I have always felt drawn to living a simple life. It feels peaceful to me and helps calm my scattered mind.
At first living simply was a matter of necessity. I was a young single mother with limited resources and every penny counted. I could not acquire a lot of stuff and lived at a level based on needs with a few little extras thrown in.
Now, my simple lifestyle is a choice. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not perfect. I have “things”, but not as many as most people do. I gravitate toward light, color, room to move around in, and things that feel soft and snuggly.
I even joined the simple living movement and attended Simplicity Circles in the past, but there really wasn’t much interest and the groups eventually fell away.
That seems to be changing now as people are feeling more overwhelmed by crazy busy lives and brains that are overloaded. Clearing clutter, simple living, and minimalism are getting a lot of attention again.
Choosing to live simply is not about scarcity and living without. It is about discovering and focusing on what we find meaningful, beautiful, and useful. Our lives become full and rich because we have cleared the way to reveal what feeds our soul.
There are pros and cons to choosing a simple life, but as you can see by my list below, for me the scales are definitely tipped in one direction.
The Pros
- It feels calm, peaceful and less constricted
- You are surrounded by things you really love
- It’s easier to clean
- You have more space and less clutter
- You can find things quickly when you need them
- It saves time and energy
- Your ability to focus improves
- Your focus will be on people and experiences before things
- You are free from trying to live up to a false image
- You know what you have and where it is kept
- It’s good for the environment
- You have more money in the bank
- It’s less stressful
- You can afford quality when you minimize quantity
- You have more time and money to do what you love
- You attract people who like you for who you are, not your image
- You can cultivate more meaningful relationships and spend more time with family
The Cons
- You have fewer things to give or donate to people in need
- People may perceive you differently when you stop playing the image game
- You may see them differently
- You may trade old friends for new ones who are more open
- Can you tell I’m really having a hard time with the cons list?
Living simply is not an all or nothing thing. You can try it out in a small way and if it feels good move forward at your own speed. If you are like me, each step you take will lead you to a more peaceful life.
In the meantime, you might enjoy these blogs about the simple life:
Hip Diggs
Don’t forget to comment! I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
Great article. Thanks.
I admire the move to simpler living, but must confess I find some minimalist websites and home decor as sparse. I love having color in my environment and the minimalists lean toward pastels and stark white.
Since I have attracted a number of friends who engage in simpler living, I am finding myself decluttering and buying less. Although I don’t expect I’ll enjoy being a full minimalist, I am enjoying the benefits of clearing up more space and spending less.
Hi Flora: Simple living can mean different things to different people and is not for everyone. The idea is that you keep what you love and let go of the things that no longer serve you. You may enjoy the things in your home, but live simply in other areas, like the number of commitments you make or who you surround yourself with.
You get to choose what feels right for you!
I hear you, Fiora. I’m a minimalist who knows a ton of other minimalists – and many of them dress or digitally design rather beige and grey (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
But there are simple-living iconoclasts out there (like me) who embrace their bright orange and vibrant blue personality and project that in everything they do. We can be simple, minimal, and colorful too.
I noticed that right away when I found your website.Thanks for modeling colorful simplicity.
Hi Joel,
Thanks for sharing the way that minimalists can be simple and colorful too. I enjoyed viewing your site and signed up for your 1/2 book too. (Like that idea)
Simplicity is so “simple” it makes you wonder why more people can’t make it work doesn’t it?
It may be simple, but not easy!
The process getting there is tough, but once you’re there… it’s great. At least I imagine so 😉
-Caitlyn
http://www.catonthemoon.xyz
It is great Caitlyn. I even spent some extra time this morning clearing out a few things. It helped me kickstart my day and I felt better just looking at the clutter free area.
I myself completely agree and am living “simply” myself!
Congratulations on embracing the simple life.
Linda, I’m so glad I found your site today. Simplicity is a beautiful thing, and you’ve presented the pros and cons so well!
Thank you, Jean. There were definitely more pros than cons.
I definitely want to add simplicity to my life, and this post reminded me of that. Thank you!
Stay tuned, Susann. There will be more posts on this subject.
I highly recommend reading the happiness project, and particularly the chapter on buying happiness. To me it really helps to understand minimalism. It is about buying things that help you be who you already are and not using things to try and define who you are.
Thanks for the recommendation, Greg. In my experience, people who live simply tend to be a lot happier. They get to let go of people, commitments, and things they no longer enjoy and surround themselves with what they love. What could be cooler than that?
I could really benefit from a simpler life. I would say mine is not so simple. I think to make a step forward in this I’ll tackle something this week that needs my attention: My closet. It needs cleaning out in a major way and I know I will benefit greatly from it., Why do we know all this and still neglect to make things like this a priority. Thank you Linda, for the reminder and the push for making things simple!
Tricia: That sounds like a great place to start and is often what I focus on when I want refocus on simplicity. Here is one of my posts about closets and clothes that might assist you: https://lifecoachlinda.com/clear-wardrobe-dont-want-let-anything-go/
I love the idea of simplifying life. I’ve seen some bloggers choose 30 pieces of clothing and only wear those things for a month. I find that inspiring and I’d love to try I just haven’t taken the plunge yet.
I love those clothing projects as well. I’ve paired down a lot, but not that much. It’s all about timing and understanding that baby steps are okay.
I think the biggest thing for me when I decided to adopt the “less is more” mentality was how much differently I perceive other people. It really has surprised me how… almost uppity I have gotten in terms of judging people who obsess over things. I’m trying my hardest to reign it in!
Love this! The simple life is just so utterly appealing to me mainly because so get so stressed out about visual clutter. I love the fact that you hadn’t a hard time coming up with cons ????
I started to do that too, until I caught myself obsessing about my hair. lol