Minimalist Lifestyle

Some people would say my life of living with less stuff has led me to be deprived of nice things.

For example, my car hits 200k miles this week. I’m super excited.  It’s the first vehicle I’ve bought and kept alive that long without giving up on it.  It’s “mama’s truck”.  It’s a beast.  I will drive it until it dies.

We took my car to the shop this week to get new brakes, amongst other things.  Every time it goes to the shop, we have the same conversation… “When are you going to get a new vehicle?” 

My husband even laughed and admitted to me this week he thought about buying me a new(er) vehicle and just bringing it home.  (Side note: I do the budget, and he would NEVER do this…and live anyways. LOL) 

I told him, I love my old car.  Seriously, I love it.  I have zero desire for a newer vehicle.  

Sure, the CD player doesn’t work.  Yeah, there’s some electrical problem that makes a weird shrilling sound for 15 seconds anytime you start it below 30 degrees.  OK, so my clicker doesn’t work because of the same electrical problem, so I have to use the key to manually lock and unlock it.  

I don’t care.  I love this car.  

This car is paid for.  This car is large, and it keeps my babies safe.  This car is comfortable. 

I don’t stress out when my kids eat in the car and drop a few crumbs.  I don’t freak out if someone scratches the side (well, I don’t freak out too much). 

I don’t think twice about how my car compares to others. 

When you start purposefully living with less stuff, your mindset shifts.  There’s no reason to keep up with the Joneses with their brand new vehicles (and brand new car payments).  

Quality, even when it is older, becomes comfortable.  

If new cars are your thing, I’m not shaming you.  It’s just never been my thing. 

Living with less is my thing.  (Apparently, I inherited my dad’s lack of caring about how my car looks.) 

If you are new to living with less, here’s how to do it comfortably, without feeling deprived.

Living With Less Stuff…Comfortably

Buy quality 

When you buy something, buy quality.  Take care of it.  

Buying quality will save you so much money over time, way more than that clearance item you didn’t realize you couldn’t live without until you saw it five seconds ago. 

Buy the nice purse that will last you years.  

Invest in the jacket that will wear longer than the super marked down, thin one.  

Get quality furniture that won’t wear easily. 

Save a few extra months to buy XYZ rather than settling for the less quality model.  

They say you get what you pay for.  I get it.  I love a good deal as much as the next person.  I also don’t always buy the highest quality item, as my budget simply won’t allow it.  

However, when given the opportunity, always consider the quality and the lifespan of an item when buying.  Buying cheap and buying often leads to clutter. 

Stop comparing 

There’s always going to be someone with more.  More money, a nicer car, a bigger house, a fancier school for their kids, a bigger yard, more “toys”, more expensive vacations… the list goes on.  

Comparison is the thief of joy.  

So get off social media, and start living your life the way you want to live it. Embrace your purposefully simple life, even if it is weird and different. 

Let people make fun of your car. 

Let people give you a hard time when you say “no” to the modern-day Tupperware party. 

Be the person who wears the same dress every year to the same event.  

Embrace your simple life.  Your joys don’t come from things, at least not in the long term.  

When we accumulate more stuff to keep up, the happiness factor we get from it is always short.  It’s relationships, experiences, and memories that last a lifetime, not the stuff we try so hard to keep bringing into our homes. 

Think before you buy

​So often we bring on more expenses than we really need. Memberships, apps, luxury treats, convenience items, extra cable channels, etc.  

I’m all about convenience, but at some point, you have what you need and the rest is excess (or clutter).  

Take for example subscription boxes.  I use this example because I see their lure.  Seriously, I want to be that minimalist gal who secretly orders multiple subscription boxes every month.  It’s an urge I fight all the time.  I can’t explain it.  

Subscription boxes are the epitome of meaningless expenses that lead to more clutter.  It’s a surprise in a box… AKA a box of stuff you might want or need…or a box of crap.  (Ask me how I know.) 

Take pause before you buy.  Why do you want the item you are considering buying? 

For a surprise? Because of the clearance sticker? Because so-and-so has one? 

