10 Life Lessons I Learned When I Finally Owned Less Stuff

When I was in college, I read a book about simplicity that really struck a chord with me. While I was drawn most to the minimalist aesthetic, the ideas in the book led me to cut back on wasteful spending and declutter a few key areas of my life.

Minimalism, as a way of life, has grown in popularity over the past decade, and I still think there are many good reasons to be drawn to this path. But as time has gone on, I’ve moved away from such labels and have come to think of myself as simply a person who owns less stuff.

In my late 20s, I read another book, this time by Marie Kondo, and felt inspired to take another step in this journey. By then, I had acquired a wife and a few kids— along with a lot more stuff. But with my wife’s support, we began to pare down our belongings to a more manageable level.

This is where we still are today. I wouldn’t dare call us minimalists, but compared to the average American family, we have far less, and in my mind far more. Here are some life lessons I’ve picked up along the way.

Enjoyment from your belongings scales easily

Unless your goal is to own nothing, the point of getting rid of your possessions is to make room for the ones you enjoy most. By thinning out the lower-tier items, you get more chances to enjoy the best of the best. This applies to any category of belongings you can imagine. The best part is, this process naturally scales to your context. It would be silly to own 100 pairs of shoes, but a few you love is better than one you merely tolerate.

You don’t need a label; you already know what you want

There are many types of minimalists and different brands that people ascribe to. While these labels can be useful communication tools, or even serve as inspiration, they can also be a distraction. You end up thinking and talking about minimalism as an end goal rather than a particular life choice that you think will improve your life in another direction entirely.

Most of your old things don’t get used anyway

In the past decade, I’ve gone through many rounds of thinning out my possessions and I’ve led family and friends in the same journey. In all that time, I can’t think of more than a handful of occasions where I needed something that I had thrown out. This fear of the unknown should not be a reason to hold back from owning far less than you do now, especially in this age of fast, inexpensive delivery.

The best things in life aren’t things

As cliche as it sounds, it’s true that the best things in life really aren’t things. But when your life is filled with material objects and a focus on possessions, it can be hard to see that. It’s like not appreciating the value of clean water until you’ve been forced to go without it. As I’ve pared back on stuff, I’ve come to see more clearly the people and experiences that I value most— and I’m grateful for that perspective.

Clutter is a daily source of stress

If you don’t think of yourself as a particularly neat person, you might not think that clutter is a source of stress, but it is. It’s true that it may not bother you as much as others, but we’re all on a spectrum, and that doesn’t change the fact that less clutter is objectively more pleasing to the eye and less likely to disrupt your plans. The fact that I no longer hide my clutter before guests come over is all the proof I need that I’ve reformed myself in this area.

It’s hard to care for or store a lot of things well

One of the benefits of owning a few nice things is that it raises the bar. If you were collecting books and you had an autographed first edition copy of a classic, you would probably take more care with your collection. This, of course, extends to all areas of life. Owning less but nicer things makes you more likely to care for them and keep them orderly, which only reinforces your efforts to keep clutter at bay.

Improvements are hard, but maintenance is easy

One of the lessons I’ve learned from dieting is that losing weight is far harder than keeping off weight you’ve already lost. The same applies to clutter. It’s a major effort to make a meaningful dent in a cluttered home, but once you’ve learned that lesson, it’s not nearly as hard to stay on top of things. Progress and momentum, it seems, are great allies to have.

There’s a reason you don’t use most of your “useful” stuff

One of the great lies we tell ourselves is that we’re one day going to use all of our useful stuff. If decluttering has taught me anything, it’s that I haven’t used that stuff for a reason, and I likely won’t use it anytime soon.

Filling your life with more stuff isn’t the answer

A large portion of our culture revolves around convincing you that you are missing out on life because you don’t own something you need. That may be true in some cases, but for the most part, it seems like people have more than they need and still don’t feel the contentment they crave. Maybe the answer isn’t out there but in getting rid of the excess and realizing you already have everything you need.

Minimalism is a spectrum, and you choose where to be

I’ve probably made it very clear that I don’t consider myself a minimalist. But compared to most people, I probably look like one. The fact is that minimalism is a spectrum, and I think people get too caught up on one end versus the other. Most people I know would benefit from moving a bit towards the fewer possessions side of things, and that’s all that matters.

There’s a lesson I take away from all this, and it’s one I hope you consider for yourself. You don’t need to cut back or pare back or start from scratch to call yourself a minimalist. You only need to move in the direction of having fewer possessions. Keep the things you love and get rid of the rest; see if you like where the journey takes you.