Minimalism changed my life in more ways than you can imagine — you could even say it saved my life.
My childhood was filled with fear and grief. I lost my mother when I was nine to cancer and my father to alcohol while I was still in college.
But the pain didn’t stop there — it grew and multiplied.
The year my father died I lost eight loved ones, including grandparents, long-time family friends, and coworkers. That was the darkest year of my life, the one I look back on and remember as “The Year of the Deaths“.
My parents – gone.
My home – gone.
Everything I ever loved – gone.
My hoarder to minimalist journey
Looking back, is it any wonder I became an emotional hoarder? The loss of my loved ones made me cling to the memories of them all the harder.
For decades I carried around boxes and boxes of sentimental mementos.
But it wasn’t enough. I was compelled to seek out and purchase unnecessary junk that reminded me of happier times, like books, nostalgic toys, and collectibles.
But I never paused to ask myself, do these things actually make me happy?
Then, I discovered minimalism
A frugal and minimalist lifestyle allowed us to:
- extreme declutter our entire home, including 30 years of emotional clutter
- find eco-friendly ways to get rid of clutter — that includes the $50,000 in total we made selling it before we moved overseas!
- raise happier and smarter children and be more relaxed as a family
- pay off $25,000 of student loan debt and a total of $250k of family debt between my husband and myself
- save up to 70% of our income and move to Europe
- touch the lives of MILLIONS every year with this little minimalism blog
- and so much more…
I always turn to my husband and say, “Can you believe how different our lives are now?“
We keep pinching ourselves at how far we have come.
My husband was born in a small village in rural China and grew up in poverty most people can’t imagine.
His family of seven slept in a two-bedroom house with stone walls and dirt floors. They didn’t have electricity, running water, flushing toilets, air conditioning, or any “modern” amenities.
After becoming an immigrant – twice! – things finally improved, we fell in love, and now we just bought our dream home together!
Here we are with our two sons, who I refer to by their Chinese family endearments:
- Dìdì (left)
- Gēgē (right)
A minimalist lifestyle can make your life better in so many ways!
Modern humans are surrounded by clutter: physical clutter, digital clutter, emotional clutter — and all that clutter is taking its toll on you.
Less stuff means fewer worries.
It means more time for your family and more money in the bank.
When you clear your physical and mental space to make room in your life for things that bring you happiness, you will find that you have more freedom.
- Freedom from guilt and grief.
- Freedom from stress and overwhelm.
- Freedom from fear and anxiety.
- Even financial freedom!
How can minimalism do all that?
I want to help you accomplish all that I have and more – faster and easier than it was for me, figuring it out from scratch.
- I will gently guide you as you declutter your home room by room
- I can teach you how to sell your clutter or find sustainable and eco-friendly ways to get rid of clutter if you just want it out of your home
- I share exclusive handmade free printables that can help you start your minimalism journey and figure out how to budget your money better
- I invite you to join us in living frugally and being more intentional with our life and money
Where has Marissa Zen been featured?
Since starting her blog in 2018, Marissa’s decluttering and practical minimalism tips have been shared by many top websites, including:
- Well+Good
- Redbook
- Real Simple
- Apartment Therapy
- Country Living
- Yahoo! Life
- Yahoo! Finance
- The Home Edit
- And many more!
👇 Want more ideas on how to live minimally as a family? 👇
We are at 93,000 Zen YouTube family members and counting – are you ready to change your life?
Audrey Johnson says
Marissa,
I love your story. It is honest and fun. One of my daughter’s is a SLP for children with disabilities.
Thank you for sharing about yourself and your family. I love learning more about the people whose blogs I follow. When I get mine started I hope to do half as well as you have.
Marissa says
I knew we had so much in common, Audrey! 😉 I am glad you enjoy the info that I share…I definitely will be rooting for you when you start your own blog!
Lauren says
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m impressed with all you’ve been able accomplish. I hopped over from the Pinterest thread on Haven Mavens — I am heading to Haven from New Jersey next week! My family loves Korean food (my husband mostly cooks it for us, though) — I am going to hop over to your home page and check out your recipes! See you at Haven!
Marissa says
Get out of town, Lauren! I live in New Jersey too 😉 We have so much in common…I can’t wait to meet up with you at Haven!
Dana says
So excited to have found your blog and I feel double blessed to have met you in person! You are amazing and thank you for all you do for us!!
Marissa says
I know me too! I hope we can meet up again next year…by that time we should all be rich and famous, right? 😉
Kathy says
Love your story and your blog name. Looking forward to reading more.
Marissa says
Thanks so much, Kathy — I will look forward to seeing you around!
April at LoveOurRealLife says
I love your story, Marissa. I found you in Abby’s Building A Framework group. I am a practicing SLP (for 20 years!) in an outpatient rehab clinic. Thanks for your inspiration with blogging. I started in Jan. 2017 and it is definitely a challenging journey. Looking forward to watching your growth!
Marissa says
That is too amazing, April! I worked at a hospital rehab center with a primarily geriatric population. 🙂 I remember getting blank stares when I told people I was an SLP, ha! I’m so glad you found me, even better through Abby — she and her course are both awesome. I’m going to go check out your blog now, cheers!
Hannah | Australian Country Gypsy says
I love Squirrels and find them like my spirit animal….sadly now living in Australia with my Aussi hubby there are no squirrels (sad day!). So this has been a fun read and I enjoyed seeing a few squirrels along the way! Haha
You are very real and open and it is awesome. Thank you for sharing! Look forward to watching your blog grow!
Marissa says
But possums in Australia are 100x cuter than opossums here, right Hannah!? So happy that you found me, stay in touch. 🙂
Ahmet Faruk Köseoğlu says
Thank u so much. It’s so kind.
Marissa says
Thanks, Ahmet. 🙂
Wendy says
Hi Squirrels if a Feather
Today I was watching your wonderful YouTube video about budgeting and saving. I tapped on your link for the budget printable but the link would not work. I can’t figure out why. Would you be able to send the printable to my email address below and sign me up for your newsletter too please. Thank you.
Marissa says
Yes, Wendy, I see you and got you set up — please check your email. 🙂 If you have any more issues can you message me on IG? Might be easier to figure out what went wrong…I tested and everything seemed to be working okay.
Nicole Pajer says
Thanks for helping out with this story. Would love if you could promote on socials. 🙂 Let’s stay in touch for future stories!
https://twitter.com/NicolePajer/status/1478092071986601984
Subscribe to my substack & follow me on Twitter for future calls for pitches: https://bit.ly/3nvO2zQ
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nicolepajer.
Would love to work together again soon! 🙂
Marissa says
Yes, I absolutely will! Thank you for the wonderful feature, Nicole. 🙂
Andrea says
Marissa,
I am so inspired by your story. We are a military family and have been collecting things for so many years in order for me to feel closer to what home actually was. I am growing stronger and more confident every day I am able to bless someone else with what I have been holding in the small spaces of our many houses over the years. I have learned that it is time to say goodbye and part with the items I have been afraid to let go of and allow it to bless someone else who is in need. I feel your pain when it comes to death and loss, but your journey has given me hope in a healthier way to cope with it all. Thank you so much for your work, you have been a blessing to me and my family 🙂
Marissa says
Thank you so much, Andrea, and take care!