There are amazing, life-giving benefits to owning fewer possessions.
When we own fewer things, we are able to focus more on pursuits of greater worth (however we choose to define them).
Owning less stuff means we have more money, more time, more focus, and more energy.
It also means less stress, less worry, and less distraction.
Minimalism allows us to live a life that is a better example for our kids and a better lifestyle for the planet. It paves the way for generosity, gratitude, contentment, and intentionality.
The pursuit of minimalism forces clarity on values, passion, and purpose. It causes self-reflection and results in greater life satisfaction.
These are the benefits of minimalism. And I want everybody reading these words to experience them.
However, you will never experience those benefits by thinking about minimalism. You can only experience them by putting the principles into practice and actually owning less.
In this way, owning less is better than thinking about owning less.
I have a feeling there are many who read this blog who desire the intentionality and freedom that minimalism provides, but have never taken any significant steps toward experiencing that truth.
This post is for you.
Today, take your first step toward living with less. Owning less brings peace, merely thinking about it brings stress (especially if you’ve been thinking about it for a long time).
Your first step in the right direction doesn’t need to be a big one, but it does need to happen.
So no more excuses. No more waiting for tomorrow. No more blaming others in your home. No more waiting for the circumstances to be perfect.
Today, get started owning less. You don’t need to complete the entire process in one day, but you do need to get started.
Fill one box (or bag) with physical possessions in your home that you no longer need. Then drop it off at the nearest local charity. Tomorrow, do it again.
Begin freeing up space in your home.
Don’t start in your attic, basement, or garage. And don’t start by trying to sort through your most sentimental possessions. Owning less doesn’t mean you need to get rid of the hardest stuff first.
Instead, begin with the stuff you know you don’t need—especially if someone else can use it.
Declutter your living room, your bedroom, or your bathroom. Some place easy that you can finish and feel good about yourself for completing. Then, declutter the next easiest space in your home.
As you do, you’ll own less and less—and begin experiencing the benefits.
There is only one person who can make owning less a reality in your life. And that person is you!
It’s time to stop thinking about it… and time to start doing it.
You can do it. And you’ll absolutely love owning less. Trust me, it’s WAY better than merely thinking about it.
You are right when you say if you have been thinking about it for a long time but have not done it you will experience stress. I have been working on having less for years and I find when I cannot take the time to do it the stress begins. I feel a little bit of joy with every thing that I can find a new home for. I moved to a smaller home without a lot of space so getting rid of anything I don’t need makes life more enjoyable. Additionally, I do not want to burden my children when I pass with lots of things to get rid of. We live in a materialistic society and no not need much of what they sell.
I hear you I feel the same my kids don’t want any of my stuff, and don’t want to leave it to them at the end for them to sort out, sold my house 2yrs ago moved into a 2 bedroom apartment, considering on this next year moving to a 1 bedroom apt, sometimes we need that extra push, good luck on your journey
It sounds like we are in similar stages over here. We sold our big house we raised our kids in and moved into our rental property we own. Wow. Huge changes …and revelations that we ARE living in materialistic times which is not good for any of us. Well Said.
I have just begun my journey into minimalism. I have done the first round of clothes and will go through again in a month anything not worn. My living space and bathroom have been cleared and I have started on kitchen. Still so much to do. I find I already have more free time. I feel relaxed and more organised. I have started journaling again. I stay on top of emails and have even begun to look at old pensions too. Thank you so much for your posts I read them in the morning and find them motivating.
Update since last posted. I went thru my closet & dresser drawers again & have 3 & 1/2 boxes ready to go to a Goodwill. I still have plenty (enough) clothes to wear that actually fit ????(have lost some weight). I also went thru a big box of clothes sitting in a closet for the last 2 years & took out 4 T-shirts…..the rest to good will. Am feeling pretty good. Now have enough clothes that I love & do wear
Bravo!
Minimalism has really resonated with me. Last summer I went through many places in my main house where we have lived for years. I had a giant garage sale. The last day I packed everything left into the car and donated it to a charity resale store. Now I have been clearing out our little winter home in Florida (where the only grandchildren live). I have less here, but all the storage areas are still full after the clean-out. I am now stuck. I look at my too-full living room and think “but I like it all.”
I love living minimally
Look forward to reading articles.
I am finally moving things out
Our entryway is fully cleared, a ” family ” desk went to one of the kids and a few more “stuff” cleared out & the dining area will only be that ???????? with space to breathe.
Am feeling better already.
Marianne, it sure is no doubt about and this really hits home for me. I like this quote Joshua posted – ” Owning less doesn’t mean you need tod get rid of the hardest stuff first. Instead, begin with the stuff you know you don’t need—especially if someone else can use it.” – Thank you .
