There are many people who use the words “minimalism” and “simplicity” interchangeably. In reality, they have two different meanings.
Minimalism is about removing as much as possible from your life to have a more fulfilling experience with those items you choose to keep.
Simplicity is about living with less complexity in order to focus on the things that are most important to us.
This blog post will explain how these two concepts differ and overlap so that you can decide how to integrate these two concepts into your lifestyle.
What Is the Minimalist Lifestyle?
Minimalism is a lifestyle that is focused on removing as much as possible from your life to have a more fulfilling experience with those items you choose to keep.
Most people who embrace this philosophy live in smaller homes and drive simpler cars than their counterparts, and have fewer items in their homes.
The minimalist lifestyle is often associated with Buddhism, which suggests that some things are just not needed in life. The idea behind this concept is that by removing these items from your life, you can focus on what matters most and have more freedom to do whatever you want with your time.
Minimalism applies to more than just things. It also applies to the amount of responsibility that we have.
Many minimalists choose to use a calendar system, which allows them to focus on what is important and know when they are free to do something different with their time. This can be freeing from stress as people often feel overwhelmed by all of the things they need or want to accomplish in a day.
We can also have minimal diets by focusing on certain foods that will nourish our bodies and not fill us up with unnecessary calories. We can also choose to reduce the variety in our diet and eat the same types of food each day.
The philosophy of minimalism focuses on what you find valuable in life. When we remove the clutter from our lives, we are able to get clear about what is important to us.
What Are the Benefits of Minimalism?
There are many benefits to minimalism that can lead to a more peaceful, balanced life. Here are some of the main effects minimalism may have on you:
Calmness & Reduced Stress
The first benefit is that it provides people with a sense of calmness and freedom from stress. This can be very beneficial for those who feel overwhelmed by so much in their life, including work responsibilities, personal relationships, family obligations, or even just the number of things they have on their schedule each day.
Minimalism can bring relief from this stress. It helps people understand what is most important to them so that they are able to focus on those things when it matters the most. This creates a sense of calmness in life because you have clear priorities regarding how you spend your time, energy, and financial means.
Increased Clarity & Focus
When we remove anything and everything superficial from our lives, only the essentials remain. This provides us with a clear understanding of what really has value in our lives.
We are then able to focus on a select few items, goals, and feelings that mean the most to us. Focus is incredibly important for those who want to achieve success with minimal setbacks.
Freedom from Guilt & Shame
When we have too many possessions, over-scheduled planners, and too many distractions in our lives, we tend to feel guilty and ashamed about not being able to do it all.
Minimalism can help break this cycle because you are only focusing on the essentials that matter most. You will be free from guilt or shame knowing that you have given your undivided attention to the things that truly deserve it.
Ability to Make Choices & Fulfill Dreams
Many people live their lives with regret because they didn’t do something that was important to them. This is often due to the fact that they were too busy or had other obligations in life, like work and family responsibilities, which prevented them from fulfilling this dream.
When you remove the distractions from your life, you are able to make choices more easily. You can choose how to spend your time and energy on things that matter most so that nothing gets in the way of making these dreams a reality.
Increased Freedom & Flexibility
One of the main benefits of minimalism is being free from clutter, which allows for increased flexibility. For example, you can travel the world much more easily if you have fewer physical items and commitments to other people.
You will also have freedom in your daily schedule since you won’t have to clean, maintain, or organize as many things. This will give you flexibility because you can do whatever you want whenever it is convenient for your schedule and preferences.
Financial Savings
Many people have found that minimalism has also helped them save money. They are able to prioritize their spending on the items, experiences, and goals that really matter most in life instead of wasting it all on excessive shopping sprees or expensive possessions.
This can help you achieve your financial dreams faster because you are more mindful of how much cash is flowing out and where it is going.
What Are Examples of Minimalism?
Minimalism can occur in all areas of our life. Here are some of the most common examples of how people do it:
Clothing
We can become minimalists with our clothing by only wearing the essentials and not wasting money on things we don’t need. This could mean owning less than 25 items of clothing that you wear regularly and that fit your body type and style preferences perfectly.
Technology & Social Media
It is important to declutter your life by removing any distractions that are preventing you from being more productive. This includes excessive internet browsing, social media feeds with too many mind-numbing updates and having the latest gadgets which all complicate our lives instead of simplifying them.
Food
A minimalistic approach to food involves eating healthily or simply making smarter choices while grocery shopping. For example, we can choose to eat less meat and only buy the essentials like fresh fruits and vegetables. We can also choose to eat the same things every day so that we don’t have to waste time thinking about what’s for dinner.
Home & Office
Removing clutter from our home or office is a common way that minimalism helps us declutter mentally as well. We should think of ways to reduce paper usage by going digital whenever possible; recycling, donating, or selling items that we don’t need; and choosing furniture with multiple functions.
What Does Simplicity Mean?
Simplicity is often confused with minimalism because they are both about removing distractions and focusing on the things that truly matter.
However, simplicity focuses more specifically on eliminating complications, confusion, and disorder.
