Thirteen years ago, I was introduced to minimalism during a short conversation with my neighbor.
The realization that excess possessions were distracting us from greater pursuits immediately changed how we viewed our home and the items inside it.
Within nine months, we had removed 60-70% of the things from our home and have never regretted discovering the freedom we found because of it.
But minimalism impacted more areas of life than our physical possessions.
Here are ten areas of life that were unexpectedly impacted by our decision to own fewer possessions:
1. Bank Account
For our entire married lives, my wife and I had “just gotten by’ financially. We hadn’t taken on considerable amounts of consumer debt, but we certainly weren’t getting ahead financially—despite several pay increases.
The more we made, the more we spent.
But minimalism changed that. We put some money in our pocket during the decluttering phase, but more significantly, we stopped wasting our money on unnecessary purchases. It was surprising how quickly our finances were positively affected by the decision to intentionally own less.
2. Physical Fitness
The change may seem like a coincidence, but I am convinced it was not.
In May, after being introduced to minimalism, we began the process of removing unneeded possessions. Seven months later, in December, I celebrated by birthday.
Not wanting to buy a physical item, I requested a gym membership at the local Planet Fitness that had just opened in my town. And thus began, for the first time in my life, a regular practice of physical exercise.
Minimalism unexpectedly affected my physical health.
3. Diet
In my mid-thirties at the time, I had a pretty unhealthy diet. Lots of eating out, snack foods, fried foods, and not nearly enough good stuff.
Well, it doesn’t take too many weeks of visiting the gym to begin wondering why you are drinking soda and eating potato chips every evening. And thus, I began researching healthier foods to eat before/after working out. And my entire diet began to change.
*I am reminded often of Courtney Carver’s story of finding minimalism. For her, intentionality in her diet brought about greater intentionality in her possessions (minimalism). For me, it was the other way around.
4. Habits
A new lifestyle was emerging. I had begun changing my habits: spending, fitness, diet. Other habits began to change in my life as well.
I developed the habit of writing, rising early, and watching less television.
Minimalism became about more than physical possessions. Minimalism is about identifying what is most important in life and working hard to remove the distractions that keep us from it—including unhealthy habits.
5. Stress
Randy Alcorn says it this way, “Every increased possession adds increased anxiety onto our lives.”
The less I owned, the less stress I felt in my life.
Just think of all the ways physical possessions burden us with stress.
They require our constant care and attention: cleaning, organizing, maintaining, managing, repairing, replacing… And that’s not even to speak of how much stress we feel trying to keep up with the Joneses or the anxiety that surrounds our desire to make more money just so we can buy more stuff.
Minimalism meant not only did I have fewer possessions taking up physical space in my home and mental space in my mind, but it also meant I could remove myself from the trappings of comparison and consumerism.
It is difficult to understand the mental burden of excess physical possessions until we begin to remove them.
6. Faith
Minimalism impacted my faith in ways I never dreamt.
I go more in-depth into my Christian faith in my book, The More of Less, than I typically do on this blog. But I have to mention that minimalism both freed up my life to focus more on faith and even changed my understanding of it in many regards.
My personal faith has much to say about money and possessions and where to find true abundance. Minimalism helped me see that much more clearly than ever before.
7. Social Media
I use social media every day to spread the message of minimalism, but I can also see how quickly it becomes just another distraction from things that matter when it is not used intentionally.
I don’t get it right every day, but embracing the benefit of fewer possessions has also helped me see the benefit of less time on social media.
8. Relationships
When we first discovered minimalism, we were regularly hosting three different small groups of people in our home—almost every week.
Showing hospitality was important to us then, and it is important to us today. Some may confuse a minimalist home with being cold and lifeless, but we found the opposite to be true. We find it easier to entertain and host drop-by guests now that there is less clutter to shove into closets before they arrive.
I should also mention that freeing up time and money and focus because of minimalism has also allowed us to be more present and available in our relationships than ever before.
9. Work
In our society, work has become the thing that we do 9-5, Monday through Friday, in order to earn the paycheck so that we can buy the stuff, take the vacation, or retire early. But minimalism forced me to rethink work.
If I’m not going to work so that I just spend more money on stuff, why am I going to work? I began seeing it as something different altogether.
As I have written previously, work is the thing we do with our lives to improve society and life for others. It’s our way of using our talents and education and experience to serve others. In this way, it brings new meaning and fulfillment each day—and becomes far more enjoyable than merely slogging through another day until pay day.
Not everyone sees work this way, unfortunately. And I didn’t either—before minimalism. But I am grateful how my views have changed. Work is just another unexpected area of my life impacted by minimalism.
