Joshua Becker's Blog, page 57

7 Tips to Speed Up the Decluttering Process

Decluttering, organizing, and minimizing a lot of stuff can be time consuming. If you don’t have a lot of time to declutter, but want to know how to get a lot done in a short amount of time, here are 7 tips to declutter quickly.

With these tips, you’ll be able to work through collections, boxes in storage, and all your other possessions faster than ever.

I have professionally recorded over 80 free videos about minimalism and living your best, most intentional life. To see more, subscribe to Becoming Minimalist on YouTube.

Choose Mission Over Maintenance

“One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something.” —Henry David Thoreau

We only get one life. And with it, we are wise to choose mission over maintenance.

We end our lives most fulfilled when we seek to discover our purpose and then focus our energy on it.

Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

And I have begun to recognize the third most important day is the day we throw off everything that keeps us from fulfilling that purpose—the moment we choose mission over maintenance.

One effective way to remove distraction and aim attention at our mission is to reduce the physical possessions in our lives. Our possessions, you see, steal our energy. They require maintenance.

When we own more than we need, we begin wasting our finite resources maintaining our stuff:

We clean them.We categorize them.We organize them.We rearrange them.We lose them.We spend hours trying to find them.We move them in and out of storage.We work extra hours to make the payments on them.

This is time we can never get back. This is life wasted. This is sacrificing mission for maintenance.

But the distraction of possessions is bigger than merely cleaning them.

Physical possessions can take a toll on our lives before we even own them! We obsess over buying them, we spend hours researching and comparison shopping, and we go out of our way to find the best deal on them. (The average American spends almost 10 hours per month shopping, yet many of us complain we don’t have time for important activities.)

On the other end of the consumerism cycle, we spend time trying to sell our unneeded possessions, posting them on Facebook Marketplace, or driving them to local donation centers. Again, the more we own, the more of our lives we waste maintaining our stuff.

Beyond the physical demands of extra possessions, they also draw up emotional reserves. Cluttered spaces distract our minds and weigh heavily on us.

These items take energy from us and our greater pursuits. Consumerism causes burdens in many areas of our lives: financial, relational, spiritual, and can also impact our health because of undue pressure.

And I haven’t begun to mention how much wasted energy goes into comparing our possessions to the possessions of those around us.

But there is a better way to live. An intentional, minimalist approach to life provides the mind with the ability to support our mission.

Minimalism paves the way to less stress, more time, more focus, and more fulfillment and happiness.

A minimalist home and life is significantly less stressful. There are less items demanding our care and attention—less time maintaining our stuff and more time pursuing our mission.

Owning and caring for fewer possessions provides opportunity for clarity. When we align ourselves with the counter-cultural approach of minimalism, we free ourselves from the constant tugging of the pursuit of more.

Living with less offers more time and energy to spend on your chosen mission. Suddenly, we can pursue the careers we most desire. We can create solutions to our most heartfelt problems in life. We have more time to spend on meaningful priorities.

Personally, my greatest priorities are faith, family, friends, and impact. My chosen mission is to pursue the promotion of minimalism. Collecting things I don’t need takes me away from those greater pursuits by requiring my attention.

By choosing to own less, I reduce the amount of time spent maintaining possessions and utilize that energy to fuel my mission. You can too.

Too many of us waste our lives maintaining possessions rather than pursuing mission and passion. Choose the wiser route: Mission over Maintenance.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

For the last eight years, I have been compiling and publishing curated articles that inspire simplicity in life. At first, it was an exercise in communicating to Becoming Minimalist readers the most popular articles I sent out on Twitter.

But over the years, it has become more than that. It has become a place where people (every other week) come for a dose of inspiration. And it has become a place to promote and encourage writers around the world who are publishing content about minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living.

I think you will enjoy this collection of articles hand-selected for you this weekend. Grab some coffee, tea, or lemonade and be inspired to live a simpler life today.

