Joshua Becker's Blog, page 51

Lightbulbs Always Need Changing

The other day, while brewing coffee in the morning, a lightbulb went out in my kitchen. Not an uncommon occurrence I suppose.

But for some reason, on this particular morning, the common event bothered me more than usual. (Maybe because my coffee hadn’t finished brewing… if you know what I mean).

I remember looking up at the now-darkened lightbulb and thinking to myself in a frustrated tone, “Why can’t everything just work for once? Can I ever escape constantly needing to maintain and fix the stuff I own?”

I caught myself mid-paragraph.

Because the obvious answer is “No.” And I know that.

I mean, I’m in my mid-40’s. A handsome and youthful-looking mid-40s, sure. But I still know how life works:

All the things we own, regardless of the number, perish, spoil, or fade. Everything physical needs to be maintained to some extent.

Clothes need to be washed. Carpets need to be vacuumed. Beds need to be made. Oil needs to be changed. Shelves need to be dusted. Batteries need to be replaced. Showers need to be scrubbed.

And lightbulbs need to be changed.

That is the reality of the physical possessions we own. Nothing lasts forever. Everything needs to be maintained.

Every little thing.

This is why I chose minimalism as a lifestyle in the first place. Rather than being frustrated at a lightbulb that needs to be changed, I should find some joy in the fact that I need to change less of them than ever before.

When I speak about minimalism, I often make a joke about lightbulbs, in fact. I talk about my past desire to own a larger home (despite the fact that we didn’t even use all the rooms in our existing house).

But as I began minimizing possessions, I noticed the emptiness of always wanting a bigger house—and I began seeing big houses differently.

As I like to say, “Now I drive by neighborhoods with big houses and think to myself, ‘Who changes the lightbulbs in that thing?’”

Being freed from the unquenchable desire for more, bigger, and better is a wonderful feeling. As is, being separated from constantly comparing my things to others.

All possessions require maintenance. Every lightbulb, plate, shirt, bed, fire alarm, and electronic device require our attention and maintenance.

Do we ever escape that reality? Nope.

Lightbulbs always burn out—sometimes early in the morning.

But the fewer possessions we own, the less we need to maintain. And the more we can focus our attention on the things that matter most.

The 15-Minute Rule

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Hannah Brencher, founder of More Love Letters. 

The start of a new year overwhelms me.

I love the idea of shifting gears and walking into a new year. I love the possibility of a fresh calendar. But I am overwhelmed by all the things I want to do, and all the things I think I can magically begin, just because January 1 arrives at the front of the calendar.

I’m one of those people who believes I can start running, eat all the kale, magically organize my entire life, and become that friend who sends birthday cards in the mail overnight.

I guess you could say I am a recovering resolutions addict.

The new year is tricky because we formulate these big, life-shifting goals and then we wonder why nothing changes. Why we quickly shelf those goals and go back to old habits.

I’ve learned it’s because building discipline takes time. It is a muscle we need to train little by little. Progress is usually made out of small things done on repeat.

At the start of 2019, I was feeling worn out before the new year even arrived on the calendar. I had things I wanted to do but I was drained by the idea of setting another set of lofty resolutions that looked like failures by the middle of January.

So I refocused my thinking. I decided to zoom in small. I picked one primary goal:

Read more, scroll less.

Instead of assuming I had to go out to the bookstore to fill my shelves with new reads that might entice me to create this new habit of mine, I decided to start with what I had. I pulled a book off the shelf and I set a timer on my phone for 15 minutes. Just 15 minutes to read a few pages of a book I already had.

A few years removed from that “read more, scroll less” goal, this is how most of my life operates: in 15-minute increments.

I call it the “15-minute rule.” It’s no fuss. It’s not fancy. You just set the timer and you start.

Fifteen minutes to go for a walk outside. Fifteen minutes to clear your mind and journal. Fifteen minutes to write some good sentences or call a friend just to hear their voice and check-in.

Most of us have 15 minutes. We say we don’t, but we could find the space.

We could put down the phone. We could watch less of that show. We could wake up a few minutes earlier. I think we buy the lie that we need to have the whole day or a whole hour to invest in something we care about that would make us feel like we are moving forward. But I’m afraid we’ll keep waiting on that miraculous free 3-hour time block or that day off only to find it never shows up.

We’ll never find the time. We have to make it and we have to decide that even the smallest actions are going to matter, they’re going to stack up and contribute to much bigger victories ahead.

On days where I feel overwhelmed by the tasks ahead of me, I set a timer and get to it. I remind myself: you can do anything for 15 minutes.

The tasks range from big to small:

Clean the cupboard beneath the bathroom sink. Go through my inbox. Call and make that doctor’s appointment. Scribble out a few cards and put them in the mailbox. With just 15 minutes, I make progress in a direction that matters to me. I change the landscape around me and get closer to the goals that really matter to me.

It’s really all about looking for that tiny thread within a larger task and beginning to pull. Over the years, I’ve found it doesn’t just work for the tasks you are dreading or tasks that need to get done, but it works even more masterfully for things you’ve always said you wanted to do. Those things you’ve quickly pushed to the side with the excuse of, “I just don’t have enough time.”

I’ve wanted to write a novel for years. This idea sat in my brain for so long and haunted me with each passing day. I’m a believer in not letting inspiration and ideas sit dormant for too long so I pulled out a notebook I already had one day and I set my timer. Over the next 15 minutes, I began to do research for the novel. It wasn’t earth-shattering. I was simply using 15 minutes of time to watch a TED talk and scan through some articles. But there was something about carving out that time that lit a fire in me.

