Real Life Minimalists: Jess

Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.

This week, I’m pleased to feature Jess, who tells us how minimalism has helped her find less stress and more meaning in life. Visit her blog to read more.

Jess writes:

At 28 I was a newlywed, living in my humbly beautiful home with my husband. I had checked all my boxes; I was working as an Accountant, had recently completed my CPA, just had our perfect wedding, an amazing honeymoon travelling through Europe and were surrounded by great friends and family, but something still felt like it was missing and I couldn’t understand why.

I no longer had planning a wedding or studying to distract me. There was time to think. I found myself wondering what was next? I had hoped these achievements would lead me to fulfillment and happiness. But instead found that I was stressed, overwhelmed and felt like I wasn’t living up to my potential. Most importantly, I wasn’t sure what my passions were anymore.

One day, struggling with an overcrowded drawer the stress of that seemingly unimportant situation got to me. I threw the drawers contents on the bed and started sorting through the pile. As I went through the stash of shorts I was amazed to see things I owned that I didn’t even know about. Some still with their tags attached.

After working through my drawer, I opened the next one and saw the same thing. I was overcome with a need to clear the clutter and was soon going through all of our home. I didn’t realise at the time, but all of these things were causing me stress and anxiety.

It felt amazing to get rid of the excess in our home and make space for the essential. Each day that went by I began to feel less and less stressed.

I was soon to come across the term Minimalism and understand the joy of less. I realised how much my stuff had been weighing me down and how I needed to value experiences more and find what my values were.

I was drawn to the idea of curating a more intentional life. Not just in terms of having less stuff, or only having things I loved around me, but to value my time more. To learn to say no to things that I didn’t enjoy. Set new boundaries for relationships in my life that were negative or draining. To worry less about how I fit in with those around me and just do what makes me happy.

Discovering Minimalism made everything come together and I knew I was on the right path. I loved the idea of investing in personal growth, contribution, experiences and relationships over chasing more money and acquiring more stuff – where you could say no to more money, responsibilities and stress that often came at the expense of your time with loved ones or freedom.

Minimalism has helped me to reduce wasteful spending so I can use my money for things that bring me joy, such as travel. Simplifying helped me pare back my crowded schedule so there was more downtime and less stress. It reinforced how much debt can weigh you down and inspired me to find ways to reach freedom from debt sooner. Over the space of two years I had donated, cleared and sold over half of our belongings and I don’t miss any of it.

In February of 2017, I started my blog Minimise With Me after seeing the benefits Minimalism brought to my life. I wanted to share those with others and help others reduce the hold that clutter and debt had on their happiness.

My minimalism journey has opened up my whole future to a new way of thinking. For the first time in a long time I have an insatiable desire to learn, grow and experience as much as I can. I want to encourage others to find their passion in life and the joy in each day and the benefits of less excess and more essential.

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{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or joining my email list.}