The Minimalist Mindset: Why Less Really is More

In a world that constantly tells us to acquire more possessions and strive for never-ending success, embracing a minimalist mindset may seem counterintuitive.

However, the truth is that less really is more when it comes to finding joy, peace, and contentment in our lives.

Minimalism is not about deprivation or living in an empty space; it is a way of thinking and a philosophy that encourages us to prioritise what truly matters.

In this blog post, we will delve into the transformative power of minimalism and explore why less is often the key to finding true happiness and freedom.

1. Creating a Calm, Clutter-Free Space:

A cluttered physical space leads to a cluttered mind. By decluttering and simplifying our homes, we free up physical and mental space.

Minimalism is not about owning a certain number of items or having a stark white space; it is about intentionally choosing what needs to be present and eliminating what doesn’t.

By focusing on what truly matters to us, we create a calm and inviting environment that promotes clarity, creativity, and peace.

2. More Time, Energy, and Freedom:

When we surround ourselves with excess stuff, we inadvertently sacrifice precious time and energy. Think about the time spent cleaning, tidying, and organising all those possessions.

By embracing minimalism and letting go of what doesn’t serve us, we reclaim that lost time and energy. We find ourselves with more freedom to pursue activities that bring us joy, whether it’s spending time with loved ones, pursuing hobbies, or simply enjoying quiet moments alone.

Minimalism enables us to prioritise experiences over possessions and live a life that aligns with our values.

3. Reducing Mental Clutter:

Our physical environments have a direct impact on our mental state. A cluttered space can lead to feelings of overwhelm, stress, and anxiety.

Simplifying our surroundings through decluttering allows us to reduce mental clutter as well. When our physical space is organised and free from unnecessary items, our minds become clearer, allowing us to focus on what truly matters in our lives.

4. Contentment and Gratitude:

Minimalism is not about constantly striving for more but rather finding contentment and happiness in what we already have.

By valuing experiences, relationships, and personal growth over material possessions, we cultivate gratitude and appreciate the blessings in our lives. The minimalist mindset encourages us to stop comparing ourselves to others and instead focus on our own success and fulfilment.

It teaches us to find joy and contentment in the present moment, rather than constantly seeking external validation or the next best thing.

5. A Journey Worth Taking:

Embracing a minimalist mindset is a journey, not a destination. It requires consistent effort and the willingness to let go of what no longer serves us.

It might be challenging at first to resist the urge to acquire more and to declutter our lives, but the rewards are immeasurable. A simpler home, a calmer mind, and more time and energy are just a few of the outcomes we can expect when we commit to living with less.

It’s about creating space mentally, physically, and emotionally to fully experience and appreciate the joy of a simpler life.

In a world that constantly tells us that having more is better, minimalism presents a refreshing alternative.

By embracing a minimalist mindset, we discover that less really is more.

We create calm and clutter-free spaces, find more time, energy, and freedom to pursue what truly matters, reduce mental clutter, and cultivate contentment and gratitude.

The journey to minimalism is not an easy one, but it is certainly a journey worth taking.

So, let’s embrace the power of less and unlock the simple joy and freedom that comes with a minimalist mindset.

Transcript

Speaker A [00:00:00]:

Hello, and welcome back to The Simple Joy Show, the podcast that’s all about finding the joy in simplicity. In today’s episode, we’re going to dive deep into a concept that’s close to my heart, and that’s because it’s been so transformative in my own life and that’s minimalism. It’s often misunderstood as a bit of a cold and unfriendly lifestyle where perhaps you might live in a house with bleak, white blank walls. But minimalism is so much more than just owning less. It’s a way of thinking. It’s a philosophy that really encourages us to seek value not in our possessions, but in our experiences, our relationships, and our personal growth as well. So today we’re going to explore the minimalist mindset and how adopting it can actually lead to a calmer, more centered life.

Speaker A [00:01:08]:

So what exactly do we mean when we talk about minimalism? As I said in the intro, it’s not about owning a certain number of items or living in a stark white space with no personal touches around you. Minimalism is actually a mindset. It’s a way of living that embraces less in order for us to experience more. So, first up, I just want to touch on that. How can minimalism lead to a calmer and more centered life? So, first, by embracing the minimalism mindset, we tend to reduce physical clutter that is around us. And actually, fewer items then means less time spent cleaning your house, tidying up, organizing, and just generally maintaining the things in your home.

Speaker A [00:02:16]:

So that then frees up time for activities that really enrich our lives. So think about how you would spend your time if you had unlimited supply of it. And usually it would go into things like spending time with your loved ones, perhaps pursuing some hobbies that you’ve not had enough time for in the past, or even just enjoying a quiet moment alone. I know I do love those. And just reading my book in bed for about half an hour before I drop off, those are my favorite things to do. Then typically what you find is that that then leads to reduced stress and increased productivity as well. And that’s because minimalism helps us reduce our mental clutter. Our physical environments, our homes, our workspaces, they all impact our mental state.

