The other day, while brewing coffee in the morning, a lightbulb went out in my kitchen. Not an uncommon occurrence I suppose.
But for some reason, on this particular morning, the common event bothered me more than usual. (Maybe because my coffee hadn’t finished brewing… if you know what I mean).
I remember looking up at the now-darkened lightbulb and thinking to myself in a frustrated tone, “Why can’t everything just work for once? Can I ever escape constantly needing to maintain and fix the stuff I own?”
I caught myself mid-paragraph.
Because the obvious answer is “No.” And I know that.
I mean, I’m in my mid-40’s. A handsome and youthful-looking mid-40s, sure. But I still know how life works:
All the things we own, regardless of the number, perish, spoil, or fade. Everything physical needs to be maintained to some extent.
Clothes need to be washed. Carpets need to be vacuumed. Beds need to be made. Oil needs to be changed. Shelves need to be dusted. Batteries need to be replaced. Showers need to be scrubbed.
And lightbulbs need to be changed.
That is the reality of the physical possessions we own. Nothing lasts forever. Everything needs to be maintained.
Every little thing.
This is why I chose minimalism as a lifestyle in the first place. Rather than being frustrated at a lightbulb that needs to be changed, I should find some joy in the fact that I need to change less of them than ever before.
When I speak about minimalism, I often make a joke about lightbulbs, in fact. I talk about my past desire to own a larger home (despite the fact that we didn’t even use all the rooms in our existing house).
But as I began minimizing possessions, I noticed the emptiness of always wanting a bigger house—and I began seeing big houses differently.
As I like to say, “Now I drive by neighborhoods with big houses and think to myself, ‘Who changes the lightbulbs in that thing?’”
Being freed from the unquenchable desire for more, bigger, and better is a wonderful feeling. As is, being separated from constantly comparing my things to others.
All possessions require maintenance. Every lightbulb, plate, shirt, bed, fire alarm, and electronic device require our attention and maintenance.
Do we ever escape that reality? Nope.
Lightbulbs always burn out—sometimes early in the morning.
But the fewer possessions we own, the less we need to maintain. And the more we can focus our attention on the things that matter most.
Ivor says
can’t believe people have time to read all this crap. who cares about all these people anyway? live your own life
John says
and yet, here you are….
Cher says
LOL !!!!🤣
Robert Keay says
I replaced all my light bulbs with low energy bulbs in the mid-90s. Since then I have had to replace exactly one.
Moaning that they don’t fit your sockets is pathetic, change the sockets!
Or does burning 90% less electricity to light your home not come under “the things that matter the most”
John Hodgson. says
Robert Keay,
I fail to see any mention of sockets not fitting in Joshuas article, can you please explain.
Jonathan says
“I’m in my mid-40’s” and you’re a writer!
Come on, be better.
Martin says
Another draw back of extremes of (income/wealth) inequality is that those with more tend to look for ways to spend it and that leads to garnering more ‘stuff’, or a refurbishment to freshen it up, or something bigger. After all, surely you’ve earned it?
It’s in everyone’s interest to even things up more.
Cli says
Such good timing, I am in Ireland, in lockdown due to Covid19, so the 3 young kids are on home learning, and I am trying to juggle that and work. I found myself yesterday complaining about how many times I had to wipe down the counter top, ‘it never stays clean’…………….this article has made me realise it’s ridiculous to expect my kitchen counter to stay clean when there are 4 of us at home pretty much all day every day during this lockdown. We’ve made an effort to keep tidying off the kitchen table each day after dinner so the only things that remain on the unused end are their school folders and some pencils ready for the next day. It has helped keep at least our work surface clear and ready for the next session. Unfortunately, with so much else to do with work and school, my kitchen counter remains a mess mostly!! I’ll try to live and accept that for now!!
Gail says
In our house, whenever something needs repairs, we remind ourselves the only way to avoid repair bills is to own nothing. Sometimes this is a difficult to swallow and appreciate.
Cynthia High says
Words of wisdom, thanks!
Bethany @ Happily Loco says
Clutter does suck up energy, just in its maintenance! I do, however, have a surprisingly large amount of lightbulbs in my small apartment, and we can’t find LED’s for all of our light fixtures. So I get it! I get excited when all of our lights are actually working though!
Stoatwblr says
Lightbulbs fail because they are DESIGNED TO FAIL
Back in the 1930s a lot of time and effort was put into ensuring lightbulbs lasted 1000 hours in service – lamps which lasted longer would not be approved for sale (Yes, really) by the cartels which held the patents for electric lighting.
It was known as the Phoebus cartel
This is quite well documented and part of the reason was that companies which produced lamps which lasted 5-10,000 hours sold well in the first 3 years then went out of business due to not selling any more light bulbs
Before Phoebus, most lamp lifetimes were around 2500 hours
Nora says
Dear minimalists,
I had a broken light bulb recently — no big issue, just switched on another lamp. I think this is the first time I realise that the pursuit of having less can have its downsides. I must confess I really like nice indirect lighting in many corners of the room — feels more homely to me than a single bright light. Also more flexible, only sometimes all of my lamps are on. I think energy-wise it’s about the same, apart for energy spent on producing, packaging, shipping and such for the additional bulbs (the lamps are hand-me-downs). I’ve however feel that the more maintenance stuff receives, the more I get attached to it. Could that be?
Judy says
I think it depends on the person. If something I own starts to require to much maintenance… it goes.
Judy says
*too
Ann C says
Great article Joshua. My question is, did you have spare bulbs on hand or did you have to go to the store?