“Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions.” – Peace Pilgrim
Four years ago, we sold, donated, or discarded over 60% our possessions. We removed clothes, furniture, decorations, cookware, tools, books, toys, plus anything else we could find in our home that was not immediately useful or beautiful.
At the time, the idea of owning fewer possessions was completely foreign to us. Nobody had ever told us living with fewer possessions was an option for life… much less a better alternative to the endless pursuit of more and more.
Looking back, while I would have never admitted with my words that I was seeking joy in possessions, I had become more influenced by our consumer-driven culture than I would like to admit. As a result, I worked long hours to earn money to buy newer technology, trendier clothing, nicer toys, faster cars, and bigger houses. I didn’t really believe the purpose of life was to chase possessions, but my calendar and checkbook sure seemed to declare that truth.
Choosing to intentionally live with fewer possessions was a decision that sounded surprisingly attractive. It was a decision that found its roots in our finances, our family, and our faith. We had grown weary of living paycheck to paycheck, weary of trading time with our kids to manage our possessions, and weary of pursuing worldly gain rather than lasting purpose. Owning less offered escape from the clutter in our homes. It offered escape from the clutter in our lives. It forced intentionality. And it offered the very ideals our hearts most desperately desired.
Since choosing to live with less, we have experienced numerous unexpected benefits. We have more time, more energy, more freedom, and more money to pursue what is most important to us. Owning less means less cleaning, less burden, less anxiety, and less stress each and every day. In short, we are freed to pursue our passions.
Over the years, I have come to define minimalism as the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. I have found it to be a lifestyle that appeals to the heart and resonates with the soul. Owning less is an invitation that is appreciated, desired, and accepted when fully understood. It may be just the answer to a better life you’ve been searching for all along.
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
I am a new follower and will be looking to your blog as well as your book, Simplify, for guidance over the coming months.
I have already started the process by clearing out an enormous amount of kids toys, clothes, books and shoes. Next is the kitchen!
My fear though, is that once I have reduced everything we own down to what we need, how will I stop things creeping back? What strategies can you recommend to make sure I don’t fall in to the trap of feeling like I need “stuff” again?
I am VERY slowly trying to simplify…but I think the best way to keep your possessions reduced once you get there, is to adopt the 1 thing in – 1 thing out rule. If you do acquire someting new, something you already own must go! I wish I was closer to this goal myself…
Gina, I find sometimes the best rule is just the “1 thing out rule”. Something leaves; don’t actively try to replace it. :)
Hi Kelly,
I’m relatively new to minimalism, (1 1/2 years), and have discovered that “creep” is toughest when you first start your journey. One way I have learned to combat it is to keep a small notebook with me that has several tabs. One tab is for my “needs”, items that I do truly need for myself and my home, and that have to be budgeted for. A second tab has my budget and purchases which allows me to see how much money I really do have to spend available at any one time. My budget is based on cash so that I don’t fall into the trap of charging it just because I can. The third tab is for items I have seen and wanted, but not necessarily needed. I note where I saw it, how much it costs, and what date I saw it. Then I force myself to wait at least one week before buying. Most of the time I don’t end up buying it, and on the rare occasion I do I apply the one-in-one-out rule and sell/donate the old item if at all possible. It’s not a perfect system, ( I still have to avoid stores like Sephora entirely), but it’s working 90% of the time and I have been able to get myself out of debt within a year using it and my home is less cluttered and more comfortable to live in.
My wife and I have recently begun to go through this metamorphosis from living a consumer based life to a life of less. As we tell friends and family that we are selling stuff the first response we usually get is them asking something about us not having enough money. It is really difficult to actually explain to someone that you want to choose to have less in your life.
“Choosing to intentionally live with fewer possessions was a decision that sounded surprisingly attractive.” I am going to be sending some people this statement and keep it in my arsenal as we continue on our journey.
I get what you are saying! My mother thinks that my frugal/minimalist lifestyle is because I am desperately poor. The opposite is true, I am able to put 40% of my income in the bank.
Interesting irony that the people who look rich are poor, and the people that look poor are rich….isn’t it? :)
As Thenix and I look to travelling for a year or so through South America, I have to figure out what to do with all of our stuff. Even though we are not big consumers, we still have a lot of stuff to store away. Furniture, clothes, electronics. We only have a 500 sq.ft apartment but we have surely crammed it with an abundance of things. Just deciding to go on this trip led us to cut down on our ownership – we got rid of a lot of stuff that was just hanging around – it made us question everything we bought and received. Owning less is an answer to a lot of questions in our lives.
We are also going through this process. We had wanted to begin a couple of years ago, but got an offer to live on a large piece of property, 7 acres, which we really needed to experience. That property came with a 2700 sq ft home, not what I wanted but the experience was needed to happen. Now we are all (2 adults, 2 children & our zoo of kittes and 2 dogs) living happily in an 800 sq ft home and loving it! Garage Sale #2 in April. We keep realizing we need less and less. Our priority is to travel more. So nice to have less, we still have a long way to go, but you have to start somewhere!
Great article. I think minimalism allows you to focus your life.
Eliminating the excess surely brings a sense of peace and content in life. I am new to the journey and your blog is such an inspiration!
We moved to a larger house about a year ago, and keeping up with it has been time consuming and overwhelming for me. Getting rid of our stuff is helping, as is buying less, too.
