55 Minimalism Quotes That Perfectly Illustrate Less is More

March 23, 2021
Jen Smith
Minimalism

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I needed these minimalism quotes a lot today and I’m sure there are others out there struggling who need a reminder about why less is more and the freedom that comes once you burrow out from beneath your stuff.

As I sit here and look at the closet that I’ve been meaning to clean out for over a week, I need some motivation to remind me why this minimalism thing is so important.

55 Minimalism Quotes

So here are 55 quotes on minimalism that inspired me and I hope they’ll do the same for you.

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

“Minimalism is asking why before you buy.”
― Francine Jay

Stop buying things you don’t need or won’t use. We waste so much money buying things in excess.

“I’ve learned that minimalism is not about what you own, it’s about why you own it.”
― Brian Gardner

I try to remember Brian Gardner’s quotes when I’m purging. Sometimes I want to keep something just to know or say I have it. But its usefulness is far more important.

“Truthfully, though, most organizing is nothing more than well-planned hoarding.”
― Joshua Fields Millburn

“So in fact, narrowing down our choices means less overwhelm, and more creativity.”
― Courtney Carver

Have you ever cleaned your child’s room only to find they actually play with their toys more? They are overwhelmed by how many toys they have and they only really play with a handful of them.

“The killer question: “If I didn’t already own this, how much would I spend to buy it?”
― Greg McKeown

When you get a lot of stuff for free or cheap like we do, this question can get convoluted. I try to only keep the items that are “priceless” to me.

“More was never the answer. The answer, it turned out, was always less.”
― Cait Flanders

“But when we really delve into the reasons for why we can’t let something go, there are only two: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.”
― Marie Kondo

“When given too many choices, people tend to worry that there’s something better out there than what they decided on.”
― Fumio Sasaki

Analysis paralysis is such a real thing! The fewer clothes I have, the more variety I wear. The less I have in the pantry, the more I cook. The shorter my to-do list, the more I get done.

“It is amazing, and also a little strange, how many things we accumulate in a lifetime.”
― Margareta Magnusson

“Our Memories are not in our things. Our memories are in us.”
― The Minimalists

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
— Leonardo da Vinci

“It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly.”
— Bertrand Russell

Our preoccupation with things keeps us from experiencing freedom! Whether we live trapped amongst piles, working too hard to pay for all of it, or coveting the stuff our friends have (super guilty) it all keeps us from our true freedom.

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”
— Henry David Thoreau

“Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit.”
— Hosea Ballou

“If one had taken what is necessary to cover one’s needs and had left the rest to those who are in need, no one would be rich, no one would be poor, no one would be in need.”
— Saint Basil

“Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.”
— Epicurus

I don’t think I even know what enough is. We’ve spent so long surrounded by so much and people who desire more and more that I don’t most people know what enough is.

“Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.”
— Edwin Way Teale

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

We actually appreciate our things more when we have less of them. We don’t really even know what we have until we declutter. How many times have you decluttered to find things you forgot you had?

“It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.”
— Amelia Barr

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

I think that’s the foundation of financial independence. The less you desire, the less you need, and the more room you have to design your own life.

“The intention of voluntary simplicity is not to dogmatically live with less. It’s a more demanding intention of living with balance. This is a middle way that moves between the extremes of poverty and indulgence.”
— Duane Elgin

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.”
— E.F. Schumacher

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.”
— Edwin Way Teale

We talk so much about cluttered homes but there’s as much to be said about cluttered lives. When we decrease our wants we decrease spending, we decrease the need to make money, we open up our schedules, and we free ourselves of many unwanted commitments.

“We go on multiplying our conveniences only to multiply our cares. We increase our possessions only to the enlargement of our anxieties.”
— Anna C. Brackett

“You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.”
— Charles Spurgeon

“Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world; it is the last limit experience and the last effort of genius.”
— George Sand

What a beautiful quote. Simplicity is genius.

