35 Meaningful Simple Life Quotes [For Stress Free Living] (2024)

A great collection of simple life quotes to get you thinking about how living more simply can be the way to do it. You’re sure to find something that you can relate to, so why not make life a bit easier from today onwards…

I’m happy to have collated lots of brilliant quotes that all embrace simplicity in some way. They’re all about simple living / slow living / and easier life (whatever you want to call it!) – and they really make you think about what’s important to you, and what you should be prioritising in your life.

Heavy stuff – but really important!

Please take inspiration from these, be inspired, and whatever your life is like at the moment there’s sure to be one or two (or more!) that will speak to you.

Make them work hard for you by picking one and writing it down.

Put it somewhere that you can see it every day – and as you get used to reading it on a frequent basis, you’re bound to be inspired by the words.

Quotes have an amazing ability for motivating you and helping you out when you need a boost of any sort… don’t you think?

So – without any further wait – here you go – Enjoy!

Ultimate Collection of Simple Living Quotes

#1 – “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness” – By Charles Spurgeon.

A great simple living quote, and something I always try and remember – but is far too easy to forget when going about our daily lives and facing comparisons with others frequently.

The richer people aren’t always the ones that have lots of stuff – people are richer when they fill their lives with happiness…

#2 – “Slow Down” – Unknown.

One of the quickest ways to simplify life is to just slow things down a bit.

When you can take your time over things, you start to see more clearly as to what’s really important, and what’s wasting your time (making you busier than you need to be).

#3 – ” The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of what they have” – Unknown.

It actually doesn’t take a lot to be happy most of the time.

When I was a student studying for my degree, we had very little. But it was some of the happiest years of my life.

When we had no other option than making do with what we had – we didn’t focus on getting the next best thing. We just enjoyed it – and it was free-ing!

This was one of the best life lessons to have learnt – and was almost more valuable than my degree!

Related: 31 Ways To Simplify Life – Which Will You Pick?

#4 – If It Costs You Peace, It’s Too Expensive – Unknown

Whether it’s stress from money, energy, time, or any other perceived cost – let those things go…

#5 – Simplicity boils down to two things: identify the essential and eliminate the rest – Leo Babauta

This is so very true. If you can plan what you want to be/do/have in life – then you can curate your life around that much more easily.

When you know where you’re heading – you can get rid of the things that don’t help you (or even hinder you) in getting there.

#6 – Give Without Remembering, And Receive Without Forgetting – Unknown

See Also

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#7 – Consume Less, Create More – Unknown

I think the best way to visualise what this quote means in terms of simplifying life, is in the act of upcycling.

Making something useful from things you already have and don’t want/need anymore – ideal!

#8 – Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants – Unknown

Life is so much more simple when you stop needing more and more…

#9 – Simplicity Is The Ultimate Sophistication – Leonardo Da Vinci

Simplicity quotes are always good!

Some of the most stylishly dressed people are actually dressed really simply when you look a little closer.

Worth remembering….

#10 – Simplify, Be Inspired, Be Original, Work Hard, Enjoy – Unknown

#11 – Being organized isn’t about getting rid of everything you own or trying to become a different person, it’s about living the way you want to live, but better – Andrew Mellen

100% agree with this. All too often we complicate things by thinking they HAVE to be hard to be worthwhile – but often it’s the little things that make all the difference.

Tweaking how we live really WILL make you more organised – and far faster than if you tried to completely overhaul everything in one go.

#12 – Organise your life around your dreams and watch them come true – Unknown

Stop being busy on the things that really don’t matter that much to you when looking at the bigger picture of your life.

If you simplify things, and focus on the stuff that you need to do alongside the things that will move you towards your goals – then you’re going to be much happier.

#13 – Stuff has gotten a lot cheaper, but our attitude towards it hasn’t changed correspondingly – we overvalue stuff – Paul Graham

#14 – You never have to throw away that which you never buy – Unknown

Definitely one to keep in mind when next out on a shopping trip…

#15 – Happiness is a place between too little and too much – Finnish Proverb

Reminds me a little of Goldilocks! Getting that balance right is a skill, but definitely worth mastering.

Especially when it comes to being happy.

#16 – Deciding what NOT to do is as important as deciding what TO do – Charles Spurgeon

I couldn’t agree more with this. All too often we focus on what we’re going to say YES to – when it would be very free-ing to work out what to say NO to instead….

