“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” —Nelson Mandela
We own too much stuff. And it is stealing our joy.
Consider how our possessions deplete our most finite and valuable resources:
Money: Everything we buy moves our financial balance closer to zero, sometimes even below. The Average American with credit card debt lives with $15,956 debt spread out over 3.5 credit cards. But it is not only families with debt that struggle. Recent statistics report nearly 8 out of every 10 Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck.
Time: Our possessions rob us of precious minutes every day. They are required to be cleaned, organized, maintained, fixed, recycled, removed, and replaced. And that doesn’t even begin to account for all the time we spent working in the first place just to earn the money to buy the possessions that we take home to be cleaned and organized and maintained and…
Energy: Our excessive possessions demand our attention and mental energy. Clutter in our life contends for our eyes, our attention, and our focus. Our minds are subtly consumed with the pursuit of possessions. And the temptation to compare our possessions with those around us permeates our thoughts more than we’d like to admit.
But there is a far better way to live life. The removal of excessive possessions and the intentional decision to live with less offers countless benefits. In exchange for removing the clutter, we are rewarded with newfound finances, time, energy, freedom, and mental capacity. Our lives are lived with less stress, less anxiety, and less burden.
Life is immediately improved. Our finite resources become more available to us. In short, we are freed to pursue our greatest passions. And for some of us, it’s been a long time since we had access to the necessary finite resources required to chase our heart’s greatest delights—however we decide to define them.
For too long, we’ve bought into the lie that more is better. We’ve bought bigger houses and faster cars and trendier clothes and cooler toys, but we’ve traded far more than time and money to acquire them. We’ve traded the very passions and life we most desperately desire to pursue.
But they can be rediscovered. After all…
- Living with less offers more time to spend on meaningful activities.
- Living with less offers more freedom to travel and move about.
- Living with less offers more clarity in our spiritual pursuits.
- Living with less offers more mental capacity to solve our most heartfelt problems in life.
- Living with less offers more finances to support causes we believe in.
- Living with less even offers far greater flexibility in pursuing the careers we most desire.
Owning fewer possessions provides the perfect roadmap for living the life you’ve always dreamed of living. One that is lived pursuing the greatest passions in your heart. Maybe for the first time. Finally.
David says
While we are on a crusade to empty our lives of unused possessions (and to stop adding to them), I still don’t feel that I connect with the idea that those possessions “rob [me] of precious minutes every day”. I’ve actually been spending way more time focusing on them as I am trying to get rid of them than I ever have while they’ve quietly collected dust in our crawl space. But spending all that time on these objects now is worth it to me because it helped us visualize how much stuff we’ve accumulated over the years and will hopefully guide our future behavior in a less commercially focused way and to focus more on experiences, not stuff.
Happy Annie says
If you have children then your decluttering has saved them hours of going through all those things when you pass away. Many people don’t think about that, but I have known friends and family who have spent weeks to months sorting though and clearing out a parents houseful of things upon their death. Think of it as paying it forward! :)
Theo says
And not to mention the several bags of paper and other trash to just recycle…
Brett says
Dont sell anything!! Just donate it all. You will feel sooo much better for the experience.
Deniz says
What about the stuff with tags still attatched? And what if youre in debt? It kinda makes sense to sell some of it. I think that if you think it will sell for above a certain amount, say $20, then give it a go, if you have the time that is. I have donated a lot of clothing in the past year but my to sell box has gotten bigger so i may need to reevaluate and donate some more. We have a bit of debt, and i stay at home with my three young kids, so we have one income, so naturally i want to be able to get some money back from the items i have paid money for so that we can be out of debt quicker. Its just a matter of finding time to do so.
joshua becker says
There is certainly no one-set of perfect steps as someone begins to clear out their clutter. When we started out, we began selling the items (ebay, garage sales, etc.). But soon, it became too much and we ended up donating most of it. But we did make some money selling in the first… Factors such as value of the items, opportunity for income (avenues for making sales), and your current financial situation should all be considered.
Teresa Forrester says
My clearing out the clutter has had a bit of back log too. I can understand just donating it all and being done with it. For those of us who need to sell at least some of the items, it may take a little longer to get past the final hurdle of disposal. The knowledge of knowing that these items are no longer holding me, no longer wanted, no longer needed is freeing. The decision on whether to keep them or not has been made. It took a lifetime to aquire all this mess, it’ll take some time to sort through it all.
Fiona Cee says
I’ve given up the idea of trying to make money out of my stuff. It’s hard hard enough just to get rid of it let alone organising yard sales etc. I’ll feel less stress if it’s just GONE, not hanging around to be sold.
kate says
That’s where consignment shops really play a key role- they will be able to make a judgement call on what will sell and what won’t, and either pay you cash, or put your clothes on consignment so you get a little money at a time (and a higher return). You can bring in large batches of clothing and its quick and easy! This season alone, I’ve pulled in a couple hundred dollars just cleaning out the baby stuff I thought I’d want to use again!
Theo says
I’ve recently started purging my clothes and belongings. When you put them all in a pile it’s hard to imagine where it all came from and how it fit in your room! A huge garbage bag of clothes to donate, and an “Ikea bag” with maybes, taken out of the closet I decided to move my clothes to a chest of drawers instead – and they fit! (Except some thick sweaters for the winter) Now I can use my wardrobe to store bags and sleeping bags/extra duvets which used to lay around where ever they fit.
Two big paper bags of “stuff” to be donated as well! It’s just hard trying to determine what to save and sell, and what to donate.
