Why Simplify? 9 Great Reasons to Simplify Your Home & Life!

In today’s post, you’ll find 9 great reasons to simplify your home and your life. If you’ve ever wondered, “why simplify?” today’s post will give you the answers!

In the post, you’ll find some great inspiration to encourage you to simplify and declutter your home and your life.

And reminding yourself of these reasons is a great way to get and stay motivated to simplify. As well as help guide your decluttering decisions. And even help you be a little more ruthless about what you’re getting rid of!

The reminders in today’s post will not only help you figure out your answer to the question, “Why simplify?”. But also help you keep your eye on the prize while you’re getting there!

Why simplify?

1. You’re overwhelmed with the mess

Do you feel overwhelmed with the mess in your home?

If trying to keep up with all the stuff in it feels overwhelming, frustrating and never-ending, simplifying is a great place to start!

Simply put, having less stuff means less stuff to contribute to any messes in your home.

When you get rid of the clutter – what you don’t use, need or love – not only will there be less stuff in your home to add to the messes. But cleaning up the messes that do happen will be a lot more manageable and less overwhelming.

You’ll still live in your home, after all, so messes are bound to happen. But when there’s less stuff to add to the mess, it’s a lot easier to deal with.

And don’t forget that it’s ok to start small when you’re tackling the mess and clutter in your home.  

Find 10 things to get rid of right now. It might not seem like much. But it’s 10 fewer things you’ll have to pick up, manage, look for and take care of. And if you find 10 things to get rid of every day, it won’t take long for it to make a big difference in the way your home looks, feels and functions!

2. You never have enough time

Too much stuff – and trying to keep up with managing and taking care of it all – takes a lot of time and energy.

Everything you own not only takes up some of your space, but it also takes up some of your time too.

Just think of all the ways “stuff” takes up your time. You have to work to earn money to buy it. Then you spend time researching and shopping for stuff. Once you own it, you spend time picking it up, cleaning it, cleaning around it, organizing it, re-organizing it, looking for it, etc.

If you feel like you never have enough time to take care of your home and everything in it, start simplifying so you have less to take care of!

Start by getting rid of the clutter – things you don’t use, need or love. You’ll spend less time cleaning, picking up, organizing, looking for things, and just trying to keep up with and manage your house and the stuff in it.

Tackle other types of clutter too

If you feel like you don’t have enough time, don’t stop with just the physical “stuff” in your home. Look at what else is taking up your time. Identify what is “clutter”. Then start decluttering the intangible things taking up your time too.

Look at the commitments, obligations, habits, patterns, etc. that are taking up your time but not adding enough value back into your life.

Start becoming more intentional with how you’re committing and using your time too. Especially if you feel like you never have enough time.

Cut the clutter from your schedule. Helping you can focus on using your time for what is most important to you as much as possible!

3. You’re frustrated with the amount of work necessary to maintain your home

It’s amazing how much of the frustration with household tasks is the result of too much stuff. Too much stuff making cleaning and maintaining your home more difficult than it needs to be.

Start by identifying what exactly is making you feel frustrated or overwhelmed. Is it the toys? The dishes? The laundry? Constantly picking up and feeling like your home is still always a mess?

Once you’ve identified the problem, start looking for ways you can simplify or make the task easier and less frustrating.

For example, if you’re tired of constantly picking up, reduce the amount of stuff you have that will need to be picked up each day.

If it feels like the toys are taking over, simplify and declutter the toys so clean up feels manageable for you and/or your kids.

If you’re overwhelmed with mountains of laundry, simplify everyone’s wardrobe so you have fewer extras ending up in the laundry baskets each day. Then brainstorm ideas for a new laundry routine to stay on top of laundry and help it feel more manageable.

If something is not working for you in your home, you don’t have to just live with it! Identify the problem and then brainstorm solutions to make it less of a problem.

And, spoiler alert, simplifying is a great way to address a lot of the frustrations when it comes to maintaining your home!

4. You’re stressed about finances

Decluttering and simplifying are great ways to help you become more intentional with your money. And be a more mindful consumer.

Once you declutter and see the benefits of simplifying your home, you’ll likely be motivated to buy less. Simply so you can keep your home simplified and clutter-free. And when you buy less, you have an opportunity to save money, pay off debt and be more intentional about how you use your money.

When you clear the clutter, you’re also able to more easily keep track of what you have and find things when you need them. You’ll save money when you don’t end up buying duplicate items or replacements for things you can’t find when you need them!

Simplifying helps you need or want to buy less so you can be more intentional about where your money goes. And helps you feel more in control of your finances, reducing financial stress.