“My riches consist, not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.”
— Joseph Brotherton

“Live simply so that others may simply live.”
— Elizabeth Ann Seton

“To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance.”
— Buddha

“Minimalism is about an intentional search for happiness.”
— Melissa Camara Wilkins

Yes! I love this quote. Having things doesn’t equal happiness.

“Maybe a life without is better than a life with.”
— Melissa Camara Wilkins

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
— Leonardo da Vinci

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

“I make myself rich by making my wants few.”
—Henry David Thoreau

“Minimalism is living with what you need and what you love. That’s it..”
—Unknown

“My riches consist, not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants..”
—Joesph Brotherton

“Minimalism is the constant art of editing your life.”
—Danny Dover

I love this! You can always edit things to live life to the fullest and not be tied down to things.

“Minimalism is built around the idea that there’s nothing that you’re lacking.”
—Fumio Sasaki

“Collect moments not things.”
—Paulo Coelho

“Minimalism is not a lack of something. It’s simply the perfect amount of something.”
—Nicholas Burroughs

I love this quote. We have way too many things. We don’t need 3 pizza cutters when we only eat pizza once a month. It’s not about getting rid of everything. It’s about keeping only what you actually use (the perfect amount).

“Minimalism is about intentionality, not deprivation.”
—Nicholas Burroughs

I love this quote by Nicholas Burroughs. So many times people misconstrue minimalism as doing without, but that’s not the case. It’s editing your life so you can truly enjoy your things. You have things, not the other way around.

“Buy less, choose well, make it last .”
—Vivienne Westwood

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

I love this quote by Joshua Becker. I used to spend soooo long cleaning my house before I became a minimalist. When you have tons of things, you spend so much time cleaning. When you have a minimalist home, you can relax more. There are less things to cause clutter which can make you feel like your house needs to be cleaned.

“Minimalism isn’t about removing the things you love. It’s about removing the things that distract you from the things you love .”
—Joshua Becker

“Minimalism is about keeping what matters to you .”
—A. Damoah

We don’t have to keep anything we don’t want to. We don’t have to keep momentos forever if we don’t want. We don’t need to keep every single thing our child makes for the rest of our life.

We have the freedom to get rid of anything we want without feeling obligated to keep it from society or a family member.

“For the longest time, I thought I needed to be more organized. Now I know I just need less stuff .”
—Unknown

I love this quote so much! So many people spend so much time cleaning and keeping up with things they don’t even use. You don’t need to take a trip to the Container Store.

You need to declutter and get rid of things you don’t need. If you never drink coffee, throw out the coffee mugs. If you never entertain, you don’t need 10 serving platters.

“Minimalism. Because the best things in life is not things.”
—Unknown

“Wanting less is a far better blessing than having more.”
—Mary Ellen Edmunds

“Minimalism is not about subtraction for the sake of subtraction. Minimalism is subtraction for the sake of focus.”
—Unknown

When you have less things, the less things are vying for your attention. You are able to focus on the things that really matter.

“The less you own, the less owns you.”
—Unknown

“The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. ”
—Elise Boulding

“Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit.”
—Hosea Ballou

Happiness doesn’t equal things. We aren’t going to be happier by keeping all the things.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
— Confucious

Minimalism is one of the best journeys I’ve been on in my life. When you practice minimalism, you can really truly enjoy life to the fullest without being tied down to your things.

When you have a lot of things you don’t use, it is just more things you have to clean and more money wasted on things you don’t use.

I hope you enjoyed the minimalism quotes and best wishes in your journey!

If you want more resources on minimalism, don’t forget to check out my other blog posts.

Jen Smith

Jen Smith is a personal finance expert, founder of Modern Frugality and co-host of the Frugal Friends Podcast. Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Lifehacker, Money Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Business Insider, and more. She’s passionate about helping people gain control of their spending.

This Post Has 2 Comments

Jaime Ripka says:

January 10, 2019 at 2:25 am

These quotes are fabulous and so beautiful!
1. Jen Smith says:
  
  January 10, 2019 at 8:39 am
  
  Thank you Jaime!