15+ Quotes About Minimalism and Decluttering
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Sometimes we buy things and fill our homes with junk because we think they’ll make us happy, when in reality, stuff does not make us happy. So we end up with houses full of clutter wondering where our space and money went. But there’s a better way to live. Here are 15+ quotes about minimalism and decluttering.
15+ Quotes About Minimalism and Decluttering | Minimalism Quotes | Quotes for Minimalism
In my humble opinion, minimalism rocks. Here’s why I love minimalism and why you might want to try minimalism in your own life and home.
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I love the way that stripping away excess material possessions reveals who you truly are deep down, without things, without material possessions, and without status symbols. Minimalism is simplicity, ease, and freedom at their finest. It’s not about getting rid of everything you own, but taking away the unnecessary things in your life to leave you with your real self, honest and modest and simple.
Recommended Reading:
- Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life
- The Joy of Less
- Unstuffed: Decluttering Your Home, Mind, and Soul
You could say that minimalism is the opposite of mass consumerism. While some spend their whole lives in school to get a better job, claw their way up the corporate ladder to get a better salary and promotion after promotion, buy endless status symbols and facades of who they are as a person, and then bide away their time until retirement, I’d much rather embrace a simpler life. A life that doesn’t involve being in the rat race or keeping up with the Joneses.
I’d rather whittle down my number of possessions rather than keep adding on to them. I’d rather sit in nature and appreciate the gentle sounds of wind blowing past the trees and watch a scarlet sunset streaking through the sky. I’d rather replace the desire for more stuff with appreciating life in the present moment and escape the vicious cycle of making more and more money to buy more and more things. Money isn’t inherently the problem, but trying to fill our unhappiness with “things” instead of genuine peace, is.
Let’s simplify our lives and desire less stuff. Life doesn’t have to be complicated. Life can be simple and free.
What are three steps you can take to declutter your “stuff” today?
Doing the opposite of mindless spending – active decluttering – can make you happier because you start to pare down the excess in your life and are left with the things that truly matter. The non-material things, like love and family and friends and following your dreams.
In Francine Jay’s The Joy of Less, she talks about how to live lightly and declutter your stuff and embrace a minimalist lifestyle. This book is a great introduction to the minimalist lifestyle and a way to declutter your life.
Quotes About Minimalism | Minimalist Quotes
1. “If these things haven’t delivered on their promises yet, it may be time to let them go.” – Francine Jay
2. “There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.” -Jackie French Koller
3. “Any half-awake materialist well knows – that which you hold holds you.” – Tom Robbins
4. “In order to be a good gatekeeper, you have to think of your house as sacred space, not storage space.” – Francine Jay
5. “If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements.” – The Dalai Lama
6. “Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is far more conducive to a minimalist lifestyle. If we recognize the abundance in our lives, and appreciate what we have, we will not want for more. We simply need to focus on what we have, rather than what we don’t have.” – Francine Jay
7. “You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.” – Vernon Howard
8. “Go through your house, and make a list of everything you own. I know some of you are looking at this page incredulously; but no, I’m not kidding. Make a list of every book, every plate, every fork, every shirt, every shoe, every sheet, every pen, every knickknack – in short, every single object – that resides inside your home. Too difficult? Try just one room? Still can’t do it? How about just one drawer. It’s pretty overwhelming, isn’t it? Do you still feel like you don’t have enough?” – Francine Jay
9. “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
10. “Decluttering is infinitely easier when you think of it as deciding what to keep, rather than deciding what to throw away.” – Francine Jay
11. “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Rogers
12. “I live lightly and gracefully, with only the objects I find functional or beautiful.” – Francine Jay
13. “Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris
14. “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” – Francine Jay
15. “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” – Lao Tzu
Many above quotes are from The Joy of Less by Francine Jay.
As weird as it sounds, decluttering your stuff can actually make you feel a little happier and less stressed. The less clutter you’re surrounded by, the more the proverbial weight lifts off your shoulders. Here’s why decluttering your home can make you happier.
This post was originally published on my blog Tuxedo Cats and Coffee.
Why Decluttering Your Home Can Make You Happier
If you’re constantly surrounded by “stuff” and piles of clutter, it’s easy to feel stressed out just from all the visual stress. Often, outer chaos is a sign of inner chaos.
But if you can declutter and tidy up your surrounds, your environment will feel more peaceful and calming.
More Decluttering Posts:
- 17 Things You Can Declutter without Missing
- 38 Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life Today
- Why I Love Minimalism
- 17 Rules for Getting Organized and Decluttered
It’s like having a messy desk. If your desk is full of uncompleted assignments, piles of books you need to read, or a bunch of to do’s you still need to do, it’s easy to feel stressed out because just looking at all those piles of stuff and work you have to do is stressful! Can you imagine how much calmer you would feel if your desk was clear and neatly organized?
Then imagine if your whole home was uncluttered and tidy. It doesn’t have to be “clean” so much as free of extra visual clutter. When your environment is peaceful, it’s like a welcome resting place for your mind to calm down from a chaotic world.
A couple good books for starting with decluttering are The Joy of Less by Francine Jay and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. (I would note for Marie’s book though that I think it’s easier to make lasting changes in your life – decluttering included – by taking small baby steps rather than trying to do it all at once. It depends on your preference though!)
Just clearing a little of the visual clutter in your environment can help your mind feel less cluttered too. Try it out! You can start by just clearing the tops of surfaces in your immediate surroundings for a small change that makes a big difference in the way a room looks and feels. You could even replace a pile of clutter with a small item like a special candle or decoration that makes you happy every time you see it.
With a few small changes to your environment, you can give your mind a place to rest at the end of the day.