It was a small step in the right direction. I was surprised to see it felt like coming back to myself. I decided I was going to keep stoking the fire, fifteen minutes at a time. The number of minutes seems small, but any larger and I’d convince myself there just wasn’t enough time.

It doesn’t need to happen every single day. It’s not about getting the 15-minutes down perfectly. It’s about deciding to show up and put something that matters at the forefront for just a moment in your day.

It might take 15 minutes to write 250 words. That’s 250 more words than you had yesterday.

It might take 15 minutes to research some new recipes but that’s an arsenal of family meals that didn’t exist this morning.

It might take 15 minutes to start cleaning out the closet in your office. You might not finish that big task today but you’re a little bit closer than you where you were before you set the timer.

If you’re feeling like life has been knocked out of you, or you don’t know how to start this new year, it may be time to look around the readjust.

You don’t need to add more to your already full life. You don’t need to make big investments or buy fancy gadgets to make progress. You just need to clear the space, maybe just for 15 minutes. You just need to start right where you are with what you already have.

***

Hannah Brencher is a blogger, TED speaker and entrepreneur. Her book, Fighting Forward: Your Nitty-Gritty Guide to Beating the Lies that Hold You Back is available now.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

Thank you for making 2021 such an exciting year for Becoming Minimalist. We are actually on pace for one of the busiest months we’ve ever experienced on the blog. And I’m thankful to each of you for making that a reality. I look forward to the year ahead.

In the meantime, here are a list of inspiring articles published recently to motivate simplicity and minimalism in your life.

Like every Inspiring Simplicity post, I hand-picked each article with you in mind:

It’s Not That Hard to Buy Nothing | The New York Times by Britany Robinson. Temptations fade surprisingly fast.

Why This Millennial Believes Reducing Clutter Is The Key To Clarity In 2021 | Forbes by Joshua Becker. Exchange what you’ve always known for what you’ve always wanted.

Get Rid of Your ‘Sentimental’ Junk | Lifehacker by Claire Lower. You are not required to keep every single gift someone you love gave you.

Less is Now | Netflix by The Minimalists. A new documentary on Netflix. Longtime friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus share how our lives can be better with less.

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Uncluttered. If you’re looking for help trying to minimize your possessions, our 12-week course will help you own less, live more, and discover the life you want. Registrations ends this Sunday, January 17. The course begins on Tuesday.

Eat the Frog: How Predecisions Can Help You Stress Less & Accomplish More

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Mark Batterson of the National Community Church in Washington, D.C.

Eat the frog!

No, I’m not advocating a new diet.

“If it’s your job to eat a frog,” Mark Twain is purported to have said, “it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.” Why? Because you can go through the rest of your day knowing that the hardest task is behind you.

What to-do list items are hardest for you to check off? What difficult decisions are you delaying? What goals have you had forever, but you have yet to take the first step? That, my friend, is your frog!

Destiny is not a mystery. Destiny is a decision.

According to one estimate, we make as many as 35,000 decisions every day. The question is: how do we make good ones?

The answer is making decisions before you have to make the decision! They’re called predecisions, and they help you maximize the power of twenty-four hours.

Twyla Tharp is one of the most accomplished choreographers of the modern era. Her credits include 129 dance compositions, 12 television specials, six Hollywood films, and four Broadway shows. She has won two Emmys, one Tony, and the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor. Did I mention her 19 honorary doctorates?

How has she produced such an impressive LinkedIn profile? You guessed it—she eats the frog every day!

“I begin each day of my life with a ritual,” said Twyla. “The quasi-religious power I attach to this ritual keeps me from rolling over and going back to sleep.”

What is her ritual? After waking up at five thirty, she puts on her workout clothes, walks out of her Manhattan home, and hails a cab to take her to the Pumping Iron Gym at Ninety-First Street and First Avenue. “The ritual is not the stretching and weight training I put my body through each morning at the gym,” said Twyla. “The ritual is the cab.”

Does Twyla enjoy her two-hour workout every day? Not any more than you do! There are days when she doesn’t feel like going to the gym, but she doesn’t give herself an out. That is the genius of predecisions. They eliminate the option of opting out.

You can’t wait until your alarm goes off to decide whether or not to work out. We all know how that story ends—with the snooze button! The decision has to be made beforehand, with a predecision. Then that predecision has to be put into deliberate practice with a well-designed ritual.

Ritualization gets a bit of a bad rap in some circles, and there can definitely be a downside to the things we do repeatedly. It’s easy to learn how and forget why. That’s when we start going through the motions.

The key to sustained growth in any area of our lives is routine, but once the routine becomes routine, you have to reinvent the routine. It’s called the law of requisite variety. If you don’t disrupt the status quo, the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

While recognizing the downside, we should also acknowledge the upside to automating our actions through ritualization.

The blue jeans, black turtleneck, and New Balance shoes worn by Steve Jobs every day are exhibit A. Was Steve Jobs trying to make a fashion statement?  I think not.

So, why did he wear the same outfit every day? It was one less decision he had to make. It was one less thing he had to worry about. 

That’s what daily rituals are all about. Along with maximizing our God-given potential, they also streamline our lives by saving time and energy.  I’m not advocating the same outfit every day per se. But reducing the number of decisions we make every day buys back bandwidth for the big decisions.

What frog do you need to eat?

It might be doing your age in sit-ups before you shower, or five minutes of meditation before breakfast. Whatever it is, make it a daily routine by picking a time and a place. If possible, stack the habit with your regular routine. Learn to leverage your shower, your breakfast, or your commute.

Most goals are important, but they aren’t urgent. Eating the frog is making time for the important things over and above the urgent things.

