When I selected my guiding words for 2010, and chose SIMPLIFY as one of them, I had no idea that there was an e-book of the same name. I had no idea who Joshua Becker was, or that I would soon become interested in decluttering, and minimalizing my (and my families) stuff.
As I began reading websites that deal with the concept of simplicity, and or minimalism, I realized that many of them really go after it 110%. Several minimalist writers have pared down their life to living with only 100 items or less.
While this sounds really cool in theory, it’s not something that’s easily doable as a husband and father living in the suburbs in Middle Tennessee.
I have been a long time reader of Zen Habits by Leo Babauta (another minimalist/simplicity blog). So, when Leo, earlier this year, mentioned a blog called Becoming Minimalist – and a term “Rational Minimalism“… I was intrigued.
As I started reading Joshua’s blog, I really started to connect to his message. There seemed to be something real about he and his wife making a decision to start minimalizing their life, and living for more than just ‘stuff’.
If minimalism sounds like some weird ‘cult-like’ thing – it’s not. Simply put – As Becker says in his e-book: Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.
To me, that sounds doable. Removing things that distract us so we can focus on things we value. Yeah. That sounds really good.
Also, something that I was noticing was that Joshua seemed to be a man of faith. Several quotes he used, the way he phrased his writings, all seemed to point to a similar Christian faith. So that also was another appealing part of his message – at least for me.
I purchased Simplify – 7 Guiding Principles to help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life to get a bit more information, and motivate myself to get the ball rolling on this whole “Simplicity” thing.
While the book isn’t a ‘How to get rid of everything in 5 easy steps’ – it is a VERY good resource about how to make the minimalist lifestyle work for YOU. Because, as Joshua suggests, we all are unique, and what might be minimalist to me – might be really drastic to you. Or vice versa.
I am learning that the journey to less stuff is just that – a journey. I can’t just go through the house and start tossing. I mean, there ARE two other people who live here. And a dog, who sheds something crazy.
But, some areas that are being simplified in my life right now include:
My studio. I did a full on overhaul, threw away, reorganized, decluttered and removed things directly from my desk – and “space”. I have a bit too much furniture in the studio, so a couple desks have gone on Craigslist, for some extra cash.
Junk Drawers. I spent several nights dumping, trashing, and resorting one of our junk drawers. (Ok, I said One. We have 3. Perhaps we can pare it down to two during this simplicity focus).
Garage. This is a work in progress. We moved into our house about 5 years ago. We had boxes that we hadn’t opened since the move, stored (living?) there. Last summer, we had a rodent. (Possum – Ugly, Ugly animal. What was God thinking?) All the boxes became plastic containers. Unfortunately we hurried the process, and just dumped boxes in to plastic bins. So we have massive sorting and throwing away to do. (At least one 30 gallon bin of old tapes from me on the radio. Yeah, those are going to have to go. I can’t find a boom box anywhere to play them.)
My Beautiful Wife™ believes that I would throw everything away and live with just a chair, table and computer if she would allow it — but I don’t think I’m that extreme. Close, but not quite. I would also keep the bed.
Back to my point. Since I have been enjoying Joshua’s writing so much, I decided to ask him for an interview on how his decision about minimalism has affected his marriage and life.
Here is my interview with Joshua Becker from Becoming Minimalist.
TALK TO ME: Is this a topic that interests you for your marriage? Do you find stuff gets in the way of your relationship? How so? Leave a comment or shoot me an email.
Because I have taken this simplicity idea to heart, and because I really enjoyed his e-book, I am now an affiliate for Simplify. That means if you decide to purchase the book using one of my links, I will make a bit of a commission. You do not have to use my affiliate links though – you can go there directly if you would like.
photo by storm crypt
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I live to declutter. I'm sure it comes back to giving me a sense of control, as I love to do it when I'm stressed out. Lately I've realized the freeing power of “less stuff”. My husband understands it to a point and pretty much lets me get rid of anything that's both unnecessary and “mine” or “ours,” as long as I don't sneak out with the “his”. (It's tempting, but I can generally work within those boundaries.) Much like any marriage the yin & yang play out daily, and my decluttering is his “saving it, you might need it!” He's not a hoarder by any means, but possessions hold meaning for him. We're wired differently, I guess. We've had an occasional gripe about cleaning/cluttering, but for the most part it's live and let live.
This is something that has been weighing on my heart this year. I decided I de-clutter my life/activities and wanted to get down to three top priorities (under the umbrella of being a child of God). That meant I'd have to resign from one of my Chair positions for a non-profit organizations I work with. I've since given them my 2 month notice. I look forward to that ending in July and I'll be at “my three.”
I have lived the “save it, I might need it” lifestyle for a long time. Thats (one of the reasons) why we have so many boxes in our garage!! But, I am realizing that I NEVER go back to them. They just sit there!!
We also have a system we have started – I declutter, toss in the trash – but the Beautiful Wife has to go thru the potential trash stuff before it goes out. So far, she has only rescued 3 things, so I'm doing pretty well!!!
Good for you Melissa! That has to be a tough thing to do. The Simplify thing for me started with just stuff…but I find it bleeding into other areas as well. It will be interesting to see how it continues to play out in my life!