I’m all about treating yourself but simply take pause.  

Practice gratitude 

Sometimes we forget all the blessings we have right in front of us.  If we’re being honest, isn’t that what clutter really is? Excess blessings. 

We have too many clothes or shoes.  Blessing. 

We have too many toys to step over. Blessing. 

We have too many kitchen items.  Blessing. 

Practice gratefulness every day for items we often take for granted.  As you practice being grateful, you start to desire less.  

Embrace your creativity 

When you make a decision to live on less, it often involves a bit of creativity.  

You might have to buy multi-purpose tools, like a toaster oven that doubles as an air fryer and rotisserie.  

You may figure out that one dress can be dressed up or down or layered through the colder months.  

Instead of going out and buying something new, move things around.  Maybe you move a piece of furniture from one room to the next. Or you might start looking at a basket in a new light, rather than going and buying some fancy organizing tool.  

Living with less encourages creativity, and it can be loads of fun to see what you can come up with when making a choice to not buy more. 

Use up what you have 

I call this simple concept the “use it up principle”.  If I have something that’s meh, I try to use it up before going to buy the next best thing.  

It happens to all of us.  We try out a new shampoo.  Instead of sticking the so-so one in the back of the bathroom cabinet, I simply use it up first (maybe a little heavy-poured). 

Commit to finishing a product before going out and buying the next best thing.  It can be tough sometimes.  Chalk up to a lesson learned on what you like (or don’t like) and move on.  

Purposefully embrace a simple way of life with less stuff

Living with less stuff doesn’t have to be a life deprived of joy. In fact, it often means more joy.

No longer are you putting all your faith in your belongings to make you happy and comfortable. Rather, you are purposefully seeking out a life that doesn’t revolve around spending more money or bringing more things into your home.

Make new memories. Create new relationships.

Learn how to live with less without feeling deprived.

Living With Less Stuff…Without Feeling DeprivedRead More

Start living a simpler life with less stuff and start creating space in your life for memories to be made rather than taking up more and more space in your home. 

If clutter and unused items are taking over your home, robbing your wallet of your hard-earned dollars, and generally making your life more difficult, maybe it’s time to start figuring out how to live with less stuff. 

Here are ways you can start living a simpler life with less stuff:

1 – Stop shopping for fun 

If you want to start living with less, you need to stop the inflow of more stuff from coming into your home.  The easiest way to do this is to stop shopping for fun.

I get it.  I’ve been that person who went to the store with no list, hot beverage in hand, and ready to find anything that suited my fancy that day.  I was “going shopping”, and it was my fun to be had for the day.

The thing is though, I didn’t need anything.  I was just looking for an endorphin high.  I wanted the joy of finding something I didn’t know I wanted or needed. 

You can still enjoy shopping, simply do so with purpose. Meanwhile, look for a fun new way to spend your days, instead of shopping.

2 – Stop shopping for a good deal 

On the same note as not shopping for fun, stop shopping for a good deal too, and you will immediately experience a simpler life of living with less.

No matter how many ways you spin it, it’s not a good deal if you don’t need it.  

This means you don’t have to immediately work your way to the clearance racks to find that amazing clothing deal.  It also means you don’t have to walk the endcaps looking for a random piece of something marked down 70%, therefore you must buy it or you are missing out. 

If it’s 70% off but you don’t really need it, then it really isn’t saving you any money and is costing you a whole lot more precious space. 

3 – Make a list 

If shopping is your gateway to allowing more junk and clutter into your home, one simple fix is to never enter a store without a list. 

Sure, it seems simple enough.  I only need one thing.  Yet, we’ve all been there.  We’ve gone in for that one thing, and we’ve come out spending $157 on many other things we just had to have today. 

Make a list.  Stick to it. 

4 – Let go of hobbies 

If you want to clear some space in your home and experience the joys of living with less, one way to do this is to let go of the hobbies that don’t work for you any longer. 

This could be crafts, sporting equipment, gardening supplies, books, or other items that help you create something you used to enjoy. 

We all have different seasons in our lives.  Sometimes we have the time to make things.  Sometimes we have the energy to do certain tasks. 

