“Anyone with two tunics should share with him who has none.” – John the Baptist
Four years ago, we made a bold, life-changing decision. We decided to intentionally live with fewer possessions. It had become very clear to us that our clutter was stealing time, energy, and focus from our pursuits that mattered most. And removing unneeded possessions would free up precious resources and opportunity.
We started right away working through each room, closet, and drawer in our home to remove the unnecessary clutter from our home and lives.
Along the way, we began noticing a troubling trend: duplicates. In fact, we owned duplicates of nearly everything. We began to quickly realize we had bought into thinking that went like this, “If owning one of something is nice, owning more will be even better.”
But we were wrong. And lately, I have begun to intentionally embrace a new philosophy. I have begun to appreciate the simple joys of owning one.
Consider the benefits of owning just one of an item:
- We own only our favorite of every object.
- We take better care of our belongings.
- We routinely use each of our owned possessions.
- We can quickly identify what needs to be repaired or replaced.
- We can easily identify the importance and purpose of each item.
- We create opportunity to own higher quality items.
- We find more capacity to help others with our excess.
- We experience increased intentionality in our purchases and possessions.
There is indeed a peaceful joy to be discovered in simply owning one. And this principle can be applied to almost any item we own: One coat. One spatula. One mug. One pen. One set of bedding. One television. One…
Surely, the practical implications of this principle will vary from household to household. Its opportunity will play out differently in your home than mine.
But the simple joy of owning one has too quickly been forgotten. It is time we remember its simple beauty… and live less cluttered lives because of it.
Image: Wolfgang Staudt
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
I like the idea of owning one of everything in theory, but I can’t get my head around this: if one of the ways I share myself is to feed other people I invite to my home, it’s difficult to do this with only 2 cups, 2 bowls, etc. (one each for my wife and I).
Any thoughts on that? Or is this worrying about the extreme case, vs. trying for the most reasonable minimalist situation?
Thanks!
I think you are jumping to the extreme case on this one Tony. No doubt, one cup or one bowl may be a practical application for some. But if your values and pursuits are centered around showing hospitality and inviting others into your home, I think it is completely reasonable to keep the possessions necessary to serve them.
Great post. We each have to find the right balance for ourselves and our family situations. But, too many times people have duplicates of things that they don’t need. We have very few knives in our home, but we use what we have and wash it if it is dirty. They are a better quality and I can depend on them. I don’t want more. I like what I have: one serrated, one paring and one butcher. I don’t need any more. A lady once told me about someone she worked for. They had around 15-20 shirts of one color. This isn’t a business man who wears suits each day and needs white shirts. This is a woman who loved to shop. In the long run, we know how much we need of our items depending on our lifestyle. Thanks for your inspiration Joshua.
I agree. I look at my possessions through both a minimalist and a pragmatic eye. I have only one purse that goes with everything and never have to worry about switching over to another one. On the other hand, I have three sets of scarf/hat/glove combinations and one set goes with a particular one of my three winter coats. I store them in each coat, on its’ hanger. I have a full-length down coat for frigid days, a lighter pea-coat for moderate days, and a raincoat for wet days. That may sound like too many to some people, but it is the best practical solution to get me out the door as quickly as possible each morning, properly attired for the weather. I justify it by the fact that I shopped very carefully for each item, bought the best I could afford and they have all lasted me for many years so far. I also repair them rather than replace them if at all possible when they are damaged.
Annie, I think your take on coats is totally fine. They all have their place. I, on the other hand, have an incredibly nice-looking 3/4 length peacoat which only can be worn in the fall. It’s too tight for many layers underneath, too dressy for most outfits, and, as I’ve noticed, actually instills a sort of guilt in me when wearing it in my community (rural Missouri, many people on Medicaid, I work at a church where plenty of people come in asking for food & gas money). So it’s going away via Craigslist. On to more important, meaningful endeavors!
I agree that 1 cup, 1 plate, 1 bowl might be a bit extreme. But, how about 1 “set” of dishes. Getting rid of the other 6 that I have would be a considerable simplification. I related the idea more to electronic devices, as in 1 TV, 1 Camera, 1 computer, etc. Is it really necessary to own a desk top, lap top, IPad and Iphone?
Also, shoes – ha! Running shoes, tennis court shoes, gym shoes, Zumba shoes, dress shoes, casual shoes, ahhhh. Might be a problem.
I think the idea is to get you thinking about what you truly use on a regular basis and keep only that. We have a desktop and a laptop, but my husband needs both for work since he freelances and often has to go to the client’s office. The laptop is good for quick work done at the client’s location, but for extended jobs he’s needs the power and storage that only his desktop can provide. He thought about getting an iPad as well but realized the laptop would serve the same purposes and do even more so he only bought that.
