My desire to tuck away pretty things began at an early age. As an eight-year-old, I hid a true blue Easter egg in my headboard bookshelf. Why? Because I wanted to know it would be there when I felt the need to gaze at beauty for a moment. It didn’t take long to figure out that even beautiful things eventually decay…and reek.
It wasn’t, however, until I was in my thirties purchasing Beanie Babies {Did I really just admit that?} for no apparent reason that I began realizing there was more to those purchases than a fuzzy little feel good. Thankfully, they ended up in the hands of children in an overseas orphanage but unfortunately that was not the “why” behind the purchases years prior.
Those are just two snapshots from my past but even today when I find myself aimlessly wandering up and down the aisles of Target I have to ask myself the “why” question. I don’t want to subconsciously find peace and, dare I say, joy, in all the wrong clearance spaces.
Joshua’s latest release, “The More of Less” is a daily tool in my back pocket. The pages hold clear and concise wisdom, less a beating. The tone is conversational, friendly. It’s an easy but enlightening read, to say the least.
Snippets from The More of Less, some paraphrased:
- Minimalism: the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them.
- The beauty of minimalism isn’t in what it takes away. The beauty and the full potential of minimalism lie in what it gives.
- Decluttering will help you clarify your purpose and values.
- Remember, the goal of minimalism is to unburden our lives so we can accomplish more.
- In the end, your particular practice of minimalism is going to look different from that of everyone else because your life is different from that of everyone else. You may have a large family, a small family, or no family. You may live on a farm, in a house, or in a studio apartment. You love music, movies, sports, or books. You practice art, or maybe you don’t. Maybe you believe you were put on this earth to host beautiful dinner parties or offer your home as a place of respite and retreat for others. Follow your passions to the best of your ability with the resources you possess. Fulfill your purpose with great focus by removing the distractions keeping you from it. And find a style of minimalism that works for you, one that is not cumbersome but freeing.
- The more you believe you are not influenced by advertisements, the better they have done their job.
- Generous people have less desire for more. They find fulfillment, meaning, and value outside of the acquisition of possessions.
{Told you it was good!}
Peeling back the motives behind our “stuff” allows us to discover not only what we value but also where we find it.
Although you may have enjoyed a large house in the suburbs with the accompanying comforts of life in the past, perhaps now you are thinking more about the value of experiences over possessions. Maybe you are more focused on leaving a legacy than adding to a pile of possessions. {To the Baby Boomers, like me.}
Did a particular excerpt from Joshua’s book resonate with your current circumstances? If so, please share in the comment box. It’s always nice knowing we’re not alone.
Amazon: The More of Less, by Joshua Becker
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Thank you for sharing, Cathy. You made me stop and think about my “collections”. You’re right about the “snippets”. I will have to read the book.
Oh, the collections. I didn’t realize I had so many, Katherine. It’s nice knowing we’re not alone. 🙂 Let me know what you think about the book after you read it. Maybe we should start a support group. ha! 🙂 Love to you from SC….
I needed this…..
🙂 Me too. It was cathartic. Love you!
I am definitely a minimalist; however, I am married to a more is better. He grew up in a very modest home and always felt deprived because it was not decorated like his friends’ homes. Every time I clear a space he has to find something to fill it. I call it clutter but he calls it prosperity. Either way, it is a bone of contention.
Have a blessed day. Shalom rav!
Thanks for sharing, Jean. My husband started out as the neat one but over the past 26 years he’s given in to my sentimental whims and now we’re both having to dive into the clutter. It is interesting how our past plays into what we do many years later, isn’t it? Praying you have a blessed day!
Thank you, Cathy. I have begun to consider the clutter in my life and that “overwhelmed” feeling while moving one thing to get to another. It took a lifetime to acquire but only seconds to realize that some things have the sole purpose of sitting, in a drawer waiting for it’s turn in the real world. I’ll start with those things.
Becky
I didn’t realize how overwhelming clutter felt until we moved the “extra” things into storage for showing the house. Having fewer things around felt freeing. Believe me, after living clutter-free (albeit artificially) for the past couple of months, much of the “extra” things in storage will be going elsewhere. Thank you for taking the time to share, Becky. Blessings!
Ding! Ding! Ding! You win for capturing me COMPLETELY! 🙂 Oh my goodness. I’m a sentimental fool. I’m also an artist as well as a writer, so you can imagine the “extra” supplies I must keep around. I think this may be a common problem among creatives, do you? I really do find beauty in simple things like pine cones and heart shaped rocks. I just wish they didn’t gather dust so easily 😉
I didn’t know you were also an artist, Nan! Art supplies are also part of our household, thanks to my talented hubby. I’m envious of you both. 🙂 I, too, find beauty in simple things of nature and have the collection to prove it. ha! I plan to take pictures of most so I can remember them…without the clutter. 🙂 Have a blessed weekend, my friend!
Thanks, Cathy…you know me and my buildings! I am finally ready to part with some of my “treasures”.
I love your collection of buildings! 🙂 I think sentimental “treasures” are the hardest to part with — you’re not alone.
We went through a move in the last couple of years to a much smaller home. I am amazed at the literal truck loads of stuff that we donated or trashed. I no longer have space for things I don’t need and can finally shop and enjoy the view without bringing it home! This must be an answer to my husband’s prayers.
I should hire you as my coach, Tina! 🙂 Your story inspires me and gives me hope that we can do it, too. De-clutterers, unite! Thanks for sharing.
Wow! This really spoke to me. I have spent the past few months working with a professional organizer to declutter my house (and I’m not even moving)! My motivation is to get rid of the excess and clutter so I feel the freedom to sit down and do more important things, like write!
I love this, Kim — “…the freedom to sit down and do more important things, like write!” We took 15 boxes to the donation center today and it literally felt like a 100 pounds spilled off my back. It was freeing!! A few things stung at first but it was short-lived. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to share. What an encouragement!