Becoming Minimalist » benefits

benefit #27 – get out of debt

joshua becker — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:40:51 +0000

“A debtor is a slave to his creditor.”

i was inspired by a news story that i heard recently. emanuel and sheree dixson became only the second family in the history of knoxville habitat for humanity to pay off their mortgage. they purchased the home in 1998 and retired the mortgage seven years ahead of schedule by making extra payments at every opportunity. earlier this month, emanuel left for his second tour of duty in iraq.

i heard sheree interviewed on a morning news show. when asked how they were able to accomplish this task and pay off their mortgage so early, she said, “we work hard. we clip coupons. we buy generic products. and we are careful to only buy the things that we need.”

i have written previously on the financial benefits of living a minimalist lifestyle. one result of this financial benefit is the ability to get out of debt, stay out of debt, or never go into debt in the first place.

we all know people (or maybe we are living it ourselves) who have gotten caught under the crippling weight of financial debt and can never seem to get ahead. now, they find themselves living a life not for themselves, but simply for their creditors… and that is no way to live.

buy only the things you really need. live a minimalist life. stay out of debt. and enjoy the freedom that comes from refusing to be a slave to your creditors!

to see our family’s spending plan: a guide to control your spending.

to read more benefits of minimalism: benefits of minimalism.

benefit #26 – drop-by guests, no sweat

joshua becker — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:33:18 +0000

this weekend, we got one of those phone calls that we used to dread getting. the caller began, ”hey, we’re in the neighborhood. mind if we stop by to see you guys?”

just to be clear, we love our friends and love having people over. we didn’t dread receiving that phone call because we didn’t want to catch up with friends. we hated the phone call because it usually meant 10 minutes of frantically running around the house throwing dishes into the oven, shoes/coats into the closet, and toys into corners… anything to hide the mess before they pull into the driveway. you know the drill.

but these days, those phone calls feel very different. we don’t dread them at all, we only look forward to them. oh, on this particular day, we had just finished lunch so there were some dishes to put away, there were some toys that needed to be returned to their homes (it was the weekend after all), and now that we’ve written a book about decluttering, we felt a little extra pressure… but we were ready for our drop-by guests.

one benefit of minimalism is that it’s easier to keep your home clean. and when your home is clean, you are ready to experience another benefit of minimalism: drop-by guests are no sweat (literally).

complete list: benefits of minimalism

benefit #25 – less time shopping (more productive life)

joshua becker — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:42:47 +0000

i spent an hour in the mall this past weekend. i was getting some work done on my vehicle and decided to peruse the mall while i waited. because i didn’t have any shopping goals, i was able to do some people-watching while i wandered. i found it interesting to see how many other people were present in the mall at the exact same time as me. and it caused me to wonder, “what else could these people be accomplishing if they weren’t shopping? if i were able to completely cut shopping out of my schedule, how much more productive would i be?”

according to the new york times, the average american spends 23 minutes/ day shopping. males spend 16 minutes/day and females spend 29 minutes/day. to get a further breakdown of how americans spend their time, check out this fascinating link: how americans spend their time:

working the math at an average of 23 minutes/day,

americans spend 2 hours, 40 minutes shopping every week.
americans spend 11 hours, 30 minutes shopping every month.
americans spend 139 hours, 55 minutes shopping every year.

obviously, it is impossible to completely remove shopping from our schedules. at some point, we’ll need groceries, gasoline, or a gift for someone. but it occurred to me this past weekend that one benefit of becoming minimalist is that it allows me the opportunity to live a more productive life simply by the mere fact that i spend less time shopping now. and since we only get one chance to live this life, we might as well make it a productive one.

benefit #24 – use less standby power

joshua becker — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:50:51 +0000

i have written previously on the direct financial benefits of minimalism (buy less things = save more money). benefit #24 again relates to the financial benefits of minimalism, but this time the extra expense comes from the things already in your home.

meet standby power: many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. these “phantom” loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as vcrs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. (the us department of energy)

in britain, standby (or phantom) power accounts for 8% of all british domestic power consumption. a similar study in france found that standby power accounted for 7% of total residential consumption. some estimates put the proportion of consumption due to standby power as high as 13%.

the popular solution to reduce standby power in your home (and save 5-10% on your electrical bill) is to unplug your electric appliances when they are not in use or attach each of them to a powerstrip that can be powered off.

of course, another solution is to just reduce the number of electrical appliances in your home.

benefit #23 – more opportunity for rest

joshua becker — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:57:17 +0000

it is probably no coincidence that most of the major world religions exhort human beings to set aside time each week for rest. and even those who would not consider themselves religious still speak to the value of rest. because as humans, we all have physical limitations.

there is a danger in our world to self-exalt ourselves over our limitations – to claim that we can work without rest. but there is great danger in losing the natural rhythm between rest and work. great danger for our physical bodies, our emotional well-being, our relationships, and our spirituality. simply put, we must guard the natural rhythms of work and rest.