Your comment about the shoes made me laugh. I recently pared my collection down and it was tough. There is no way I can own only one pair for everything. On the other hand, I now buy them much more carefully and wear them out beyond all hope before replacing them. I decided it was easier to place a limit within each category; exercise, work, and casual and stick to that.
How about one set of dishes, rather than, as some have, sets for different occasions?
Thanks for the quick response – I enjoy your work here.
I love the quote from the Baptist, Josh. Your concept has GREAT value for our children. Think of all the toys that get played with just once and then get tossed aside, relegated to that forlorn Land of Lost Toys. How much dearer would our children regard their personal possessions if they were not over-loaded by well-meaning parents who want to give them everything. In giving our children everything, we give them little!
One. Huh, now that’s itneresting. ONe set of sheets. ONe plate. Well, for our family of four, maybe it shoudl be four. Four plates, four forks, etc. Sort of a neat idea. I never really thought much about duplicates, but that is a big cause of clutter, you’re absolutely right!
Joshua, two years ago, my daughter in law, opened my eyes to this idea (which I think is what you are really saying). I will say that she is from Colombia, South America. She had gone shopping with me. Upon check-out she had asked me what I had purchased. I told her that I had bought cereal bowls for my youngest daughter still living at home who wanted a deeper bowl to eat her cereal bowl from. My daughter in law laughed and said this (which I thought was profound and of which I have shared many times over) “This is why people in the United States have so many things, You have to “NAME” everything. Cereal bowls, soup spoons, coffee cups, salad plates, etc..” She proceeded to tell me that her family in Colombia uses the same bowl for soup, salad, ice cream or cereal. Same cup for juice, coffee, tea and sometimes icecream. This experience with my sweet daughter in law really did open my eyes to how we can be viewed as a culture, but more importantly just how blinded I was to my wants instead of my needs. Thank you for your daily thoughts.
I recently decided a Corning pie plate was the perfect piece for me. Wide enough to be a plate but deep enough to be a bowl. I have not yet found anything I cannot eat from this one piece. And it can go into the oven or microwave for heating my food.
Love this concept. We have been whittling away at clothing, cups, dishes, sheets, blankets and other household items. We do keep enough stuff for guests, but I often keep the extra dishes for guests put away somewhere else. It helps keep our kitchen tidier and it forces us to do dishes and keep up with the housework better. It doesn’t become so overwhelming. Limiting outfits has helped tons with keeping up with the wash, we have 4 kids, six of us total. Too many clothes makes mountains and mountains of laundry. We are down to about 10 outfits each.
I’m a Simple Living person which I guess makes me a Minimalist Lite. I dont’ have a ton of things, but I blog a lot about food…so I do own quite a few dishes… but they are used and loved. I think that is what is most important.
I feel this way about pets. We are now down to one dog. Oh, I do miss my cat, but now I am focused on just one animal. For many years, we had two cats and a dog (plus fosters).
I’ve been solicited to add a feline back, but I like just having one animal to relate to. As a dog trainer, I always felt you did best if you had just one dog and could focus on just that animal for all the behaviors you want. I know others don’t feel that way, but for me, I like to have one animal at a time so I can have a more solid/intimate bond with her.
Although we are not down to one of everything, we have been applying the spirit of the rule for the past year. We moved from a 3200 sq foot home to a 1400 sq foot apartment. We are down to one eating area instead of two. We only used our dining room when we had guests. We are down to one sitting area instead of four in our old house. We are not yet where we want to be, but we are much more critical of each purchase. Its very liberating to reduce our possessions and mostly it frees up time for more enjoyable activities than maintenance.
Because I snowbird alone I don’t even need one mug. I use my measuring cup.
Hmmm, interesting and admirable. I like the John the Baptist quote.
I’ve now been living for over a year with just one pair of pants. One carefully chosen, ninety dollar pair of pants that has performed well in every situation. Though I do nothing overly formal, they have seen the inside of several nice restaurants, without seeming out of place.
Both my mother and mother-in-law think I’m nuts, and immediately start to play the what if game. What if I spill something on myself? (They don’t stain.) What if I somehow end up covered in mud? (They clean easily and dry fast.)
In the end, it’s been a year and no such tragedies have come to pass. I’m sure something will happen one day. But the extra hassle that day, for lack if an extra pair, will be a small cost compared to how much I get out of simplicity month after month.
Eric, I love this. I am trying to find a way to do this, as I only have one pair of pants that I truly love and feel good in.
I found several years ago that if I have one good pair of everyday winter gloves, I take care not to lose them or misplace them. In the past, I would pick up a cheap pair at the grocery store “just in case”.
Is that great John the Baptist quote one from the Holy Bible? If so, can you tell me where to find it?