Technically, a simple system such as a closet organizer can house tens or hundreds of objects. But if the system is too complicated, then it would be difficult for the user to find what they are looking for. This is an example of how simplicity can often require more effort than minimalism because we need to spend time getting organized and setting up the system first before it works properly.
Simplicity is about eliminating steps and making tasks as effortless as possible. This allows us to make smarter choices about what we really need and want in life instead of being overwhelmed by too many options or finding it difficult to focus.
Simplicity also helps us to clarify life and provide understandable instructions or requests to others. Even if we are doing a complicated task, we can break it down into smaller parts so that others can understand what we need them to do instead of feeling overwhelmed by the situation.
Why Is It Important to Live Simply?
There are many benefits to living simply. Many of them overlap with the benefits of minimalism but have slightly different meanings.
Here are some of the best benefits you’ll receive from living a simple life:
Clarity
Simplicity helps you to figure out what’s important in life and remove any distractions that are preventing you from achieving your goals. Unlike minimalism, this isn’t only achieved by removing items or practices from your life. It’s achieved by refining and simplifying your systems in these areas of your life.
This will help you feel more motivated, focused, and less overwhelmed. It can also allow you to have a clear mind so that you can come up with original ideas and solutions to your problems.
Purpose & Fulfillment
A simpler life allows you to easily see how everything fits together and the role each person or task plays in achieving a goal. This will enable you to feel fulfilled because you know that what you’re doing matters every day.
Easier Decision Making
Simplicity also helps us make better decisions because we aren’t bogged down by complicated choices. It’s easy to choose between two options when one is clearly superior and doesn’t require much thought or effort. This will help you feel more in control of your life instead of feeling paralyzed every time a decision needs to be made.
Deeper Understanding From Others
When we embrace a life of simplicity, we are communicating more clearly to others and learning more about ourselves. Others will better understand our needs and goals because we’re not overcomplicating them. We will also learn more about what matters to us by removing distractions from our lives so that we can focus on the things that truly matter.
Strengthen Relationships
Living simply will help you attract others who live with simplicity too because you both relate to having a clear and consistent outlook on life. This leads to relationships with fewer ups and downs and better intimacy because you’re both communicating honestly and plainly.
Easier Organization & Productivity
Most importantly, simplicity provides a much easier way to organize your life and work towards achieving goals. This will make it easy to take complicated systems and turn them into simple systems that anyone can use.
This will make it easy to be more productive because you’ll have a clear understanding of your tasks and how they fit together towards achieving a goal.
What Are Examples of Simplicity?
Almost anything in our life can be turned into a simpler process. Here are some examples of how this concept can be applied:
Making a To-Do List
Instead of taking a minimalist approach of slashing items off of the to-do list, you could take a simplistic approach and simply organize your to-do list better.
Adding deadline dates to each item on your to-do list and listing them out in this order is a great example of how we can simplify an otherwise complicated list of tasks. When we do this, we simply have to work our way down the list. No extra thought is required, such as “which item should I tackle first?”, so you’re free to just get it done.
Organizing Your Desk
Another example of simplicity is organizing your desk or workspace better so that you can easily access the things you need (like pens and paper) without having to dig through a bunch of distractions. This makes it easy for us to be more productive because we know where everything is and don’t have to waste time looking for things.
Turning Off The Phone
Simplicity can be applied to something as simple as turning off your phone more often. Instead of scrolling through Instagram for hours on end, you could get more work done or even read a book that will help you grow in some way.
Simplifying a Recipe
Have you ever struggled through a recipe with too many ingredients and preparatory steps? You can simplify this process! Some ways you could make a recipe easier is by purchasing pre-sliced vegetables, using pre-made sauces, and machines such as crock pots and instant pots that can help you cook ingredients faster or with less effort.
Writing Clear Bios
People often struggle with writing a good bio because it’s hard to condense their entire life story into one or two sentences. This is an example of adding too many unnecessary details and complicating something that could be simplified down with some thought.
When we simplify our bios, we can list out the things that matter most about us such as what we do for work, what we’re most passionate about, and how people can get in contact with us. This makes it easy for other people to learn more about you because they may only have a few minutes to find out who you are.
How To Add Minimalism and Simplicity To Your Life
Minimalism and simplicity can be applied to just about anything in your life. Minimalism can help you to let go of objects, ideas, and routines that don’t bring you joy. Simplicity can help you to develop more straightforward systems so that you don’t have to think so much about what to do next.
The best way to start adding these practices into your life is by making small changes to your environment. When we start with small changes, it’s easier to get used to making these new practices a part of your normal routine.
You could do something like let go of one item in your house every day or week. You could also spend a couple of hours each weekend organizing an area of your house so that there is a simpler workflow.
As you start to make these changes, it will have a snowball effect and you’ll be eager to continue simplifying your life. This is a better idea than trying to radically change or get rid of everything in your life at once, which could lead to burnout, stress, and even a sense of loss.
Final Thoughts
Minimalism and simplicity are important concepts that guide us towards lives of meaning, order, and harmony. Try not to compare your personal practice to what others are doing because everyone’s journey is different.
You’ll know you’re doing it right when you feel calmer, more focused, and less overwhelmed by life. These are the signs that minimalism and simplicity are working for you!