“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
Three years ago, we sold, donated, or discarded over 70% of our family’s 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. The result has been a completely transformed life and lifestyle. It is a decision we have never regretted.
The intentional choice to pursue minimalist living and owning less has brought with it a great number of benefits. It has been the answer to much of the discontent we felt in our lives when we owned more. And the decision holds the potential to do the same for you.
Consider these Seven Common Problems that Can Be Solved by Owning Less Stuff:
1. “I don’t have enough money / I’m in debt.” The simplest solution to almost every money problem is “spend less.” In fact, it’s the first step in almost every financial program ever devised. Purposefully deciding to own fewer possessions is an important step in getting your financial house in order – and often times, it’s the only step you really need to take.
2. “There’s just not enough time in the day.” We were immediately surprised at how much extra time we found in our lives after removing our unnecessary possessions. We came to realize, if we aren’t careful, the things we own quickly move from “time-saving” to “time-consuming.” Just think about all the time we waste caring for our possessions: shopping, researching, organizing, picking up, cleaning, repairing, replacing – even earning the money to buy them in the first place. And the reality is, it can be difficult to determine how much time our possessions are actually stealing from us until we actually remove them.
3. “There’s always so much cleaning to do / Even after I clean, my house feels cluttered.” Want to have a cleaner home? Own less stuff. It works every time.
4. “My house is too small / There’s never enough storage around here.” Chances are pretty good that your house isn’t too small – you’ve just put too much stuff inside it. Case in point: according to statistics, the average house size in America has doubled since the 1950’s… yet, many of us still think that we need something bigger. You probably don’t. And removing the unneeded possessions from your home and life will likely provide the opportunity for you to discover that again.
5. “I’m too stressed.” The artist and philanthropist, John Ruskin once said, “”Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.” Every increased possession weighs down our lives with new things to worry about, care for, and maintain. Our purchases have far surpassed bringing convenience and ease into our lives. In fact, they have begun to do just the opposite – they have brought new forms of stress and anxiety instead.
6. “I can’t decide what to wear / It’s so hard to keep up with the changing fashions.” On the surface, fashion appears to be an ever-evolving game where the rules change with each passing season. As a result, it demands astute attention (and an expansive income). But it does not have to. Instead, carry a beautiful wardrobe filled with a few timeless pieces that you truly love to wear. Once you love everything hanging in your closet, deciding what to wear will be one less problem to deal with in your morning.
7. “I wish I had…” Our culture begs us to own more. Advertisements call us to purchase the latest and the greatest. Our natural tendencies cause us to compare our lives with those around us. And we seem to have a built-in desire to impress others by owning as much as possible. As a result, we spend precious energy wishing we had more. But this constant dreaming, hoping, and envying other’s possessions is stealing from our joy and contentment today. It makes us feel like we are missing something – even though there is so much joy right in front of us.
We made the decision years ago to live with fewer possessions. Sometimes, I get asked, “Do you think you’ll always be a minimalist?” My response is always the same, “Oh yeah, I’m never going back. There is just too much joy and freedom on this side.”
And I cherish the opportunity to invite others to experience it as well.
I would like to add a note that many of what we (my house) get are objects that are replacing other objects that do not need replacing yet. We have a large family, 6 children, and live in a small 1100 sq ft remtal apt.people always ask how we do that. I point out that 1. For a long time large families lived in small houses. People don’t NEED nearly the space we have grown accustomed to giving them and 2. When you remove the gross excesses we have plenty of space. It’s the extras that get in the way. We buy in bulk-but we have priced the items that are worth it (ie: paper goods are substantially cheaper), but we cannot store tons of random bulk buying. It’s a conscious thing. And it has to stay that way or it just becomes a burden.
Excellent post! I’m almost finished reading (for the second time) ‘Paradox of Choice’ by Barry Schwartz. It’s an eye-opening book about how more choice actually lessens our experience of joy and satisfaction. Mr. Schwartz tells us to keep wonderful experiences rare. No matter what you can afford, save great wine, the perfectly cut silk blouse, dining out for a gourmet meal; rare. It’s about keeping our expectations modest so that when we do experience a special treat it feels like a treat.
The phenomenon of ‘keeping up with the Joneses also lessons our experience of happiness. I went through a ridiculously long period of mourning for my big house, big property in an exclusive rural neighborhood when we sold. Some of my sadness was that it took me and my ex 4 years to build the house of my dreams and design, that I wanted to leave the property to my son, and that it is a beautiful house in beautiful surroundings. But I also missed the ‘status’ I perceived it gave me. I was surprised and embarrassed that I felt this way. We do tend to judge people by what they have and what they do for a living. Now in the second half of life I’m committed to having less regardless of what we can afford. Less burden, more fun. It is truly freeing.
Wow! This blog is an inspiration! Thank you so much for enlightening me with your stories. I hope I can reach your level of minimalism in the near future — I’d like to believe I am on my way now.
Thanks!
70% !!?? WOW. I would love to do this. We are definitely in the “it’s always a mess around here” camp. We are overdue on some major decluttering.
I strive to live minimally but it’s hard with 2 young children and grandparents, aunts and uncles who like to spoil them with “things”. I want them to enjoy what they have but find it’s a fine line between minimalism and being extreme. I also don’t want to make them into future hoarders by not letting them have anything now. We work together to find a balance and they provide input into what we keep and what we give away to children who don’t have toys.
So true Joshua! Spot on as usual :) Will share this!
I just realized it this weekend. I am rebuild some parts of my house, and in the process I had to give/sell some of my stuff to be able to fit in the space tha was lefti in my house.
And you know what? It felt much better with less things!
I disagree with emptier home equaling more time. There are days when I hit a looping “this needs to go away before this goes away” block-chain and I end up just waiting for bedtime. Of course, if I put everything in a POD, it would be two hours of looking for the paper punch before deciding it went into the POD and getting the frustration BSOD.
I grew up with clutter, not all of it my fault especially as I began to wake up, but I cannot see things that are out-of-place, no matter if I set them in doorways or not. Seriously, the toolbox’s place is “anyplace where I will trip on it daily” and it would still take me 5 minutes to find.
I also think that more storage space would make me happier, even with it eating into the living square footage. 50’s style galley kitchen with a pantry was great. 70’s style eat-in kitchen means that I’m keeping the rice, beans, and specialty flour in a lingere dresser and the pasta in a box on the floor.
WHy not create more storage space? I don’t think the point of decluttering is not to want to live more comfortably.
We don’t really have the option of renovating the rental, and it would be a bit scary to spend $$ on furniture when we’re planning to move into a cheaper place that might have more decent storage or simply a better room-shape.
Nobody was suggesting spending money. I think what was meant is to get rid of stuff to create space. That’s the point of this article and blog.
We make more time and space for other good things in our life – like friends, family, faith, experiences, appreciation and gratitude if we focus less on stuff – both the stuff we have and the stuff we want. Less definitely is more.
I’m well on the way to changing many of my own attitudes – decluttering, buying less, wanting less . . . once you start on a journey of simplicity, it’s remarkable where you end up !
I really need some help getting my family to join me doing this. I sold almost all of my stuff and the whole time they have had nothing but disapproval. When I say we should sell this or that they say “We just bought that” or “No one wants that” and they don’t get the point of doing this. It isn’t to make money it is to make life simpler. So, how would I go about getting my family to try and follow this?
Hi Tom,
As much as you want your family to follow suit it won’t happen until it is their idea. Leave a minimal living book laying around in different parts of their house. Maybe they will pick it up, read it and come up with the idea on thrir own!