The Top 9 Expert Strategies To Declutter Your Home | Forbes by Joshua Becker. Decluttering has become wildly popular. In this article are 9 modern philosophies and approaches to help you declutter your home and reap the benefits of a more minimalist lifestyle.

A Practical Guide to Making Children a Part of Your Minimalist Lifestyle | The Better India by The Better Home Team. A minimalist lifestyle with kids may seem like a contradiction in terms. But, with some effort and patience, it is possible, and wholly worth it.

Concept of “Ma” Is at the Heart of Japanese Minimalism | Treehugger by Melissa Breyer. Ma (pronounced “maah”) is a celebration of not things, but the space between them.

How to Declutter Your Virtual Space to Become More Productive | TechRadar by Dawn George. In the COVID-19 era with ample time at home, many people are taking the opportunity to simplify their living spaces. But decluttering your virtual space is just as important.

The Simple Guide to a Clutter-Free Home | Becoming Minimalist on YouTube

Minimalism Helped Me Find My Purpose, Passion and Self.

Note: This is a guest post from Jessica Malone of Nacho Average Fro.

26 seems a bit early for a life crisis, nevertheless that’s when my journey began.

By the world’s standards, I had it made. I went to college, graduated top of my class, snagged a job at a Fortune 10 company, built a healthy 401K, traveled the world, and collected lots and lots of stuff.

I was living “the good life;” and yet I was miserable.

While I was acquiring all the material and experiential things, I lost my sense of self. I didn’t really know who I was. I only knew what I thought was expected of me.  

Summa Cum Laude graduate, Fortune 10 employee, world traveler, top performing sales professional—these were my parents’ dreams for me. As great as they were, they left me unfulfilled. 

At the crux of my clutter lay the same theme: I never believed I was enough. 

I’d risked my health, my self-esteem, and my sanity to attempt to fill a void. At age 14, my parents announced their divorce. At 26, I realized I was still mad. Not because they divorced, but because I couldn’t make it stop. I wasn’t enough to hold it all together. For 12 years, I carried that burden and built a life I hoped would overcome it.

I traveled in hopes of impressing others.

I over-worked in hopes of receiving the praise I’d grown accustomed to. 

I rented a 2 bedroom apartment in hopes of creating space for the family I desired.

But tourism quickly became escapism, the apartment became overwhelming, and the work became stressful and debilitating. I woke to panic attacks, ate and slept my way into 35 more pounds, and lived in fear. Fear of facing the aftermath of my parents’ divorce, a job I couldn’t stand, a city I didn’t enjoy, and the loneliness I felt because I moved so often. 

Minimalism changed that.

As I cleared the television, glassware for a party of 12, and books I’d never read, I saw all the effort I’d put into living a life that wasn’t authentic to me. In the newfound silence, I was forced to think for myself. I began to explore, to play, and to follow my gut. In the process, I built a blog, a conference, and a coaching business.

As I cleared my calendar, I realized that I was running from my past and the present life I now disdained. Decluttering put me in my place.

I learned that while I love travel, new cultures, and experiencing life in new ways, I can’t do it at the expense of my healing. Today, I live out of a van and travel full-time in pursuit of my dreams. But only after choosing to address my greatest fears and learning to believe in myself and my power.

As I cleared the subscriptions, bar tabs, drive-thru expenses, and debt in my finances, I realized just how much I’d given away in the pursuit of “having it all.”

Creating space allowed me to define my goals and align my money accordingly. In doing so, I fueled my dreams. I quit my job in pursuit of entrepreneurship, self-funded my conference 2 years in a row, and built the van of my dreams while continuing to be debt free.  

Clearing the space taught me how to recognize what I love, what I fear, and who I am. While I’ve cleared a lot of stuff, it was never really about that. It was always about what the stuff represents. Minimalism helped me find my purpose, passion, and self. 

For that, I am grateful.

