“Change brings opportunity.” —Nido Qubein
Over the past several years, I have had the privilege to introduce the idea of minimalism to a number of people. These introductions have occurred through personal conversation, writing, and speaking opportunities. But no matter how the introduction happens, each time, I feel a little bit renewed.
The idea of “finding more life by owning less stuff” resonates with most people.
But, unfortunately, I also find that for many, this is where their journey ends—at the introduction.
The idea of minimalism may sound attractive, but the first step appears elusive. And is too often, never taken.
There are a wide number of reasons that keep people from taking this first step towards living with less. And while they vary from person-to-person based on personality, history, gender, and worldview, I have found that most of the reasons keeping people from getting started towards minimalism fit into only a handful of categories. In hopes of providing encouragement to some of you, I thought it might be helpful to take a minute to answer most of them:
• Reason: I’ve Never Considered Intentionally Living With Less.
Interest in minimalist living is growing. You can blame it on the economy, technology, environmental-awareness, or blogs such as Zen Habits, Rowdy Kittens, and Be More With Less. It has been exciting to see the movement grow. But the percentages are still small. In the land of suburbia where I live, the idea of intentionally living with less is still a foreign concept. Hearts desire it, but too many minds have yet to be introduced.
Solution: If you ended up reading this post at the urging of a friend, consider yourself introduced. Intentionally living with less results in a life of less debt, less stress, and less anxiety. In exchange, you will discover more time and energy for the things you value most. Your greatest passions will again take their rightful place in your life.
• Reason: But I Don’t Know Where to Start.
For many, the task of minimizing their possessions seems overwhelming. Their minds race to drawers that don’t close, closets that don’t shut, and rooms that are stuffed full of unused things. The idea of decluttering their homes and lives is attractive, even necessary… but the simple obstacle of knowing where to start keeps many from even starting at all.
Solution: Start small and start easy. Find the easiest drawer, closet, or room to declutter and begin there. You don’t need to start with your attic or your basement. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. The task will be too great. Instead, choose the easiest place in your home – even if it is just one drawer. You’ll feel good when you are done (I guarantee it). And that feeling of success and relief will carry you on to the next step… and the next…. and the next… and eventually, even the attic.
• Reason: But I Don’t Have the Time.
Minimizing possessions takes time. You didn’t collect everything in your home over the course of one weekend and it’s going to take longer than one weekend to sort it out and remove the non-essentials. But we live such busy lives these days. Where can we find the time to accomplish such a large task?
Solution: If you can find 15 minutes, you can take the most important step – the first one. Investing just 15-20 minutes to minimize one area of your home is all you need to get started (especially if you have chosen something easy). Again, the immediate sense of calm you will find in owning less will motivate you to find another 15 minutes. If you struggle to even find 15 minutes, try one of these ideas: get up one hour early, take one afternoon off work, turn off the television, or dedicate one Saturday to decluttering. Any one of those options above will help you find more than enough time to get started.
• Reason: But I Could Never Get My Family On-board.
By far, the most common question I receive after speaking about minimalism relates to other family members (especially about husbands and teenagers). The fact that their family members will never go for the idea of living with less seems to outweigh any benefits of implementing it in their own lives.
Encouragement: Your husband/wife/children does not need to fully embrace the idea of minimalism for you to benefit from it. Remember, it is far easier to notice the clutter of others than it is to notice our own. But if you just decide to start with your own personal belongings, you will notice a HUGE difference. You will almost immediately find more time in your life for the things that matter most – even if your kids’ bedroom is still messy. And the more you begin to experience freedom in your life… the more your family members will start to take notice. Just ask my wife.
• Reason: But I Don’t Know What I’d Do With ________.
Another common thought-process I have noticed is that people’s minds often rush to their toughest belongings to minimize. These vary from person to person, but typically resemble sentimental items, books, or hobbies. Over the years, they have collected a large number of items in these particular areas and the thought of having to part with them raises concern… and often stops them from ever taking the first step.
Solution: You don’t have to part with anything until you are ready. And you certainly don’t have to begin by removing the things that mean the most to you. If you are anything like we were, you have a whole house (or at least, a clothes closet) full of things that don’t mean anything to you. They are just taking up space in your home and life. They don’t fit, match, or work anymore. They can easily be removed. Start there. And remember that there is no time limit on this journey. If you are not ready to part with the memories of your past today, don’t worry about it. Maybe you’ll be ready tomorrow… or the day after that.
• Reason: But I’m Afraid of Change.
Got it. Change doesn’t come easy to you. And intentionally deciding to live with less is among the biggest of changes that you could make in your life. It is a counter-cultural way to live life. After being fed millions of advertisements from the world around us promising that more is better, deciding to reject that thinking and live with less is going to require changes – not just in the home where you live, but in almost every aspect of your life going forward.
