121 Minimalist Quotes That Will Inspire You to Live with Less

A careful selection of the most beautiful minimalist quotes to inspire you.

Minimalism is powerful. It can help us find true joy and contentment in life. Sometimes though, we get lost and need a reminder of why we’re doing this. Why we’re choosing to live with less? That’s why I wanted to share some of the most powerful, minimalist quotes with you today.

Save your favourite ones and refer back to them when you need a bit of inspiration.

The power of minimalist quotes

It doesn’t matter where you are in your journey. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been living a minimalist lifestyle for years, we all need a bit of inspiration from time to time.

So wherever you are on your journey, these minimalist quotes will inspire you to keep going. To keep decluttering, simplifying, and living with less.

And eventually, you’ll find joy, contentment, and freedom on the other side.

121 Minimalist Quotes

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

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

3) “The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”Marie Kondo.

4) “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” – Lao Tzu.

5) “Have nothing in your homes that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris.

6) “The happiest people do not necessarily have the best things. They simply appreciate the things they have.” – Warren Buffett.

7) “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”Steve Jobs.

8) “It’s not always that we need to do more but rather that we need to focus on less.”Nathan W. Morris.

9) “Love people, use things. The opposite doesn’t work.” – Joshua Fields Millburn.

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

11) “Having more and more won’t solve the problem, and happiness does not lie in possessions, or even relationships: The answer lies within ourselves. If we can’t find peace and happiness there, it’s not going to come from the outside.”Tenzin Palmo.

12) “A person with no expectations is a pure minimalist.”Thomas Davis.

13) “If a little is not enough for you, nothing is.”Epicurus.

14) “Addition by subtraction.”Joshua Fields Millburn.

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

16) “One can furnish a room very luxuriously by taking out furniture rather than putting it in.”Francis Jourdain.

17) “Living with only the bare essentials has not only provided superficial benefits such as the pleasure of a tidy room or the simple ease of cleaning, it has also led to a more fundamental shift. It’s given me a chance to think about what it really means to be happy.”Fumio Sasaki.

18) “I’m a minimalist. I don’t really need much to enjoy a good holiday – just my family and the bare essentials.”Jean Reno.

19) “Minimalism is just the beginning. It’s a tool. Once you’ve gone ahead and minimized, it’s time to find out what those important things are.”Fumio Sasaki.

20) “With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures, and some books, I live without envy.”Lope de Vega.

21) “Declutter your mind, your heart, your home. Let go of the heaviness that is weighing you down. Make your life simple, but significant.”Maria Defillo.

22) “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”Marcus Aurelius.

23) “When we live minimally, we live more mindfully.”Francine Jay.

24) “The people who are rebelling meaningfully don’t buy a lot of stuff.”David Foster Wallace.

25) “Holding on to things from the past is the same as clinging to an image of yourself in the past. If you’re the least bit interested in changing anything about yourself, I suggest you be brave and start letting things go.”Fumio Sasaki.

26) “The best way to give yourself a raise is to spend less money.”Joshua Fields Millburn.

27) “Want to know how to make yourself instantly unhappy? Compare yourself with someone else.”Fumio Sasaki.

28) “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”Will Rogers

29) “Owning less is better than organizing more.”  – Joshua Becker.

30) “Reduce what you have. Decrease what you want.”Jonathan Star.

31) “The more we gave up, the more we gained.”Courtney Ellis.

32) “Minimalism means not trying to improve perfection.”Bryant McGill.

33) “External clutter is internal clutter on display.” – Katy Wells.

34) “Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires.” – Lao Tzu.

35) “To understand the limitation of things, desire them.”Lao Tzu.

36) “I would rather have extra space and extra time than extra stuff”Francine Jay.

37) “Don’t just declutter, de-own.”Joshua Becker.

38) “Collect memories, not things. Fill-up dreams, not pockets.”Akash Lakhotia.

39) “It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.” – Henry Ward Beecher.

40) “By letting go it all gets done.” – Lao-Tzu.

41) “You buy stuff with your time, not just your money.”Allie Casazza.

42) “Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.”Barbara Hemphill.

43) “The more we simplify our material needs, the more we are free to think of other things.”Eleanor Roosevelt.

44) “If you ask me what minimalism is really about, I would say that it’s the altering of values – enter the small doors of minimalism and come out on the other side with big ideas.”Fumio Sasaki.

45) “He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.”Swedish proverb.

46) “In a society that has you counting money, pounds, calories, and steps, be a rebel and count your blessings instead.”Lisa Heckman.

