My Minimalist Home Setup Experiment (Real Results) & What Happened When I Removed 70% of My Belongings

The idea sounded extreme. Remove seventy percent of everything. Keep only what adds value. See what happens.

Minimalism seemed like a trend for people with perfect homes and no children. The assumption was that it would not work for real life.

The experiment was conducted anyway. Thirty days. One rule. If an item was not used, loved, or needed, it left the house.

What happened next was unexpected. The results were not just visual. They were emotional, financial, and behavioral.

This guide shares the real results of the minimalist home setup experiment. No staging. No perfection. Just honest outcomes from a real home.

Why the Experiment Started

The apartment felt heavy. Every surface held something. Every closet was packed. Every drawer was stuffed.

The problem was not organization. The problem was the sheer volume of things. Better organization would not solve having too much.

The Breaking Point

A drawer broke from overfilling. The repair cost money. The drawer was full of items not used in years. The absurdity was impossible to ignore.

Paying to fix a drawer that held nothing useful felt like a metaphor for the whole apartment.

The 70% Rule

Seventy percent of items would leave. Not ten percent. Not fifty percent. Seventy percent.

The number was chosen because smaller purges had failed before. Ten percent came back within weeks. Fifty percent felt like progress but did not change the feeling of the space.

Seventy percent forced real decisions. Comfortable items would have to go. Sentimental items would face scrutiny. Nothing was safe.

The Process: How the Experiment Worked

The experiment lasted thirty days. Each week had a specific focus.

Week One: Clothing and Accessories

Every piece of clothing was removed from closets and drawers. Each item was held and evaluated.

The three-question test:

Have I worn this in the past twelve months?
Does this fit well and make me feel good?
Would I buy this again today?

Items that failed any question were donated or sold.

Category	Before	After	Removed
Shirts	45	12	33
Pants	20	6	14
Dresses	12	3	9
Jackets	8	2	6
Shoes	15	5	10
Accessories	30	8	22

Total clothing removed: 94 items

Week Two: Kitchen and Dining

The kitchen was packed. Multiple spatulas. Duplicate baking dishes. Gadgets used once.

The kitchen rule: If it did not have a specific, frequent use, it left.

Duplicate items were eliminated. One spatula remained. One baking sheet remained. One mixing bowl set remained.

Category	Before	After	Removed
Spatulas and spoons	12	3	9
Baking dishes	8	2	6
Mixing bowls	7	4	3
Gadgets (specialty)	9	1	8
Mugs	15	4	11
Glasses	12	6	6

Total kitchen items removed: 43

Week Three: Furniture and Decor

Furniture was evaluated by function. Did it serve a daily purpose? Did it make the room better?

Item	Decision	Reason
Extra chair	Donated	Never used by guests
Side table	Donated	Created clutter surface
Three decorative bowls	Donated	No purpose, collected dust
Large mirror	Kept	Added light and depth
Floor lamp	Kept	Essential for evening lighting
Bookshelf	Kept	Held remaining books and decor

Week Four: Paper, Digital, and Sentimental

Paper was the hardest category. Receipts from years ago. Manuals for appliances no longer owned. Cards from people barely remembered.

The paper rule: If it was not tax-related or deeply sentimental, it was scanned or shredded.

Digital files were also deleted. Old photos. Duplicate documents. Emails from ten years ago.

The Real Results: What Actually Happened

The results were tracked in three categories. Physical space. Mental space. Financial impact.

Physical Space Results

Room	Before Feel	After Feel	Visible Empty Space Gained
Living room	Cluttered, heavy	Open, light	40% more visible floor
Bedroom	Cramped, stressful	Calm, restful	50% more visible floor
Kitchen	Packed, frustrating	Functional, pleasant	35% more counter space
Closet	Overflowing, chaotic	Organized, peaceful	60% more hanging space

Mental Space Results

The mental changes were more significant than the physical changes.

Before the experiment:

Daily stress about clutter
Difficulty finding items
Guilt about unused purchases
Overwhelm when cleaning
Avoidance of having guests

After the experiment:

Calmness entering each room
Ability to find items instantly
Relief about fewer decisions
Quick, easy cleaning
Welcoming guests without anxiety

Financial Results

Category	Before (Monthly)	After (Monthly)	Savings
Impulse purchases	$85	$15	$70
Duplicate purchases	$40	$0	$40
Storage bins and organizers	$30	$0	$30
Cleaning supplies (less needed)	$25	$10	$15
Total monthly savings	$180	$25	$155

Annual savings projected: $1,860

What Was Expected vs. What Actually Happened

Expectations were wrong in several ways. The experiment produced unexpected results.