Solution: Change is never easy. And even though it is inevitable through this journey of life, we seem to avoid it whenever possible. But change comes easier when we realize the rationale behind it. The reasoning provides us with necessary motivation to make the needed changes. When we started out on our minimalist journey, I listed every benefit of minimalism that we were experiencing. The rationale and the reminder of why we were changing our lifestyle pushed us further down the road over and over again. Perhaps, they will provide the necessary foundation for you to embrace change in your life as well.
• Reason: But Minimalism Doesn’t Sound Attractive to Me.
Still, for others, they will never take their first step towards minimalism because the lifestyle does not sound attractive to them. They find no appeal in the idea of intentionally living with less. And believe that they want nothing to do with it.
Solution: I embraced the idea of minimalism because it became apparent to me that the stuff in my life was keeping me from the most important things in my life: faith, family, and friends. And since removing most of the personal possessions from my life, I have found more freedom, energy, and finances to pursue the relationships that mean the most to me. And that applies to this relationship as well. May our differing views on possessions never come between us as friends.
Kathy from CT says
We started this journey slowly last year, when the last of my close-in-age sons got out of college. With them now all moving forward in their lives, my husband and I are now free to move into the next phase in our lives. We will always be mom & dad, but now we can rediscover what made us US. Kinda scary at first. To help us on these journeys, we are shedding unnecessary relics of the past and making our home into who we are today. As each area in our home comes alive and can breath again, we feel lighter and lighter. We came to realize how all this stuff/clutter was sapping us of energy. We are on the last of the rooms, yet plan to go back and shed even more in already-completed sections of our home.
Now, if we could just do the same with the weight we have accumulated all these years. :)
Dianna says
As I am racing toward 60, I can look around and see getting rid of soooo much stuff that does nothing more than catch dust. Then I look at my knitting, tatting, sewing and other handwork supplies and tools I have collected through all those years and I freeze up. I cannot imagine getting rid of them because I would sooner or later need something and have to purchase it again. Then, I come to a complete stop. I’m not sure there is a point in being a maximinimalist. I would love to to live in a tiny house or tiny cabin, but I cannot see how I would ever pare down at the very least my tools (I could probably lose some yarn, fabric and such), nor my husband’s fly fishing equipment. So I shake my head and wish I could be a minimalist. It is such an appealing ideal.
Pam says
It started with my friend sharing your blog, then it went from that to choosing one drawer in my kitchen, then it continued with reading more of your blogs, which then led to the suggestions that you made along the way as to how to have less. I have to say I’ve been to the charity donation site in my area so many times, they almost know my name and I don’t miss anything I’ve given away. I can’t even recall any of the items that took up space in my home. Maybe one day I will recall something I once owned, but by then I will realize that it apparently wasn’t so important to keep it and it wasn’t of much use, which is the case with most of the things I’ve given away. One stumbling block I did have and still do to some extent, is in giving away something of sentimental value, i.e. my mom and dad’s things (which by the way only take up two small plastic bins which isn’t bad). I do have a heart beat or two extra for these things and I realize they have a strong connection to my memories, but as you have suggested, these things don’t have to be dealt with just yet. And when I do decide to say goodbye to them, it will never diminish the love I have for my parents or take away the memories of the person who owned them. So one day, I will photograph most of them, and send them on their way. For right now though, as I look around my home, the space seems lighter, less cluttered, cleaner, sleeker, and less jumbled. There are actually whole areas of “negative” space, but in this case, the word negative is really positive to me! And the funniest thing is when someone says oh I’m cleaning out my closets or doing some spring cleaning I tell them about Becoming Minimalist and they are intrigued to know more! The only issue now is my significant other and he is the key to making it all the way to the minimalist lifestyle that I desire but I’m still working on him…however by my taking action, he has started to as well, so it’s small steps that will eventually lead to bigger changes. Thank you so much for all that you have done to create in us the desire to live with less and reap the benefits!
Robert Ward Fletcher says
Most people naturally grow into this realization in first world countries as they get educated, start careers, work hard, make money, buy stuff, become successful, travel around the world, buy houses, get promoted, have children, raise children, have grand children, etc., etc.. By the time a person is 55 in Canada they have enjoyed many of the blessings that are available in life. However in many places of the world minimalism or less is a natural way of life … In North America it is like finding a good diet that finally works so that a person have a lifestyle at their optimum weight. Try http://www.loseit.com …. :)
Stephanie Blom says
Great advice! The ‘not knowing where to start’ is one of the major reasons for not starting, at least it was for me and I also see it in people around me who are starting to get interested in living with less as well.