Speaker A [00:03:06]:

So a cluttered room, a cluttered desk, cluttered bedroom, it can really lead to a cluttered mind. So by maintaining a minimalist space that’s more clutter free, we’re creating a sense of calm and focus, which then leads to reducing our mental clutter in addition to the physical clutter. So I usually say that when I focused on less, my life became more. And that’s because by having less clutter in my life, I had more space, I had more time, I had more energy, and I had more freedom to choose how I used my days. I could be much more intentional and I could focus on the things that I wanted to do, the things perhaps that I’ve never really had as much time to focus on and the things that I was wanting to do but never got round to. So I want to just give you some quick tips on how you can actually embrace a minimal mindset. So number one is focus on having fewer things. It can be a really liberating experience to declutter things from your home and your life and focus on having less stuff.

Speaker A [00:04:19]:

Actually, with a minimalist mindset you start to realize that owning less is actually easier than decluttering. So you will declutter your items, and you’ll realize the benefits of that, and it stops you wanting to start bringing more things in your house because you don’t want to get into that cycle again of “I’ve decluttered, I’ve made a nice clutter free area here. I don’t want to then bring more in. So then I have to go through the cycle again.” So you start to realize that owning less actually brings more value to the stuff that you’ve already got in your life. You’re happy with how it is and you don’t need more material things in your home that will then be competing for your time and your attention to just maintain.

Speaker A [00:05:06]:

And really you start to have the courage to focus on what things matter the most in your house and you will focus on those solely and you don’t need to bring more in. And number two is value experiences more than things. So instead of spending your time and resources on physical items and possessions that you bring into your life, you tend to then focus on experiences, activities and adventures that bring joy to your family, perhaps that you’ve been wanting to do for a while. I call these little memory making activities and that’s something that we try to do as much as possible. And when you’ve got a minimalist mindset, really you’re committed to living with less and not having stuff weigh you down. So you don’t tend to focus on those physical things, but the experiences that you can buy instead. And memories don’t need to bring more clutter in your life like physical stuff does. And memories can be those things that you carry on for years and years to come without any baggage.

Speaker A [00:06:12]:

Number three is become intentional with your time. So a minimalist mindset is about how you spend your time. It’s more than just things and the people that you have in your life, it’s about spending the time on what really matters to you. So make sure that your to do lists, your commitments and your calendar really align with what you value in your life. Make sure you’re saying no to commitments to take time away from what you care about. Your time is your most precious asset. And that’s something that I was really aware of once I had children, is that I didn’t have as much time as I used to. So I needed to be really selective about what I wanted to do with that time.

Speaker A [00:06:58]:

I needed to work hard to become more intentional with my time and how I spent it. So a minimalist mindset really takes a more conscious approach to what takes up your time and space in your life. And it’s about choosing what needs to be there and what doesn’t. Number four is stop comparing yourself to others. So there’s that old saying, isn’t it? You’re keeping up with the Joneses, but you don’t need to keep up with the Joneses. When you compare yourself to others, really what you’re doing is you’re sabotaging your own success. When you’ve got a minimalist mindset, you are content with what you have and you are really happy with what you value you’ve got in your life. And I said in the first episode is, if I could use one word to describe myself

Speaker A [00:07:48]:

now, it’s just content. I’m happy with what I’ve got in my life. And yes, I seek out experiences for my family and us to create memories, but those are an additional bonus for what already is just a really nice, calm and content lifestyle. And yes, it’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to other people, especially when we’re surrounded by social media and seeing what Janet down the streets doing and Derek down the roads got up to at the weekend. But really, it doesn’t matter what others have. Because if you’re content in your own life, in your own lifestyle, you then end up really just embracing what you’ve got in your life and reminding yourself daily, get those gratitude journals out. And just remind yourself every day how lucky you are, what wonderful things you’ve got in your life. And you don’t need to play that game of comparison because what you have is enough.

Speaker A [00:08:50]:

Number five is realizing that organizing actually doesn’t really help much. Now, I am a big fan of organizing. I love organizing boxes, I love my plastic containers, I love all of that stuff. But what you can actually do is fall into a bit of a trap of thinking that organization is the answer. And actually, there’s a guy called Joshua Fields Milburn. He’s one of the minimalists. They’ve got a documentary on Netflix. They’ve also got podcasts and everything.

Speaker A [00:09:22]:

So check those out. But he’s got a phrase that says, most organizing is nothing more than well planned hoarding. And actually it’s true because what you can end up doing is organizing your clutter rather than actually decluttering it. So if you’ve got too much stuff, all the organization in the world won’t change that fact. You will need to eliminate at some point rather than just hiding it all in boxes in the cupboard that you can’t actually see. And when you have a minimalist mindset, you can see the clutter that is still there. So if you have got clutter in the cupboard and you know it’s there, no one else can, but you do. It still brings stress to your life and it still makes you feel a little bit anxious in your home.

