Courtney Carver Quotes

Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are.

I finally figured it out. Instead of working so hard to make ends meet, work on having fewer ends.

Start to think about what really matters to you. If you aren’t sure at first, don’t worry. Sometimes you have to get rid of the things that don’t matter to let the things that do rise to the surface.

Take a deep breath. Get present in the moment and ask yourself what is important this very second. —GREG MCKEOWN, Essentialism

So in fact, narrowing down our choices means less overwhelm, and more creativity.

We dismiss opportunities every day by telling ourselves we can’t do it. We give in to fear. It’s good to think things through, but trust yourself to try new things too.

If organizing your stuff worked, you'd be organized by now.

You won’t look back and remember the time you didn’t complete your to-do list, but you may look back and remember the beautiful life you lived.

There is so much we can’t control about how fast things are moving, so it’s even more important to slow down the spaces and places we can. Simplifying things will help. Eliminating things will help. Less will help.

Diamonds Are Not This Girl's Best Friend Diamonds are not my best friend but they used to be. It wasn't just jewelry but all the things I bought to lift me up, prove my worth, and demonstrate my love. As I became more and more me and started experiencing the world from this new stuff-less place, I realized that diamonds are not this girl's best friend. My best friend is a magical rooftop sunrise. My best friend is the ocean. My best friend is a hike in the mountains. My best friend is a peaceful afternoon. My best friend is a really good book. My best friend is laughter. My best friend is seeing the world. My best friend is time with people I love. Diamonds have nothing on my best friends.

Let the people in your life find their own way, just as you are finding yours. If you want others to see the joy in less, live joyfully with less.

After a while, I wasn't saying no because I was so busy, I was saying no because I didn't want to be so busy anymore.

When we focus more on fitting it all in instead of making time for what counts, we lose sight of how to create a meaningful life.

Don’t wait until you know it all or have it all. Just ease in, pay attention to thundering ideas, and take advantage of everything creativity has to offer.

Does it fit? Does it feel good? Do I enjoy wearing it? Is it versatile?

I refuse to live in fear of not having enough.

The people who get upset about you setting boundaries are the ones who were benefiting from you having none.

Consistency matters more than intensity.

she selectively surrounds herself with her favorite things and the people she loves. She does work she truly cares about, goes on adventures

Shift your energy from being right to being quiet. from being annoyed to being grateful. from being angry to being joyful. from being rushed to taking time. from eye roll to hug. from scowl to smile.

Love is reflected in your daily choices. When you choose crappy food for lunch, that isn’t loving. Neither is choosing work over sleep or anger over gratitude. They are all choices. Not easy ones, but choices nonetheless.

Take a little walk. In Italy, in almost every town, village, and city, people come out for the evening stroll called la passeggiata. It means “little walk.” They aren’t out to burn calories or build muscle tone or even to reduce stress. They take a little walk to see and be seen and to be a part of their community. They linger over one another. The next time you finish dinner, instead of rushing to get the dishes done or to get the kids ready for bed, or finish your

We have to do things we don’t want to do to be who we want to be and feel how we want to feel.

If you have to step outside of yourself, away from your values and soul to get your needs met, then you’re not really going to get your needs met.

The opportunity to grow, change, and thrive all depends on what you are willing to consider.

When you put people first, you naturally build purpose into your work (even if you don't love your job). And when you get the combination of loving your work and serving people in alignment with what you care about... watch out, world.

I didn't think I was ready to let go. In an effort to hold on tight, I thought, 'It's not hurting anything or anyone to keep this stuff.' Then I remembered that I want my quality of life to be more in line with 'How is this helping?' instead of 'How is this not hurting?' I wanted to create an environment that allowed me to be fully present.

