Less Stuff, More Joy: Seven Lessons From ‘Enoughfluencers’ on How to Live a Happier, Simpler Life

Anna Kilpatrick doesn’t have a bedroom. Or even a bed. The a 52-year-old content creator from East Sussex sleeps on a wide shelf in her hallway so that her two children, 21 and 18, can have their own rooms. And yet, she says, she has “enough”. She doesn’t hanker after a bigger house or shinier car. “Having fewer things is freedom,” she says. Kilpatrick, who shares such ideas with her 104K Instagram followers (@not.needing.new), is part of a small but growing community of “enough-luencers”. The concept is similar to deinfluencing – where content creators discourage followers from buying into trends – but is also about celebrating already having enough, and, crucially, feeling happier for it.

In her new book, Not Needing New: A Practical Guide to Finding the Joy of Enough, Kilpatrick lists the benefits of living with less: “An increased sense of calm, less anxiety through clutter, free time away from maintaining the home, a healthier bank balance and reduced debt, children who are learning how to manage delayed gratification.”

Before her divorce more than 10 years ago, she lived more affluently: “We had a whole dining room – now I can’t even fit a proper table in my flat.” And yet, she writes, “I am probably the happiest I have ever been as a grownup. Life is considerably more enjoyable when it gets simplified down to only the things you need, the things that are enough to bring you real, solid contentment.”