5. You have a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear

Too much of anything can feel overwhelming. When you have too many clothes it can be stressful, time-consuming and overwhelming to decide what to wear. Especially if you have to sort through things you don’t love, don’t fit, don’t work for you, etc. each day to find something to wear!

But when you simplify your wardrobe and only keep what you love wearing, feel good in and look good in, getting dressed and deciding what to wear becomes a lot easier, less stressful and less frustrating.

Clear the clutter and the things you never choose to wear (or don’t feel good in if you do wear them) so you always feel like you have something to wear. And make deciding what to wear easy, and even fun!

6. Your home feels too small

If you’re feeling like you don’t have enough space or need a bigger home, it’s worth questioning if your house is really too small. Or if you just have too much stuff!

Before going through the expense and stress of moving to a bigger home, trying simplifying!

When you have less stuff, you don’t need as much space. You might even realize you have enough space in your current home when you get rid of the clutter. Only keeping what you use, need and love.

This is especially true when it comes to storage space. If you feel like you don’t have enough storage space, try having less stuff to store! Be ruthless and stop holding onto things “just in case” or for “someday”.

Remember your home is a place to live in. Not a place to store “stuff”!

Clear the clutter and simplify to see if your current space is already enough before deciding you need a bigger home.

7. You wish you had more freedom to explore your passions

Do you wish you had more time, energy or money to spend on activities, hobbies, adventures, etc. you love? Start looking for ways to simplify other areas of your life to free up the time, energy and even money you’d need!

If you spend less time cleaning and taking care of your stuff, you could have more time for a hobby or activity you love.

If you spend less time and money shopping for and buying “stuff”, you could have more time and money to do the things you enjoy.

Or if you get intentional with how you spend your time, spending less time doing things you feel obligated to do or like you “should” do, you could have more time for doing things you love.

First decide what you love doing, what you value most and what is most important to you. Then make changes, choices and adjustments so you can prioritize those things!

8. You wish you had more time to spend with the people you love

This is very similar to what you learned above.

Start by deciding what is important to you and who you want to prioritize having more time for. Then look for ways to shift, adjust and simplify what is currently taking up your time. All so you can have more time for the people you love.

For example, I found our weekday evenings always felt rushed and busy. It felt like there wasn’t enough time to spend together enjoying those hours. I started by looking for ways I could simplify our evenings. And realized I could simplify our meals so I spent less time cooking and cleaning up.

I started prepping as much as I could ahead of time and cooking simpler meals in general. I also make sure I clean as I cook, so I spend less time cleaning up after the meal is done. Small changes simplified our evenings and gave me more time to spend with my family.

Or maybe you find too much of your time is sucked up cleaning the house on the weekends. And wish you had more time for adventures with your family instead.

Start looking for ways to simplify so you can spend less time cleaning and more time with your family. Maybe try simplifying your décor so dusting and vacuuming are quicker and easier, for example. Or maybe simplifying the amount of stuff you own will mean you spend less time picking it all up on the weekends.

With a little problem solving and creativity, there are many ways to simplify parts of your day and create more time for the people you love.

Get clear on your priorities first. Identify who you want more time for and when you want to have more time with them. Then find ways to simplify other parts of your day to make it happen and keep those priorities prioritized!

9. You want more room for joy in your life

Simplifying isn’t just about getting tasks done in less time, or finding ways to save money.

Ultimately, it’s about spending less time on what is less important and giving yourself more time and space for what is important. Giving yourself the opportunity to create a life that feels good to you. And keeps you aligned with your values and focused on what matters most to you.

And the wonderful thing about simplifying and creating more time and space in your days is it also gives you the opportunity to slow down, be more present and find more joy in your days.

In fact, one of the most unexpected, but wonderful, side effects of simplifying is how creating more time and space in my home and my days led to so much more joy, ease and contentment.

Simplifying helps you identify and remove unnecessary stress, helps free up time and energy, and gives you more opportunities to enjoy your days rather than just “get through” them.

Simplifying not only allows you to live lighter. It also creates the capacity and space in your days to enjoy your life more. Giving you the opportunity to find more joy in the wonderfully, simple delights that are always there waiting for you. You just have to slow down, get rid of the clutter and distractions and give yourself the time to notice and appreciate them!

Why simplify?

I hope today’s post shows you that not only will simplifying help keep your home tidier and easier to manage. But it will also benefit your life in so many other wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, ways as well!

Simplifying gives you the opportunity to live intentionally. Create a life that feels good, supports you and lets you use your time, space, money and attention for what matters most to you!

What’s your favourite reason to simplify? Is it something on this list or something else? I’d love to hear your answer to the question “why simplify?”. Leave a comment and let me know!