Whatever it is, you’ve got to figure out a morning routine that works for you. And I might add, one that works for your spouse and your kids and your dog and your boss! You don’t have to shirk your responsibilities to eat the frog. All you have to do is plan your work, then work your plan. 

The good news? Well-begun is half-done!

***

Mark Batterson is the New York Times best-selling author of 20 books including “Win the Day: 7 Daily Habits to Help You Stress Less & Accomplish More” and the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. Visit him at MarkBatterson.com.

Declutter Your Home in 2021

“I have significantly less stress in my life and more self-control. Most importantly, I’m becoming more like the mom and wife I want to be.” — Caryn Seney

Becoming Minimalist is a website that reaches people from every walk of life—those who are living a minimalist life, those who are just discovering it, and those who are in the process of achieving it.

I have talked and emailed with many of you. And I know the process is easier for some than others.

There are many reading this blog who desire to live a minimalist life, but are struggling to achieve it. You want to own less, but you’re not sure where to start. Uncluttered was created specifically for you—and it’s one of the most important things I do at Becoming Minimalist.

Uncluttered

Uncluttered is a 12-week online course designed intentionally to help you own less, live more, and discover the life you’ve always wanted.

50,000 people, from all over the world, have used the principles to declutter their home and life, and you can too.

I only offer the course three times each year and I’m excited to start the New Year’s Edition in just a few days. I started the course back in 2016 and have just recorded all new videos for 2021.

But registration ends Sunday, January 17.

The course includes…

Videos with step-by-step instructions Interviews with leaders in productivity and minimalism Live webinars tackling specific clutter topics Live Q&As for members to ask me questions24/7 interaction and motivation Weekly challenges And perhaps best of all: accountability and encouragement from a super-engaged community

Every Monday, you receive a video from me, an exclusive interview with one of the brightest minds in the simplicity movement, and/or written content prepared exclusively for the course. You will receive a weekly challenge to complete and opportunities to engage with the community in a private Facebook group. Also, join me live during group webinars and interactive question and answer opportunities.

At the end of 12 weeks, you will have decluttered every lived-in area of your home, and changed your shopping habits going forward.

The course offers everything a book or blog post cannot: community, accountability, specific challenges, and weekly opportunity to ask me questions and connect.

Family Resources

If you have a family, we provide extra helpful resources to help you navigate that, because I know it can be tough.

There is a section of resources including a family-specific webinar to answer your questions, a free Children’s ebook to read with your kids, and a Couple’s Discussion Guide to spark conversation with your spouse or partner.

Also, if you sign up for this current edition of the course, I’ll give you a free PDF copy of my book, Clutterfree with Kids for free.

More than anything else, I want you to be successful during this 12-week course and will provide every resource we can to help you do that.

The Details

The course begins on Tuesday, January 19. Registration is open now, but ends on January 17.

The cost is $89 (USD). But you can find a 25% off discount code in the back of The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life. The book is not required—but can be helpful. And it’s cheaper to buy the book and use the discount code than it is to pay full price—the option is yours.

I am personally involved in every aspect of the course. Helping people live more by owning less is what I am passionate about. I host the webinars. I answer questions in the Facebook group. And I host live video chats. I have come to understand how essential community, accountability, and ongoing encouragement is for people. And I work hard to craft that culture for the Uncluttered Course. Like I said, this is one of the most important things I do.

When you join Uncluttered, you’ll receive lifetime access to the course. That means you can take it as many times as you want (or need). I know life can be busy, and the unexpected can happen at any time. But we’re here to help you succeed. And if you ever want to do the course again, or just enjoy a decluttering refresher, you’ll be welcomed back.

So stop letting guilt and overwhelm stand in your way. The home you want is less than 12 weeks away. And if there was ever a time to take back control of your life, this is it!

If you’re interested in joining us for the next 3 months, visit My Becoming Minimalist to register. You can find out more details and see some before/after photos of previous participants.

Living in the Shadow of Death

My grandfather passed away over Christmas.

At his funeral, I delivered the eulogy. Here is a portion of what I said:

What can I say about this man? What can I say about a man I’ve always wanted to be just like? What can I say about a man who shaped my worldview and understanding of God more than anyone else? What can I say about a man I named my own son after?

He had a significant impact on my life. You can read my entire eulogy here.

During one of my last conversations with my grandfather, before he got sick on Thanksgiving, he made a statement to me that I found to be incredibly profound.

He said, “We live our entire lives under the shadow of death.”

While I didn’t tell him at the time, I found the statement to be deep and life-enhancing when understood correctly. In fact, merely hearing it brought about further resolve of my desire to live a minimalist life.

Consider its weight: We all live under the shadow of death.

That statement has been true in 2020 maybe more than any other year as local and national media regularly report death counts from all over the world and daily public service announcements can be heard over the airwaves asking us to act responsibly.

But death is not new to us—despite the unprecedented times we live in.

In fact, we live every day with the understanding that it may be our last. Not in a morbid, depressing way (shockingly so), but in the awareness and reality of understanding life.

Every time I get in my car to drive to work or the grocery store, I know, instinctively, something tragic could happen to me or another driver. I also know, full-well, that even if I don’t leave my house, a medical emergency could befall me or someone I love. I am not immune from a cancer diagnosis, a heart attack, a stroke, a brain aneurysm.

I have plenty of loved ones who unexpectedly received life-changing news, or were tragically stricken.

As grandpa said, “Life is lived under this shadow of death.” The reality of it surrounds us every day of our lives. And even if we don’t have a close, loved one who recently passed away, we almost certainly know someone who has.