***

Jessica Malone is a clutter coach, blogger, and conference creator. She helps others dig deep so they can get un-stuck and live the life of their dreams. When she’s not helping people build a life they love, she’s focused on building the life she loves. Right now, she is traveling full-time in a van with her fiancé as they pursue their dreams. To see how she’s putting it all together, follow her on Instagram.

Finding Substance in Nothing

Note: This is a guest post from Cheryl Smith of Biblical Minimalism.

I stood in our son, Zach’s room, staring at his cleaned-out, nearly empty closet. 

“The only thing that will be on the floor will be my laundry basket, Mama!” His words were spoken with such pride and excitement, and in that moment, it hit me how grateful I am not only for our minimizing journey but for the timing of it. 

I am so thankful we did this while Zach is still living at home with us and that he has learned these hard life lessons alongside us and early in life. He recognizes the worth of uncluttered, unencumbered living, and he understands the enormous value to be found in the coveted realm of something called white space.

Who could have even imagined, just a few years ago, that Zach’s closet would be so empty?

If you could have seen the piles of toys in his previous closet, you would have seen that they literally spanned the full length from floor to ceiling. His stuffed animals’ crate was so packed to the brim, some of those animals had not seen the light of day in a very long time.

The majority of those toys have now made their way into the hands of countless children over the past few years, and Zach’s joy over having a near empty closet is clear demonstration of how far we’ve come. 

Looking back, I realize that he has always been a person with few wants and having too many choices has been distressing to him. Though our intentions were good in “blessing” him with more than he needed, it turns out that we weren’t doing him any favors.

He seems greatly relieved to be rid of the excess, and he showed that sparsely filled closet off to me like a medal of honor. 

Seeing Zach’s reaction to his near empty closet and thinking about how our minimizing journey has transformed our family’s perspective made me realize that there is great substance to be found in nothing. 

At first, it sounds like a contradiction, but carving out blocks of nothingness in every part of our lives has relieved enormous amounts of stress, decision fatigue, and overwhelm. This kind of reward is filled with immeasurable substance.

Here are some areas we are finding substance in nothing:

1. Physical possessions.

There was a time before our minimizing journey that we felt every empty space should be occupied in our home. If the space was there, why not fill it up? It felt incomplete to “waste” space. 

Now, we stand back with a sense of deep fulfillment to see space that is occupied with nothing. Closet shelves with nothing that resembles clutter, drawers filled with nothing except what is used and needed, walls with spans of nothing except photos and things we love, kitchen cupboards with nothing except what we reach for and use, cleared-off countertops and tabletops with nothing weighing them down, entire sections of rooms with nothing but empty space—each time I spot one of these in our home, I feel a sense of peace that we have let go of so much and replaced it with nothing.

2. Time.

Before we sold our home, paid off all our debt, and released so much of what we “owned,” my husband had to work many hours of overtime every week just to keep us afloat. He felt tremendous guilt over the fact that Zach was growing up way too fast, and due to our indebtedness, he had no choice but to miss out on so much that was going on in Zach’s life. 

Now that we don’t owe a cent of debt, our income needs have been drastically reduced, and my husband doesn’t have to work so many hours. Nothing owed equals less work and more substance-filled time together. 

It’s okay to fill your calendar days with nothing. “Nothing” allows for spontaneous adventure. “Nothing” paves the way for the seizing of golden opportunities. “Nothing” grants permission to take the day off guilt-free and indulge in family walks and heart to heart talks. There is wonderful freedom to be found in not filling every calendar block with busyness and intentionally filling them with nothing.

3. Noise.

When is the last time you walked outside at night and listened to the sounds of nothing? These days, I do that often. I make a cup of something warm, open our kitchen door, walk out on to our balcony, and I stand there in the silence. 

In that silence, I begin to hear the sound of my own thoughts. I touch base with who I am, contemplate the day that just passed, and make up my mind to be still.