I forgot who I was. For a really long time, I forgot who I was. It looked like I knew from the outside. I even believed it myself most of the time, but by the way I was building and living my life, it’s clear I had forgotten. There are times when I wonder if things would have been better if I hadn’t made the mistakes I made, but I rarely go down that road. I’m confident that because I got lost, disconnected, and turned upside down, I was able to come out even better on the other side and experience the kind of gratitude you just can’t tap into unless you know what it’s like to live outside of your heart. Not being yourself is exhausting and breaks you down from the inside out.

Trust the people who work for you and encourage their best work, not their busy work.

Organizing has its place. But it’s not the same as minimizing. Think about it. Organizing our stuff (without removing the excess) is only a temporary solution. We have to repeat it over and over. As my fellow minimalist Courtney Carver puts it, “If organizing your stuff worked, wouldn’t you be done by now?” At its heart, organizing is simply rearranging. And though we may find storage solutions today, we will be forced to find new ones as early as tomorrow.

One of the reasons we keep our lives so complicated is so we won’t have to listen to our inner voice telling us what we need to do to make our lives work better.

Dress for the life you have right now, and you will move through it with more ease and grace.

When you move into a new home, of if you've recently decluttered your home, don't rush out and buy everything each room is "supposed" to have. Live in the space and then decide what you want or need.

When you move into a new home, or if you've recently decluttered your home, don't rush out and buy everything each room is "supposed" to have. Live in the space and then decide what you want or need.

Your stuff does not have the power to change your life. Nothing you buy will make you a better person. Only you can do that.

Some things won’t get done. That’s okay. You won’t look back and remember the time you didn’t complete your to-do list, but you may look back and remember the beautiful life you lived.

If I found a shirt I liked, I bought more of them, in different colors (and then wore the black one all the time).

By extending the life of your clothing by an additional nine months, you can reduce your carbon, water, and waste footprints by 20 to 30 percent each.

Where was it made? How was it made? What is it made of? Is it timeless and made to last, so I’ll wear it for years to come? Do I already have something similar in my closet?

When you are overwhelmed, tired and stressed, the solution is almost always less. Get rid of something. Lots of somethings.” - Courtney Carver

An afternoon nap seems to refresh this short-term memory and open your mind for new information, researchers found.

Make sure to incorporate digital sabbaticals into your life. Break away for one day a week if you can.

We wear the “I’m so busy and overworked” badge like it’s a gold medal. Somehow, we got confused and started thinking that always being busy is impressive. Little did we know that “being busy” doesn’t mean shit.

The world now consumes about 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year. Ninety-five percent of discarded clothing can be recycled or upcycled. The amount of water used in apparel production each year is enough to fill 32 million Olympic-size swimming pools. Meanwhile, 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. A $25 T-shirt would be only $1.35 more expensive if the wages of the worker who made it were doubled. By extending the life of your clothing by an additional nine months, you can reduce your carbon, water, and waste footprints by 20 to 30 percent each. Clothing made from conventional polyester can take up to two hundred years to decompose in a landfill. Making a pair of jeans uses the same amount of water as flushing your toilet for three years. The average American woman wears just 20 percent of her wardrobe. The average annual clothing consumption per person in the US is sixty-five garments, according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association.

Author Glennon Doyle says, “I tend toward dramatic thinking. When I have a problem or when I feel icky, I tend to think the solution is: I have to move, and I need a new family and a new religion and a new house. I need to start all over; everything is terrible. But what I usually need is, like, a glass of water.

Where was it made? How was it made? What is it made of? Is it timeless and made to last, so I’ll wear it for years to come? Do I already have something similar in my closet? And consider your needs, too. Ask the following questions so you can be satisfied with fewer purchases: Does it fit? Does it feel good? Do I enjoy wearing it? Is it versatile?

We are fortunate to have the freedom to choose, but according to Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, we aren’t happier because of it. Schwartz says, “When people have no choice, life is almost unbearable. As the number of available choices increases, as it has in our consumer culture, the autonomy, control, and liberation this variety brings are powerful and positive. But as the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear. As the number of choices grows further, the negatives escalate until we become overloaded. At

ONLY INCLUDE SEASONALLY APPROPRIATE CLOTHES. There’s no need to sort through your sweaters to get to your sundresses in summer, or to search for your winter boots in a pile of sandals. Get the stuff you aren’t wearing out of sight so you don’t even have to think about it until you’re actually going to wear it.

