We live at a time of plenty. Plenty of stuff that is! Reducing the clutter in your lives will also help you to reduce your spending. Most people do not need more stuff in their homes, however they still go shopping and spend money that many times they don't even have. Minimalism is a great way to keep all that clutter under control. Minimalism will allow you to live a simpler life.

According to Websters minimalism means a style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity. If we can transfer this idea to our lives, we can reduce our spending and clutter. Do you need yet another black t-shirt? Another pair of shoes? Another book that you will read once? Do your children need more toys, video games, clothing? Probably not! It is very easy to overdo in these areas, I am guilty of it as well. But if we can reduce the amount of things coming into our homes, this will go a long way in reducing our spending.

When you are going through your children's clothes for the next season, try to reduce the amounts you buy. Does your child need four pairs of jeans, or will two pairs work just fine? If you are like me and do laundry pretty much every day, chances are they only need two or three pairs of pajamas and a few outfits for everyday wear. If you are like my sister and do laundry one day a week, then your family will obviously need enough clothes to last them the week.

The point is, take into consideration your specific needs and think about whether you need ten outfits or if just six will work fine. Four less outfits will take up less space, generate less laundry for you to do (kids like to change clothes frequently) and save you money! If you spent $15 per outfit and only bought six instead of ten, then you just saved yourself $60.

Before you spend money on books, think about how often you will read the book. If it is something you will read once and then it will sit on your shelf, try to borrow it from the library. If it is something you will refer to often, or read over and over again, it will be worth buying. Taking the time to decide how often you will use an item will save you money in the long run. For each book you borrow instead of buy, you will save between $5 and $30.

The same principal applies to other things as well. Do you need to buy a chainsaw to cut down that one tree that needs to come down? Or would renting one for the day work just as well. Renting one will cost between $40 and $50 - but purchasing one will cost upwards of $200. If you rent one, then you don't have to come up with the space to store the chainsaw for the rest of your life.

Minimalism doesn't just apply to new purchases either. Take a look at the things in your home. Go through your closets and pull out anything you haven't worn in a year (aside from the special occasion type of clothing). If you haven't liked it enough to wear it for the past year, it probably doesn't need to be in your closet. The same thing can go for your kitchen and your garage. If you don't use an item regularly, do you really need it or can you do without it.

Will another item take care of the job? Do you need ten different ratchet sets or will one good set that includes all the sizes you need do the job just as well? Do you need to buy something new at all? There might be something that you already own that would do the job just as well. Using what you have is one of the best ways to reduce your spending and clutter. When purchasing something new ask yourself what you are purchasing it for. How many things can this item take care of? If it is a special tool that can only do one thing, it probably isn't a good purchase, unless you will use it often. Try to make wise purchases and buy things that are going to be useful in more than one way. Buy a tool that can take care of many different things. Chances are it will take up the same amount of space, yet do many different things. It might even cost the same amount of money as a tool that can only do one thing.

Simple living is a term that is becoming more and more common in today's society. The more stuff we bring into our homes the farther away from simple living we get. Our lives have become so complicated. There are so many things to spend our money on, so many things that companies try to convince us we need, and so many options of the things that we do need. Reducing the amount of clutter in your home, reducing the number of items you bring into your home and reducing the money spent on said items will allow you to lead a simpler life. Practicing minimalism in your purchases will allow you to reduce stress in your life (things take up space, take your time, etc) and help you to save money.