My dad is the KING of cliche quotes.

Some of his favorites include:

“Money doesn’t fall from trees”

“You have not because you ask not”

“Boring is as boring does”

and

“You’ll never have time if you don’t make time”

I can’t stand it. Often because it is not what I want to hear, but mostly because he’s right.

The more time I spend enjoying my minimal lifestyle, I realize just how right he is about time.

My dad doesn’t consider himself a minimalist, but he will tell you that his choice of lifestyle automatically makes him one. He is what he likes to call “frugal”. You may often refer to someone like him as “cheap”.

8 months ago, before I really understood minimalism, I may have agreed with him. What I’ve come to learn is that minimalism isn’t about frugality or scarcity. It’s about abundance. Minimalism is all about more of everything. One thing you’ll get more of is time. You get more time for your hobbies, more time with loved ones, more time to rest, more time to reflect, and more time to enjoy your life.

Prior to completing my minimalist challenge months ago, I could never seem to find the time to go to the gym, meal prep, clean my house, get adequate sleep or work on my blog. It wasn’t because I didn’t have money or the desire, I just had too much clutter.

Physical clutter in my kitchen deterred me from preparing meals. Lack of prepared meals meant more time in drive thru lanes. Terrible eating habits led to weight gain. Weight gain led to lower self-esteem and depression – what I would consider emotional clutter. Emotional clutter led to unhealthy habits – more time watching TV, more time on social media, and more time finding unproductive ways to escape the life that I had created.

Clutter took my time and my well-being.

What is clutter doing to you?