Nobody escapes life alive.

But somehow it seems, human beings are able to both live with the knowledge of death and somehow function apart from it.

Death is inevitable. And yet, I am able to live wholly today, focused on the present and the future, as if it won’t happen to me today. I am aware of coming death, but not paralyzed by it. It is a fascinating paradox and ability of the human mind when you think about.

While the shadow of death does not paralyze me, in the quiet moments of life, the shadow motivates me and sharpens the wisest among us.

Only a fool lives as if their life will never end.

We receive one life to live, with a limited number of days and a limited number of resources with which to accomplish our purpose. Almost all of the resources we consume during our journey are limited: money, time, energy, space, focus, capacity, even the relationships we are able to pursue. 

This reality of our finite nature is an incredibly important truth. It is one we should intentionally choose to focus on each day. Because when we do, it changes our actions, our motivations, and our pursuits. It changes us:

Because life is finite, we make better choices.

Because time is finite, we spend our days on things that matter.

Because money is finite, we spend it on pursuits that will outlast us.

Because our energy is finite, we choose carefully where we focus our passions.

Because our days are finite, we value relationships and love.

Because I live under the shadow of death, I will choose a minimalist life and reject the empty promise of consumerism and what this world offers. I will live for greater pursuits.

Life will end—indeed. And that realization should affect the decisions I make each day. But rather than causing me to throw in the towel and give up on life, this shadow of death will spark hope and resolve and passion to spend each remaining day of my life making the most of it.

12 Simple Decisions to Make 2021 Better than 2020

It’s about time to turn the page on 2020. And thankfully so.

What should we expect for 2021? Well, my guess is everything will start to feel a bit more normal—especially as the vaccine continues to roll out. But I’m not in control of the world, so how would I know for sure?

I am not in control of the world, however I am in control of myself… and you are in control of yourself. So even though we can’t control everything around us, we can control some things.

At the very least, we can control how we interact with the world around us. And many times, that makes all the difference.

To that end, in an effort to make 2021 a better year for everyone, here are 12 decisions we can all make as the new year begins:

1. Smile more.

I think we all miss seeing smiles in public spaces. Once the masks are off, decide to show more of those pearly whites every chance you get.

2. Complain less.

2020 was a year of dealing with life-and-death issues on an almost daily basis. In some ways, all the things we used to complain about seem so small now. So let’s decide to no longer complain about the small stuff.

3. Appreciate more.

I thought 2020 would be the year I got everything I wanted. Now I know 2020 was the year to appreciate everything I have. Decide now to carry that forward into 2021 and appreciate all the good around us in a more intentional way.

4. Connect more.

In 2020, we lost the ability to connect with others in-person—at coffee shops, churches, restaurants, concerts, sporting events, and even some family gatherings. Let’s never overlook the opportunity to connect with others again.

5. Own less.

When everything is taken away, we see what is most important. When it comes to recognizing what activities contribute to quality of life, accumulating physical stuff pales in comparison to the actual life-giving pursuits we are being forced to go without. Decide now to own less in 2021.

6. Encourage more.

2020 was a hard year for everyone! And all of us needed encouragement from time-to-time. Let’s give it freely in 2021—whether people ask for it or not.

7. Waste less.

Seems like we all learned the value of another day and another opportunity—because too many had their last one taken from them in 2020. Let’s decide now to not waste any day, any moment, or any amount of energy remaining.

8. Thank more.

Decide now to say “thank you” more often. You will be blessed, and the recipient will be blessed. Win-win.

9. Compete less.

One thing is for sure—we’re all in this world together. As a result, it’s too easy to see the world as competition against one another. Instead, let’s remember we’re on the same team, all trying to be the best versions of ourselves. If you want to compete, compete against who you were yesterday rather than the stranger down the street.

10. Understand more.

Not only was 2020 marked with a global pandemic and economic downturn, in many parts of the world (including my own) it was a year of political strife and division where a difference in opinion was often regarded as a difference in principle. It rarely is. Everyone will benefit—both sides—if we decide now to argue less and understand more.

11. Save more.

With the overnight shutdown/collapse of many businesses and a worldwide economy, 2020 showed the importance of having some financial savings in reserve. If you haven’t made saving a priority, decide to do it now. Here are some helpful steps to get there.

12. Love more.

Love your spouse. Love your kids. Love your friends. Love your co-workers. Love your neighbor. Love. The world needs more of it.

What does 2021 hold? I have no idea.

But with these 12 decisions as my resolutions for 2020, I’m ready for just about anything. Because life is more than the circumstances surrounding me.

Becoming Minimalist’s Top Posts of 2020

A special thanks to each of you for making 2020 such a memorable year at Becoming Minimalist. Memorable? Is that a good way to describe 2020?

This website continues to reach people beyond my wildest dreams as we grow every year in new ways. As before, this growth has occurred because of the support from readers like you—thank you for helping to spread the inspiration.

Thank you for sharing this website on social media. But even more, thank you for sharing the life-giving message of owning less with your friends and family.

Here are some numeric representations of our growth:

This website is now read by over 2 million people each month.Our Facebook page grew from 1,700,000 to 2,100,000 followers.Over 68,000 people follow us on Twitter.245,000 people currently receive Becoming Minimalist posts via email. Sign-up here to do the same. Simplify Magazine, our digital, quarterly magazine grew from 150,000 to over 175,000 subscribers.14,800 new people went through our Uncluttered Course last year.Our YouTube channel grew from 77,000 to 135,000 subscribers.