Though nothing has left the house yet, just having it in bags, ready to go, makes the room feel calmer and more livable. No more avoiding the desk because of all the stuff occupying it!
Ray says
Really good post and a timely one for me. I am in the process of cleaning out so much stuff that has accumulated over the time. I know that a LOT of it is stuff I don’t really need to have becaused I lived minimally for two years without while it was in storage. Now that is the irony of it all, I paid a fee to store my stuff for nearly two years and it was stuff I didn’t use for that two years and now it still largely unused stuff taking up space in the garage and just in general in the way.
Kathleen @ Frugal Portland says
Yes, yes yes! I could not agree more. I have space for … space, now that I have fewer things.
Ricky says
This is one of your best posts.
Nice job.
joshua becker says
Thanks Ricky.
AlexM says
For me, the hardest part was the anxiety that came with passing up the opportunity to acquire something. I think that is how it makes it hard to give up the pursuit of minimalism. But once I got past that, I had a lot more mental freedom. Because after you buy something, you also have to put thought into rationalizing the purchase. So there is that mental freedom you speak of for sure in that aspect. But it is still a struggle for me.
I have also found there is a lot more emotional room in my marriage because all along my husband wanted less in the house and I didn’t realize how much my ability to find “deals” and get good stuff for a bargain was working against his desire. Now that we are on the same wavelength, it is nice to have even more in common with each other as far as goals and life-views goes.
But it is hard to change your mindset and pass things by! It makes it easier by focusing on the benefits. Keep on pointing them out!
Deniz says
AlexM, you couldnt have summed my exact thoughts up better. Im in the exact same boat as you, especially in regards to the husband issue. It really makes you think ‘wow all these years he has been thinking the thoughts that i am only now being to understand!’. Minimalism is very new to me, but my husband was already there, and im only just realising it. It is comforting to know we are now on the same page.
Christopher Storer says
“the anxiety that came with passing up the opportunity to acquire something” That exactly describes the way I feel. Every time a great deal comes by, I have to talk myself out of it. But it is getting easier!
Betsy says
So true…The anxiety that is created when we feel that we have to buy something on sale and just walking away from the “opportunity” to aquire more stuff – can be intense. I admit, I can’t wait for the Sunday paper to come to see what is on sale this week in the flyers – CRAZY!!!
Michelle says
My husband and I always sit and look through the ads with our second cup of coffee, and then say, “Why did we spend the time to look through those? We’re not going to buy anything anyway.” They are best when you need something (new shoes or jeans because the old ones fell apart), then you can look for a few weeks to find a sale.
joyce says
This is why hubby and I cancelled out newspaper subscription. No need to sit around reading a recipe for discontent. We read the current events on-line and save the paper and energy that was used to produce and deliver the newspaper. If there is something specific we need, we can go on-line and see what sales are happening for that specific item, instead of looking through pages and pages of ads.
Angela says
The way I outgrew the concept of needing to stock up on the “deal” that was only going to be “temporary” is to remind myself, every time, that I was literally being bilked. Stores put loss leaders on the front of their flyers–items they *expect* to lose money on, as the “deal” to draw us all in. We have Walmart, who intentionally lays out every store differently so we have to wander and then almost aimlessly drop items in our carts. It’s marketing, it’s to make *them* richer, not *us* happier. I’ve decided, and am teaching my kids, that we’re better off with those dollars firmly in our pockets. Now to get on with dealing with the collection we have (I’m the hand-me-down and freecycle queen so it’s not that I’ve spent the money, more that when someone offers, I have only recently began to say no, thank you, someone else will need that more than I/we do).
david says
A great post and a needed reminder, Thanks for helping me stay the course.
With Gratitude,
David
Jenny in NC says
Speaking of causes I believe in, my family donates A LOT of money to our church. As in a full 10% tithe. We do this joyfully and willingly. We are happy to support and organization that helps our family, the poor and the community so much. The money is not a sacrifice at all, mostly because we have always lived within our means. If we didn’t tithe, we could have a much bigger house and a boat or RV, or more vacations, but I don’t think those things would be “better” than supporting something we truly care about.
Tiffany says
Jenny, I just wrote a post on my own blog about donating to the poor and needy through fast offerings. And I believe when you give away more money you actually open up space to receive more money.
http://www.raisinglemons.com/thoughts-2/give-away-more/
I grew up with an architect for a dad and he repeated over and over again that “less is more”- particularly in design. I am loving this blog as a reminder that less is more in many more areas.
Joe blow says
Perhaps you should consider your contributions to remain secret. And try a bit of sacrifice.
Lynne says
I so agree with this. I rather not be known when I donate. My reward is giving.
Felicia says
Thanks for sharing. I know you didn’t have to, but it helps to be reminded that tithing, sacrificially or not, not only has it’s rewards (spiritually and physically) but that it is what we Christians are called to do. We can trust God to open the storehouses of heaven when we are obedient to his command to tithe.
Tameka says
I have been reading your blog for a few days now and it has become a safe-haven and given me a peace of mind in the midst of all of my junk. I have been needing to clean up for months, but now I realize that I need to GET RID OF – rather than re-organize the junk that is draining me.
Your words make it a reality that I can become a minimalist in this very cluttered world.
Thanks
joshua becker says
So happy to hear that Tameka. Thanks. I enjoyed your wording, “a safe-haven and given me peace of mind.”
Cory says
Tameka,
your spirit is calling out to you…
Happy Annie says
Tameka, I am so happy you have started considering a life of simplicity. You will freer than you ever have the closer you get to your goal! It’s remarkable! :)