“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it,” Joshua Becker.
What do you value? The ability to travel? The ability to give of yourself to others? The stuff you collect? A job that makes lots of money? Time with your family? Seeing friends regularly? Time to get more healthy? Time to study things that interest you?
What in your life keeps you from being able to do what you value? Too many things requiring maintenance? A sense of not yet having enough of this to be able to do that? People in your life making too many demands on you? Too much house to clean? So many apps you can’t find the one you need? Too many “favorite” TV programs?
Is what you need more time? If it is, what is wasting yours now?
What could you remove from your life to get you where you want to go faster?
What are you most likely to regret when your life is over? The money you didn’t earn? The time you didn’t spend with friends and family? The things you never owned? The Joneses you didn’t keep up with? The person you would have helped if only you had more time or money?
Once you figure out what you most value, sorting out what to keep vs. what to get rid of becomes much easier. Even if that means getting rid of people who no longer contribute to your values–how many Facebook friends do you really need anyway? Wouldn’t it be more fun to meet a friend face to face and spend some time together?
Make room in your life for what you really value. You’ll be a happier person for doing so. Yes, Jim, for you that includes fishing.
TTYL,
Linda
I think Paul and I are at our happiest right now. We have the best of both worlds…the ability to travel and see our daughter in Houston and spend a wonderful time here in Ohio with our other daughter and family. I don’t believe I would change anything.
Linda ,
This is my favorite subject because if WE have too much clutter and things
in our life it tends to distract us from what really is important in life !
QUESTION : On our dieing bed, will we want to see our loved ones and friends ….. or
will we want our new Range Rover, golf clubs, Rolex watch, new diamond ring,
and whatever material things you hold dear now ?
Okay .. that was a great post because it makes one think. You are right. There is no reason to waste time on people, things or activities that don’t enhance our life? I like where we are now and what we are doing. When I don’t like it anymore, it’s time to change. I’ve made some changes this year and I think more are coming in the line of people, things and activities. Again, great job!
even as a fellow minimalist… it just makes me feel so good to get rid of even more things!
easier breathing. easier living.
you are right on the mark. xo
So true. With truth comes liberation.
As I read this I was reflecting on our own experience of aching to be fulltimers but going through the agony of a house sale in a not-great-for-sales market.
Minimalism is not something you do once but is a way of life: a continual choosing to avoid clutter. We hope to close on the sale of our house in 10 more days. Last summer we spent the entire summer and part of autumn in our RV, returning to the homestead only with the advent of cold WI weather.
When we faced the myriad decisions of how to return to living in a house that we had already emptied out to the walls — and not knowing how long we would be there — we consciously chose a spartan approach. We purchased two economy chairs from IKEA and moved everything out of our RV and into the 6500 sq ft we have called home in the past.
It would have been so easy to buy more stuff! And there have been moments when we wished we had bought more stuff. But mostly being focussed on what lie ahead for us we managed OK with only a little carping along the way.
The thing is, I find myself wanting to continue trimming down. Finding better ways to do our life with fewer possessions. I’m not sure where this will end for us. When we bought our RV we wanted something small enough to visit state parks (maybe not all of them but some anyway) so we limited ourselves to no more than 32′. We ended up in a Journey (Winnebago) because it allowed enough space for my cameras and computers — but after last summer, and realizing how frequently or infrequently I used some of that gear I wonder if some of that stuff may not get peddled along the way and we find ourselves with excess space within our 230 sq ft.
As for regrets… my only thus far has been waiting this long to make the move…..
Cheers,
Peter
A retired Photographer looks at life
Life Unscripted
peter pazucha dot com
Wonderful. And definitely that means fishing for Jim. He would wither up and die without being able to fish. We’ve made some changes (like having to stay in one place so much more) but I’m learning to deal with that and learning to appreciate what we can do and have now. I look at our friends who are still buying stuff and working themselves to death for that stuff and it makes me sad. Becoming RVers really did set me free in so many ways.
Even before we became full_timers, I believed life is too short to not live it to its fullest. Being around negative people or situations just brings us down and as I said life is too short for that.
Peter,
You comments do not get through my spam filter so I am unable to respond directly to you. Dave says he thinks it is the URL in your signature causing the problem. You decide what, if anything, you want to do about that.
While I do not subscribe 100% to the notion of minimalism…for me…I do like the idea of it and it definitely falls within my lifestyle choice. I guess I like my things a little too much to go the distance! We are however, on the same page for finding the value of how one wants to live their life. Just the thought of wanting something different, of being more reflective, can be a great start to an uncluttered life, regardless of what or how much you own. Thanks for sharing and wonderful blog!
Lyle
I’m afraid I like all my “stuff” too much to get rid of any of it to strangers. Too many inherited antiques. When the boys have their own places it’s all theirs. Right now they are both renters and move every 1-2byears. Well maybe we’ll just sell them the house and everything in it. LOL