4 Ways Minimalism Impacted My Life for the Better

If you read How I Became a Minimalist, I mentioned how there were four main areas of my life where I noticed a significant impact after I adopted a more minimalist and intentional mindset. Those areas are time, money, control and peace. I had simplified my life so much that for the first time in years, I felt like I finally had a choice about where my energy was focused vs. my stuff and buying habits dictating it. All of that hard work and brain retraining was far worth it in the end!

Time

I spend less time maintaining “things” because I have less items to take care of. This allows more time to do…honestly, whatever I want! Once my inventory was limited, I noticed I was able to keep up on daily maintenance tasks and in record time. Getting a room back to its original state took me 5 – 15 minutes at most (putting pillows and blankets away, putting the remote on the side table, wiping tables down, pushing chairs in, etc.). One bizarre feeling I experienced was waking up on a weekend with a completely tidied home and coming to the realization that I had no home tasks that needed tending to meaning I had the whole day to do, again… whatever I wanted! No more weekend days spent completely dedicated to maintaining my stuff. Granted, this is coming from a 30-something without any kids yet! Another aspect was a complete sense of knowing what items I had and where they were located, reducing the amount of time looking for lost or misplaced items and knowing exactly where to put items after use. 

Money

I really dug deep into this in How Minimalism Changed How I Think About Money; however, this change really started for me during the decluttering process. While decluttering, you’re forced to answer to countless items in your home in which you’ve spent your hard earned money on and most of which are sitting unused or forgotten, some even with the price tags still on them. When you’re confronted with all of these items at once and how much money was spent on items that aren’t being used or appreciated, it really puts into perspective how we can be victims of consumerism. Trends, sales, limited edition collaborations, lifestyle perception, point-of-sale product placement, celebrity and influencer endorsements, spend X to get free shipping, targeted ads, etc. These tactics are widely studied and executed with one goal — to get you to spend your money. 

After weeks of resentment, thinking about the hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars of stuff that I had sitting around my home unused, I reached a point of acceptance. The only thing that would make it hurt less was if I changed my behavior moving forward. Almost instantly, I became hypersensitive to all of these marketing tactics and didn’t buy in — literally. I was also starting to reap the benefits of having less inventory and visual clutter in my space, so wanted to protect that as well. I was at a point where I left like I had everything I truly needed and knew where they were located in my place (this is an important detail too!) so I wasn’t having to re-buy things I misplaced. All these factors together led to less spending and more money in my pocket!

Control

Of course, you can never have full control of every situation in life, but decluttering and the after effects of it gave me a strong sense of control. No longer did I feel completely overwhelmed and defeated by my space and the items lurking in the overfilled closets, spare rooms, jam packed basement and/or storage areas. This “reset” of my space completely changed my mentality which provided me more self-control when faced with everyday choices and purchasing decisions. I felt as if I was making more positive decisions for my health and could control my emotional responses better because I felt I had the capacity to do so. I was more confident and firm when confronted with a need or even a want because I had a greater understanding of the trade off. It was less about what I wanted now on impulse or what I could conveniently repurchase and more about confidently knowing what I own or could use instead, for the benefit of my current day contentment and the long term goal of a manageable and controlled space. 

Peace

The above points combined are really a result of this one. More time for the things I value in life, improved personal finance practices and greater self-control — what a beautiful combo! The grueling hours of facing the (what seemed like) endless amount of excess in my home was well worth the lessons and feeling that was waiting for me on the other side. Whether you’re consciously aware of the situation on your hands or it lingers in your subconscious, clutter is greatly associated with physical and mental well being. There are countless studies about the effects of clutter in a home, but to name a few — increased stress and anxiety, reduced self-worth, isolation, poor air quality, difficulty making decisions, disrupted sleep and so on. All this to say, not all of my life’s problems were solved by decluttering and adapting to a minimalist lifestyle, but you can bet your you-know-what that life got a lot easier and more peaceful when spending time at home.