Speaker A [00:10:15]:

So the key really to fixing that problem is to declutter it’s, to get rid of anything you haven’t used recently. Things that you don’t need, things that you don’t love. And when you start to get rid of that stuff again, you’re freeing up time and space in your life. I was having a chat with one of my clients yesterday and she was talking about how since she has decluttered her home, she’s only got a couple more rooms left to do. But she’s found so much more time in her day that actually she’s been able to tackle things that she’s been wanting to tackle for ages. Things in her business, just generally things in her life. So being able to understand that clutter is there, whether you hide it or not, is a big part of minimalism and knowing that you can’t just hide it in the cupboard and pretend it isn’t there because you will know it’s there and it will still hang on you. So making sure that you do the decluttering before you start bringing out those organizing baskets.

Speaker A [00:11:17]:

So those are my five simple ways to start to embrace a minimalist mindset. I’ll just go through them quickly again. So focus on having fewer things. The less stuff that you have in your house, the more easier it is to focus on the things that you want to do. Number two was value experiences more than things. So once you start to have less things in your home and your life, you realize actually that doesn’t impact your happiness and your daily joy. It actually makes it better because you’re able to focus on things that you’ve been wanting to do for a long time. You’re able to go and do those experiences.

Speaker A [00:11:54]:

Instead of spending money on possessions, you start to spend money on experiences and creating memories for your family. Number three was being intentional with your time. So you’ve got more white space in your life. You’ve created that space, you’ve created that time. Now what you’re going to do with it? Choose what you want to do with your life. Choose to do whatever you want with that extra time in your calendar. Number four, we stop comparing yourself to others. Super important.

Speaker A [00:12:25]:

Be content with what you have. Great way of doing that is gratitude journals. As I said. So get one of those. Get a book. It doesn’t have to be a proper journal. You don’t need to go out and buy a special book. Just grab a notebook and every morning when you wake up, write down three things that you’re grateful for and then also realize that organization doesn’t help.

Speaker A [00:12:46]:

You can hide it as much as you want. It’s still there. Get it out, get it decluttered, and that will make a big difference. So to live a life where less is more, you must gradually shift your mindset. So I’m not saying that by listening to this podcast, you’re going to go, all right, okay. So that’s how you have a minimalist mindset. That’s it. And it happens overnight.

Speaker A [00:13:07]:

And you are now a minimalist. It’s not that at all. Living your life day by day, it’s a process. Things change, things happen, and you’re going to be bombarded with consumerism. I mean, the amount of marketing and I can’t remember the stat, but there was a stat that I read about how much marketing we are hit with every single day now versus like 60, 70 years ago. And it is absolutely insane. So it really takes an intentional effort from yourself to shift from where you are now to a more minimalist mindset. It’s taken me years.

Speaker A [00:13:42]:

I first started to declutter and started to see the benefits of it. And yes, I was making changes, but actually it took a while for this mindset to be a habit, to stop falling into the old habits of going, “oh, actually, I’ll just buy that because I like it”. It’s actually, “well, should I buy it? Because I just like it. Do I need it? Will I use it?” And instead of falling into those old habits of just doing, I actually just think and I stop and I have those purchase pauses and I think, okay, I’ve got this X amount of money. How would I wish to spend it? Actually me and the kids have been wanting to do this activity and choose to do what I if I’ve got that extra white space in my life, I’ve got that extra space, I’ve got that extra time, what am I going to do with it? Instead of just kind of falling in day to day activities and getting lost and before, you know, the week’s finished with, it’s being intentional with my time. And that takes practice. And the truth of the matter is we live in a society where we are told constantly that more is better. We’re taught to be more.

Speaker A [00:14:51]:

We’re told to own more. We’re told you need this and you need this next new item over here, and that we’re being bombarded with day to day. And it takes a while to overcome that, to kind of step above that and look and just say, actually, you may say I need that, but I don’t. I know I don’t. I’m happy. I’m content. I would much rather do x, Y and Z. And yeah, as I say, it takes time.

Speaker A [00:15:20]:

So don’t expect that these five things that I’ve talked through a day, it’s a case of just understanding them and that’s it. It’s about really trying to embrace them and try to bring them into your day to day life. And it’s a process. It will happen. It will happen if you consistently try to bring those habits into your daily activities. So, just to wrap up, the minimalist journey can be challenging at times, especially, as I say, because it is a process. But actually, the rewards that you get, a calmer mind, a simpler, more serene home that you actually can relax in rather than feeling anxious about, and more time and energy for what truly matters to you makes it all worthwhile. So if you are ready to embrace the minimalist mindset, just remember, it’s not about getting rid of everything.

Speaker A [00:16:12]:

It’s about getting rid of what doesn’t add to your life. It’s about making space so you can spend your time, spend your energy on what truly matters to you. So thank you for joining me today on the Simple Joy show. Until next time, stay simple, stay joyful. And remember, less really is more. Goodbye.