Years ago, when I first started my minimalism journey, my main goal was decluttering and removing items from our home, sometimes as fast as possible. I donated, trashed, and gave away so much stuff because I just wanted to get things out of our house. I was stressed and overwhelmed by all of it, so removing it was my main focus. But as my spaces became less overwhelming and my home became more and more simplified, I started recognizing that I was learning some very valuable lessons from minimalism.

Lessons From Minimalism

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it. -Joshua Becker

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1. LIVE AN INTENTIONAL LIFE

Minimalism is about intentionality, not deprivation. -Nicholas Burroughs

At first glance, minimalism may seem to be about your stuff (or even the “lack of stuff”), but upon deeper inspection, minimalism is really about being intentional with your life and the choices you’re making. Yes, decluttering your stuff is the first step as you wade into the world of minimalism, but if you continue, it tends to take you much deeper. Learning to be intentional about our stuff (what to keep, what to declutter, what was valuable, what was a distraction) eventually taught me to be intentional about other areas of my life too, including how I was spending my time, energy and money.

Minimalism taught me to purposefully align my life with what I valued most.

For instance, right now, we value living in a small beach town off the coast of California, so we purposefully arranged our life and finances to make that happen, including downsizing to a smaller more affordable home and only owning one family car (and a golf cart).

We also value healthy homemade family dinners around the table, so we spend more money on groceries, rarely eat out, and intentionally don’t make a lot of plans to keep us busy in the evenings.

Minimalism is about deciding what’s most important to you and becoming intentional about pursuing that with your lifestyle and choices.

2. ELIMINATE THE UNNECESSARY

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. -Hans Hofmann

Going deeper from that last point, minimalism taught me to eliminate the unnecessary things in order to create the room to focus on what mattered most to me. Again, whether this relates to our belongings, our time, our lifestyle, or our finances, minimalism taught me how to be ruthless in eliminating distractions that keep me from pursuing the things I really value.

Our time, money, and energy are all limited. As human beings, we all have a limited capacity. Every yes to one thing is also a no to something else because it’s not possible to have it all or do it all. Eliminating the unnecessary is part of choosing your yeses purposefully and wisely.

Some people are not worth your time, some things are not worth your money, and some commitments are not worth your energy because they are distractions that pull you away from your true values, calling, and purpose. You cannot physically do it all, so you will always have to make choices.

When you’re clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it’s clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar. -Victoria Moran

For instance, we’re in a season of homeschooling teens, so my life is built around that priority and I’ve had to eliminate unnecessary commitments that I don’t have the time or energy for in this season of my life. I’ve also tried to eliminate unnecessary clutter so that our home is easier to maintain, tidy, and clean.

3. CLUTTER WAS ONCE MONEY

Look around, all that clutter used to be money. -Unknown

Decluttering our things was eye opening to me. Over time, filling box after box of things to be donated made me realize that we were wasting money on impulse buys and things that we didn’t need or even want.

Of course, there were some necessary purchases that we eventually donated like clothes and shoes that our kids wore and then outgrew.

But there were plenty of other things we bought like impulsively purchased home decor, seasonal tchochkys, short-lived hobbies, cheap plastic toys, and low quality clothing that were basically just wasted money. Many things were just used for a few months and then tossed in the donation box. I started to realize how much money was being wasted on clutter that I didn’t even want, need, or use. Which leads me to my next point…

4. THINK THROUGH PURCHASES

This realization that I was wasting a lot of money on what was essentially becoming unwanted clutter in my home taught me to stop and think before making a purchase (big or small).

I learned to take some time to consider if I would love and use it long term. Will it stand the test of time? Is it practical, functional, and beautiful? Where will I keep it? Will our kids really play with it for a long time or is it a cheap distraction that will quickly be tossed aside? Is it just an impulse buy that will be cluttering up my house in a month or two and end up in the donation box? Putting something in my online cart and then waiting a few days before hitting that “buy it now” button can make all the difference.

5. QUALITY MATTERS

Buy less, choose well, make it last. -Vivienne Westwood

Minimalism has taught me that quality matters. So much of our cheap purchases just ended up being tossed in the donation box or trash. Cheap clothes and shoes rarely lasted. They either shrunk or stretched out, and generally didn’t fit well or hold up very long. I’ve found more success by slowly investing in a few higher quality clothing pieces that look and feel fantastic, than by buying multiple cheap items that I’ll end up donating at the end of one season.

When my kids were really young and outgrew their clothes faster than they could wear out, it didn’t matter quite as much; but as their growth spurts slowed down, I wanted their clothes and shoes to last longer.

The same is also true of most furniture, decor, and household items. I’ve found that usually it’s better to invest in things that are well made; that will stand up to kids, pets, and life in general. I’ve also found that I’m happier with things much longer if I’ve taken the time to consider what I really want and purchase a well-made, beautifully designed product.

I also think we put more value on things and take better care of them when we have spent time and money investing in a quality product.

Linen Top Sheet / Linen Bottom Sheet

6. ONE IS OFTEN ENOUGH

Often we think that more is better, but sometimes more is just more to keep up with. Some things I only have one of : hair brush, sunglasses, water bottle (Yeti), reading glasses, hat (visor), knit toboggan, purse, tennis shoes (I did keep my old ones for yard work though), and ear buds.

When you have one of something, you value it, take care of it, and keep track of it so that you don’t lose it. On the other hand, when you have a lot of something (especially if they’re cheap), each one seems to become less valuable and more dispensable.

7. MOST SEASONAL DECOR ISN’T WORTH STORING

I’m sure this is debatable, but in my own life, almost all my seasonal decor has eventually ended up in the donation box. I’ve found that decorating with nature in relation to the season is my favorite way to decorate. I got tired of storing and using decor that only worked once a year, so I no longer buy the cute Easter towels, 4th of July garland, Halloween skeletons, or Christmas coffee mugs. I also don’t buy themed seasonal clothing for the same reason. Of course, some people find so much joy in these things, so if that’s you, keep doing what you love! But it’s been freeing to me to let go of packing up, storing, and unpacking new seasonal decor every few months.

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