Then, life happens.  Maybe your interests change or maybe your ability to do things changes.  That’s OK. 

There became a certain age when snowboarding no longer appealed to me.  I don’t care how much snow fell the night before, the hard landing of those falls outweighed the joy of the sport.  To my husband’s surprise, I gave away all my snowboarding equipment and moved on to skis.  I never looked back. 

Let go of the things that don’t serve you anymore. 

5 – Embrace experiences 

When you are looking to live with less stuff, you start to realize you need a new way to spend your money and time.  One of the best ways to do this is to start embracing more experiences. 

Instead of going shopping, go do an activity that has been on your bucket list forever. 

Instead of going to the book store, go to a local coffee shop with a library book.

Instead of buying your child another toy, take them for ice cream. 

Experiences make the best gifts too, as they give you memories rather than steal more space in your home. 

6 – Spend more time with others 

We are social beings.  Even if you are a hardcore introvert, you need other people in your life.  Spend more time with others instead of filling that gap in your soul with more stuff in your home. 

Host a potluck with your friends.  Randomly, without any reason other than you want to see them. 

Invite a friend to meet you at a local coffee shop. 

Take a trip to see family you haven’t seen in a while. 

Build yourself a community of people you can count on, rather than spending your time filling your home. 

7 – Unsubscribe from temptations 

Everywhere you look, we are in a world that encourages consuming more.  If the temptations are too much, do your best to remove some of them. 

Unsubscribe from emails.  Better yet, stop giving your main email address out to retailers.  Give them a “junk email” address.  Have all your junk emails go there, so you can still find a good deal if you need a coupon.  (I have a junk email address.  There are tens of thousands of emails in there.  Every January 1^st, I simply delete all and start over.  Easy-peasy.)

You can also unsubscribe from mailers coming to your home.  This also cuts down on paper waste!

8 – Spend less time on social media 

Stop watching others live their lives and go enjoy your life.  

Call a friend.  Invite someone over. Try a new experience.  Go enjoy one of your hobbies.

Comparison is the thief of joy and often encourages us to buy more rather than consume less.  Create a simple life and live with less by actually going out and making your own precious memories, rather than looking to see what you are missing out on with someone else’s highlight reel. 

9 – Keep up your budget 

It doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank.  Keeping up with your budget will make you keenly aware of how you spend your money. 

If you don’t have a budget, now is the time to start.  You can do it on paper or go digital.  Whatever you do, start tracking where your money goes, and this alone will create a sense of where you spend your money. 

A budget doesn’t have to be fancy or complex. If you are unsure where to start, I love following The Budget Mom.  She has great ideas on how to get started, especially if you are a pen and paper kind of gal.

Is digital more your thing? I’m also a huge fan of You Need a Budget (YNAB). They make digital budgeting easy.

10 – Get creative 

Before you buy something else, see if you can make it work for free or less. Yes, even if you can afford to buy it.  

Want a book? Use the library to see if you really like the book. 

Need a tool for a one-time project? Could you borrow it from a friend or rent it? 

Want a new picture for your wall? Do you have an old frame in storage you could use and simply replace the print? 

Find substitutions.  Look for creative alternatives.  Use what you have on hand, and use it up first, before buying more. 

Start Living With Less

If you want to live with less, the best thing to do is simply start.  Get creative.  Embrace more experiences, and stop the inflow of more clutter into your home. 

The memories you create from actually living, rather than buying, will change everything!

10 Simple Shifts in Your Mindset to Start Living a Simpler Life with Less StuffRead More

Have you ever bought a new planner for the new year just to watch it sit and mock you for weeks and months on end?

I was talking about this phenomenon with girlfriends recently. We gave it a name. Planner shame.

It’s nearly the end of March, and this is the time when planner shame really sets in.

It’s happened to many of us wanna-be planners. Sometimes planner shame happens with the cheap planners from a big box store. Those hurt, yes. The planner shame is real.

