There’s more to life than buying stuff.
There are many wonderful people pursuing and promoting simplicity. Fortunately, some of them are gifted in communication and choose to encourage and inspire us with their words. I enjoy reading their unique perspective. I’m sure you will too.
So fix yourself a nice warm cup of coffee or tea on this beautiful weekend. Find a quiet moment. And enjoy some encouraging words about finding more simplicity in your life today.
My Year of No Shopping | The New York Times by Ann Patchett. If you stop thinking about what you might want, it’s a whole lot easier to see what other people don’t have. There’s a reason that just about every religion regards material belongings as an impediment to peace.
10 Things You Should Throw Away Before 2018 | Refinery 29 by Venus Wong. The best way to usher in fresh and better things in the new year is to make room by purging your home of all the unwanted mess that’s been taking up space in the past 12 months.
Lessons I’ve Learned From Being On A Budget and Fighting Consumerism | AntiConsumption. After living on a budget now for almost two years, I can honestly say that I like it. It has taught me a lot and my family is much happier now.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”; Ann Patchett truncated it to “Blessed are the poor.”
I have too planned to spend less on buying stuffs. Loved to read that people like minimalism more.
I loved the first article about giving up shopping especially when she made a comment about shirts with the shoulders cut out….. I can’t believe someone came up with that and I can’t believe people buy it!
Your posts are inspiring. I need to declutter my storage areas and so does my husband. My problem is I like the stuff and I can’t speak for him except he has more than I, ugh! But we do keep it out of our living areas so that’s a good thing, right? The thing I hate the most is when we buy something we already have but can’t find it. We have a lot to work on. Thanks for the reminder!
I am especially convicted by the idea that not thinking about what I want can open my eyes to what others don’t have – and also to what I have and can do.
I enjoyed Ann Patchett’s article very much. It’s amazing once you stop shopping how many things you can find hidden in the cabinets of your home– that’s what I found to be true when I first started down this path of consuming less. If you liked Patchett’s article, you can also look up the On Point podcast– they devoted an hour-long show to interviewing her and discussing the article.
Thanks for the ongoing invaluable inspiration. I live in the UK and I love reading your posts and the links. I have recently been reading Elaine St James work (on my ereader), from the 1990s on simplification. Some of your readers might be interested in her but as far as I know it is not available online so they’d have to read the books (but as mentioned, you can read electronically – try Simplify Your Life: 100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter). Some episodes of the 1990s series Northern Exposure are also really relevant – I particularly love the one where one of the main characters Chris (who lives in a caravan) inherits some money and decides he wants to own a bar. He buys into what he thinks is his dream – but realises that owning the bar is not the same as going to a bar and hanging out with your friends. It really reminded me of the fact that owning things – like holiday homes, or boats, for example, isn’t always as amazing as you think it will be! In the end Chris decides that ownership isn’t for him – he just likes drinking in bars not running them, so he sells out and goes back to the simple life. Just thought I’d mention these as you might want to include them in your links.
Northern Exposure – best TV programme ever. When I have decluttered virtually everything I own, my complete DVD box set of Northern Exposure will still be with me :)
I am thinking about doing your uncluttered course but I choose not to have Facebook. Is it still beneficial if you don’t participate in that community of it? Also, you said you lived in Montevideo, MN. As a kid, I lived in Raymond and would visit there to swim in there pool ?. Thank you for all your hard work.
You should be just fine without using Facebook. There is no course material delivered via Facebook, it will come to you via email.
The Facebook group does allow people to chat with one another about their progress in the course, but we try to incorporate some of that in to the emails as well (using some of the photos and stories that people post).
I think the community is pretty important (especially for people who are really struggling to declutter), but there have been a lot of people go through the course without it.
The Ann Patchett article was an excellent read. Thank you.
Please. No more articles with “throw away” in the title! Totally
irresponsible. I realize the actual article did not advocate putting
things in the rubbish but titles with ‘throw away” or “get rid of” do suggest that. The article by Ann Patchett, however,
was lovely and thought-provoking.
Joshua- one of your webinar tips stood out: “Small changes every day.” Kinda reminds me of the line “Earthquakes make the news but termites cause more damage.” Little actions, consistently over time, produce big results! Thanks for the on-going tips!
I’m reading and sharing and really appreciate the encouragement you offer readers. Between you and hugge life I’m just living with books and hot drinks!
Thank you for a beautiful list to save for later! I want to read all of them <3
With kindness,
I love your site and postings, but that Refinery 29 link was nothing but click bait. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the NYT article.