I’ve been working this out in our house too. I also look at items that perform the same duty. When my food processor died, I waited to see if I would miss it. Though I had used it a lot, everything I did with it can be done with the other items in my kitchen. I will not be replacing it. I also recently broke up a set of dishes (gasp!), donated the cups and saucers which never got used, and kept the plates and bowls. I love the liberation of using what I have and only having what I use. I don’t feel guilty anymore about not using grandma’s relish dish or not wearing certain clothing items.
It can be found in the Bible at Luke 3:11.
http://bible.cc/luke/3-11.htm
I like this idea very much of one of everything. I moved last year, and spent about 10 months decluttering and reducing our possessions. My new kitchen is 25% the size of my old kitchen, so I reduced and reduced in there. I took all of my cupboard doors off in the kitchen in the cupboards I store my dishes in, and have 6 of each item, but only have 1 set of the dishes we use regularly. I find I don’t miss the additional dishes that filled my old cupboards.
The hardest thing to let go of – my grandmother’s China. She used to take them out of the cupboard and wash them once a month, even though they almost never got used. I found I never used them, so passed them on to a local thrift store. They were delighted when I brought them in, and I’m sure they went to a good home – where they would actually be used.
Cullen, that is taken from Luke 3:11
I do love this idea and have been wrestling about how to use it in the kitchen.. how many baking sheets, pots and pans etc. Thank you, Josh!
Great post and a wonderful reminder for me to go an check to see just how many duplicates of things I have in my own home. I don’t think I’m too bad – especially in the clothes department. I have really only ever had one coat at a time though I have lots of shoes and bags … though only one in each colour!
I love your first point ‘ own only our favorite of every object ‘ … that will be my guide as I go through my wardrobe this weekend :)
Love this we do prescribe to this idea as much as possible. Over the christmas holiday I realised I had 2 vases although I rarely display fresh flowers so one was given away. We tend to have one thing use it till it falls apart then replace it. We do have 2 TV’s as we live in a 3 storey house, 1 in the kitchen on the ground floor and 1 in the lounge on the first floor. We also have 2 pairs of trainers one dirty for outdoor running and one clean for the gym. My kids have 1 set of school uniform. We dont have deep cupboards and we all wear all our clothes all the time. I have 2 pairs of jeans which is absolutely enough. We manage with 1 set of bedding and 1 towel each etc too. Much easier than delaing with a laundry mountain!
Well now I do own two spoons, two forks, bowls plates and cups… just in case I have a friend over….
This post really got me thinking…I have almost two or three of everything and I’m not talking about clothes or crockery…but the expensive electronic gadgets…how much money went down the drain buying all that stuff which seemed like a necessity at that time…wish I had learnt about minimalism earlier!
I love the John the Baptist quote! The idea of one seemed reasonable to me until you got to the examples. One pen? I did try to live with three pens one year. It was challenging. But I’m on the path!
Fabulous insight.
I did not realise, but I have been embracing the same idea in some areas, but can now mindfully and intentionally apply this to many more areas of my life.
Thanks for a great piece
Any advice for converting a doubting spouse? This idea of life simplification is beautiful in every way. Admittedly, it is much easier for me than my bride and I would never force this issue. I am of the belief “a person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still.” Thus, is there a way to compromise and ease into something like this? Perhaps a trial run at some level with some type or category of item?
Thanks so much!
I have the same problem with my husband. I think you are definitely taking the correct approach though. I am doing the same and hoping he comes around eventually. :)
This may be the most logical approach to a lifestyle I’ve ever read. In the spirit of the posts I have but one word for you: Indeed.
I love this idea & I am constantly working on it.
Had to laugh at the “one coat” concept. We live in Alaska, you see, where even trying to live simply we have summer coats, “”warmer weather” winter coats, and coats for those below-zero stretches (sound crazy? Maybe…but recently it was 40 degrees in Jan–way too warm for my down jacket, but too cold for my lighter summer jacket. Two weeks later it is -4 and I’m back to my down jacket). Additionally, we have 4 kids, which means A LOT of gear. Boots, hats, gloves, scarves, cross-country ski gear (skis, pole, boots), sleds, bikes, scooters, kayaking gear (kayaks, paddles, life jackets)…etc. We use it ALL. We have a nice sized crawl-space where I store the out of season gear and go through it all twice a year at the changing of the seasons.
I never want to leave Alaska, but sometimes dream of living in a place that isn’t muddy, slushy, snowy or dusty most of the time. :)
I like this idea in theory, but it would be hard to put into practice in our house with two small children–seems like it would add a lot more fighting and whining over the “one” thing they both want at the same time. I just don’t want to be a referee 24/7. But, I do agree that we need to rein in the consumerism and I’ve been blogging about that very topic lately. Like many Americans, we have the “luxurious problem” of having far too much stuff, and one of my goals this year is finding new homes for much of it (and the dump doesn’t count as one of those new homes).
