just to fit the toaster back into the cupboard. When it came to putting away the laundry, clothing was pushed down and stuffed in drawers and closets.

Honestly, there was no empty floor space anywhere in my home. All floor space was taken over with baskets and bins that were attempting to corral all that would not fit elsewhere.

Once I eliminated the excess, suddenly it was easy to clean the floors. I no longer had to take the time to move everything or vacuum around it. With cleared out closets, drawers, and cupboards everything fits. Putting things away now takes a lot less time and is so much easier.

All of this is because I decided to pursue minimalism and simplicity in my life.

2. You’ll Gain Space In Your Home

Obviously, your home won’t physically grow larger. But it sure will feel like it!

For me, all those things that could never be put away because there was no space, miraculously fit easily and comfortably. I was able to toss those excess storage baskets and bins and I suddenly had all this newfound floor space.

There were actually empty spaces in my home for the first time since we moved in. I can’t tell you how great it feels to walk into my home and see empty floor space!

This is one of the great benefits when you pursue minimalism and simple living, more space in your home!

3. Create Space Your Schedule

Do you really want to know how much time you’re spending on your stuff? Get rid of it. Trust me, you’ll be shocked at the amount of free time you gain.

By eliminating the excess I was no longer spending all my free time cleaning. This allowed more time to go on family walks and hikes. There was more time to just sit on the floor and play a game or just hang out and watch a movie.

By seeking to live with less, you will find so much more space in your schedule. The best part is that when your schedule is cleared, see clearly what you’re spending your time on. This allows YOU to determine what is adding value to your life and what’s not.

4. Gain Control of Finances

A wonderful benefit that happens when you pursue minimalism and simple living is that you stop buying things you don’t need! You will naturally consume less and watch your shopping habits.

Needless to say, your finances will improve when you’re no longer wasting money on things you just don’t need.

What this meant for me was that I was able to quit my full-time job and have more time at home with my family. There is no monetary value that can be placed on this benefit of minimalism.

5. More Time To Focus on Your People

Let’s face it, it’s next to impossible to truly be present when you have 20 things on your plate that you feel like you should be doing. However, when you choose to shrink your possessions, your to-do list will shrink as well.

Because I was able to change careers and reduce my work hours time to really focus on my people. My stress level went down dramatically.

Of course, deciding to pursue minimalism or simple living isn’t going to suddenly remove all of your stress and overwhelm. But it will help reduce it! Which will, in turn, will enable you to be 100% focused on the people you love.

6. Time and Energy to Focus On You

When you go through any sort of big life change often you don’t even realize the change is taking place while you’re in the midst of it.

It can be the strangest thing that suddenly triggers that realization that something has dramatically changed.

For me, it was this book. You see before I was married with kids one of my favorite things to do was read. When I finished this book and loved it, I realized oh my gosh it has been years since I just sat and read a fiction book just because.

I finally had regained the time for those little things that matter to me.

7. Increase Feeling of Gratitude

When life and especially our environment feels chaotic we don’t appreciate what we have.

The simple truth is that discontentment comes from not having what we want. This leads us to constantly seek more. Bigger homes with bigger closets or the latest tech gadgets. The reality is that the more possessions we collect the more discontentment grows, it’s a vicious cycle.

The other side of this is learning to desire less. The less we desire the more content we become with what we have.

In addition, you’ll find that what you bring into your home and life are only those things you truly love those things and are adding value to your life. Surrounding yourself only with what you love and adds value to your life increases both your gratitude and contentment.

8. Love and Appreciate Your Home

There really is no reason to have anything in your home that is not useful or that you don’t love. Having a clean and organized space filled with beautiful belongings that you truly love is one of the amazing benefits of a decision to pursue minimalism and simplicity.

When you pursue minimalism and simple living, it becomes easy to create this type of environment. Who doesn’t want an environment in which you will love spending time in your home? Your home becomes a place for you and those you love to relax, be refreshed, and escape the pressures of the outside world.

Another thing I noticed, is that I grumble a lot less about the messes left lying around. Why? because it is so much easier to clean it all up and have everything put back together in a matter of moments.

9. Become a Calmer and Kinder Person

It’s natural that you’re going to feel overwhelmed and out of sorts when surrounded by excess clutter.

But when you remove the excess and your environment reflects a feeling of serene it’s so much easier to respond with patience and feel at peace.

In addition, you have the time to focus on the things that truly matter to you and make sure your actions line up with your priorities. With your priorities in order, that feeling of calm and peace will be achievable.

Simplicity makes life simpler even when going through something hard. You’re able to be intentional because you’ve cleared space for what matters most.

I love this quote from Randy Alcorn “Every increased possession adds increased anxiety onto our lives.”

The most powerful thing that happens when you decide to pursue minimalism is that it allows YOU to set the tone for your home and life. You might as well give yourself space to be able to set a good one. By clearing space you will create room to love and grow.