minimalism provides more opportunity for valuable rest, refreshment, and enjoyment. removing the relentless pursuit of physical possessions from our lives frees us from the pursuit of the almighty dollar. removing unnecessary physical possessions from our lives frees us from the burden of caring for them. removing clutter from our homes allows energy to flow more freely. and removing the value we place on physical items allows us to redirect our values and priorities.

so take a deep breath or better yet, take a nap. and return to the natural rhythms of work and rest.

benefit #22 – less places for your heart to go

joshua becker — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:55:17 +0000

a wise teacher once said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” by that, he meant that our hearts will naturally gravitate to the things we have invested the most into.

i felt that gravitation this past weekend. while i was in the store shopping with my family, a stranger scraped the side of our vehicle in the parking lot and promptly drove off. the driver left us with no insurance/contact information… nothing… just a large noticeable scrape across the rear passenger side of our vehicle. my wife and i both immediately felt sick to our stomachs. and as we drove away in silence, i began to think about what had just happened and how i responded.

i found it interesting to consider that if this same scrape had been left in my bicycle, my son’s skateboard, or my daughter’s scooter, i would not have been nearly upset. “why not?” i wondered. and it occurred to me, i wouldn’t be nearly as upset because i don’t have nearly as much invested in those things. but our vehicle is a huge investment and because of that, my heart gravitates toward it. i guess the teacher was right, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

one benefit of minimalism is that the less investment you put in material possessions, the less places your heart has to go. when we begin to invest our money, time, and lives into other more meaningful things (like relationships, social causes, or raising our children), our hearts will be drawn to those things because that is where our life investment is going… and a white scrape in your maroon minivan won’t ruin your entire day.

see the full list of benefits of minimalism.

benefit #21 – display what you value most

joshua becker — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:41:15 +0000

i have a friend with a bookcase in her living room. it has four shelves. currently, it is the home for 36 books, 11 figurines, 24 family photos, 2 souvenir coffee mugs, various snow globes, flower arrangements, vases, and candles.

people often define minimalism as removing all material possessions from your life. and they ask me, “how do you live life as a minimalist?” but their definition is founded an incorrect assumption. in reality, minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things that you most value. it is about deciding what is most important in your life and removing the things that distract you from it.

which bring me back to my friend’s bookcase. i look at her bookcase and often ask myself, “what is it that she values the most in this life?” i can’t tell by looking her at bookcase. it’s too crowded with things that are less important. one benefit of minimalism is that you are able to visibly declare what is most important to you.

look around your living room. what does it communicate about you? if a total stranger walked in, what would they identify is most important? or has the most important things in your life become crowded out but less important things?

full list of benefits of minimalism

a statement i never thought i’d make

joshua becker — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:44:39 +0000

my in-laws are coming into town tomorrow from the midwest. it is 10pm, and due to some immediate family matters, we had not begun getting the house ready for their arrival. my wife was lamenting the chore ahead of us. i turned to her and said…

“what do we have to clean? we’ve gotten rid of everything.”

and i truly meant it. it was a bit of hyperbole to be sure, but it is true that our home has become so clear of clutter that cleaning the whole house is not nearly the chore it used to be.

i guess that’s why i have time to sit here blogging right now, while she is finishing up. uh-oh, here she comes. i better g…

handpicked related post: benefit #4: easier to clean

benefit #19 – less work for someone else

joshua becker — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:41:01 +0000

this past year, my relative sorted the belongings of a deceased parent. this past month, my close friend oversaw an estate sale of a family as they transitioned into assisted living. and this past week, i helped a family move out of their residence of 45 years.

hours and hours were spent going through boxes and boxes of belongings, room by room. some things were kept, some things were sold, and much was thrown away. in each case, someone other than the owner of the possessions was doing all the work.

one benefit of living a minimalist life is that you create less work for somebody else.

consider the fact that at some point in your life (or in your death) every single item of your belongings will be sorted by another human being. you can create for yourself a less stressful life today by living a minimalist life. and you can lessen the burden on someone close to you as well. for the sake of your closest friends and family, choose to become minimalist.

benefit #18 – room to add

joshua becker — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:12:02 +0000

my daughter celebrated her 3rd birthday this past weekend. princesses were everywhere – on the decorations, the paper products, the cake, and on her presents. everywhere i looked this weekend, i saw princesses… and my daughter smiling. she couldn’t get enough! every card and every gift with a princess brought a smile to her face and a cheer of “princesses!” her joy brought me joy.

looking back on the day as we were taking the new princess toys to the basement toy room, it occurred to me that one benefit of minimalism is that there is “room to add.” because we have kept our kids’ toys down to a minimum through regular sorting and purging, there is room in our basement for new princess toys. conversely, if the toy room was already stuffed full of toys, there would be no room for my daughter’s new treasures.

and this benefit relates to more than physical belongings. consider this, if our schedules are so full with no room for margin, there is no opportunity to add something new or something better (whether that be joining a gym, getting to know the neighbors, or handling a family crisis). a too-full calendar leaves no room for addition.

although adding things may seem counter-productive to one who wants to become minimalist, it is in fact, one good reason to consider it.