I am new to this website. I have been trying to unpack for the past 15 months. I can not believe the amount of things I have saved over the years. Until 18 months ago my family of 6 lived in a very small house that was overrun with “stuff.” I regret the years that my children could not invite friends over because of my lack of keeping the house in order. Now I have donated boxes of useful items and have given many toys, etc. away to families who can use them. What I am struggling with is the continued guilt I feel for all the money and resources I wasted in the past and the mess that my children were forced to live in. while growninng up. I have one toddler left and am trying to redeem myself. Any suggestions on how to let go of guilt would be most appreciated. Thank you for your wonderful articles.
Debbie
I love this post. I’ve been going around my house today asking myself “what if I only had one….” and then filling in the blank with things like towel, plate, cup, shirt, pair of shoes, book ,etc. Very thought provoking!
I love this. And I think often about the title of your blog because it is truly BECOMING minimalist. I thought I was very minimalist about a year ago, yet the me today is much more minimalist than the me then. And we own way more than 1 pen! We are always on the road to becoming minimalist. I love the journey of loving STUFF less, giving us time for relationships more!
My challenge since 2011 till now was to keep everything light, so I can start travel at any given time. 25 minutes for packing all my stuff. Who knows what needs I’ll might have in the future, but for now, this is way better than to own a bunch of stuff I really do not need.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Old4fSYLTzc
Everything I own can be packed in less than 25 minutes. One small backpack for the laptop and another one with clothes and camping gear (I’m a camping guy, kind of having my house with me all the time and I love nature, I prefer to sleep near the ocean than sleeping in a concrete box).
Since 2011 when I gave away all my belongings I had less than 60 objects. It allowed me to be free actually, because I am a nomad and being able to pack and leave within one hour it’s the most freeing thing I could live by.
And of course that some of my socks break free and they went somewhere together. They have this habit, they hide all the time, now two of them took a vacation also. They will be back, I know it. They always do
Hi Joshua,
That’s a beautiful quote!
While the practical application of owing one, like you have mentioned, will vary from household to household, I totally agree with the concept of owning less.
This approach can help us to shift our focus from purely materialistic pursuits to simple things that actually matter and bring us joy!
Thanks for sharing such a thought provoking post!
Gaori
I am still in the getting rid of mind set, though the temptation is always out there for getting more of everything. I feel so guilty when I give in and realize I have just spent over 300 dollars on stuff. I have more purses and shoes than I can wear, probably close to 100 shoes. This is crazy and driving me nuts! Sometimes I look in my closet and I am so overwhelmed with the amount of clothes I have it’s driving me crazy and I can’t figure out what to wear each and every time. This all sounds so freeing, I need to continue to get rid of all this that’s keeping me from enjoying this beautiful world God made and how I can help the next person in need.
I love the idea of having just one of something, although for me, it is hard in practice for some things like pens and bags. I have a couple of these to fill different needs. But still trying to cut down as much as possible.
One place I have been successful in this is in the kitchen. I now only have one small pot and one spatula, etc. This is a great thing to strive for.
I haven’t always been a purger like I am now, but I have never owned more than one set of sheets for my bed at any one time. Take them off, wash them and put them back on. It never occured to me to have a backup set. I’ve given this idea of duplicates some thought in the past, and realized that if there is a specific place for something, I’m likely to have just one. Like my toothbrush – it’s always in a cup next to the sink – it’s never misplaced, and I never have to go looking for it. But scissors, for example, get moved around, and I find myself buying another pair because I MISPLACED them. So if everything had a specific home, I would only need one. It’s all about location, location, location! :)
Watching the show “hoarder” always scare me, I often find myself getting rid of stuff after watching that show. For some it has become a disease, and they end up needing professional help.
I love the idea of just 1! But for some it can be scary. My husband is Mr prepared and so there must always be a back up, or 2 or 3. When he buys something he naturally buys 2 just in case etc. I’ve always been the opposite and sometimes have run out of something when Ive needed it but things can be easily replaced ‘IF’ you do find you don’t have that thing anymore.
I have a terrible habit of buying articles of clothing in duplicate. I have too many identical pairs of jeans, which, despite being identical, still seem to not all fit and feel the same. And that causes me to only wear my favorite fitting pair over and over, and the others get shoved to the back of the closet. Same with tops, I find a top I like and I buy several more of that style in different colors. But I end up only wearing the black one or the white one, over and over. Repeat this problem with shoes….yep, I have a closet full off shoes, but only wear one or 2 pair. It’s painful to see how much money I have wasted that could have been put to better use. 20 years ago, I had very little money for clothes, so I owned maybe 2 pair of pants and 4 shirts. I also realize now that I was much happier and content with my wardrobe than I am now.
Those of us who dry laundry on a clothesline need a few duplicates so we have something to wear, put on the bed, dry ourselves with, while the laundry dries. :-)
“One” of everything may be a bit extreme for most of us, but I do like the principle of having just what you need and no more.
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