All day long, our world is bombarded with loudness and chaos that invades our sense of calm. It is easy to lose ourselves in the process and succumb to the mindset that we have no choice but to participate in the madness. Shutting off the noise enables us to regroup and realign any perspective or priorities that have fallen victim to the demands of the noisy world around us. Silence is healing. It is a good thing to remove clamoring noise and substitute it with nothing.

4. Contentment.

Following the outsourcing of my husband’s job, our family walked through a 21-month stretch of health issues and unemployment. After depleting our resources and every other back-up plan just to survive, we faced a whole new definition of “nothing.” 

The fear and struggle was real, but in those lean moments of severe testing and wondering how we would make it through, we experienced an invaluable epiphany: Contentment is not contingent upon money, job security, or things. 

When everything else of “substance” was stripped away, standing in that uncertain, scary place, we still had each other. We are alive, and living this beautiful life together is a priceless gift.

Whether we prosper or have nothing, we have much to be grateful for, and we have everything we need. In this, true substance lies.

***

Cheryl Smith blogs at Biblical Minimalism. Her family sold their home, released 90% of their physical possessions, got out of debt, and now share their story and their Christian faith on their blog. Her new book, Biblical Minimalism, is now available. In it, she approaches minimalism from a Biblical perspective. 

7 Reasons Why You’ll Love Apartment Living

Note: This is a guest post from Julia Ubbenga of Rich in What Matters.

Lately I’ve been happily fielding a not-so-surprising question: “Why are you raising your family in a 1,000-square-foot apartment?”

Well, actually, the question usually sounds more like, “Aren’t you looking for a house?”

While we certainly could be house hunting if we wanted, the truth is, we don’t have the desire. We did the live-in-a-house thing for three years before moving to our current apartment. And we aren’t in a hurry to get back to that lifestyle.

Yes, we realize it’s a bit countercultural. In the US, 80% of the population prefer to live in a single family home, while only 70% actually do.  Meanwhile, apartment and condo living is preferred by only 8% of the population, yet 17% of Americans do live in an apartment or condo.

In European countries, however, apartment living is more common. In Spain, for example, 65% of the population live in apartments.

Clearly, choosing an apartment over a home is not the “American norm.” So why do we love being in that 8%? What’s the draw to apartment living? I think many people don’t even stop to consider the benefits.

Here are 7 reasons why we love apartment living and you will too:

1. Simplicity

Apartment living is a simpler way of living, which translates to a happier, lower-stress life. A simpler lifestyle provides the space to figure out what matters most and the freedom to focus on these things.

Some people may love fixing up their home, and that’s great. But if that’s not how you feel called to spend your gift of time, then apartment living will free you from those obligations that come with owning a house.

Instead of spending your weekends on home maintenance projects or mowing a yard, you can take your kids to the park and the pool. You can relax more and even nap more (yes!) without thinking about things that need done around the house.

This is not lazy living, just the opposite. It’s intentional living that focuses on what you believe matters.

2. Less stuff

A smaller space simply can’t fit a lot of material things in it. It’s minimalist by design. This reality forces you to edit your life constantly by making decisions about what stays in your home.

If you let clutter pile up, you quickly lose living space. In a smaller space, you’re not tempted to buy more furniture or other “toys” because you just don’t have a spot for them. When new things do come into your home, other things have to leave. You quickly learn the feel of “enough” in your home and become motivated to maintain this balance.

3. Connection

Connections thrive in smaller spaces. These connections could be within your family, your faith, or even to yourself. With less home to care for, family time, prayer, and self-care can become a daily theme, not a side note.

An apartment’s smaller space allows families to be more present for one another. This leads to more connection and more shared experiences.

You will talk more, play more, and do more together because you’re closer together in proximity (although apartments are still big enough to allow breathing room when needed).

4. Community

Apartment complexes come with a built-in community. Many have weekly activities or a clubhouse where people often meet. This can be beneficial, especially for stay-at-home-moms (or those of us who work from home).

A face-to-face, adult conversation is always easy to find, which can be a very welcome thing during a day spent taking care of kiddos and a home.

