We so often hear “less is more,” but I’ve always wondered if that phrase was actually accurate. I’m a shopper by nature; someone who looked forward to the new trends each season brought, loved making weekly runs to Target, regularly ordered things online and even liked buying groceries every week. More often than not, what my paycheck was going to be spent on was determined before the money even enter my bank account.

The something changed: I had a kid.

As I entered motherhood, I quickly realized I was buying useless stuff that only made my life busier, harder and even more unorganized than it already was. Something had to change. Financially, mentally, physically… No more spending. Those days were over.

Then something unexpected happened: I realized that I didn’t actually take that much joy in the items that had filled my house. It was like I finally noticed that all this time spent shopping and buying was taken at the expense of my child. (And bank account, of course.)

I felt like I basically worked to pay for things that weren’t even necessities in our life. What was the point in that?

I can remember scrolling through Facebook one day and seeing an article about “living to basically work” was a modern-day norm. I didn’t want to be a part of that.

We live in a time where buying things fulfills a void in our lives and I didn’t want to pass that trait off to my babies. I didn’t want them to find happiness in shopping. I wanted them to want less by feeling content with what they have.

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Not only has the time with my kids that I’ve gained since making this change has been so rewarding for our family, but it’s also been much easier to do than I expected. Even just one week of not spending did wonders for my checking account—and getting my husband on board wasn’t as tough as I anticipated. (He even made a point to get rid of things that were taking up his space and time.)

Overall, I feel like my life is so much lighter than it used to be.

Now, I am making the most of these years with my babies by giving them my time and not things. With fewer clothes to wash, less house to clean and just fewer “wish list” items occupying my mental space, our weekends are now devoted to quality time together. It feels so good to not have those days off full of chores—other than a few—and that all began when I cut back on the surface area of clutter to clean.

I guess that leads me to say that, YES, less is really more: more time, more money, more control, more you, more family. Stuff is just stuff. Time, on the other hand, is limited.