I’m so grateful for your work and this site. I often peruse it when I’m feeling the urge to consume and it reminds me of what my purpose is.
I had a realization that I’d like to share, that might help others getting stuck in the process of decluttering and finding the true meaning in it.
Fulfilled: satisfied or happy because of fully developing one’s abilities or character.
Somehow, the acquisition of stuff snuck it’s way into this definition! (I’m looking at you, advertising!)
Like the word implies: we should be full or filled with contentment for our skills/purpose/character! Not stuff!
The contrast tends to be true for stuff: the more belongings we have the greater burden and responsibility we feel to them (upkeep/care)- not joy and contentment.
Things add nothing to your character, only to the image you are hoping to present to the world. Character is visible through action, appreciated by others, capable of expanding and growing in it’s reach. It’s societally valuable.
If your stuff is useful through action, appreciated for it’s beauty, can grow in value or can be shared and valued by others– by all means keep the stuff!
But in the pursuit of stuff don’t confuse it for character.
Stuff cannot fulfill you.
Great article as usual! I have been decluttering and de-owning in earnest for a few years now and the results are rewarding. I’d like to recommend that readers be judicious when stuffing unwanted items in bags and dropping them off at their local charity shop. The volunteers at our local shop spend hours sorting and cleaning items. Many people donate absolute rubbish to the shop and a lot of it must be put in the rubbish bins. Please save them the labour and put obviously unsaleable items in the rubbish yourself. I have also had an epiphany of sorts lately. I have a few old items in my home which I have since replaced with newer versions. I’ve kept the older ones too because they’re not quite ready to be thrown out. I’ve made the decision to give the newer ones to the charity shop and use my old stuff. The charity shop can charge more for a newer item in better condition and this means more profit for them. Soon I will move on to giving more of the ‘good stuff’ away and will be satisfied with my old, worn stuff. That way, when I am gone, no one will be arguing over the “good” silver and crystal etc. And the charity shop will have made more profits than they would have had I just given them by old rejects. The more money they make, the more they can help others in need.
I love this.
Wow, this really hit home! After almost a year of reducing my stuff, organizing, and thinking about being more intentional and minimal, I am now at the point where it really sunk in when I read:
“owning less is better than thinking about owning less.”
Hallelujah!
This is the answer to easing my burdens of all the inventory I keep so that I can be ready for anything, and for entertaining crowds and being the perfect hostess. I have a large home and everything I want to keep will fit, but even after unloading truckloads in the last year, after reading this post, I found a boxful of stuff in my kitchen for donation and another box of kitchen stuff for my daughters as they move into their own spaces.
Thank you for helping me distinguish between mere dreaming/wishing and the specific desire and action I need to get where I want to be.
I’m going to look for another boxful to donate tomorrow.
Joshua, I just read a funny comment to today’s comic Sally Forth and I immediately thought of you. To paraphrase IndigoYellow: The storage unit business where people throw hundreds of dollars per month to keep items worth tens of dollars.”
Sally Forth Comics are very inspiring and so fun to read. great comics of all time. !@!
I’ve been reading your blog and Facebook posts for years. I always find them encouraging. I’m no longer able to clean and shift things for hours at a time, but my house and STUFF was really getting on my nerves. We talked about moving from Kauai back to the continental USA and I knew we couldn’t possibly take everything, or would even want to. I immediately started getting rid of stuff – do I want it enough to move it? So many times the answer was a clear “NO”. I came into a small inheritance and decided to invest it in hiring a housekeeper to help me clean every inch and everything. She’s a goddess and very very strong and encouraging. It was overwhelming at times, even though our place is relatively small. Well… we’re done! The only thing left to do now is get rid of all the plastic file boxes and bins we we used to store all that stuff. I kept plenty of art supplies, family heirlooms and weird collectibles, hurricane supplies, and lots of books and DVD movies. I did not harass my husband too much. It’s very difficult for him to let go of anything, but he did – he recycled 12 file boxes of paper (and I did 5 more). We all feel so much lighter and better and it was worth every penny we spent on the housekeeper. Get help!
I think getting help is a great idea! Happy to hear someone else could use some paid help. Thank you!
A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to move to a new town for a lot of the right reasons – a relationship, a great new job opportunity, and an area I’ve always wanted to live in. However, in order to fit into the place I’d be moving into, I had to get rid of about 80% of my stuff. Furniture, kitchen and cooking equipment, books, clothes, etc. By the time I was done, I’d kept a bed, a desk, and one carload of everything else I kept (this included musical instruments, sports equipment, and clothing – all of it STILL fits in a single load of my vehicle, minus the two pieces of furniture). It was absolutely the most liberating thing I’ve ever done, and I don’t miss any of the things I got rid of.