But some of our most significant successes this past year are not found in the numbers above:

Our app, Clutterfree, was released in March. It is the first app on the market to provide a personalized, step-by-step to-do list to declutter your unique home. Since March, over 20,000 people have used the app to own less and live more. It is a brand-new, powerfully effective resource for people to use.The Hope Effect, our non-profit continues to change how the world cares for orphans by focusing on new initiatives in Honduras and Mexico. To date, we have raised more than $1.3M for family-based orphan care around the world and are being asked by more and more state and local governments to begin work in their area.

In case you missed any, here are the top posts on Becoming Minimalist from 2020.

Most Popular Posts from 2020 (as determined by readers):

Your Stuff is Only Taking Up Space. The items in our home should serve a purpose. If they are not, they are no longer serving their purpose. They are only taking up space.

Spend Your Money on These Three Things to Increase Happiness, According to Science. How can we spend our money in ways that improve our subjective well-being? Not based on conjecture, but science. Here are the studies.

The Problem with Turning Your House into a Toy Store. Don’t you want to spare your kids the bondage that comes with having too much stuff? Start early to teach them that less is more! It’s one of the best ways you can show them your love.

The Perfect Home. It seems our entire economy is built on making people feel dissatisfied with what they have. And nobody is immune to the meticulously crafted persuasion.

7 Ways Minimalism Will Impact My Children. I’m happy to know we chose a minimalist life while our kids are still at home. They’ve learned valuable lessons (or at least I hope they’ve learned some valuable lessons from us).

My Personal Favorite Posts from the past year:

Someone Has More Than You. Get Used To It. There is no end to the comparison game. There is always, always going to be someone in the world with more.

Busyness is Laziness. Of all the distractions that keep us from living a fulfilled life, the most prevalent in our world today may be busyness.

The Person You Want to Be Won’t Happen By Accident. The good things in life we achieve and become are the result of intentional effort pursuing those things.

Most Popular Guest Posts in 2020:

How Many Towels Do You Need? by Rose Lounsbury. My wish is that this simple question starts you on a journey toward a more peaceful life, full of the possibilities of open spaces.

Big Family Minimalism by Jillian Johnsrud. Less clutter. Less cleaning. Less overwhelm. Less hectic. Less appointments.

10 Things Minimalists Don’t Do by Melissa Camara Wilkins. You might think that minimalists are all about white walls and clutter-free countertops, but that’s not the whole story.

7 Reasons Why You’ll Love Apartment Living by Julia Ubbenga. If you’re looking for a way to simplify your life and focus on what matters most, why not give apartment living a try?

Most Popular Outgoing Links from the past year:

11 Things You Should Get Rid of Right Now, According to Professional Organizers by Ashley Abramson. Whether you’re extremely low on cabinet real estate or you just want to get things tidier than they have been, here are 11 things you should get rid of right now — according to professional organizers.

60 Wasteful Things I Stopped Buying As A Minimalist by Ray Arya-Caspersen. In the following list, you’ll find things I no longer buy because they are senseless to buy, distractors, overpriced, time-consuming, or unsustainable.

I tried ‘Kakeibo’: The Japanese art of saving money—and it completely changed how I spend my money by Sarah Harvey. Our spending habits are deeply cemented into our daily routine, and the act of spending also includes an emotional aspect that is difficult to detach from.

The Ultimate Guide To A No-Buy Year by Joshua Becker. With a new year approaching, it’s the perfect time to think about adopting a no-buy year challenge.

Most Popular YouTube Videos of 2020:

Top 10 Things To Declutter Right Now. Decluttering is hard. Sometimes we have to make difficult choices, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. That said, some things are no-brainers, and here’s a list of the top ten things you can easily get rid of right now.

How to Stage Your Home For Living. Most of the time while staging our home for sale, I wondered why we had never put in the effort to stage our home for living.

Messy House? Maybe You Own Too Much. When we have more than we need, there is less incentive to clean up along the way. If your home feels messy all the time, you should try owning less.

Whether you have been reading Becoming Minimalist for one week, one month, one year or longer, thank you. This blog owes its success to the support of its readers. Thank you for reading. And thank you for sharing these posts with others.

We look forward to an exciting 2021. 

I am excited to launch the New Year’s Edition of Uncluttered—registration will open on January 3rd. Uncluttered continues to help people around the world own less and live more. And I look forward to hosting it again with brand new, updated video content.

No doubt, in the coming year, Becoming Minimalist will continue to evolve and be redefined. I will be finishing my third book: Things That Mattter: Overcoming Distraction to Live a More Meaningful Life.

But this website will always stay true to its core message that there is more joy to be found in owning less than can ever be found in pursuing more. We will continue to invite as many as possible to discover this truth in their lives. And I hope you will join us.

The Fir-Tree by Hans Christian Andersen

This short story was first published in 1844. It is a heartwarming tale about appreciating the good around you rather than always looking forward to “better times.” I hope you find inspiration in it today to focus on the joy and beauty around you.

Out in the woods stood a nice little Fir-tree. The place he had was a very good one; the sun shone on him; as to fresh air, there was enough of that, and round him grew many large-sized comrades, pines as well as firs.

But the little Fir wanted so very much to be a grown-up tree.

He did not think of the warm sun and of the fresh air; he did not care for the little cottage children that ran about and prattled when they were in the woods looking for wild strawberries.

The children often came with a whole pitcher full of berries, or a long row of them threaded on a straw, and sat down near the young tree and said, “Oh, how pretty he is! what a nice little fir!” But this was what the Tree could not bear to hear.

At the end of a year he had shot up a good deal, and after another year he was another long bit taller; for with fir-trees one can always tell by the shoots how many years old they are.