For some of us though, it’s with the $50 planners. The ones our friends/Facebook ads/the internet says we can’t live without. Argh. They are so pretty. The paper is thick. The covers are beautiful. The pages represent a level of productivity we all desire.

Then, life happens.

The planner sits there. Untouched. No pretty pens were used. No dates memorialized forever on elegant pages. No words of thanks were written down. Just empty pages staring back at you, mocking you, calling you a failure. (Don’t even get me started on the money wasted each untouched page represents!)

Please tell me I’m not the only one this has happened to.

I’m a fly by the seat of your pants kind of gal. I can remember dates weeks in advance. My husband often can’t fathom how I keep up with activities, school requirements, family members’ birthdays, etc. I’m also really good with rolling with the punches when I forget.

I don’t want to forget though. I want to be the person who plans. I want to be the person who tracks our life events and keeps a record of everything.

Here’s what I’ve learned over the years when taking up any new habit or skill:

Buy an affordable starter option

If you are taking up a new habit or hobby, buy an affordable but quality starter option. If it’s a planner, maybe you buy a mid-range one. You get some of the bells and whistles, but you also leave the luxury brand to the masters for now.

If you eventually decide this new habit or hobby isn’t for you, then you aren’t feeling bad about wasted money or time, and you can move on in life.

Planning isn’t action

It’s so easy when you have a new goal to read all about it, shop for it, and then dream about how your wonderful new habits or hobbies will change your life. You can see it.

Yet, planning isn’t action. If you don’t take the first (likely messy) step, then you won’t ever get better. You won’t see change. You won’t form a new habit. You won’t build a new skill.

Practice regularly

New habits and hobbies end in failure when you don’t practice.

My oldest daughter just got a new flute. We ask that she practice daily for half an hour. During this time, I’ve committed to also learning a new skill, embroidery. I don’t know if I will like it, but for half an hour every day, I’m giving it a go.

If either of us skips our practice, we won’t be getting any better. We will learn just enough to fill slightly more confident, but then, when we are challenged, we won’t learn how to overcome those challenges.

Practice is the only way to improve. We all know this, but making it happen can seem nearly impossible most days.

Yes, even with a planner, you need to practice in order for it to become a new habit. You don’t just wake up one day and start filling out pages. You need time to do it.

If you don’t practice, you can buy all the fancy tools, but you will never get to use them.

So for whatever you are wanting to learn, make time to actually practice. Set a timer on your phone, make it something you do while you drink your morning coffee/tea, or associate it with some other habit you already do daily. Give yourself time to practice.

Be willing to jump back in…imperfect and all

Let’s say you do have an untouched planner, journal, or any other tool from a hobby sitting there and mocking you for “failing” before you even got started. If you still want to learn this new hobby, then jump back in!

Stop planning. Don’t go buy any more “tools” or read any more articles on the internet on how to “get ready”. Just do it. Do it imperfectly. Do it “wrong”. Do it messy. There’s no progress if there’s no start.

Maybe you bought a course. Maybe you bought a new cookbook you’ve never opened. Maybe you have a fancy planner with mid-January through March completely empty.

Pick them back up and start today.

Be willing to quit

If you started back imperfectly, you practiced, and you still can’t bring yourself to enjoy your new habit or hobby, then be willing to quit.

We all have our skills and our strengths. You can’t do and be it all, and that’s OK.

It may be frowned upon to quit sometimes, but is it really quitting? Maybe it’s realizing who you are, what you are good at, and recognizing this simply isn’t your thing.

There’s a lot to be said for folks that fully embrace who they are and share those strengths confidently with others!

Simplify your hobbies

Simplifying isn’t just about buying less. It’s also about knowing who we are, what matters most to us, and then focusing our efforts on those important things.

Declutter the rest. Declutter the junk. Declutter the stress. Declutter the hobbies that don’t work for you.

Ditch the planner shame. 🙂

The Big Declutter is opening for enrollment again soon. This is a weekly decluttering program that guides you through weekly realistic projects to declutter areas in your home. It includes video, assigned projects, and more! If you are interested, jump on the waitlist HERE and find out more.

When Your New Habit Mocks YouRead More