311: 8 Things I Bought That Actually Simplified My Life

Maximized Minimalist Podcast

Katy Wells

Self-improvement, Mental Health, Education, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 936 Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Wait… buying things in a minimalist lifestyle?
Yep. We're going there.

If you've ever felt guilty for buying something new—even something that actually made your life easier—this episode is for you.

Because decluttering isn't about never buying again.
It's about buying smarter. More intentionally. In ways that support your current season (not clutter your home or conscience).

In this honest and practical episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on 8 simple purchases I've made over the years that have truly helped me streamline routines, reduce friction, and support my peace.

From laundry hacks that keep my boys' floors clear 🙌 to the one kitchen item that makes every morning feel just a little more joyful—these aren't "influencer" recommendations. They're real-life, tried-and-true tools that help a home work.

💡 What You'll Walk Away With:

The reframe you need if you feel guilty about buying (even useful!) things
My go-to habit-supporting tools for smoother mornings, less nagging, and fewer meltdowns
Why spending money can align with minimalist values (and how to tell if it actually will)
The underrated power of functional upgrades—and how to spot them in your own routines

🛍️ Mentioned in This Episode:

Hanging laundry hampers for kids' rooms
A countertop espresso machine that sparks joy ☕
Matching garage bins that finally ended bin Jenga
Reusable plastic sleeves + dry erase markers for family routines
Visual timers for time-blind kiddos (and mamas)
Our beloved digital photo frame
My favorite way to "read" more books without the guilt stack → Audible

✨ Let This Be Your Permission Slip:

Buying less is a powerful tool.
But buying better? That's how you build a home that serves your life.

So if you've been eyeing something that would actually make your days flow easier—this is your nudge.
Don't overthink it. Just press play.

🧡 Loved this episode? Join me inside the Clutter Cure Club (https://www.katyjoywells.com/cluttercureclub-page837548) — where we take conversations like this even deeper, and I help you simplify everything.

📩 Or subscribe to my free weekly newsletter, Ready, Set, Simplify (https://www.katyjoywells.com/simplify), for one decluttering mindset shift every Wednesday morning.

Tag me @katyjoywells with your favorite simplifying purchase—I'd love to cheer you on.

See you next week.

Ready, Set, Simplify.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Katie Wells, host of the Maximized Minimalist podcast. I escape the hamster wheel of modern day
0:08.6	motherhood, overwhelmed by clutter and buried under the mental load. Now I live in a home that
0:14.1	feels calm, manageable, and made for real life. I have margin in my days, energy for who matters most,
0:22.3	and time for slow mornings and silly dance parties in the kitchen with my family. With over 5 million listens,
0:27.4	the show has helped women around the world turn their homes into their happy place. Around here,
0:33.0	we simplify for more peace, more presence, and more joy. We choose grace over guilt and progress
0:39.4	over perfection. And we believe your home should give back more than it takes. I'm here to help
0:45.5	you do the same. Come along with me and my guests as we share the real stories, habits, and strategies
0:50.9	that help you lighten the load from the inside out. Pull up a seat friend and let's do
0:55.5	this together. Ready, set, simplify. So do you know how decluttering and simplifying is usually framed
1:06.7	as a journey of letting go, of releasing, of getting stuff out of your house, which it obviously
1:11.4	very much is. But I started to notice something years back in the women I work with and also in
1:16.7	myself, that through this process, through that moment when you're like, all right, this is
1:21.3	becoming an intentional part of my journey is simplifying my home and decluttering, right?
1:26.6	And all of a sudden, there was this
1:28.5	kind of shift in our buying behavior, whether it was like bringing more intention into it or not,
1:34.8	but for a lot of us, there's like this new kind of emotion that was coming up through the process,
1:41.2	and that was guilt. Like guilt anytime we wanted to buy something because
1:45.2	we are taught that simplifying and decluttering simple we'll say the word simplifying or minimalism
1:51.3	you know things like that it's like oh like we don't talk about buying stuff we only get rid of
1:56.1	stuff you know it's like this kind of whether you've heard it on a podcast heard it from experts
2:00.4	heard it from whoever it's kind of the culture of this niche it's like this kind of, whether you've heard it on a podcast, heard it from experts, heard it from whoever. It's kind of the culture of this niche. It feels like very taboo to like buy
	...

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