Feelings of social isolation are hard to come by in apartment complexes. Befriending elderly neighbors can be especially rewarding. The memories they share are almost always about family and experiences—not stuff. Hearing stories from their lives will remind you to slow down and keep a big-picture perspective on life.

5. Financial flexibility

Apartment living helps shape your spending around the lifestyle you feel most called to. If your family values relationships, traveling, health, and generosity, but your finances are going toward home projects and repairs, then you won’t be able to focus as much on those values.

Consider if the trade-offs make sense. Instead of saving up for a new roof, you could travel to see family out of state multiple times a year. Instead of redoing your flooring, you could have frequent nights out with your loved one. Instead of repairing your basement’s foundation, you could invest in your health by eating organic, real foods. Instead of renovating your kitchen, you could donate to a cause you’re passionate about.

6. Contentment

Happiness is found in being true to yourself and your values—not someone else’s. Studies also show time and time again that more possessions don’t ultimately make us happier. Although many people may pursue the “American Dream” (a bigger home, more stuff), they don’t report being any happier for it.

Raising your family in an apartment also instills this in your children. As your children observe your family’s lifestyle, they will realize that you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing or live the way everyone else is living to be happy.

7. A tidy home

Any living space requires upkeep. Apartments, by design, are easy to keep tidy. Less space means less to clean in less time. When cleaning doesn’t seem overwhelming, you’ll be more motivated to do it. And the peace that comes from a clean, uncluttered living space will motivate you to maintain this feel in your home.

Home maintenance systems are also easy to implement. Consider laundry, for example. When your washer and dryer are only steps away, you’re much more likely to stay on top of laundry than if you had to descend two sets of stairs to wash your clothes. Being in close proximity to your daily chores increases the chance you will do them.

We realize that apartment living isn’t for everyone. But for us, a minimalist lifestyle in a 1,000-square-foot apartment leads to more joy, more fulfillment, and more family togetherness.

Our home has never been tidier and our family is thriving in this simple, manageable environment.

If you’re looking for a way to simplify your life and focus on what matters most, why not give apartment living a try?

It’s not the American norm, but it could just be the right lifestyle for you.

***

Julia Ubbenga is a freelance journalist whose teachings on minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living have reached thousands of people worldwide through her blog, Rich in What Matters. Julia practices what she preaches in her Kansas City apartment home with her husband and two extremely lively young daughters. You can also find her on Instagram.

Encouraging Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision because it is a countercultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption that surrounds us.

The world we live in is not friendly to the pursuit of minimalism. Its tendencies and relentless advertising campaigns call us to acquire more, better, faster, and newer. The journey of finding simplicity requires consistent inspiration.

For that reason, I hope you will make an effort this weekend to find a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy some of these hand-picked articles to encourage more simplicity in your life.

What Is Minimalist Living? Here’s How to Start Living With Less, According to Experts | Good Housekeeping by Hannnah Jeon. This simple, purposeful lifestyle is about more than just decluttering your home.

The 27 Greatest Decluttering Tips of All Time | Apartment Therapy by Shifrah Combiths. The reward—and the reason that keeps me going when decluttering seems like an overwhelming task—is that at the end, your home will contain only the things that serve you.

It’s The Right Time To Declutter Your Home | NPR by Kathy Valentine. The pandemic has given me the no-excuse, buck-stops-here, elusive gift of time.

Less Waste, Low Effort: Simple Kitchen Swaps to Cut Down on Single-Use Items | The Guardian by Lindsay Miles. Some thoughtful ideas in here.

The Simple Guide to a Clutter-Free Home | Becoming Minimalist on YouTube

7 Ways Minimalism Will Impact My Children

My son is 17 and my daughter is 14.

But when we first began pursuing minimalism, my son was only 5 and my daughter was 2. Which means, they’ve seen us trying to live a minimalist life as young kids, as elementary-aged kids, and now as they enter the end of their high school years.

And whether we like it or not, our kids are learning from us. They are learning about values and worldview and how to live their lives when they become adults.