Whenever I think, Wouldn’t it be crazy if . . . , I can’t help but smile.

Things changed dramatically when I stopped believing everything I thought. Instead of listening to the fear inside that told me I couldn’t do something and encouraged me to stay safe and comfortable, I chose to experiment and learn what was really true and what was best for me.

This goes for almost anything you suffer from. Without love for yourself, and love for how you live, and who you spend your time with, the drugs aren’t going to be helpful for very long, if ever. And saying or thinking you love yourself is not enough either. Love is reflected in your daily choices. When you choose crappy food for lunch, that isn’t loving. Neither is choosing work over sleep or anger over gratitude. They are all choices. Not easy ones, but choices nonetheless.

So often we want to jump into action. We want the road map or step-by-step instructions, but part of making you is making the map.

it’s become very clear to me that you have to do things you don’t want to do so you can do things you want to do and have the kind of life you really want.

We have to do things we don’t want to do to be who we want to be and feel how we want to feel. And once we push through that tiny bit (or really big chunk) of resistance, we usually find we are doing exactly what we want.

When I think about spending on something new I don’t really need, or am trying to decide if I should keep something or let it go (physical object, commitment, work project . . .), I ask this one simple (yet really big) question: Is this love? Does this support love in my life the way I want it to? If the answer is no, I walk away.

Does this really matter to me?” “Is this love?” “Is this contributing to the life I want, to my health, or to the way I want to treat people?” “Am I holding on for the right reasons?

My favorite topics always come from the question “Wouldn’t it be crazy if we . . .” We are living our lives with purpose and it makes for a happy marriage and meaningful life together.

Ban the word busy and see what it feels like to talk about your life differently. “I’m so busy” is usually a complaint. You roll your eyes, shrug your shoulders, and often sigh when rambling about your busy day. Instead, talk about your day with gratitude.

All of that time consumed with listing the things to do and feeling bad about the things that were left undone contributes to the lack of time you have to do them. Instead, keep one master to-do list. Before you go to sleep, pull one to three items that you’ll do tomorrow. When you finish them, revisit the list or take a walk.

By recognizing where you spend your time, and shifting direction, you can make time to do things you really love, even if that means doing nothing at all.

We’re so distracted, we’re missing our own lives. The parent who records his kid’s dance recital or first steps or graduation is so busy trying to capture the moment – to create a thing that proves they were there – they miss out on actually living and enjoying the moment.” - Dave Bruno

judge less and give more.

Making a pair of jeans uses the same amount of water as flushing your toilet for three years.

If you don’t have time to linger or think you are too busy to slow down, connect with loved ones, and take care of your heart, or whenever you are thinking about how you spend your time, author Laura Vanderkam suggests, “Instead of saying ‘I don’t have time’ try saying ‘it’s not a priority,’” and see how that feels.

We cannot selectively numb emotions; when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.

Guess what I’m not doing today? I’m not raking leaves, mowing the lawn, replacing the roof, or negotiating with neighbors to replace the fence.” Instead, we went for a hike.

trying to convince or get your family on board doesn’t work, but inspiring them by walking the walk? That works.

Businesses often have policies to let you know what to expect. People have boundaries. If a business has policies you disagree with, you may stop doing business with them. With people, it’s a little different. Often, boundaries are pushed, or not honored. Most will understand, but some won’t. A wise person once said, “The people who get upset about you setting boundaries are the ones who were benefiting from you having none.

simplicity is about more than making space in your home. It’s also about creating more time in your life and more love in your heart. What I learned is that you can actually be more with less.

Many people who are simplifying their lives and trying to live with less, exclude books from the decluttering process.