#17 – Collect Moments, Not Things – Unknown

A great thing to remember when it comes to gifts as well – as these can become clutter and overwhelm the receiver if not careful. Always remember that giving doesn’t have to mean you give ‘stuff’.

Related: 35 Fantastic Clutter Free Gift Ideas To Give Those You Love

#18 – If it doesn’t add to your life, it doesn’t belong in your life – Unknown

Curation is key. Make yourself the curator of your life, just like in a museum. They are very strict on what does and doesn’t get displayed – because space is short.

If you can be as strict on your life, and only allow things that make a positive impact on it in, then you’re onto a winner, for sure!

#19 – Less stuff means less to clean, less to organised, less to store, less mess – Unknown

… and when has THAT ever been something we don’t all want, right?!

Think how much time your ‘stuff’ takes you each and every year.

Whether you’re buying it, storing it, cleaning it, maintaining it, mending it, or a load of other things that we have to do when we own things – it makes total sense that having less means having MORE of the good stuff…

#20 – Make space in your life for what matters – Unknown

#21 – We should be choosing what we keep – not what we get rid of – Marie Kondo

This is my favourite way of thinking about decluttering, as it feels much more positive.

When you’re next letting go of anything (or trying to!), then think about what you’re keeping as what you’re curating for your home and/or life.

It’s liberating!

#22 – The more you let go, the higher you rise – Unknown

#23 – Out of clutter, find simplicity – Albert Einstein

Clutter makes things more complicated than they need to be.

Whether it be making you spend more time on looking for stuff, energy on cleaning it, or money on late fees – it all brings complications that you can definitely do without.

#24 – Happiness Blooms From Within – Unknown

#25 – Think how joyous each and every day could be when you are making the most of what you have – Chrissy Halton

Stop looking for the next best thing – you really are lucky with what you already have.

It’s all too easy to stop looking at the stuff that’s already there – we become blind to it – and that makes for a more complicated life.

Simplify things by being happy with what you have – it’s truly enough!

#26 – If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough – Oprah Winfrey

Yup. You definitely get what you focus on, and a lot of what we have can go unnoticed all too easily if we let it.

I think it’s time to slow down and smell those roses, as the saying goes….

#27 – Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realise they were the big things – Unknown

#28 – The purpose of our lives is to be happy – Dalai Lama

#29 – You can do anything, but not everything – Unknown

… and you’ll burn yourself out if you try.

This is something to keep front and centre of your mind when you’re wanting to say NO to something but are feeling guilty about it.

If you say YES to everything, then you will eventually have nothing left (time OR self) – so you’ll eventually have to say NO to things that you really DO want to do…

Be selective, be gracious with yourself – and you’ll find you have more ability to say YES to what you really want (and need) to do.

#30 – Focus on what matters – Unknown

#31 – Make your home clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be happy – Unknown

Simplify things by not trying to be perfect in your housekeeping.

Life really is too short to worry about everything being pristine. Good enough IS good enough!

#32 – A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with—that’s poverty—but how efficiently we can put first things first – Unknown

It’s not worth trying to fit into another persons routine and/or schedule – because we all have different lives, different homes, and different families.

Some of us are early birds, others may have illnesses that mean they have to go that bit slower – there’s a LOT of reasons we need to work out our own schedules for ourselves.

If you can – it’s SO worth it to sit down and work out what works best for you – you’re unique – and you’re definitely worth it!

#33 – We need, above all things, to slow down and get ourselves to amble through life instead of to rush through it. – Alan Watts

Smell those roses – as the other saying goes! It’s worth it. If you do, you’ll realise just how much you’ve already got…

#34 – The key is not to prioritise what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities – Steven Covey

#35 – Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful – John Maeda

#36 – To be simple means to make a choice about what’s important, and let go of all the rest. When we are able to do this, our vision expands, our heads clear, and we can better see the details of our lives in all their incredible wonder and beauty – John Daido Loori

Which of these simple life quotes have inspired you the most?

They are some of my all time favourite simple living quotes, and I love them all for different reasons.

I’m sure you’ll agree that they are all useful at different phases of life and depending on what you want to hear at any given time.

These simple quotes about life aren’t necessarily about being a minimalist, but they DO speak to the fact that simple is easier for so many reasons – and that it’s the little things that means the most.

That’s quite stress relieving to read in any shape or form (kind of gives you permission to want less!).