Yes, getting started is the hard part. Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in cement. But i know that all the signs are there that I need to take the steps. Last week I purchased two home decor items and by the time I arrived home I asked myself whatever was I thinking! I didn’t need either of them. Then I wasted more time returning them.
…and gas money too
Congratulations on returning the items. Wise and mature choice.
Jeff
Betsy, please don’t feel bad. I think it’s difficult to break the habit of buying something that would be just right- except we don’t need it. I’ve been on this journey for 12 years. I applaud you for returning the items. I return my spur-of-the-moment purchases on a later errand run so I don’t feel like I’ve wasted gas. I have learned to avoid places that are my kryptonite. LoL We will get there.
Thank you for giving me the motivation to BEGIN to start minimalizing my life. I haven’t started yet, but every time I read your posts it gives me more and more motivation to begin this journey.
Clutter makes a home look terrible! It plays havoc on our well-being whether we realize it or not. Got to get rid of it once and for all. And let’s face—- for those of us who have kids—- they don’t want it either! When we die they will throw all our stuff in a dumpster! The things “we couldn’t get rid of” and held on to for years will be gone in an afternoon!
I am an expert on decluttering in my mind. I have read your books, taken you Uncluttered course more than once. I watch your You Tube videos. I read your emails. Mentally and emotionally I am stuck. I feel guilty at the thought of letting go of stuff. Even throwing out food from our stock that recently expired. The money we have spent going to waste. What if I need something I get rid of, it would probably cost more to replace with inflation right now. How do I get pass this? Why am I blocked? I I am tired of trying to clean around all of our stuff. I am tired of having totes in every room to hold our stuff. It is so discouraging.
“Why am I blocked?” is the question you need to answer. Truly, honestly, deeply, what is blocking you? Sounds to me like you clearly own more than you need, why do you think you don’t have enough?
We have had times in our marriage that were hard financially. Times when we had a hard time pay the rent and other bills. When times are good we would spend money on things like dvds, now streaming channels, would eat out before COVID-19. During Covid it was easy to just shop for things online. Things I really didnt need but told myself that I deserved to have them. My husband doesn’t even know the extent of my shopping. I bought ebooks and courses. Our 34 year old son moved back in due to depression and anxiety during Covid. So we have been covering his medical. I guess I dealt with my own anxiety during the past couple of years by purchasing things, my husband his was binge watching television, my son with video games. We all have different ways to deal with everything that has been going on in the world. I am afraid of what could happen in the future with perhaps more strains of Covid, this war that is going on, tornadoes. I don’t know if any of this makes sense or not.
Marianne,I understand your comment completely. I also have taken the Uncluttering course a few times and due to glitches with my computer, I haven’t made any comments on Facebook. However, I’ve been working on my house every day and the sad part of this clean up is…it doesn’t seem to look any different. I have sold or given away the excess furniture, tossed so much, the recycle bins (I use garbage cans and they have been full many, many times) and I’m still at it. Very discouraging to say the least. But I will continue because next week I start on the last phase of finishing the renovations on my house. Another big mess and disruption for a few more weeks but I hope the light at the end of the tunnel means this house will be emptier and in order. I have about 50 or so boxes still to do. I wish you success in all you are doing.
Clare, we too need to start some renovations in our house especially with redo all the floors. Our place needs so many repairs. We couldnt even start on the floors because there is no room to move stuff out of a room we would be working on If we had the money I would just move.
Sounds like you are making progress, I keep tells myself a little bit of progress is better than no progress, even though more would be better
Morning Joshua I so look forward to your blogs writings, wish you had 1 a week, any way I also thought myself to be one of those people that was really on the lighter side to keep stuff, Well I have been by myself for the last 10 years and there’s no one else to blame but me, I’ve decided now to get an apartment, and sell my 2 bedroom house, 2 floors, most everybody always said that I didn’t have anything, besides I am a very neat person, until I started opening up cupboards closets etc, but I have a 3 car garage, hmm for 1 car, this last month I have sold stuff in garage, inside house, last night I went through my quilting room and probably remove 50 books and magazines, and our church is having a silent auction, so threw 3 quilts in bag for them, I feel so much lighter, and really don’t want to stop, I’m on a roll, thank you so much, I love it when I see you have a post, I’m one of them that is on waiting list for your new book, can’t wait till it is released, Bless you Cheryl
Hello Cheryl,
I’m not on Facebook anymore. My husband still has his and a while back when I used his I liked Joshua’s page on there. He seems to post way more on Facebook than sending out emails. So if you need a little extra encouragement from him during the week I would check there. Blessings!