Our mission here at Optimal Living Daily is to help you optimize your life in numerous ways. Minimalism can be a big part of your personal growth, and these quotes will show you why.
If you scoff at the notion of how owning fewer things could be better, we hope these quotes offer you a different perspective.
And if you're worried about whether you can commit to minimalism, you'll find that it's better to take a little bit of action than none at all!
Here are ten minimalism quotes we've gathered from former and current episodes, which have featured minimalism experts like Joshua Becker, The Minimalists, and Courtney Carver.
Minimalism Quotes
1. The Minimalists on “A Simple Life”
“We discovered a new life—a simple life.”
– The Minimalists / Episode 1354
Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus of the Minimalists blog about how you can live meaningfully with less stuff.
This quote is all about how embracing minimalism can make a tremendous and positive impact on your life. A simple life frees you up to truly focus on what brings you joy and what you'd like your life to be about.
2. Joshua Becker on “Creative Ways to Declutter Your Home”
“Start with 5 minutes at a time.”
– Joshua Becker / Episode 115
Joshua Becker shares about the ups and downs of living a minimalist lifestyle. His stories have inspired millions around the globe.
If you feel overwhelmed with getting started with minimalism, or feel a sense of dread from looking at the piles of clutter in your home, starting with five minutes at a time will go a long way. Think of it this way: it could have been five minutes accumulating more items which would make your surroundings even messier. Do a little bit every day and your efforts will begin to pay off soon enough.
3. Leo Babauta on “Living Lean”
“Leanness leads to greater freedom, flexibility, lightness, and contentment.”
– Leo Babauta / Episode 1530
Leo Babauta created Zen Habits, to inspire others to clear the clutter in their lives in order to find happiness and spend time on things we value.
Minimalism is a way of life that you can incorporate into any area, from your weight and physical health to your personal finances or the way you do business. Leanness brings about a reduction in stress, and who needs any more stress?
Living lean will help you discover how you can still feel fulfilled from experiences instead of chasing possessions that cost you a lot of time, space, and money.
4. Courtney Carver on “Simplifying Your Life”
“Simplicity helps you define what happiness means in your life.”
– Courtney Carver / Episode 1732
Courtney Carver's life changed after a scary MS diagnosis. She learned to put her health first and slow down after decades of debt and discontentment.
This quote reminds you that minimalism is not simply about decluttering and creating empty space. It creates space for you to define life on your terms, and on what brings you happiness. This includes hobbies.
Just remember to keep things in moderation.
For example, there's nothing wrong with loving to play video games, but it becomes unhealthy when you spend an excessive amount of time on it at the expense of your health, work and relationships. And you don't have to give away your entire home library of books that you enjoy returning to and learning from over time.
Minimalism should give you a sense of space and freedom to focus on the things that make you happy — it shouldn't make you miserable.
5. Jennifer on “Mindful Decluttering”
“Focusing on your vision and using it to define boundaries can help you make better choices.”
– Jennifer / Episode 1690
Jennifer is a reformed shopaholic turned minimalist.
She understands the emotional struggle you go through when you're trying to decide what to remove from your living space. When you reflect before your start to declutter, the whole process can be less stressful. This can be applied to other areas of your life.
For example, if you're decluttering your schedule, think about what you need to do instead of haphazardly trying to juggle too many activities. Define your priorities and have a clear vision of what you'd like to create beforehand.
6. Anthony Ongaro on “Why Minimalism is Essential”
“It starts with removing distractions with minimalism to make space for more of what you want.”
– Anthony Ongaro / Episode 1662
Anthony Ongaro broke the twitch after many years of “twitch” impulse spending online and elsewhere. His website is about reducing distractions.
Distractions are all around us, especially when we have easy and constant access to our phones and the internet. It's not conducive to your mind and life if you want to focus on achieving your goals. Reducing distractions also helps you to build discipline to incorporate new habits into your life on a daily basis.
7. Zoe Kim on “Simple Living with Kids”
“Prioritize experiences over things.”
– Zoe Kim / Episode 724
Zoe Kim helps families to simplify their homes and lives to bring in more joy and purpose.
You can buy more stuff when you have more money, but it doesn't necessarily buy happiness. The things we remember the most are things that moved us emotionally, whether it was a great book or film that we watched, or time spent with loved ones. Those will nourish your spirit a lot more than the accumulation of things that give you short-term gratification.
8. Kalen Bruce on “How to Declutter”
“Decluttering shouldn’t lead to stress, because the point of it is to reduce stress.”
– Kalen Bruce / Episode 1429
Kalen Bruce created his website to help the next generation gain a solid foundation of personal finance.
In this post, he outlines how to declutter without raising your anxiety levels. There are many ways you can declutter, and you choose the pace at which you want to go and what you want to keep because it holds a sense of meaning or security to you.
9. James Altucher on “Highly Effective Minimalist Habits”
“A life filled with everything leaves room for nothing.”
– James Altucher / Episode 1536
James Altucher is a bestselling author and podcaster.
In this post, James reflects upon the effective habits of minimalists and how to savor the long-lasting sense of freedom that a minimalist lifestyle offers. The beauty of the space that minimalism creates is the possibilities it offers for you to design the type of life you want to live.
10. Ali Cornish on “Digital Minimalism”
“Too much” can be mentally and physically damaging.
– Ali Cornish / Episode 1529
Ali Cornish created Everthrive to respond to the increasing materialism of our society today.
In this insightful post on digital minimalism, Ali explains how having too much of something can really end up being a bad thing.
You might want to ease up on bingeing on TV marathons or being plugged into the news 24/7 to give your mind a break!
Minimalism Quotes: Conclusion
We hope these minimalism quotes encourage you to find contentment through living with less.
Learn more about a minimalist approach in our Ultimate Guide to Minimalism.
You can also check out our guides page or try our free email course on getting started with minimalism with easy action steps you can follow.