In my experience, what helped me most was to just start with the clothes (as you say, start easy!). Each time it gets easier, each time I can get rid of more things, of more ‘difficult’ things, and it starts to become something enjoyable even:-)! Keep up the great writing and inspiration!
Fiona Cee says
i need to start in other places in order ”to get to” other areas, so i HAVE to start at the outside and work in!
Senta says
I started in phases. First everything I owned needed a home that was not a pile on the floor of any room. Then nothing but seasonal things I actually she could be stored away. Then nothing could be stored on the counter in the kitchen but the microwave, nothing stored in the bathroom I hadn’t used in the last month, no jewelry I didn’t like, no books already read I knew I wouldn’t read again. Then I reduced the number of Rubbermaid tubs that stored the seasonal things 2 Christmas and two my clothes and the storage of kitchen things I hadn’t used in a year. My hobbies were reduced to just cross stitch and reading since I hadn’t done anything else in years. Then I digitalized my music collection and reduced my dvds to what fit in two binders, then, one binder. It is still a work in process but I enjoy it. I like slowly condensing to what is loved most or most used. I buy clothes but then donate older clothes. I buy dvds but donate older ones. I only buy digital books and music. Every I buy an ornament for the Christmas tree but not anything bigger. I give to charity. I bake. I don’t give or collect clutter items.
John says
Thanks for another encouraging post.
My journey into minimalism began without even knowing that there were like-minded people practicing it also. About 2 years ago I decided to reduce many of my collections – most of them retro collectables from my baby boomer childhood. Then I tackled several of my hobbies and those “weekend projects” that cluttered the spare room and the garage. Some of them I had never touched and probably will never complete. So they were sold or given away! Then along comes people like Joshua whom I stumble across on the internet and eureka! I understand that minimalism is not just a fad I’m going through. It is a real, tangable, life-changing phase of my life that I am transistioning towards.
I am still having trouble letting go of some sentimental family items, but I’m prepared to keep them. I’m more than happy with small compromises along the way.
Vicki Reichert says
I think the biggest challenge for me is because I live in a rural area, taking things to a place to recycle or throw away is a big deal. It’s at least a two hour round trip plus going during the hours they are open. Planning ahead is essential, and then procrastination becomes the enemy. Paper can be burnt, newsprint recycled, books given away. Clothes. No problem. Burn or give away. Household items… stuff that’s too good to just trash but yard sales are horrendous. I find myself taking a few boxes every week, which helps, but when I walk into the thrift store and see their boxes piled to the ceiling waiting to be sorted, I feel so guilty for adding to their mess. Oh, America! Where did we decide more was better?! Now we have no place to dispose of useless stuff and there will come a day when we will need food and sit in the midst of a pile of stuff that doesn’t do us any good. On a brighter note, each week I have one less box to sit and look at. ;-)
Fiona Cee says
why the compulsion [or option] to burn? isn’t the environment damaged enough without burning stuff?!
Geraldo Serrano says
I actually started decluttering this weekend. It was fun and also a relief to create more space in a house that’s not so huge. I started with my clothes, give those that I don’t use anymore either to my siblings or to our neighborhood. It was a relief to let go of those things. I’ve been maintaining a simple lifestyle for, I think, the last two years. I bike to work, I bring my own food to the office. And yeah, minimalism helps largely in my finances.
And I’m not yet done, I need to declutter more and own less.:) Thanks to this site guys.;)
Jim says
Today I began cleaning out a storage area that had memories of the chidren school from 1995. I was just about thru when my wife shows up and tells me I can’t let that stuff go. I tried to explain to her we have grandchildren now, but she wouldn’t let me throw the papers away! LOL I was still abel to get a least a dozen things past her! I’ll keep trying!
Janice Franklin says
I collected several bags and boxes today to take to Goodwill. My husband started to look through one of the boxes and question why I was giving certain things away (wedding presents that have been used once or twice in almost 23 years, VHS tapes that our university age kids watched as toddlers). With a smile on my face, I told him to back away from the box. He did. Those things are now at Goodwill. Fortunately, he is with me on this journey towards minimalism. It is just harder for him to let go than it is for me.
Renee says
We have seven grown children , 22 grandchildren, I have decided to go through our entire house and box everything that is not mine or my husbands that belongs to the children or grandchildren, and send it to them. This includes school papers from when they were little, memorabilia, their baby books and boxes, etc. I will tell them that although I love occasionally looking through these things, my house has become a prison of things, & I no longer wish to be imprisoned in my own home. It is their responsibility what happens to the things and memories that they want to keep from childhood.
ren says
Congrats on your forward thinking…