Everyone wants to know all the benefits of being a minimalist.
So I came up with my top 5 reasons.
There are plenty more reasons as a result of these major ones, but they all come in time, as minimalism slowly creeps into your system.
1. Less stress gets you what you want
You have less to deal with when you start applying minimalism to all aspects of your life.
Living a simpler, less complicated life takes some work in the beginning, but the rewards are great.
If you keep saying yes to everything, you will never enjoy or get anything finished.
Once you start cutting back on your commitments and your stuff, there is less to do, less to buy, less to take care of and what you do end up with, is exactly what you want.
2. Less of an impact on the environment
Buying less helps reduce the amount of items that are being overproduced for the environment. If we stopped purchasing new items every year that we don’t really want or need, the demand is less, and factories will produce less. In fact, they may produce just what we need, no more and no less.
Before you purchase new items, minimalism encourages you to re-purpose and re-use what you already own.
Cutting down on new purchases by learning how to cross-examine yourself for whether or not you need the items is a useful skill to have.
3. Less money is spent so you can save
Buying less, means spending less.
And if you spend less, you can save more for your future and financial well-being.
If you also purchase quality items, you will cherish and enjoy them longer, plus you won’t have to buy as many replacements in the future.
And don’t we love that?!
4. Less cleaning to do
The more you own, the more it owns you.
You have to take care of the things. Maintain them. Polish them. Upgrade them. Add more to the collection. Yell at people who go near your figurines.
It gets exhausting, devoting so much time to loving things.
The less stuff you have, the less you have to clean and the less you have to maintain.
And you can devote your appreciation and love to the few things you own, that you truly cherish and value.
5. Less time wasted
You will be picking, choosing and prioritizing what is really important to you to get done, rather than trying to do everything all at once, and feeling unfulfilled.
Everyone needs a little down time, sometimes. And if you’re constantly putting your resources towards things that don’t hold any meaning for you, you will be stuck dealing with time wasters that don’t benefit you whatsoever.
Clutter for example, is just a form of visual distraction and the more we have in a home, the more our brain has to process.
Having a minimalist life and home also lets you find your things quicker.
Instead of hunting for that rogue working blue pen, you have them all in one area, ready to be used.
Or how about having all your keys and items ready at the door before you leave in the morning?
That also cuts down on having to scream in frustration at 7.59 a.m., while frantically searching through your pockets, cursing the amount of stuff you own and have to check before you find your keys.
Meg
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 6:17 pm:
I completely agree with this post! Being a minimalist has saved me a lot of money. Despite what people might think, I don’t go running all over town trying to repurchase stuff I got rid of. In fact, I can’t think of one thing I’ve gotten rid of that I’d want to get back! Instead, being minimalist has stopped me on many occasions from buying more stuff that I don’t really need because I think about not only the cost, but how much time and hassle it will be once I get it home. Plus, I love the uncluttered look of my home and don’t want to ruin that.
Simply Savvy Girl
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 9:45 pm:
AMEN! In just the last couple of weeks that I’ve been working on my kitchen I notice my clean up time in there is SO MUCH easier. Not only am I motivated to keep it clean but everything has its own home now. And I love and use everything that’s in there. Great post!
Simply Savvy Girl´s last blog ..SSG’s Budget Kitchen Makeover Part 1
Tweets that mention The Top 5 Benefits of Being a Minimalist « The Everyday Minimalist -- Topsy.com
on Sep 17th, 2009
@ 4:20 pm:
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Sharon, Australia
on Sep 18th, 2009
@ 9:42 am:
This is a very clever, well written, very insightful post – I have posted the whole thing on my blog [not really a blog, more of an info sharing space!] attributed to you, link to TEM blog etc – hope you don’t mind, let me know if you do.
One of my own pieces might interest you and your readers:
http://opaleye.blogspot.com/2009/08/consumption-paradox.html
Your post absolutely captures the positive ways to address consumption – not what will people lose, but what will people *gain*?
