How Minimalism Made Me Happier

When I tell people that I’m a minimalist, I get one response most often – “that must be really hard.” I tell them that actually, minimalism has made me a happier person. The decluttering process can be tedious, but once you’re in the clear, it’s a simple process of maintaining a minimalist lifestyle. These are the ways that minimalism has made me a happier person:

How Minimalism Made Me Happier

1. I Have Freedom

Before minimalism, I didn’t realize how much my belonging were actually weighing me down. I’d spend my weekends doing massive amounts of laundry, cleaning and organizing all of my clutter, and spending time and money on things I did not want to be spending time and money on. Post-decluttering, I’ve made time and saved money by living a minimalist lifestyle. Minimalism has helped me to be more intentional with where my time and money goes.

2. I Finally Followed My Dreams

Pre-minimalism, I was working a 9-5 and bingeing on travel blogs in my spare time. I was obsessed with the beautiful photos, the adventurous lifestyles, and the diversity of food in these people’s lives. Living a life of travel and learning something new every day was so appealing to me, but I could not see a future like that for myself – until I found minimalism. When I went minimalist, I accidentally saved a ton of money, and I had so much more free time. I realized my dream of living a travel based lifestyle was a possibility, and I made it happen. I’ve now been travelling full time for almost two years.

3. I Let Go Of Things That Were Weighing Me DownHow Minimalism Made Me Happier

An unexpected benefit of minimalism for me was the ability to choose how I spent my time. Pre-minimalism, my schedule was based on guilt – I had to go to these social events, becauses I knew people would be upset if I didn’t go. Everything that I got invited to, I went to, no matter how badly I did not want to go. Nowadays, I get to be picky about what I do and don’t go to. To be honest, I don’t make it to many events anymore, because I’d rather be spending my time working on something I am passionate about.

4. I Choose Happiness

Once I curated my schedule, I realized that I could curate anything in my life. I now choose to spend time only with people who lift me up and make me happy. It’s easy to see which relationships are beneficial – I would just think about how I felt after hanging out with someone. Did I feel drained or lifted up after spending time with this person? I quit spending time with anyone who left me feeling drained, and now I’m surrounded by so many uplifting people that inspire me on the daily.

How Minimalism Made Me Happier

5. I Have Time To Learn and Grow

I love reading. I love learning new things. Pre-minimalism, so much of my time was spent going to others social events and keeping up with my laundry, that I didn’t even have time to do what I wanted in my life. Now, my time is free to do whatever I want that day – read a new book, take an online course, meet a friend for coffee, or just spend time writing. The freedom that comes with minimalism is something that I wish everyone can experience in their life.

These are just five ways that minimalism has made me a happier person. Minimalism has changed my life in so many positive ways, I think that everyone can benefit from implementing a bit of minimalism in their life.

Your Turn!

  • What draws you to minimalism?
2 Comments
  1. Awesome Post! Our family has been living a minimalist lifestyle for about 2 years now. I love the freedom it has brought us. We are definitely happier as well!

  2. 1. Not having to spend as much time cleaning. Now I can easily dust in about 20 minutes, (full-disclosure…I live in a small apartment), and I don’t have to spend time putting a mass of items away each night.

    2. More money in the bank means less worry when a financial emergency arises.

    3. More time to cook healthy, read books I’ve wanted to read, take long walks, and meditate with the time I would have spent shopping and maintaining more stuff.

    4. I have always preferred a simple and practical style, must be why I love Shaker design so much!

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