“Oh, were I but such a high tree as the others are!” sighed he. “Then I should be able to spread out my branches, and with the tops to look into the wide world! Then would the birds build nests among my branches; and when there was a breeze, I could bend with as much stateliness as the others!”

Neither the sunbeams, nor the birds, nor the red clouds, which morning and evening sailed above them, gave the little Tree any pleasure.

In winter, when the snow lay glittering on the ground, a hare would often come leaping along, and jump right over the little Tree. Oh, that made him so angry! But two winters were past, and in the third the tree was so large that the hare was obliged to go round it.

“To grow and grow, to get older and be tall,” thought the Tree—”that, after all, is the most delightful thing in the world!”

In autumn the wood-cutters always came and felled some of the largest trees. This happened every year; and the young Fir-tree, that had now grown to a very comely size, trembled at the sight; for the magnificent great trees fell to the earth with noise and cracking, the branches were lopped off, and the trees looked long and bare; they were hardly to be recognized; and then they were laid in carts, and the horses dragged them out of the woods.

Where did they go to? What became of them?

In spring, when the Swallows and the Storks came, the Tree asked them, “Don’t you know where they have been taken? Have you not met them anywhere?”

The Swallows did not know anything about it; but the Stork looked musing, nodded his head, and said: “Yes, I think I know; I met many ships as I was flying hither from Egypt; on the ships were magnificent masts, and I venture to assert that it was they that smelt so of fir. I may congratulate you, for they lifted themselves on high most majestically!”

“Oh, were I but old enough to fly across the sea! But how does the sea look in reality? What is it like?”

“That would take a long time to explain,” said the Stork, and with these words off he went.

“Rejoice in thy growth!” said the Sunbeams, “rejoice in thy vigorous growth, and in the fresh life that moveth within thee!”

And the Wind kissed the Tree, and the Dew wept tears over him; but the Fir understood it not.

When Christmas came, quite young trees were cut down; trees which often were not even as large or of the same age as this Fir-tree, who could never rest, but always wanted to be off. These young trees, and they were always the finest looking, retained their branches; they were laid on carts, and the horses drew them out of the woods.

“Where are they going to?” asked the Fir. “They are not taller than I; there was one indeed that was considerably shorter; and why do they retain all their branches? Whither are they taken?”

“We know! we know!” chirped the Sparrows. “We have peeped in at the windows in the town below! We know whither they are taken! The greatest splendor and the greatest magnificence one can imagine await them. We peeped through the windows, and saw them planted in the middle of the warm room, and ornamented with the most splendid things—with gilded apples, with gingerbread, with toys, and many hundred lights!”

“And then?” asked the Fir-tree, trembling in every bough. “And then? What happens then?”

“We did not see anything more: it was incomparably beautiful.”

“I would fain know if I am destined for so glorious a career,” cried the Tree, rejoicing. “That is still better than to cross the sea! What a longing do I suffer! Were Christmas but come! I am now tall, and my branches spread like the others that were carried off last year! Oh, were I but already on the cart. Were I in the warm room with all the splendor and magnificence! Yes; then something better, something still grander, will surely follow, or wherefore should they thus ornament me? Something better, something still grander, MUST follow—but what? Oh, how I long, how I suffer! I do not know myself what is the matter with me!”

“Rejoice in our presence!” said the Air and the Sunlight; “rejoice in thy own fresh youth!”

But the Tree did not rejoice at all; he grew and grew, and was green both winter and summer. People that saw him said, “What a fine tree!” and toward Christmas he was one of the first that was cut down.

The axe struck deep into the very pith; the tree fell to the earth with a sigh: he felt a pang—it was like a swoon; he could not think of happiness, for he was sorrowful at being separated from his home, from the place where he had sprung up. He knew well that he should never see his dear old comrades, the little bushes and flowers around him, any more; perhaps not even the birds! The departure was not at all agreeable.

The Tree only came to himself when he was unloaded in a courtyard with the other trees, and heard a man say, “That one is splendid! we don’t want the others.”

Then two servants came in rich livery and carried the Fir-tree into a large and splendid drawing-room. Portraits were hanging on the walls, and near the white porcelain stove stood two large Chinese vases with lions on the covers. There, too, were large easy chairs, silken sofas, large tables full of picture-books, and full of toys worth hundreds and hundreds of crowns—at least the children said so.

And the Fir-tree was stuck upright in a cask that was filled with sand: but no one could see that it was a cask, for green cloth was hung all around it, and it stood on a large beautifully colored carpet. Oh, how the Tree quivered! What was to happen?

The servants, as well as the young ladies, decorated it. On one branch there hung little nets cut out of colored paper, and each net was filled with sugar-plums; and among the other boughs gilded apples and walnuts were suspended, looking as though they had grown there, and little blue and white tapers were placed among the leaves. Dolls that looked for all the world like men—the Tree had never beheld such before—were seen among the foliage, and at the very top a large star of gold tinsel was fixed. It was really splendid—beyond description splendid.

“This evening!” said they all; “how it will shine this evening!”

“Oh,” thought the Tree, “if the evening were but come! If the tapers were but lighted! And then I wonder what will happen! Perhaps the other trees from the forest will come to look at me! Perhaps the sparrows will beat against the window-panes! I wonder if I shall take root here, and winter and summer stand covered with ornaments!”

He knew very much about the matter! But he was so impatient that for sheer longing he got a pain in his back, and this with trees is the same thing as a headache with us.

The candles were now lighted. What brightness! What splendor! The Tree trembled so in every bough that one of the tapers set fire to the foliage. It blazed up splendidly.