We began simplifying in 2009 in selling our 3,000 square foot house and big mortgage. I built the house with my ex-husband 20 years prior to selling it. We lived in a 29′ travel trailer for 4 years and both worked full time as we built our dream house. Living in the trailer was an eye-opening experience . . . probably the most valuable life lesson I’ve done so far. Moving into the big house was overwhelming on many levels. I had a sense of guilt consuming so much raw material creating my dream. We soon settled into life, had a son and life was good. When I divorced I had to pay my ex-husband half a million dollars for his half of the house. We spent a fraction of that amount building the house but property values had skyrocketed. I struggled to stay in the house for 6 years after the divorce. Got my son off to high school and decided it was time to get real before I spent all of my equity.
Moving was gut-wrenching and I hung onto the sadness of letting go until only a few months ago. I still miss the house and property (5 1/2 acres) but my (now) husband and I live on the coast. Although we’re renting, we live in a great house with a view of the harbor and the ocean. The house is half the size of our country home and a postage stamp size lot but it’s plenty big enough. Although living on the coast was always my dream we may never have moved here because we loved our country home. We’re no longer pressured to make a huge monthly mortgage or maintain a big house and property. I walk the beach several times a week, work from home and have a community I’d never experienced in our country home. I’m now living another life-long dream.
Another dream of mine is to build and live in a tiny house. However, this isn’t a dream shared by my husband. He’s what’s now known as a ‘prepper’ so feels it’s best to have 10 of everything. Because he loves me he’s agreed to the tiny house idea but his vision is of 3 tiny houses . . . we’re getting there ; )
Thanks so much for sharing your life and inspiring me to pursue a simpler life.
I hear you… I’m in a 3400 square foot house and thinking I was nuts to ever agree to buy something this big. In reality I can barely keep up with the cleaning, and would rather have my feet up or play with my kids than vacuum the upstairs…again… And then there’s the yard…
So this year or next we’ll make plans to move. My husband is on board with this. The challenge will be getting a house no more than 2000 square feet when he wants at least 2400… :)
My husband has also mentioned the idea of owning more than one property for vacationing or to rent for additional income. As far as I’m concerned I am one person, we are one family, so we are good with one house. If I want to vacation somewhere I’ll stay in a hotel that I don’t have to maintain all the other weeks out of the year!
I love this blog and reading replies from people who have the same goals as me. :)
Thank you for the great article! I’ve just started to downsize my life. Fewer clothes means less stress about a growing pile of laundry. Fewer dishes means never feeling overwhelmed with cleaning the kitchen. My dog seems unhappy with my putting away most of his (14) toys, but other than that it’s been smooth sailing. My biggest fear is my job. I’m living paycheck to paycheck and I still have student loan debt to pay down. I’m scared that I’ll spend the rest of my life staring at a computer screen, sitting on my ever-expanding behind, trying to become financially secure. This isn’t what I wanted my life to be like.
A great post J.B!
Anyone who takes the path towards a life of minimalism will soon enjoy the benefits of owning less, the elimination of desire for the latest gadget/clothing must-have, the comfort you can take by realising that no one material possession will make you happy and that happiness will come, almost as a sub-benefit, of redirecting your previous consumerism led free time to more fulfilling activities.
Please take the time to check out my new website, http://www.thedebtfreeminimalist.com for inspirational advice on how to live a simple, frugal, debt-free minimalist lifestyle.
I have minimalized a lot of my posessions over the last months and for the first time I get to experience this freedom I heard every minimalist talking about that comes when minimalism starts doing its magic.
Experiencing this myself right now, I can tell you it’s both great and terrifying as I get pulled out of my comfort zone almost automatically every day now.
I don’t know yet if minimalism leads to a *better* life as this is still too new for me, but I can say that it definitely leads to a more interesting life.
I agree, and now that our kids are entering the teenage years, we are realizing more and more how little time we have with them. They are busy NOW, and will be leaving SOON! Why invest a second more into things, when we have these wonderful people to build relationships with under our roof for such a short time.
Thank you for your blog. I enjoy it very much and am inspired by your journey daily.
I think there is a progression, though. It starts with getting rid of possessions, but that leads to becoming intentional in other areas: your time, your thoughts, your relationships, your money, etc. Minimalism has come to mean so much more than limiting possessions, to us.
Owning less is ALWAYS the best answer to finding your spirit…..
AND What is more important than that?…….
Nothing!
To be the best minimalist…don’t thing in ways such as “limiting your possessions”
That is a negative statement… I prefer to think of “expanding my opportunities”
Owning less is 100% the answer to a better life. It’s hard to see this at first, but once you really start living it out, it changes your life!
I’ve been on this journey for a while now, and it’s still so hard to get rid of some things. I’ve learned to be ruthless. If it’s not bringing me joy, why should I have it around?
Thanks for sharing your story. It encourages all of us.
Be blessed!
~Chelle
http://www.newdream.org,
is an organization that advocates celebrating the things that does not have monetary value, slowly reinventing the ” american dream”.
Great word, Joshua. Thanks for the challenge.
Hi. I am a new reader and I felt really fascinated by your writings.
I think the layout is perfect, the picture is very artistic, and the writings are very interesting. :)
I recently wrote an article for the Dallas Morning News about this very subject. There is definitely a simple luxury in living with less.
You can read the article here. http://lifepart2.com/the-stuff-of-life-why-i-sold-all-my-belongings-to-travel-the-world/
My first flat had nothing but a bed and I used a suitcase to store my clothes. Man I miss those days everything was so simple!
I need to embrace this concept, especially at age 55 and the kids are grown. Its really tough when I have an emotional attachment to obsolete, unused items. Am I correct in thinking the process of becoming a minimalist is painful today to have simplicity tomorrow?
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