Great work
everydayminimalist
on Sep 18th, 2009
@ 11:52 am:
Thanks very much. I shall head over to your blog now to check it out.
Ellen
on Sep 22nd, 2009
@ 1:20 am:
Wow! That is one of the most beautiful bedrooms I have seen. While is looks at first glance as a very minimalist room, don’t be fooled. It has a beautiful neutral color pallet . Much thought has gone into the decor, but I’m afraid this room must have cost a bundle! I live in a real world where minimalism means cutting down on possessions and using what’s affordable or reinventing our belongs or finds into useable, inspiring designs. I love to decorate. I am very aware of what can be found out there to be reused as that is the business I am in. That room however looks high end, expensive and did I mention, beautiful from head to foot? Other than that, I have enjoyed reading your blog. Hope to find lots of good ideas to live out. Thanks.
everydayminimalist
on Sep 22nd, 2009
@ 11:35 am:
@Ellen Thank you for the compliment!
Meg
on Sep 22nd, 2009
@ 12:23 pm:
@Ellen
The decor of that room may well have cost a fortune — or it may not have. One of the benefits of minimalism is that it often makes things look more expensive than they are. And, while it may be hard to find minimalist stuff at yard sales & thrift stores, they are easier to make. For example, the head board in the bedroom above could be a fairly easy do-it-yourself weekend project. And of course, it doesn’t cost anything to give stuff away!
And isn’t it just one of those odd things that the more stuff people have the cheaper it all looks? I guess nothing looks as valuable in piles as it does displayed with care. Maybe we figure that if something *was* valuable then people wouldn’t be leaving it in piles of other junk.
ashok
on Sep 24th, 2009
@ 3:55 pm:
Just wandered on in, liked reason #5, and I think reasoning about “hey, how do I waste less time?” can probably lead to an innate desire for a more minimalist lifestyle.
For myself, I started reading poetry in order to see how poets made every single word count. It created a lot less brain clutter, so to speak: I’m much pickier about the media I digest and when I look for articles I only look for the best. I also bookmark nearly everything I read and try to write on it when I can. I know that doesn’t sound like minimalism, but I think it’s the reasoning that creates minimalism: one is trying to get the most out of the least.
ashok´s last blog ..On Socrates, Dancing and Philosophy: Xenophon, Symposium II 15-20
everydayminimalist
on Sep 24th, 2009
@ 6:18 pm:
@ashok You said it doesn’t sound like minimalism, but I beg to differ!
Sometimes we need to cut back and be picky, and that too.. can also be considered minimalism. To choose what we digest and read rather than to try and cram it all in.
Great points.
everydayminimalist
on Sep 24th, 2009
@ 6:22 pm:
@Meg that’s a great point about how the more stuff people have, the cheaper it looks overall. Displaying a little ceramic item all by itself can seem more valuable than being thrown into a mix and ignored.
logoscoaching
on Oct 15th, 2009
@ 10:52 am:
five great points on living along minimalist lines. Minimalism gets a bit of a hard wrap sometimes as people see it as being drab and sterile but in actual fact it is just weeding out those things in life that are not of the highest priority to living according to ones core values and talents.
My own mantra whichI live by is ‘By elimating the unneccessary I illuminate the neccessary’
logoscoaching´s last blog ..Why living the life of your dreams is not being selfish
Carnival of Minimalism – Tiny Llama Edition
on Oct 27th, 2009
@ 9:11 pm:
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Travis
on Oct 29th, 2009
@ 10:15 am:
While I don’t consider myself a minimalist, it’s certainly something that I’ve thought about. While the idea of saving money interests me, if I ever DID make the switch, I think it would be because of my interest in wanting to be environmentally friendly that would eventually get me to make the push.
Also, while I’ve never been one to “Keep up with the Jones’,” less stress certainly is rewarding in its own.
Ralph
on Oct 29th, 2009
@ 8:26 pm:
I like the less cleaning part. I think simplicity is catching. Many people are beginning to see that less is more. Thanks for the reminder.
children's computer keyboard
on Mar 6th, 2010
@ 4:59 pm:
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