“Help! Help!” cried the young ladies, and they quickly put out the fire.

Now the Tree did not even dare tremble. What a state he was in! He was so uneasy lest he should lose something of his splendor, that he was quite bewildered amidst the glare and brightness; when suddenly both folding-doors opened, and a troop of children rushed in as if they would upset the Tree.

The older persons followed quietly; the little ones stood quite still. But it was only for a moment; then they shouted so that the whole place reechoed with their rejoicing; they danced round the tree, and one present after the other was pulled off.

“What are they about?” thought the Tree. “What is to happen now?” And the lights burned down to the very branches, and as they burned down they were put out, one after the other, and then the children had permission to plunder the tree. So they fell upon it with such violence that all its branches cracked; if it had not been fixed firmly in the cask, it would certainly have tumbled down.

The children danced about with their beautiful playthings: no one looked at the Tree except the old nurse, who peeped between the branches; but it was only to see if there was a fig or an apple left that had been forgotten.

“A story! a story!” cried the children, drawing a little fat man toward the tree. He seated himself under it, and said: “Now we are in the shade, and the Tree can listen, too. But I shall tell only one story. Now which will you have: that about Ivedy-Avedy, or about Klumpy-Dumpy who tumbled downstairs, and yet after all came to the throne and married the princess?”

“Ivedy-Avedy!” cried some; “Klumpy-Dumpy” cried the others. There was such a bawling and screaming—the Fir-tree alone was silent, and he thought to himself, “Am I not to bawl with the rest?—am I to do nothing whatever?” for he was one of the company, and had done what he had to do.

And the man told about Klumpy-Dumpy that tumbled down, who notwithstanding came to the throne, and at last married the princess. And the children clapped their hands, and cried out, “Oh, go on! Do go on!” They wanted to hear about Ivedy-Avedy, too, but the little man only told them about Klumpy-Dumpy.

The Fir-tree stood quite still and absorbed in thought; the birds in the woods had never related the like of this. “Klumpy-Dumpy fell downstairs, and yet he married the princess! Yes! Yes! that’s the way of the world!” thought the Fir-tree, and believed it all, because the man who told the story was so good-looking. “Well, well! who knows, perhaps I may fall downstairs, too, and get a princess as wife!”

And he looked forward with joy toward tomorrow, when he hoped to be decked out again with lights, playthings, fruits, and tinsel.

“I won’t tremble tomorrow,” thought the Fir-tree. “I will enjoy to the full all my splendor. Tomorrow I shall hear again the story of Klumpy-Dumpy, and perhaps that of Ivedy-Avedy, too.” And the whole night the Tree stood still and in deep thought.

In the morning the servant and the housemaid came in.

“Now, then, the splendor will begin again,” thought the Fir. But they dragged him out of the room, and up the stairs into the loft; and here in a dark corner, where no daylight could enter, they left him.

“What’s the meaning of this?” thought the Tree. “What am I to do here? What shall I hear now, I wonder?” And he leaned against the wall, lost in reverie. Time enough had he, too, for his reflections; for days and nights passed on, and nobody came up; and when at last somebody did come, it was only to put some great trunks in a corner out of the way.

There stood the Tree quite hidden; it seemed as if he had been entirely forgotten.

“‘Tis now winter out of doors!” thought the Tree. “The earth is hard and covered with snow; men cannot plant me now, and therefore I have been put up here under shelter till the springtime comes! How thoughtful that is! How kind man is, after all! If it only were not so dark here, and so terribly lonely! Not even a hare. And out in the woods it was so pleasant, when the snow was on the ground, and the hare leaped by; yes—even when he jumped over me; but I did not like it then. It is really terribly lonely here!”

“Squeak! squeak!” said a little Mouse at the same moment, peeping out of his hole. And then another little one came. They sniffed about the Fir-tree, and rustled among the branches.

“It is dreadfully cold,” said the Mouse. “But for that, it would be delightful here, old Fir, wouldn’t it?”

“I am by no means old,” said the Fir-tree. “There’s many a one considerably older than I am.”

“Where do you come from,” asked the Mice; “and what can you do?” They were so extremely curious. “Tell us about the most beautiful spot on the earth. Have you never been there? Were you never in the larder, where cheeses lie on the shelves, and hams hang from above; where one dances about on tallow-candles; that place where one enters lean, and comes out again fat and portly?”

“I know no such place,” said the Tree, “but I know the woods, where the sun shines, and where the little birds sing.” And then he told all about his youth; and the little Mice had never heard the like before; and they listened and said:

“Well, to be sure! How much you have seen! How happy you must have been!”

“I?” said the Fir-tree, thinking over what he had himself related. “Yes, in reality those were happy times.” And then he told about Christmas Eve, when he was decked out with cakes and candles.

“Oh,” said the little Mice, “how fortunate you have been, old Fir-tree!”

“I am by no means old,” said he. “I came from the woods this winter; I am in my prime, and am only rather short for my age.”

“What delightful stories you know!” said the Mice: and the next night they came with four other little Mice, who were to hear what the tree recounted; and the more he related, the more plainly he remembered all himself; and it appeared as if those times had really been happy times. “But they may still come—they may still come. Klumpy-Dumpy fell downstairs and yet he got a princess,” and he thought at the moment of a nice little Birch-tree growing out in the woods; to the Fir, that would be a real charming princess.

“Who is Klumpy-Dumpy?” asked the Mice. So then the Fir-tree told the whole fairy tale, for he could remember every single word of it; and the little Mice jumped for joy up to the very top of the Tree. Next night two more Mice came, and on Sunday two Rats, even; but they said the stories were not interesting, which vexed the little Mice; and they, too, now began to think them not so very amusing either.

