How to Have Less Stuff
Embracing minimalism has brought me joy and freedom. Over the years, living with less stuff at home helped me appreciate what I already have.
There are so many benefits of living with less. Some of you may want to start a more minimal life or some others just want to minimize their stuff before moving day.
Becoming a minimalist and having fewer possessions at home not only reduces clutter but also makes cleaning and organizing so much easier.
Living minimally is all about removing excess and minimizing distractions. All these allow you to gain clarity about your priorities. By getting rid of excess stuff, you can make more time for your priorities and focus on what you value most.
The more stuff you own, the more of your time, money, and energy you need to spend.
Learning how to own less and live simply can help you save more money, have more time to relax, and make your life easier, happier, and less stressful.
Living with less doesn’t mean owning 100 items or less. It’s all about intentionally living with the things you really need, use, or love.
Having too much stuff costs you time, space, money, or even mental energy. Not just when you first buy it, you take it home, clean it and organize it
Decluttering your home is just the first step to living with less. Having fewer material possessions, and eliminating unnecessary commitments, habits, and schedules all help simplify life and adopt a minimalist lifestyle.
Today, I’m going to share some minimalist living tips with you. And remember that minimalism looks different for everyone. Create your own minimalist lifestyle that works best for you.
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5 Tips for Living With Less
1// Declutter your home regularly
If you feel like you have too much stuff and not enough space, it’s time to declutter your home.
Minimalism helps you eliminate excess stuff that doesn’t serve you a purpose so you can have more time, money, and energy to focus on what’s important in your life.
Having too much stuff doesn’t mean you have more happiness. Those unused and unnecessary things cost you time and space to maintain.
Over time, it’s very often to see things piled up and clutter has built up around the house.
Moreover, household clutter can be a source of stress. Get rid of things that don’t bring you joy.
Once you choose to live a minimalist lifestyle, one of the first things you’ll want to do is to eliminate all the extra things at your home. Or pair your stuff down to the essentials.
Those things might be sitting at your home for years and not being used. Or you might already forget their existence and keep buying new ones again and again.
Struggling with how to start decluttering your messy house? I have a stress-free, step-by-step guide on how to start decluttering when feeling overwhelmed.
I also have a decluttering your home checklist to get you started so that you can tackle the clutter immediately. Here is the list of 100 easy things to get rid of without any regret.
Motivating yourself to declutter can sometimes be difficult, but these declutter tips and strategies will help you find the motivation to clean and declutter and keep the momentum going.
Remember, after you’ve finished decluttering every room in your house, you still have to declutter regularly to maintain your clutter-free home. It’s always easier to clean and organize your home when you own less stuff.
You may not want to live with 100 items or less, but minimizing your stuff and simplifying your home can help keep your space clutter-free, clean, and organized with minimal effort.
Related minimalist cleaning post:
My Minimalist Cleaning Schedule
2// Declutter and organize your life
Owning lots of possessions means you need to spend more time cleaning and organizing. They all take up your physical and mental space. Over time, they clutter your home and drain your brain. More importantly, you feel stressed and overwhelmed.
Having less stuff can make you a happier person. Minimalism helps us get rid of excess stuff and focus on what matters most in our lives.
Decluttering your life by removing the excess does not only apply to our homes but also involves different areas in our lives. Our schedules, relationships, finance, etc.
Be mindful of things that will clutter your home and mind. When you’re being intentional, you’ll focus on things that are important to you based on your values and priorities. Living simply and minimally will give you a better and richer life.
Here are some simple ways to own less physically and mentally:
- Simplify your schedule. Make your to-do list and evaluate its importance. Are there too many that you can’t deal with? Are they essential and align with your goals and priorities? You need to know what you want to spend your time and energy on to avoid over-scheduling.
- Simplify your meals. Batch cooking helps you cook once, eat twice, or triple. By making a bunch of food at once and freezing them, you can get it out whenever you need it. You will get dinner on the table fast during the busy weeknights. If you don’t have much time to prepare food, cook simple meals with fewer ingredients. You will find meal planning and grocery shopping become so much easier. You can also save a lot of time and money too.
- Say no more often. Don’t feel guilty saying no when you’re being asked. Oftentimes, we see opportunities, events, and activities that we want to take. Be realistic, we can’t take it all. Spend and schedule your time with your current priorities and say no politely. If there’s an opportunity that interests you, allow yourself to have time to think before responding.
- Eliminate toxic relationships. Toxic friends are draining your energy and not worth your time. If you need more peace of mind and energy, let go of them and spend time with positive and supportive friends.
Owning less stuff and decluttering your life help us to stress less and enjoy our lives more. There are so many other ways to simplify your life, be sure to check out these blog posts:
7 Easy Ways to Simplify Your Life
25 Easy Ways to Simplify and Organize Your Life
3// Stop buying things that you do not need
Living a simple life with less stuff is much more than just decluttering your home. It’s about living a purposeful life.
How much do material possessions weigh on you? Getting unwanted or unnecessary items out of your house is the first step to decluttering your home and your life.
Regular decluttering won’t help you if you keep shopping without limit. Stop impulse buying and stop buying unnecessary things that end up cluttering your space. You don’t want to waste money on buying something that doesn’t serve any purpose in your life.
In order to stay clutter-free and keep the clutter out of your house, it is important to avoid bringing useless things into your home.
Before the purchase, simply ask yourself a few questions. Do I really need it? If I buy it, do I have space for it? Is there something similar at home that I can use?
When you shop like a minimalist, you’ll practice mindful shopping and be more intentional about what to purchase. Ask yourself whether those purchases align with your values and priorities.
Develop a minimalist mindset. Choosing quality over quantity and buying things that you will actually use and love. Having intentional shopping habits helps you live more simply and save money.
Intentional Spending:
16 Things I’ve Stopped Buying Since Going Minimalist
4// Choosing experiences over things
When you choose to live minimally and own less stuff, you’ll no longer want to buy excess physical things. Instead of focusing on material things, experiences bring joy and unforgettable memories that will last forever.
Experiential gifts, from gym classes, museum memberships, and theme park season passes to vacations with your loved ones are a lifetime of memories and clutter-free.
Some experiences don’t even cost you much money. For example, host a potluck party and invite your close friends over. Or spend time with kids and do something fun like baking or cooking together.
When you buy less physical stuff and value experiences over material possessions, you begin to have more chances to spend quality time with your loved ones.
5// Practicing daily gratitude
Living with less is not just about getting rid of the excess to living minimally, but also about buying less and wanting less.
But, how can you be less likely to want or buy more material things? Practicing gratitude is one of the ways.
It might be challenging to want less material things if you’re a beginner minimalist.
You can simply keep a gratitude journal and write things down that you appreciate and are grateful for each day.
Practicing daily gratitude can help boost happiness and life satisfaction. Cultivating a gratitude practice helps you focus on being thankful and grateful for what you already have.
With intentional gratitude, you will be more content and optimistic. It will even bring you inner peace in your daily life.
Final Thoughts on Living with Less
Simplifying life and getting rid of stuff is not as hard as you think. Begin by eliminating the non-essential items and let go of things that no longer serve you. You will start to feel the benefits of owning less stuff. You will feel calmer, less stressed, and have more time, money, and energy to do things that are important to you.
I hope you found these tips helpful. Check out these posts for more minimalism inspiration:
5 Ways to Simplify Your Life as a Mom
16 Five-Minute Decluttering Tasks You Can Do Today
7 Minimalist Home Organization Tips That Will Simplify Your Life