10. Parenting
We all want to be intentional parents raising good kids who contribute positively to society. And many succeed in that effort without discovering minimalism.
But for me, personally, I found minimalism impacted my worldview in so many positive ways, it can’t help but come out in how I parent. I don’t force my children to embrace a minimalist lifestyle (they will make their own decisions when they are out of the house), but I do model for them a life lived for more important pursuits than material possessions.
And minimalism freed up time at home to accomplish that.
Minimalism was introduced to me in one short conversation. And what began as simply a journey to own less stuff has begun positively influencing almost every area of my life. You’ll find it has the same impact on yours.
About Joshua Becker
Our daughter died last August from the Covid. Our eyes were opened when we had to clean out her apartment. We both suffered grief like I never knew. Finally, our Lord opened the windows and we both realized we were not going to leave a house full stuff to clean out, for our children. Thank you for this.
Another positive impact is on your ecological footprint. As we stride towards a low CO2 lifestyle, those who embraced minimalism will be less impacted by this radical lifestyle change.
This is an eye-opening and inspiring article! -Ryan
I love this article. My life has been SO changed by minimalism. A constantly (well, almost constantly) tidy home has made life so much sweeter. I spend about 20-30 minutes per day on laundry/ housework now. More time in my Bible, my health has improved with more time to exercise and cook, my family relationships have all improved.
Minimalism removes the things that distract us from the right focus.
Very good read! Thank you!
Just make start one drawer or shelf at a time. Try not to over analyze items one by one. If you have not seen it, used it or even missed it for a long while then it is probably time to get rid of it.
We cleared out bookshelves and cabinets and then realized we no longer needed these items of furniture, so minimized them as well. We now have more open and calm space in our home and you can actually see the skirting boards. Good Luck with your minimizing journey.
I moved into a brand new home and purchased beautiful glass front bookcases for the purpose of showcasing my collection of books. A year later, I realized that those Stephen King books don’t bring anything good, positive, or Godly into my home and I destroyed all of them. I’m so glad I did but now I have 2 tall bookcases full of crap JUST so there’s something to go in them! I’m looking forward to selling them and just enjoying the open space in the room, honestly!
Absolutely astonishing, thank you for this practical testimony and the impact that it has had on your life. I am 49 years old, and I have not had many possessions in my lifetime, yet there are those which I now see are more of a burden than a blessing. I am seeking to change my life altogether, become more focused on who I am and becoming the very best version of it possible. Here’s to doing the work!
I appreciated how much impact minimalism had on your whole life – stuff to family to faith to physical fitness and on and on.
We are currently in month 3 of lockdown in NZ. That certainly makes you look at everything differently. This column I always enjoy receiving into my inbox. I am heading towards 60 and reviewing everything including house size, car size and possessions. With one of our 2 children having just left home, you realise how big the house is and how you could easily downsize that. The car sits unused 95% of the day. What a waste of resource just there. And then getting rid of all the household excess. Like most people this is a gradual process as you dont want to fill up landfills when someone else may love to use the item.
Minimalism is a process and to “Marie Condo” your stuff to mostly the loved items you use and that bring you joy is the key.
And keeping in mind, we’re all running out of runway so get on with asap.
I have started to seriously focus more on minimalizing since retirement in April 2021. I flew in to high gear at first (not hard since I am a pitcher anyway). My motto has always been “Less is More”. I have slowed down a little. But I am getting rid of items I have had for years that I am truly ready to part with. A few old childhood toys that I finally am selling on ebay, or donating. I realized the things I was keeping I was only keeping them because I had had them so long. Like they were a part of me. I am ready to release these item. I don’t want them in a storage bin. They are going to other who may make use of them. Thanks for keep me motivated with your posting. It is a constant reminder I need to keep going.
This is a great list! While I am much newer to this minimalism journey, for me it’s been the opportunity that I have had the last year and some change to walk away from corporate life, that has awakened me to the fact that I wasn’t living my life as purposefully or meaningfully as I would have liked.
So I definitely have found that Financial Independence and minimalism have both allowed me to really focus on what matters and in this way living a more minimalistic and purposeful life.
I honestly feel like I am living life more now, and that has impacted my fitness, my habits, my relationships, my parenting, my work, etc.
I am no poster child for minimalism, yet I keep taking tiny steps in that direction. Your posts are consistent motivators. I just sent this one to a friend. It’s a perfect introduction. You have so succinctly summed up what minimalism is (and isn’t) all about. I completely agree that it’s affect has reached far beyond my choices about the things I own. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have been following your example and decluttering. I have taken sackfuls of stuff to charity, and been happily finding gifts for friends, things they really like. It means a lot to share my excess goods with them. I am starting to realise all the benefits you mentioned.
