This benefit took me by surprise. I had just completed minimizing my office at work and as I put the last few items in their new found home, I kept commenting out loud, “This feels so good. Today has been a great day.” It was an emotion and response I did not expect to experience.
A feeling of freedom was coming over me as I kept looking around at my new, simple office. No longer would my work environment feature three bookcases of books that I “should have read.” No longer would my desktop be cluttered with stacks of paper that “should be filed properly.” No longer am I strangled by clutter as I sit in my office trying to work.
The sense of freedom that comes from minimalism is truly refreshing. Indeed, it is more than a feeling; it is a reality that can define your life.
About Joshua Becker
Donations are rewarding, because many cannot afford the basic necessities that Americans have enjoyed for so long.
Very moving article…
I have been so much enjoying the sense of satisfaction I have gotten since I have started moving towards minimalism. Donating, recycling, re-purposing, tossing… I have enjoyed it so much so that I think I will miss the feeling once i have hardly anything less to minimize…
I hope I can manage to find as much satisfaction on the other end of the process (purchasing less) as I have on the purging end, but i see that as a FAR greater challenge since it involves forgoing an immediate satisfaction for a long-term goal…
It’s strange: I was returning a lamp that I really didn’t need to Pottery Barn*, and decided to check out the Crate & Barrel across the street (of course they are next to each other, right?). I walked in and suddenly found this completely unexpected sense of happiness in knowing that I needed absolutely nothing in the store. I could walk around and enjoy the displays and colors and muse over the single-function gadgets and not really want any of them. There was no pressure to find the perfect object(s) to meet imaginary expectations. It was freedom from desiring the over-priced heaps of stuff that they wanted me to take home.
*Credit to all of the minimalist influences that have helped me to develop a mentality that could recognize this.
Freedom of choice describes an individual’s opportunity and autonomy to perform an action selected from at least two available options, unconstrained by external parties
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That freedom is blessedness and too much stuff and clutter robs us of peace of mind and the love of nothing. Your website is refreshing and only strengthens my own resolve for less.
I found your site through zenhabits. I skimmed over a few posts and felt such an urge to start decluttering that I got up and did just that for 1,5 hours. Wow. As I look around, you can’t see much of a difference. Isn’t that crazy? Most of the stuff went into boxes to sell them and as these boxes are still lying around it’s hard to feel any freedom. But nonetheless it’s a great feeling to commit yourself to owning less and I’m ready to keep selling, throwing away and donating things.
Thanks so much for the inspiration. I had been on the lookout for a blog like this for a while now.
Yes! I agree with you!
I do have some kind of respect and appreciation for the great effort you put into your writing style, keep it up and getting better all the time.
empleosenguadalajara.blogspot.com
I’m working as a freelance writer and blogger at the moment, so my office is a desk in my living room. When I finally made the decision to stop just reading about minimalism and actually start down the minimalist/simple living path, my desktop was covered with nick-knacks, a desk lamp, notebooks and journals, my laptop, and wireless mouse, and the wall directly in front was covered in a collage of stuff. A couple days ago I cleared everything off my physical desk except my laptop, wireless mouse, and desk lamp, and took everything off the wall in front of it except two pieces (an image of Jesus sitting in meditation and a quote from Thomas Merton), and a little whiteboard I used to keep a to-do list on, that now simply says “DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.” The difference this has made is almost indescribable.
Rid yourself of the remainder with a handheld computer.
… looking around my desk to see what I can declutter… I SO need that “freedom” feeling right now… :)
I’ve recently been gutting my room in preparation for a move to Yamagata, Japan. The result has been an office/living space that is making a minimalist out of me and spurring goal-shifts that are down-right scary. I no longer feel the need to have the car, the house, or the Wii. I’m plotting my escape from clutter-society oh so quietly!
Living life out of one suitcase is alluring…
yes when I saw your office yesterday after the big clean-out I was much impressed! you really did a great job! enjoy your newly organized space!