May 28, 2008 – It all started harmless enough on a spring Saturday morning as my 5-year old son and I went to clean the garage. The neighbors happened to be outside planting gardens, watering flowers, and tending to the outside of their two-level home.
Nearly three hours later, we were still working on the garage and the neighbors were still outside working on their home. My neighbor turned to me and said sarcastically, “Ahh, the joys of home ownership.” I responded by saying, “The more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you.” Her next sentence struck a chord with my soul. Her response was, “That’s why my daughter is a minimalist. She keeps telling me that I don’t need all this stuff!”
“A minimalist?” I thought. “How attractive, how freeing – I want that in my life.”
Call me uneducated, naive, whatever you want – but I had never heard the term before. Yet, it seemed to be the one word that defined my deepest desires. I went inside to tell my wife about the conversation and her response was the same as mine, “That’s what I want too.”
And thus, the journey begins. The journey of becoming a minimalist.
The blog will serve two purposes. 1). Keeping a journal of our personal journey as this family of four (33, 29, 5, 2) becomes minimalist. And 2). A proof if this typical family can make it real in their life, so can you.
Hi!
This blog and Joshuas’ Youtube videos have been an inspiration in my minimalist journey, started 5 years ago.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
Have you ever connected with your neighbors daughter? I would love to read an interview between the two of you!
Spent a lot of time with my neighbor. Never met their daughter.
My house is becoming a junk full of things. So glad I found your blog. Great tips
Thank you for the amazing post. I practice minimalism myself and have seen the benefits of it throughout my life. It keeps me more focused on my goals every time I throw away my unwanted stuff.
I think it’s also very important to do the cleaning in our minds as well. I am originally from Iran and once every year we clean our houses and get rid of a lot of things. This also includes mental cleansing meaning telling the untold to friends and family, getting rid of some relationships and forming new ones and most importantly becoming true to ourselves.
So pleased to have found your blog, and have gone right back to the beginning. I am working on continuing to simplify my life and am looking forward to reading about your journey.
Hi Joshua. A friend sent me your blog as I was complaining to him how much stuff my wife and I have that no longer has utility or meaning. My town has a yearly garage sale “Crazy Daze” weekend where many people, like ourselves, have a garage sale with the goal of making our junk someone else’s treasure. It is amazing how much stuff two people can accumulate and, as you point out, how this “stuff” weighs us down in so many parts of our lives. My hope is to continue this journey and simplify our lives. Thanks for the push.
This article has lots of good thoughts about owning less or down-sizing; but, at the end, I think the author diminished being minimalist by writing articles or books, appearing on the media, establishing nonprofit organizations, etc…how much time is left for family and home? Just a thought…I’m sure there are justifications for everything we do.
This was the reply I received after I sent out the information about Becoming a Minimalist…I would appreciate a comment from you. Thanks
Sure, I’m happy to respond. Sometimes, it seems, people interpret minimalism to mean “doing nothing” or removing themselves from work altogether. I’m just the opposite. I embraced minimalism so I could do MORE of the things that matter. Owning less has freed up time and money and energy to do that very thing. Because I don’t have a lot of stuff to take care (nor am I spending much time researching or buying new things), my life is freed to pursue work that matters and makes a difference. Among those things, I write and speak. And with the income I earn that I don’t need, I started a nonprofit organization called The Hope Effect providing homes for orphans. And I have more time to invest in my family than ever before. That doesn’t diminish being minimalism… that makes a stronger case for it.
I heard your podcast on The Robcast and was curious/inspired. I’m “all in” for trying it, but my wife isn’t interested in following suit. Can one person effectively become a minimalist within a family? Any suggestions?
Sure, why not?
Mike, I have made huge changes over the years in my diet and decluttering. First came the diet. I was clear with my husband that I did not expect him to change his diet. I needed to for my health, and he understood, but was still nervous looking as I laid out my plans to overhaul my diet. You see, I was the only cook in the house. He was relieved when I continued to make his favorite foods (often sides) right alongside things I could eat. In time, he became a healthier eater as he realize how much healthier I became and that the real whole foods were actually tasty too. Later I became fascinated by minimalism. I still have a long long way to go, but I started making changes with my own belongings and in the shared areas. I cleared everything off the kitchen counters. Thankfully, my husband leaves much of the decorating up to me, but he was still shocked about my ideas for keeping all flat surfaces clutter free. So I asked him if I could try it and let him decide if it was good, and he ended up LOVING it because it makes everything simpler and clean up is so much faster for our family. The key was that I made sure to provide new *convenient* areas for things that used to get left out. There is a place for the mail to go, a basket for the little electronics and such. I am still not a minimalist, but now my husband says I can get rid of almost anything. It ends up making life simpler which equals easier and better for us. Do your thing with your stuff, and your joy might make it contagious over time.