This article is such a blessing – actually almost all of your articles impact my life in so many ways, Josh. They’re direct, simple, and highly timely. Keep writing and inspiring. <3
Josh – I have started decluttering. I have a problem with things that have a sentimental value. Recently, a friend suggested that I write a paragraph or two about the memory involved and how it makes me feel. Then take a picture of the item and what you have written and put them in a small photo album. You still have the memories and what it looked like to remind you.
Thank you.
Great idea, Mary!!!
It’s the ripple effect…
Love this!
My husband and I bought a smaller one story house recently. In the process of moving I began to give away things to the Salvation Army. I now know the guys names. Unfortunately I have had to have surgery, so my reduction has changed for the moment, but I will continue when I become well. Thank you for the inspiration.
Thank you Josh for today’s reflection. It couldn’t have come at a better time (literally TODAY). I am newly retired as of a couple of months. I intentionally decided to enjoy these weeks as freedom and relaxation and it’s been wonderful. Now I’m gearing up to tackle my ‘retirement to-do list’. One of the big things is purging, cleaning, minimizing.
I wander around my house and see the stuff that needs to be dealt with and the job feels overwhelming. My husband and I are not clutterers, and if someone said they were coming over in 15 minutes, we could easily have our home ready for guests. It’s the years of accumulated stuff that hides in closets, drawers, bookshelves that feels like hours and hours of work. That part is so easy to just procrastinate and ignore (probably because it’s not as visible). Any tips on getting through all that?
I’ve been following you for probably the last 6-7 years and I applaud the great work you’re doing in the minimalism space. May God continue to bless you and the work you’re doing.
Shelley, I didn’t notice you mentioning any children in your life, but a possible motivator to purge all the “hidden” items is that you will save your kids or other loved ones from having to do it when you and your husband pass on. We are in the process of doing this with one set of our parents. One passed on, the other is in memory care. It’s tough. I don’t wish it on anyone… especially those I love.
Keep going and enjoy retirement!
Hi TJ, thanks for your response. We are empty nesters. Three adult children with spouses, and six grandchildren, are all doing well on their own. You have a good point about not leaving the mess to my kids when we depart the earthly life. My husband and I did that for our parents and it was hard.
Hey Shelley – the drawers and closets were my favorite part, because often it‘s stuff you rarely used anyway and thus it‘s easy to get rid of.
On another note – that I found even more satisfactory – once you cleaned out those drawers, you can get rid of the full piece of furniture. If you‘ve cleaned out that box of camping supplies, you can toss out the box etc.
That way, you can re-arrange rooms or even ‚close‘ some rooms completely, making stuff even easier to find and having even less space to clean regularly.
Of course I don‘t know your circumstances, bit that‘s what purging did for me.
Hi Sibylle, I like your perspective! Once the drawers are empty, it may not be necessary to keep the piece of furniture! I can repurpose the furniture or give it away.
I find that I clear out a closet, get rid of stuff, put things back neat and organized, and within a year somehow it’s returned to it’s stuffed and cluttered state! Gotta figure that one out, lol!
Just make start one drawer or shelf at a time. Try not to over analyze items one by one. If you have not seen it, used it or even missed it for a long while then it is probably time to get rid of it.
We cleared out bookshelves and cabinets and then realized we no longer needed these items of furniture, so minimized them as well. We now have more open and calm space in our home and you can actually see the skirting boards. Good Luck with your minimizing journey.
I have many things I don’t want, and clutter is off the charts. Even after getting rid of things I don’t need or no longer want. Right now the struggle of home ownership is nothing but money going out the door. We replaced windows and siding this month, it had to be done. We need a new roof-ours isn’t insured right now until we do. All this adds up and causes anxiety and I think, how can I turn clutter into cash to help pay the bills? I always enjoy your articles Josh, I think they help me relax a little.
This. Is. SO. GOOD. It really sums up the whole point of minimalism. Some make it a new form of “keeping up with the Joneses”, as if you’re not a minimalist, if you have more than 30 items in your closet. You have always emphasized that it is more a mental state— it’s about honing down your life to the things that really matter. But this particular article really speaks to me. THIS is why I am trying to minimalize. Thank you!!
I really appreciated this article!
Great article Joshua. I think that minimalism has helped me in all the ways you mentioned. It has also helped me be a more creative person. I think minimalism boosts creativity by encouraging self worth based on accomplishments instead of things and then it gives you the time needed to be creative.
Josh, as always, you inspire me. Thank you.
Great article, as usual. You’re inspiring me to try to help my granddaughter as well.