Expectation One: The Apartment Would Feel Empty

Expected: The apartment would feel bare and cold.

Actual: The apartment felt peaceful and intentional. Empty space was not cold. Empty space was restful for the eyes.

Expectation Two: Regret Would Follow Donations

Expected: Missing donated items would cause regret.

Actual: Not a single donated item was missed. Within two weeks, most donated items could not even be remembered.

Expectation Three: Guests Would Notice the Emptiness

Expected: Visitors would comment on how little furniture remained.

Actual: Guests noticed the apartment felt calmer and more open. No one said it felt empty.

Expectation Four: The Process Would Be Painful

Expected: Letting go of items would be emotionally difficult.

Actual: The first few items were hard. By day five, letting go became liberating. By day ten, it was enjoyable.

What Stayed: The Keep Criteria

Not everything left. Some items earned their place through daily use or genuine value.

The Keep Categories

Daily drivers: Items used every single day. Coffee maker. Bed. Desk. Phone charger.

Seasonal essentials: Items used multiple times per season. Winter coat. Summer sandals. Holiday decorations (one small box only).

Genuine sentiment: Items that truly held meaning. Photographs. A gift from a late family member. A souvenir from a life-changing trip.

Functional beauty: Items that were both useful and beautiful. A lamp that also served as art. A bowl that held fruit and looked good doing it.

The Donation Categories

Duplicates: Items owned in multiples when one was sufficient.

Sentimental guilt: Items kept out of obligation, not genuine attachment.

Aspirational items: Things bought for a future self who never arrived.

Convenience clutter: Items kept because they were already there, not because they were needed.

Comparison Table: Before and After Daily Routines

Activity	Before the Experiment	After the Experiment	Time Saved
Getting dressed	12 minutes (searching)	5 minutes	7 minutes
Cleaning living room	20 minutes (moving items)	8 minutes	12 minutes
Finding keys/wallet	3 minutes (searching)	30 seconds	2.5 minutes
Making dinner	15 minutes (finding tools)	8 minutes	7 minutes
Weekly cleaning	3 hours	1.5 hours	1.5 hours
Daily total time saved			Approximately 45 minutes

The Unexpected Benefits

Benefits that were not anticipated emerged during and after the experiment.

Benefit One: Easier Decision Making

Fewer items meant fewer decisions. What to wear. What to cook. What to clean. Each decision became simpler.

Decision fatigue dropped significantly. Energy reserved for trivial choices was redirected to meaningful ones.

Benefit Two: Better Sleep

The bedroom was completely transformed. No piles of clothes. No clutter on surfaces. No visual noise.

Falling asleep became easier. Staying asleep became more consistent. The calm environment signaled rest to the brain.

Benefit Three: More Hosting

Before the experiment, guests were avoided. The apartment felt embarrassing. Cleaning for visitors was overwhelming.

After the experiment, hosting became enjoyable. Cleaning took fifteen minutes. The apartment looked intentional, not perfect.

Benefit Four: Financial Awareness

The experiment revealed spending patterns. So much money was wasted on items that were never used.

Awareness led to changed habits. Purchases were considered more carefully. Impulse buying dropped significantly.

What Did Not Work

Not every minimalist strategy worked. Some ideas were abandoned.

The One-Plate Rule Failed

Eating from one plate sounds efficient. It was not. Washing the same plate multiple times per day was annoying.

The fix was keeping four plates. Enough for two meals plus guests. Not enough for a cabinet full.

The Empty Countertop Rule Failed

All kitchen counters were cleared. The kitchen looked beautiful. It was also impractical.

The coffee maker needed a home. The knife block needed a home. The fruit bowl needed a home.

The fix was keeping essential items on the counter. Nothing else. The counter was functional but not empty.

The No-Backup Rule Failed

One backup of essential items was actually useful. One extra toothbrush. One extra phone charger. One extra light bulb.

Zero backups created unnecessary trips to the store. Two backups created clutter. One backup was the sweet spot.

The Minimalist Home Setup: Before and After

Element	Before	After
Living room surfaces	12 items	3 items
Bedroom surfaces	8 items	2 items
Kitchen counter items	15 items	5 items
Closet hanging items	85 items	25 items
Drawers (average items)	30 items	10 items
Time to clean entire apartment	3 hours	1.5 hours
Monthly impulse spending	$85	$15
Stress level (1-10)	7	3