The Rebound Effect: Why You Keep Buying Back What You Decluttered

The Rebound Effect: Why You Keep Buying Back What You Decluttered

I didn’t grow up a minimalist. I grew up in a home where “more” felt like safety — more backups, more options, more just‑in‑case items stacked in closets and drawers.

For years, I carried that mindset into adulthood without even noticing. I shopped when I was stressed, I collected things I never used, and I convinced myself that one more purchase would finally make me feel settled.

Then came the season when everything felt too loud. Too heavy.

Too much. I swung hard in the opposite direction — I decluttered everything. I became the kind of minimalist who counted items, who felt proud of empty shelves, who believed simplicity meant stripping life down to its bones.

But here’s the part I never expected:

I rebounded.

Hard.

I bought back things I had just donated. I repurchased clothes I swore I didn’t need. I found myself filling the same spaces I had cleared. And for a while, I thought it meant I wasn’t cut out for minimalism at all.

What I eventually learned is that the rebound effect isn’t a failure — it’s a message. It’s the moment your inner world catches up to your outer one. It’s the emotional truth behind the stuff.

This book is the story of how I moved through all three phases:

non‑minimalist → strict minimalist → minimalist‑lite/minimalish,

and how I finally found a rhythm that feels human, flexible, and sustainable.

I wrote this for anyone who has decluttered only to find themselves shopping again.

For anyone who has felt embarrassed by the cycle. For anyone who wants a simpler life but doesn’t want to live with rigid rules or empty rooms.

This isn’t a guide to owning less.

It’s a guide to understanding yourself.

And once you do, the rebound softens — not because you force it to, but because you no longer need the things you used to reach for.