My desire with each Weekend Reads is to provide you with articles and posts that encourage simplicity and minimalist living. Below, you will find links to blog posts and news stories that I hand-picked over the last couple weeks. I hope you find inspiration and practical help inside them.
But also, if you get a chance, share these posts with others via social media. With our efforts united, not only will each of us be inspired to own less and live more, but the life-giving message of minimalism will spread further and quicker, deeper and with greater effectiveness.
And that is my goal on Becoming Minimalist: to intentionally promote simplicity in a world that needs to hear it.
Try Decluttering This Spring Instead of Just Cleaning | Tree Hugger by Katherine Martinko. “There is no convenient time in which to engage in a deep and deliberate decluttering of your home. But now is better than later—and you might as well get started on it before the summer comes.”
The Great Junk Transfer is Coming. A Look at the Burden of Decluttering as Canadians Inherit Piles of Their Parents’ Stuff | The Globe and Mail by Erin Anderssen. Sorting, storing and disposing of old family belongings will be a labour-intensive challenge in the next decade as baby boomers age
8 Minimalist Principles For Our Kids | No Sidebar by Mollie Donghia. “We’ve seen the benefits for ourselves as adults and want to share this lifestyle with our kids too, so in this post I’ll share 8 lessons in minimalism that we aim to teach them as they grow into more independent thinkers.”
Accountant Retires on Cruise Ships to Avoid Cost of Land Living | The Washington Post by Sydney Page. “When Angelyn Burk, a recently retired accountant, decided to crunch some numbers one evening last year, she made a stunning discovery: It would be cheaper for her and her husband to spend their retirement perpetually aboard cruise ships than to continue living on land.”
3 Simple Ways to Become a Minimalist (Without Selling All Your Stuff) | Medium by Stephan Joppich. “Being a minimalist should never feel like a competition, exclusive VIP club, or tough grind. Quite the opposite. It should be rewarding, effortless, and accessible to everyone.”
Just Because You Use an Item Doesn’t Mean You Need to Keep It | Becoming Minimalist on YouTube. For a lot of us, when we’re determining whether to declutter a particular item, we start with the question “do I use this?” Here’s why that may not be the best approach.
Veronica Nightingale says
Just listened to the YouTube video about not necessarily keeping things just because you use them. I see what you mean. I have recently brought my toaster oven and my trifle bowl down to the basement for just this reason. Do I use them enough to keep them or can I donate them? I have read that if an item isn’t used in a year, it can be given away, but I don’t have to actually wait that long. The issue is whether I miss it enough to truck it back up to my kitchen. I should know this after 6 months at the outside! I am 78 brought up by parents who went through the Depression. Success to them meant more. I live in a different world; who says elderly dogs can’t learn new tricks?
John says
The Canadian piece mirrors what I experienced with my father’s things. So much to go through. What to sell? Donate? Keep? The decluttering journey accelerated my pursuit of minimalism.
Dawna Hall says
I think I’ve been following you since you started as 2008 is when I started my professional organizing service. I’ve sent a lot of clients links to your videos/posts. It helps them hear the same message from someone other than me! While they’re not minimalists, they’re on the path to simplifying. Thank you for your words over the years.
joshua becker says
2008? From the very beginning, I’m impressed Dawna.
Lynne Peter says
Unfortunately the Canadian site would not let me read without subscribing.
Betsy says
The Great Junk Transfer put knots in my stomach. I’m constantly cleaning out. My friends make fun of me by saying ” don’t sit around, she’ll donate you “. I helped clear out 3 homes in 2 years so that changed my mindset about holding onto things. My problem is I always feel like I could pare down even more.