25 Simple Living Quotes to Inspire You to Declutter & Simplify Your Life!

1. “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
~ William Morris

This is one of my favourite simple living quotes. It gets right to the heart of what should be allowed to stay in our homes. Reminding us to only keep what adds value to our lives.

2. “Love people, use things. The opposite never works.”
~ The Minimalists

Yes to this! Simplifying and minimalism are about so much more than just getting rid of “stuff”. Minimalism is about getting clear on your priorities so you can make sure your time, space and energy align with those priorities. It’s about prioritizing the people you love, not the stuff you own.

3. “My goal is no longer to get more done, but rather to have less to do.”
~ Francine Jay, Miss Minimalist

Such a powerful reminder about shifting your expectations and priorities. Instead, of trying to get more done, aim to have less to do.

Think about how much of your day you spend managing the stuff you own. Working to earn money to buy it, shopping for it, organizing it, picking it up, looking for it, repairing it, cleaning it, reorganizing it, etc.

Clear the clutter, the distractions and the unimportant. Give yourself breathing room – in your schedule, in your home and in your days. Decluttering your home, your schedule, your commitments and your time isn’t so that you can get more done. It’s so that you have less to do in the first place!

4. “The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.”
~ Joshua Becker

Wise words to live by.

Figure out what matters most to you. Then, get rid of anything that doesn’t align with what matters most to you, or even worse, distracts you from what matters most.

Not sure what matters most to you yet? Start by removing the clutter, the excess and the distractions from your home and life. Notice what’s left. That’s what’s important to you, what makes you happy and what lights you up.

Get rid of the clutter and give yourself time, space and freedom to use and appreciate what’s important.

5. “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
~ Hans Hofmann

Simplifying can feel complicated when you’re in the trenches, making decision after decision about what to keep and what to get rid of. But it all boils down to this – removing the clutter and distractions from your life so you have the time, space and energy to focus on what you value most.

6. “The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”
~ Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

What you choose to own doesn’t just take up your space, it also takes up your time. And what takes up your time adds up to how you live your life.

When you’re decluttering, don’t think about what you’re getting rid of. Instead, think about what you’re choosing to keep and ask yourself if it will contribute to the life you want to live.

7. “Your home is living space, not storage space.”
~ Francine Jay, The Joy of Less

Such a great reminder that your home should be a place filled with life, not a place filled with “stuff”. So often we hang on to things we used to use or love, or things we hope to use one day, or even just things we thought we’d use or love but don’t.

Clear the clutter and create a home filled with less stuff and more living!

8. “Clutter smothers. Simplicity breathes.”
~ Terry Guillemets

Clutter and too much stuff weigh you down. Your stuff is not passive, it actively takes from you. Stuff takes your space, your time, your energy, your freedom and even your peace.

Clearing the clutter and the excess from your life adds some breathing room to your home and your life. Get rid of the stuff you don’t use, need or even like, then take a deep breath and enjoy the space and breathing room you’ve created!

9. “Minimalism isn’t about removing things you love. It’s about removing the things that distract you from the things you love.”
~ Joshua Becker, The Minimalist Home

Minimalism is not about restriction, deprivation or getting rid of the things you love. Instead, it’s about figuring out what is important to you. Then getting rid of the distractions, the clutter and the excess that keep you from focusing your time, energy and attention on the things you love.

Minimalism gives you the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the things you love even more!

10. “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”
~ Socrates

If you spend your life chasing more, you’ll always be chasing the next thing. But when you shift your focus to what you already have and start to see how little you actually need to have a happy, fulfilling and full life, you can stop chasing more. You can find contentment and happiness in the little things!

11. “Minimalism is not about having less. It’s about making room for more of what matters.”

Minimalism is not about having less for the sake of having less. Instead, it’s about removing the excess, the clutter and the distractions from your home and your life so you have more time, space and energy to focus on what matters most to you.

Minimalism doesn’t have to look a certain way, follow someone else’s rules or meet someone else’s standards. First, figure out what matters most to you. Then create more time and space for those things in your life.

12. “The best things in life aren’t things.”

This is another great reminder and one of my favourite simple living quotes. When it comes down to it, the most important and precious things to us, usually aren’t “things” at all. Usually, it’s the memories we have, the experiences we’ve lived and the people we love that matter more than anything.

13. “It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Life doesn’t have to be extravagant to be wonderful. So often, the simple moments are the ones we remember and value most.

14. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.”
~ Melody Beattie

Simplifying and minimalism are all about finding your place of “enough”. And finding this place of enough is so much easier when you focus on gratitude.

Noticing and appreciating what already fills your life makes it so much easier to shift your perspective from wanting more, newer, better, etc. to becoming content with what you have.

Gratitude helps you see the value the things you own add to your life so you can stop feeling the need to acquire more, and let go of what isn’t adding value to your life.

15. “A home with fewer possessions is more spacious, more calming, and more focused on the people who live inside it.”
~ Joshua Becker

Decluttering and simplifying become so much easier when you shift your focus from what you’re getting rid of, and instead, focus on what you are gaining. Making the choice to own less “stuff” gives you the opportunity to enjoy more life in your home!

16. “There are two ways to be rich: one is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.”
~ Jackie French Koller

We live in a consumer-driven society. We are constantly bombarded with messages telling us to want more and buy more. But there is another way. Embracing a simpler life allows you to live a rich life by being content with less.

17. “Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all.”
~ Nathan W. Morris

You are in charge of what fills your space and takes up your time. Get rid of the clutter, the excess and the distractions to make sure your life is the life you want to be living.

18. “Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.”

Studies have shown that spending your time and money on experiences instead of material possessions, brings longer-lasting happiness and satisfaction in your life.

Prioritizing experiences over possessions creates lasting memories, builds relationships, and more. All without adding the stress of eventually ending up with a house full of “stuff” and clutter.

19. “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
~ Annie Dillard

Our lives are not made up of the things we do once in a while or every so often. Instead, the sum of our lives comes from the habits and routines we repeat every day, day after day.

Are your daily habits and routines adding up to the life you want to live?

I don’t think many of us would say we want to spend our days/lives picking up “stuff” or taking care of the “things” we own.

By choosing to simplify, declutter and embrace a life with less, you spend less time managing the “stuff” you own and have more time to spend your days/life doing what matters most to you.

20. “Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.”
~ Joshua Becker, Simplify

Get clear about what you value most. Then clear away anything from your space, time and life that doesn’t align with what you value most.

Don’t worry if your version of minimalism looks different from someone else’s. We all value different things, so minimalism can look different for all of us! Instead, use minimalism as a tool to give you the freedom to focus on what is most important to you.

21. “I don’t say no because I am so busy. I say no because I don’t want to be so busy.”
~ Courtney Carver

Saying no to some things gives you the chance to say yes to the most important things in your life. And gives you the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate what is important to you more because you aren’t too busy, too distracted or simply too exhausted to enjoy it.

Give yourself some margin and breathing room in your days. Say no to some things to protect your time and energy so you are able to say yes to things you love and value.

This is another one of my favourite simple living quotes and something I remind myself often so I can remember to save my “yeses” for the things that matter most.

22. “Outer order contributes to inner calm.”
~ Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm

For many of us, the environment we are surrounded by can have a big impact on how we feel. A cluttered environment can make us feel stressed, unsettled, unproductive and cranky. But an orderly, clutter-free space can help us feel calm, grounded, relaxed, clear-headed and happier.

I know this is certainly true for me! How about you?

23. “Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor – it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.”
~ Peter Walsh

Decluttering and simplifying are about so much more than making it easier to keep your home tidy and clean. From your bank account to your mindset and outlook on life, decluttering can impact your whole life.

If you are willing to let go of the clutter, the excess and the distractions in your life, there are so many benefits waiting for you. Including the ability to create the life you want to be living!

24. “Having a simplified, uncluttered home is a form of self-care.”
~ Emma Scheib

Self-care doesn’t always mean bubble baths and face masks. Sometimes self-care means doing hard things or things you don’t really want to do but know they will improve your life, well-being, health and/or happiness. And sometimes self-care involves doing things you might not even think of as self-care at first – like decluttering your house!

But decluttering and simplifying your home and your life can be an important form of self-care for many of us. It allows you to live in a space that nourishes you and provides a haven to rest and relax. Instead of a cluttered, messy home that adds to your stress and gives you a to-do list that feels never-ending.

Decluttering doesn’t solve all of life’s problems. But it certainly gets rid of a big source of stress in your life. Giving you more time and energy to spend on things other than just managing all the stuff you own!

25. “You don’t need more space. You need less stuff.”
~ Joshua Becker, The More of Less

We often feel like we need bigger homes, bigger closets, bigger garages, etc. But more often than not, our homes and the storage spaces in them are filled with things we don’t use, need or even like!

For many of us, we don’t need more space or a bigger home. We simply need less stuff!