47) “Inexpensive is not a good reason to buy something, & expensive is not a good reason to keep something.”Peter Walsh.

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

49) “I would rather own a little and see the world than own the world and see a little.” Alexander Sattler.

50) “Minimalism is a tool we use to live a meaningful life. There are no rules. Rather, minimalism is simply about stripping away the unnecessary things in your life so you can focus on what’s important”Joshua Fields Millburn.

51) “If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements.”Dalai Lama.

52) “Minimalism is about intentionality, not deprivation” – Nicholas Burroughs.

53) “We were never meant to live life accumulating stuff. We were meant to live simply enjoying the experiences of life, the people of life, and the journey of life – not the things of life”Joshua Becker.

54) “Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful”John Maeda.

55) “The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.”Steve Maraboli.

56) “Simplify your life. Don’t waste the years struggling for things that are unimportant. Don’t burden yourself with possessions. Keep your needs and wants simple and enjoy what you have. Don’t destroy your peace of mind by looking back, and worrying about the past. Live in the present. Simplify!” – Henry David Thoreau.

57) “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”Oprah Winfrey.

58) “We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without.”Immanuel Kant.

59) “We need much less than we think we need.” – Maya Angelou.

60) “Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.” – Socrates.

61) “I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.”John Stuart Mill.

62) “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.

63) “Having the least usually forces us to make the most of what we have.”Mokokoma Mokhonoana.

64) “Minimalism is an abundance of enough.” Torley.

65) “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.

66) “Only buy what you need. Think function not fashion” Harken Headers.

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

68) “Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements.”Dalai Lama.

69) “A minimalist by intent, I live a beautiful life with fewer things—simple, yet full.” – Laurie Buchanan.

70) “Have the courage to build your life around what is really most important to you.” – Joshua Becker.

71) “A simple life gives birth to more clarity, inner peace and meaningful relationships.” – Margo Vader.

72) “Many of those who have the most make only the least of what they have.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana.

73) “But no matter how rich you become, no matter how many things you own, the joy from all your things won’t be much different from how you feel now.” – Fumio Sasaki.

74) “We always think the grass is greener next door. But the grass itself doesn’t care. It’s the person who owns that grass who’s concerned about it”Fumio Sasaki.

75) “Clearing clutter—be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual—brings about ease and inspires a sense of peace, calm, and tranquillity.”Laurie Buchanan.

76) “Often removing is improving.”Freequill.

77) “The simple pleasures of life give us lasting satisfaction.” Avijeet Das.

78) “A big group of daily friends or a white painted house with bills and mirrors, are not a necessity to me—but an intelligent conversation while sharing another coffee, is.” – Charlotte Eriksson.

79) “Minimalism is about creating space to live simply and meaningfully; it’s about living intentionally.” – Laurie Buchanan.

80) “The simplest things are overlooked. And yet, it is the simplest things that are the most essential.” – Thomas Lloyd Qualls.

81) “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.

82) “The problem: we put more value on our stuff than on our space”Francine Jay.

83) “Our excessive possessions are not making us happy. Even worse, they are taking us away from the things that do. Once we let go of the things that don’t matter, we are free to pursue all the things that really do matter.” Joshua Becker.

84) “The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.” – Steve Maraboli.

85) “If you have clutter in your real life, your tangible life, then it really adds to the emotional clutter in your mind.”Giuliana Rancic.

86) “Useless and precious objects. Taking up space. Taking up time.” – Maira Kalman.

87) “Minimizing can be exhilarating. If you continue decluttering, you just might find a zest for life that you didn’t know existed under all that stuff!” – Lisa J. Shultz.

88) “For me, decluttering and downsizing has caused shifts in my thinking and my habits. I don’t have to declutter; I choose to declutter.”Lisa J. Shultz.

89) “All these things eventually turn on us; we become slaves to our belongings, forced to spend time and energy caring for them.” – Fumio Sasaki.

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

91) “Lead a simple life. First reduce your greeds. Then reduce your needs.” Ritu Ghatourey.

92) “To a minimalist, empty space can be the greatest of luxuries.”Michael Corthell.

93) “Our possessions are supposed to be our tools. They were used for such purposes during the Stone Age. As time went by, our world became plentiful and objects began to be used for another purpose: to enable us to affirm our own worth.” – Fumio Sasaki.

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

95) “A true minimalist likes to say the most with the least.”Michael Corthell.

96) “Learn to live with less so that you appreciate more.” – James Ryan.

97) “It’s one thing to have all that you need. It’s another thing to recognize that you have all you need.” – Toyin Omofoye.

98) “High-priced possessions are all too often used as makeup … to hide low self-esteem.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana.