“Do you know only one story?” asked the Rats.

“Only that one,” answered the Tree. “I heard it on my happiest evening; but I did not then know how happy I was.”

“It is a very stupid story. Don’t you know one about bacon and tallow candles? Can’t you tell any larder stories?”

“No,” said the Tree.

“Then good-bye,” said the Rats; and they went home.

At last the little Mice stayed away also; and the Tree sighed: “After all, it was very pleasant when the sleek little Mice sat around me and listened to what I told them. Now that too is over. But I will take good care to enjoy myself when I am brought out again.”

But when was that to be? Why, one morning there came a quantity of people and set to work in the loft. The trunks were moved, the Tree was pulled out and thrown—rather hard, it is true—down on the floor, but a man drew him toward the stairs, where the daylight shone.

“Now a merry life will begin again,” thought the Tree.

He felt the fresh air, the first sunbeam—and now he was out in the courtyard. All passed so quickly, there was so much going on around him, that the Tree quite forgot to look to himself. The court adjoined a garden, and all was in flower; the roses hung so fresh and odorous over the balustrade, the lindens were in blossom, the Swallows flew by, and said, “Quirre-vit! my husband is come!” but it was not the Fir-tree that they meant.

“Now, then, I shall really enjoy life,” said he, exultingly, and spread out his branches; but, alas! they were all withered and yellow. It was in a corner that he lay, among weeds and nettles. The golden star of tinsel was still on the top of the Tree, and glittered in the sunshine.

In the courtyard some of the merry children were playing who had danced at Christmas round the Fir-tree, and were so glad at the sight of him. One of the youngest ran and tore off the golden star.

“Only look what is still on the ugly old Christmas tree!” said he, trampling on the branches, so that they all cracked beneath his feet.

And the Tree beheld all the beauty of the flowers, and the freshness in the garden; he beheld himself, and wished he had remained in his dark corner in the loft; he thought of his first youth in the woods, of the merry Christmas Eve, and of the little Mice who had listened with so much pleasure to the story of Klumpy-Dumpy.

“‘Tis over—’tis past!” said the poor Tree. “Had I but rejoiced when I had reason to do so! But now ’tis past, ’tis past!”

And the gardener’s boy chopped the Tree into small pieces; there was a whole heap lying there. The wood flamed up splendidly under the large brewing copper, and it sighed so deeply! Each sigh was like a shot.

The boys played about in the court, and the youngest wore the gold star on his breast which the Tree had had on the happiest evening of his life.

However, that was over now—the Tree gone, the story at an end. All, all was over; every tale must end at last.

7 Decluttering Tips From The Minimalist Home

Exactly two years ago, The Minimalist Home was published.

Since then, the book has sold over 100,000 copies, has appeared on every major bestseller list, and has been translated into nine different languages. I am so, so grateful for your support over the last two years. Thank you.

To celebrate its two-year anniversary, here are seven decluttering tips you can find in the book:

Tip #1: Identify the purpose of a room and get rid of anything that doesn’t serve that purpose. 

The importance of determining a purpose for the rooms in your home cannot be overstated. Once you are clear on what you want each room to accomplish, it becomes easier to decide what stays and what goes. For example: If the purpose of your bedroom is rest, does the television on the dresser promote or detract from that goal?

Tip #2: Distinguish between minimizing and organizing. 

A minimized home is a home that is first of all purposeful. Just because a room is tidy or organized doesn’t necessarily mean there’s still not too much stuff inside it. Organized clutter is still clutter and you should never organize what you can discard.

Tip #3: Simplify walls. 

Walls can be just as overstuffed as closets and drawers, often times full of outdated objects, dusty knickknacks, or wall hangings purchased only because they color coordinate with the couch. Simplified walls are curated spaces that display images with meaning. They communicate not just what matters to you, but what matters most to you. Less is more when it comes to decorations too.

Tip #4: Start with the easier spaces and move on to harder ones. 

The central process of The Minimalist Home and the Clutterfree App is that decluttering works best when you start with the easier spaces, and build up the skills and confidence to tackle harder spaces later. So take your focus off the garage and attic, and move it to an easier place to start: the living room and bedrooms. Easiest to hardest, starting with the most lived-in areas first.

Tip #5: Choose one of three options for every object: remove it, relocate it, leave it. 

As you declutter any area in your home, be sure to physically touch every item. If your first thought is, “I have too much stuff to touch every item,” then you have too much stuff and need this process even more. Every item you touch can be left, relocated, or removed. Work as hard as you can to put items in that third pile.

Tip #6: Count the “clutter cost.” 

It can be hard to get rid of things you spent a lot of money on. But keeping things you no longer wear, use, or love has a cost—every object carries a burden as well as a benefit. The burden of clutter is money, time, focus, energy, and space. Keeping an item doesn’t make it more useful and clinging to a past mistake won’t change the fact that it was a mistake. Count the full cost, consider the benefit-to-burden ratio for everything you intend to keep, and minimize as much as you can.

Tip #7: Focus on the gains, not the subtractions. 

A minimalist mindset is all about how owning less creates an opportunity to live more. Minimalism isn’t about removing things you love. It’s about removing the things that distract you from the things you love. It’s about living more by owning less. So focus on the benefits and make even more progress than you ever dreamt possible.

The Minimalist Home has helped people all over the world own less stuff by providing a room-by-room, step-by-step process to declutter their home and refocus their life. If you’ve read the book, thank you.

If you haven’t read the book and are looking for some help and inspiration to own less, you’ll love it.