“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” —Nelson Mandela
We own too much stuff. And it is stealing our joy.
Consider how our possessions deplete our most finite and valuable resources:
Money: Everything we buy moves our financial balance closer to zero, sometimes even below. The Average American with credit card debt lives with $15,956 debt spread out over 3.5 credit cards. But it is not only families with debt that struggle. Recent statistics report nearly 8 out of every 10 Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck.
Time: Our possessions rob us of precious minutes every day. They are required to be cleaned, organized, maintained, fixed, recycled, removed, and replaced. And that doesn’t even begin to account for all the time we spent working in the first place just to earn the money to buy the possessions that we take home to be cleaned and organized and maintained and…
Energy: Our excessive possessions demand our attention and mental energy. Clutter in our life contends for our eyes, our attention, and our focus. Our minds are subtly consumed with the pursuit of possessions. And the temptation to compare our possessions with those around us permeates our thoughts more than we’d like to admit.
But there is a far better way to live life. The removal of excessive possessions and the intentional decision to live with less offers countless benefits. In exchange for removing the clutter, we are rewarded with newfound finances, time, energy, freedom, and mental capacity. Our lives are lived with less stress, less anxiety, and less burden.
Life is immediately improved. Our finite resources become more available to us. In short, we are freed to pursue our greatest passions. And for some of us, it’s been a long time since we had access to the necessary finite resources required to chase our heart’s greatest delights—however we decide to define them.
For too long, we’ve bought into the lie that more is better. We’ve bought bigger houses and faster cars and trendier clothes and cooler toys, but we’ve traded far more than time and money to acquire them. We’ve traded the very passions and life we most desperately desire to pursue.
But they can be rediscovered. After all…
- Living with less offers more time to spend on meaningful activities.
- Living with less offers more freedom to travel and move about.
- Living with less offers more clarity in our spiritual pursuits.
- Living with less offers more mental capacity to solve our most heartfelt problems in life.
- Living with less offers more finances to support causes we believe in.
- Living with less even offers far greater flexibility in pursuing the careers we most desire.
Owning fewer possessions provides the perfect roadmap for living the life you’ve always dreamed of living. One that is lived pursuing the greatest passions in your heart. Maybe for the first time. Finally.
Mary Ann Carter says
Thank you for approaching this subject. I have been reminded many times in the last month of the need to eliminate. In pursuing my life’s passion, I am discovering the same principle. Less is more. It’s a mental shift.
Joy says
This blog is great! Encourages me to keep on decluttering.
mike crosby says
Regards to a few comments on being a husband/wife team:
Yesterday my wife got stung by a bee. There was some swelling. She freaked out and said she needed to go to the emergency hospital. Instead she called emergency, and with another phone called her brother doctor.
She was told what to do and that was to use Benadryl. I gave her a bottle of Benadryl but she threw it in the garbage because it was too old. So we head out to CVS to buy a new bottle. The CVS is closed, so I mention to go to the grocery store next door to buy it. Nope, the grocery store is too expensive she says.
We drive further away from town to find another CVS. Our local Walmart, grocery stores, etc. aren’t good enough. So with our 8mpg SUV we finally get her new Benadryl. Figure an extra $4 in gas, time, and cost of product that she will use one tablespoon of. It gets very frustrating.
I know what you’re thinking: Of course I got the used Benadryl from the garbage can.
Nina says
Read your note bc July 9 is my birthday. You have great points to share! We just moved from a small home to a large one, but we got rid of a LOT of stuff first, and continue to pare down. There is a mindset that goes with. The toughest stuff? The stuff from “ancestors” that was left to you. Our large home looks airy and expansive bc there isn’t any clutter around.
Deniz says
The toughest stuff to get rid of is the ancestors stuff, you say. It would be because it’s been around for sooo long and so throwing it away is difficult. The same sort of thing goes for anything really, even the most simple thing. I will give you an example. Say you’re on holiday in a foreign country and you just did your grocery shopping and you got your receipt. You would most probably throw the receipt in the bin without a second thought, after all, it is a worthless piece of paper. But if you keep it, and hang on to it as a souvenir for a few years (and probably lose it amongst other junk) and then find it after 5 or 10 years, this worthless piece of paper would prove difficult to part with because of the memories attached, and because you think ‘I’ve already kept it for this long, I can’t just chuck it out, I should keep it’. And then you keep it for longer. And then if you have kept it all your life, it will be left for others to deal with. And so even the most worthless piece of paper becomes a burden to get rid of. So what I am trying to say is the act of ‘keeping’ something, anything, causes stress because of the history, or time, attached to it.
The Maui Taoist says
Me too I had all the left overs….
you can’t throw away what isn’t yours right????