99) “Don’t look at the person who has it all; look to the person who doesn’t need it all.” – Toyin Omofoye.

100) “The greatest wealth is to live content with little.” – Plato.

101) “Minimalism is saying all by saying nothing.”Will Advise.

102) “How much does he lack himself, he who must have many things?”Sen no Rikyū.

103) “To find doesn’t always require to search.” – Will Advise.

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

105) “The more things I threw away, the more I found”Don DeLillo.

106) “Clutter is the enemy of clarity.” – Julia Cameron.

107) “For a while, I was left with nothing on the physical plane. I had no relationships, no job, no home, no socially defined identity. I spent almost two years sitting on park benches in a state of the most intense joy.”Eckhart Tolle.

108) “The point is that minimalism is a tool to help you achieve freedom. Freedom from fear, freedom from worry, freedom from overwhelm, freedom from guilt, freedom from depression, freedom from enslavement. Freedom. Real freedom.” Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus.

109) “It’s 100% easier to increase your time and freedom by eliminating the dumb things you do every day than to try to be 100% more productive doing more dumb things.” – Richie Norton.

110) “Answer me this, if your TV wasn’t broken in the first place then why do you need a new one? If your clothes still fit and aren’t rags falling off you, why do you need more clothes? If your phone still does what it does, why do you need the newest brand out there? I could go on with these examples, but you get the gist. If it isn’t broken then why fix it?” Harken Headers.

111) “People sacrifice too much life to get more stuff.” James Wallman.

112) “If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more?” – Roy T. Bennett.

113) “Going back to a simpler life is not a step backward.” – Yvon Chouinard.

114) “Get rid of clutter and you may just find it was blocking the door you’ve been looking for.”Katrina Mayer.

115) “Some things cost way more when we keep them.” – Neeraj Agnihotri.

116) “Happiness happens not by avoiding pain, but by avoiding luxury – by avoiding materialistic obsession.”Abhijit Naskar.

117) “Clutter may rob us of the life we imagined or prevent us from creating a new vision for our future.” – Lisa J. Shultz.

118) “When you give your items away, don’t keep the excess of your pride.”Bremer Acosta.

119) “In my life, I’ve found that when I align my wants and my needs, less becomes more.”Laurie Buchanan.

120) “Today is the day you rid yourself of anything that distracts from your best life.” Joshua Becker.

121) “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” Henry David Thoreau.

And there you have it, 121 carefully selected minimalist quotes.

Highlights

You might have noticed or not but some people keep appearing again and again over these minimalist quotes. These people are usually the ones that live by these words and some of them even wrote books about it.

Let’s take a look at some of them in case you want to do some further research on them:

Joshua Fields Millburn

Joshua Fields Millburn is an American author, speaker, and podcaster who lives a minimalist lifestyle. He’s written multiple books on the topic including “Everything That Remains: A Minimalist Manifesto” and “Love people, use things”. He also has a popular podcast called “The Minimalists Podcast” where he discusses minimalism further.

Fumio Sasaki

Fumio Sasaki is a Japanese writer who’s written a book called “Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism”. In the book, he chronicles his journey of living with less and how it’s helped him find more joy in life. I find his book really relatable as a lot of his struggles with decluttering and living minimally are things I’ve struggled with too. Oh, and I love all of his quotes!

Joshua Becker

Joshua Becker is an American author and blogger who writes about simplifying and decluttering your life on his blog “Becoming Minimalist”. He’s written multiple books on the topic including “The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own”.

Marie Kondo

Marie Kondo is a Japanese author and organizing consultant who’s written a book called “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”. In the book, she talks about her famous KonMari Method which is a decluttering method that helps you get rid of anything that doesn’t “spark joy”. Oh, and you can find her decluttering series on Netflix!

Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu was a Chinese philosopher and writer who’s credited with writing the Tao Te Ching”, one of the most translated books in history after the Bible.

The minimalist library: Having books as a minimalist

Final Words

If you’re feeling stuck in life or just need a little push to declutter and simplify, I hope these minimalist quotes helped.

They’ve helped me a lot and I hope they can do the same for you.

My favorite one is by Fumio Sasaki, “If you ask me what minimalism is really about, I would say that it’s the altering of values – enter the small doors of minimalism and come out on the other side with big ideas.” It’s such a simple yet profound statement that really gets to the heart of what minimalism is all about.

How about you? Which one is your favorite minimalist quote?

Thank you for reading.

Have a great day!

Cheers,
Diana

Related: 35 Intentional Living Quotes to Make the Most out of Your Life

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