Never underestimate the importance of removing stuff you don’t need.
Encouragement is important in all areas of life, but especially when trying to live a life different than those around us.
Encouragement provides us with motivation to persevere. It invites us to dream dreams of significance for our lives. And it begs us to work diligently with optimism and promise.
Overcoming the pull of consumerism is a difficult challenge regardless of our stage in life. Simplicity requires encouragement. To that end, I hope you will find motivation in these articles below.
Each post was intentionality chosen to inspire simplicity in your life. For maximum effect, find a quiet moment this weekend and enjoy them with a fresh cup of coffee or tea.
Declutter Your Fantasy Self | Huffington Post by Francine Jay. Decluttering gives us more than clean closets. It gives us clarity – for what we want to do, how we want to live, who we want to be.
Unemployment is down. Gas prices are low. Why isn’t America shopping? | Washington Post by Sarah Halzack. Consumers are choosing to shell out for experiences instead of goods that fill their closets or their kitchens.
12 Creative Ways to Declutter Your Home | Mind Body Green by Joshua Becker. There is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding beneath your clutter. How you remove it is up to you.
After eliminating 75% of my wardrobe, I realized Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama are on to something big | Business Insider by Kathleen Elkins. There’s a scientific reason some of the most successful people wear the same outfit day in and day out.
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Thanks to everyone who supported the release of my new book, The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. It recently debuted on the USA Today Bestsellers List, the Publisher’s Weekly Bestsellers List, and the iBooks Bestseller List. For that, I am incredibly grateful.
“Overcoming the pull of consumerism is a difficult challenge regardless of our stage in life. Simplicity requires encouragement.”
I completely agree with you on this. Overcoming the pull of consumerism is really tough. The material life is like a magnet and the products keep tempting you. I would say simplicity requires courage and to stick to a minimalist lifestyle requires persistence.
I have been a minimalist for almost two years and you started me on the road to a happier ME. In India, we are wasteful. We are in the same place America was 20years ago. Indians as a culture always recycled and donated. But ever since we opened our doors to International trade, things have gone awry. Buy, there is a small shift….. Things are slowly going back to where they were. We have too many poor to waste anything. Thank u, Mr Becker.
After examining and refining my style over the past two years, I have nearly distilled what I wear down to a handful of uniforms, and it makes life so much easier!
I am finally going to dig into de-cluttering other areas of my life. It’s a little intimidating though. I loved your interview on the RobCast. Listening to it with my husband was the catalyst for us to start our minimalism journey. Thanks for the encouragement!
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We lived in a motor home for several years and had room for only 8 outfits each along with 2 pair of shoes each and a jacket apiece. I found it very liberating to own so few clothes. I talk about minimalism in clothing especially to everyone I can. Decision fatigue sounds like a really good way to describe what happens when we have to make too many decisions. It is stressful and overwhelming.
While I’m not sure I’d adopt Mark Zuckerberg’s hoodie look, I definitely see the value in a simplified wardrobe. Thanks for the weekend reads!
I work retail and our store is way too busy. People mindlessly shop. The ONLY time I see people slow down with their spending is when they max-out all their credit cards. Even then, they will wander the the store in a daze…just to escape chores at home, I guess.
Perhaps more and more people are getting “maxed-out”.
Minimalism has saved my relationship with my partner, he is the Father of my three beautiful children. And if it woudnt have acted on the act of getting rid of things that are not necessary then I wouldn’t have realized how important my family are to me.
I like this format, keep it up!
Hi,
I just want to thank you for those newsletters you create every weekend. I am always eager to read them and I wait for them like a drug addict with dope. Every article you choose is inspiring and helps me become a better minimalist. You Know minimalism is currently not a big thing in France and I get a lot of akward looks when I try to explain this way of life to friends and family. Reading your blog helps me keep going despite their lack of support.
Keep up the good work, your an inspiration.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks Jessica. Sounds like I should come to France and start making it a big thing.
Yeah definitely !