So, I had a mental block. Mom and Dad and Grandma were all dead… I was depressed and stuck. I had a huge building stuffed with their stuff. I had a dumpster there after all the garage sales etc… A good friend came over and she would just pick up something and say, ” you don’t want this do you?” I just would say na…. and she threw it out for me… worked like a charm.
Marilyn says
I am “cleaning out” following the death of my mother. Here is an observation/comparison. My dad had 1 dog breed book and 1 dog training book, both still considered to be classics; I have a whole shelf with at lest 2 dozen in all, just dog books. My dad had (besides wedding ring) 1 gold ring acquired in 1933 when having a gold ring was a really big deal. Now we buy all that is available – too many choices – instead of just one item that is the best. I will do lots more cleaning out…..
Kaci says
Loving your blog. For the past three days I have been donating uneeded items. My hobby has always been to throw away and donate but not to the level you blog about. This is what I’ve been missing in all my years of decluttering. It always felt good to declutter but something was missing. Besides my hobby of throwing away and donating I HATE shopping. So that perk has been a help. What kept me living in a home with still too much clutter was mostly gifts and hand me downs from family and friends. Or that great find that needs to be sanded and painted that will never be sanded and painted:/ I now GET it! This is just soooo freeing! Even when my home was clean I could still feel the stress of the uneeded items, even the stacks in the attack. My hubby is the kind of guy that “thinks…hehe” the out of site out of mind rule works. Not for me. I know those stacks in the attic are uneeded. Like I said or typed..hehe…this is just what I needed. THANKS! Tip-Use your trunk to immediately place items for donation so when you are out it is already to go! I also put items that have been lent to me in my trunk in a box. THANKS AGAIN!!
Lori Ann says
I know exactly what you are saying! I LOVE getting rid of stuff. And yes, it IS freeing. I just got rid of stuff, now I’m ready to do it again!
Deniz says
We had a large 6 person dining table thst extended to 8 person which was too big for our tiny 3×3 metre dining room because we needed seating (extended family visit amd stay over often). We had it pushed up in a corner snd i found that when no one was visiting (and only my husband, myself, and our toddlers were using the table), that i would constantly fill the ‘corner’ with random junk that had no ‘home’.
I became fed up and decided that we needed to downsize. Now we have a round 1 metre diameter pedestal table with 4 chairs. We bought two toddler chairs from ikea for the kids and two stools as extra seating just in case we really want to squeeze in, but now our everyday table doesnt take up much space and i CANNOT put junk on it because we use every inch of it 3 times a day.
Downsize to ‘just enough’ and you force yourself into better habits!
Cory | The Maui Taoist says
Deniz…
” Downsize to ‘just enough’ and you force yourself into better habits!”‘
I think like you too. I like to introduce a necessity for change…Not even “Force” it is natural! You are guiding and nurturing yourselves. good on ya! That is how I do it.
After I got my space clear I pulled out all the junk from cabinets and back areas and put it right in the middle of the living room. Then I was, as you put it “forced” to deal with it. Sure, I could have kept it all hidden away in the closet etc..But I chose to stick it right in front of my face. I was literally tripping over it, stubbed my toe! This method works! I got rid of it all real soon!
Michael Hawkins says
Your blog is one of the best de-cluttering resources I’ve found. Thank you for what you do!
My wife and I are constantly moving ‘clutter’ from one area to another of the house. Why? I have no idea. It’s simply become a (bad) habit, I guess.
We are now on a mission to clear the clutter and enjoy some clean, open space.
Thanks again. I’ll be back!
Betsy says
Yes I agree with you about this blog ! Excellent content
Think about the energy that is drained from us when we see piles of stuff, clutter everywhere, shoes spilling out of the closet, coats hung on door handles, old papers, receipts, etc.etc. – All big environmental energy drainers.
I coach people on their environments – one being physical, and there are 8 more environmnts that are energy drainers…and I am looking at a pile right now next to my lap top and a couple on my dining room table. Bad habits, too much activity, procrastination, would rather be in the pool, or doing just about any thing esle then to work on the clutter .
Open space and cleared off counters – Joy and energizing!!
Kathy says
George Carlin says it with his usual aplomb: “Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.” ; )
Becky says
Thank you for your blog–for sharing your insights and commentary. (I just discovered you this week.) My husband and I have talked about minimizing for several years now, but only in the last few months have begun to plan how to move forward in simplifying our lives.
We are already frugal, and one of our first steps was addressing our “consumerism” by being more mindful of what we allow into our lives. (Other people have posted about this here–even free or thrift store items add to the “stuff” if we really don’t need them.)
I have been reading through many of your posts this week. They serve as a good reminder and help keep me on track with our goals. I am still working on downsizing the clothes closet! (I stopped buying more several months ago, but the hard part is letting go of the “still perfectly good” items.)
Thanks again!