Here to De-Influence You: 5 Things You Don’t Actually Need

I would not consider myself an influencer but if I was, I hope I influence you to recognize that less is more.

The internet is very good at convincing you that you need more — more products, more systems, more curated snack boards, more matching toy bins. But what if the thing you actually need is permission to stop? To do less, buy less, and live more?

That’s what I am here for. Consider this your de-influence era.

1. You Can’t Catch Up on a Life You’re Actually Living

This one is the quiet one. The one that hits a little differently. So much of the busyness we create for ourselves is about catching up — on chores, on content, on emails, on the version of our life we imagined we’d have by now. We’re always behind on something. Always trying to close a gap. But what if the gap isn’t the problem? What if the life you’re living right now — the messy kitchen, the alphabet magnets on the fridge, the broom leaning against the wall because you got distracted mid-sweep — is exactly the life worth living? You don’t catch up to it. You just live it.

2. If There Are Too Many Toys for Your Kids to Clean Up, It May Be Time to Purge

A house full of toys sounds like a generous, fun childhood. But watch what actually happens: kids get overwhelmed, nothing gets played with deeply, and cleanup becomes a battle nobody wins. Less really is more here. When there are fewer toys, kids play longer with each one. They get creative. They’re bored in the good way — the way that leads to imagination. And when it’s time to clean up, it’s manageable. For them and for you.You don’t have to do it all at once. Start with one basket. Pull out what hasn’t been touched in months. Donate it, store some for rotation, and see how the room feels. Lighter spaces
make for calmer kids — and calmer parents.

3. It’s Okay to Only Offer Your Toddlers an Apple or a Carrot as a Snack Between Meals

Somewhere along the way, snack culture for kids got very complicated. Elaborate bento

boxes. Color-coordinated fruit skewers. Yogurt parfaits with three toppings.

Your toddler does not need this. An apple works. A carrot works. A handful of crackers works. Simple, whole foods offered calmly between meals is not lazy parenting — it’s actually really good parenting. You’re not failing your kid because you didn’t arrange their snack into the shape of a butterfly.

Feed them. Keep it simple. Move on with your day.

4. You Don’t Need Anything New Before You Can Host Someone

Here’s a trap I used to fall into constantly: I’d want to have people over, and then I’d start

making a mental list. New dishes. A prettier table runner. Better wine glasses. Some kind of aesthetic charcuterie board situation. And then I’d never actually have anyone over.

The truth is, people come to your home to be with you. They come for the conversation, thefood, the feeling of being welcomed in. Nobody has ever left a dinner party thinking, “Great time, but their salad bowls were mismatched.” Host people with what you have. Make something simple. Light a candle. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

5. You Don’t Need More Time. You Need to Start Time Blocking.

We’ve all said it: “I just don’t have enough hours in the day.” And honestly? That might not be true. The problem usually isn’t a shortage of time – it’s a lack of intention around the time we already have.

Time Blocking is simple: you assign specific tasks to specific chunks of your day, and you protect those blocks like appointments. Creative work in the morning. Admin in the afternoon. Family time in the evening. You stop Trying to do everything at once and start doing one thing at a time.

You don’t need a fancier calendar app. You don’t need a new planner. You need to sit down, figure out what actually matters today, and put it on the schedule. The time there. It’s just waiting to be claimed.

That’s the de-influence for today. No products to buy. No systems to implement (well, maybe time blocking). Just a gentle nudge to put down whatever the internet told you that you needed, and look at what you already have.

It’s probably enough. You’re probably enough.