What are the downsides of simple living?
Living a simple lifestyle seems ideal and for the most part, is the best way to live in my opinion. However, there are some downsides to this lifestyle that you may find on your simple living journey.
The 5 common downsides of simple living that you’ll find are:
- Your family may not be on board
- Your minimalist wardrobe might get boring
- You may need to do laundry more often
- You may get judged for your minimalist lifestyle
- You may occasionally feel like you don’t have ‘enough’
In this post, we’ll cover some common downsides of a simple lifestyle and why these downsides may occur when living this way.
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Table of Contents
Are There Downsides to Simple Living?
For the most part, there are only benefits when it comes to simple living.
The downsides are only minor and I would highly recommend anyone give simple living a try.
Pros of Simple Living
The pros of simple living largely outweigh the cons, but these downsides may not even be that much of a problem depending on the person…
Some of the pros include:
- Cleaner living space
- More free time
- Less clutter
- Less anxiety and stress
Here Are the 5 Common Downsides of Simple Living:
1. Your Family Might Not Be on Board
Your significant other may not embrace minimalism and may have more clutter that burdens your living space.
This can be tricky if you intend to have less stuff in your house and want to declutter and they haven’t bought in. Or worse they keep buying more unnecessary things that add more clutter to your living space.
This is also evident with children because your children obviously will have more stuff and add to the total amount of items in your home.
This includes:
- Toys
- Books
- Diapers
- School supplies
The tough part with children is the fact that its hard to not accumulate things as they grow up due to:
- Birthday Gifts
- New clothes
- Christmas presents
- Gifts from family
- Random toys they want
The items can pile up!
So one major downside is the fact that if you’re the only one in the household trying to live a simple lifestyle, it may seem like you’re the only one on your team pulling the rope and everyone else is pulling in the opposite direction.
2. Your Minimalist Wardrobe Might Get Boring
You may get tired of the same old clothes week in and week out and want some more variety.
You may be tempted to buy more clothing pieces that you don’t need but want because you feel bored with your current style.
Don’t worry this may be a natural feeling and may subside. Nonetheless, it’s something that might cross your mind especially if you see some clothing that catches your eye online or in a store.
Tips to stick to a minimalist wardrobe when you feel the need for more:
- Tip 1:Always replace clothing rather than adding new clothes constantly (if you add something to your wardrobe, look to get rid of another piece)
- Tip 2:Keep a certain limit to the number of clothing pieces in your wardrobe (this doesn’t need to be a set number, but keep a comfortable limit of clothes for your minimalist wardrobe and try to stay within that range.
- Tip 3:Make sure the clothes that you add can mix and match with the current clothes that you have. You don’t need to have a capsule wardrobe, but it’s best that the majority of your clothes can mix and match.
All in all, if you find yourself getting bored with your wardrobe, it’s okay to add and subtract, but if you want to keep a minimalist wardrobe or a capsule wardrobe, you’ll want to be disciplined and be picky when it comes to auditing your wardrobe and adding new pieces.
3. You May Need to Do Laundry More Often
When you have a capsule wardrobe or a typical minimalist wardrobe, you’ll find that with fewer clothes, comes more frequent laundry.
But the positive thing is less laundry in general.
This could cost more money running the laundry more often, however.
Even though this may seem bad, it does have an upside because laundry can be a serious pain in the but when you have tons of things to wash.
I take about two loads to wash my clothes nowadays and I find it to be very easy.
And I’d much rather have an easy and faster time washing clothes than need to spend all day washing clothes and cutting into my free time.
So yes, with fewer clothes you may be doing laundry weekly, but is that as bad as doing laundry monthly, but doing tons of it loll?
I’ll let you decide because everyone has different preferences. For some, that might be perfectly fine and that’s okay! 🙂
4. You May Get Judged For Your Minimalist Lifestyle
Friends and family may not understand why you live a minimalist lifestyle when they have all the new stuff and have their homes filled with stuff they barely use.
They may think that you’re odd for not having more stuff for whatever reason.
This may not be too common, however, if you fall under the extreme minimalist category, you may get some serious comments or concerns haha.
Even if you’re not judged negatively, because you’re doing something that’s not the status quo, people will point out things and make comments about the way your living space looks.
These comments could even range from both sides of the spectrum:
Judgment 1:Wow your house is empty! You should add some more decorations or fill it up a little. I don’t know how you live in such a bare living space.
Judgment 2:Wow you call that minimalist!? You still have wayyy too much stuff to call yourself minimalist.
Either way, the extra attention, and comments could be very annoying even if it’s from friends and family who don’t understand.
5. You May Occasionally Feel Like You Don’t Have Enough
Occasionally you may feel the urge to shop or get some stuff just to “fill up” the space. This can be a very common urge no matter how minimalist you may be.
Sometimes you may just like to switch things up and give things like your living room a new look.
I know for myself, I don’t know why but I always love switching up living room setups and trying out different variations with the couch in a new position or the tv in a different location.
This urge for change can manifest in wanting to decorate a certain way and wanting to buy more stuff for the house.
This isn’t too much of a problem as long as you don’t go overboard.
But adding some decorations that you enjoy is going to kill your minimalist living space.
I would say prioritize comfort and enjoyment when it comes to your living space rather than thinking if the space is minimal enough.
Remember your version of minimalism is special to you and you may want more things and maybe less in certain areas of your house in general.
The only downside to feeling the urge to want to add more to your living space is when this stuff doesn’t add any value or isn’t something your family even needs.
You may feel like you want stuff, but sometimes this stuff isn’t stuff you need but something you may temporarily find appealing and useful.
Shopping Tip:Wait at least a week before pulling the trigger on any decorations or home improvement items online.Always assess if it’s something that you need and will use or have a function for. Otherwise, if you aren’t careful you’ll end up with loads of clutter that ends up ultimately collecting dust in some storage area in your house (garage or basem*nt).
Final Thoughts | 5 Downsides Of Simple Living
Let us know if this was helpful or if there was anything we may have missed!
And leave a comment with any extra thoughts about possible downsides of minimalist or simple living.
I know I can’t think of too many, but there could be more haha!
More Related Posts:
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- 4 Major Signs You Should Consider a Minimalist Lifestyle
- Frugal Minimalism: 6 Powerful Ways Simple Living Can Save You Money
- Minimalism Tips: 7 Easy Reminders For Simple Living
- What Is The Hardest Part About Maintaining A Minimalist Lifestyle? (4 Easy Tips)