I know this isn’t the case for everyone. But personally, I’m happy to know we chose a more 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).

Here are seven ways minimalism has impacted my kids:

1. They’ve learned that they don’t need to buy things to be happy.

For the rest of their lives, advertisers will barrage them (and us) with the message that our life needs more. That happiness will appear if we buy whatever they’re selling.

Many people will believe it and buy into it, and start chasing and accumulating things that they don’t need to be happy. My children have seen, from us, that you don’t need to own a lot of things to be happy.

2. They’ve learned that you don’t have to live like everyone else.

You don’t have to live like everyone else on your block… or in your neighborhood… or in society. Everyone else may be chasing bigger houses and nicer cars and changing fashion, but you don’t have to live like that if you don’t want. In fact, you’ll probably be happier if you don’t.

3. They’ve learned the value of living within their means.

No matter what their income level might be, as they get older, they won’t need to overspend it to find happiness. In fact, quite the opposite is true: When we begin overspending our income is when we start adding unnecessary burden and stress to our lives—rather than finding contentment with what they have.

4. They’ve learned the importance of being deliberate in their purchases.

As my kids have gotten older and found new hobbies and passions and pursuits, there are purchases that have accompanied those new pursuits and new passions.

But each time, they’ve seen us be deliberate and intentional thinking through the next purchase asking questions like “What do you actually need in order to begin playing this new sport or starting this new hobby? What do we already have that will work? What are the needs that you have in order to do it well?”

5. They’ve learned the importance of sharing with others.

Generosity is the byproduct of minimalism. My children have seen us get rid of the things we don’t need and donate them to be shared with others. They’ve seen us become generous with our finances. And that our time and excess can be used to solve problems around the world.

6. They’ve learned the value of spending time together.

As we’ve owned fewer possessions, we’ve wasted less time cleaning and organizing and maintaining all the stuff that we used to have. We’ve been able to spend more time together, making memories together, enjoying experiences together.

The greatest gift we can ever give to someone else is our time. I’m confident my children have learned that over the last decade.

7. They’ve learned they are in control of their stuff, not the other way around.

The old adage is true, “The more stuff you own, the more your stuff owns you.” I’m just convinced most people don’t realize how much of a burden their possessions have become until they begin to remove them.

That being said, to live is to consume. There are needs that we have and things that we own in order to fulfill our purpose and live the life that we want to live.

But you don’t have to own so much stuff that your possessions begin to dictate your life. You own your stuff, not the other way around.

There are countless values and life lessons that I want my kids to learn from me, but the importance and value of owning less is definitely near the top. It will set them up for a lifetime of potential.

Can Simple be Enough?

Note: This is a guest post from Angelina Lee of Exploring Plan Be.

There are times when we know we need something. When we need more. We may not know exactly what it is that we desire, but the longing is there. A soul level longing that isn’t easily shaken or ignored.

For years I struggled with this feeling. I wanted more of something, but couldn’t quite understand what it was. It couldn’t have been things, because the more I acquired the deeper this void felt. It couldn’t have been success, because the more I achieved the less interested I became.

This is when the hard questions become necessary.

I sat down one day with an unrelenting need to write. At the time, writing for pleasure wasn’t something that I did often… or at all. So when this feeling came over me, I had to oblige.

I started to write about what I wanted for my life.

At the very top of my unexpectedly short list I wrote the words “to be happy.” That seemed so simple.

Could simple be enough?

I had to start somewhere. I had read once that the clutter in our homes operated as a silent stressor. I had such a longstanding relationship with overwhelm that I wasn’t convinced that making space in my home could make a difference. And so I started small.

I cleared out some unused clothes and donated them. I was surprised at how much lighter my closet—and my spirit—felt from this simple act. Little by little, we went through our home and gave away so many things that we had never used before, some of which we never even remembered that we had.

The more we gave away, the less we realized we actually needed. 

But that longing was still there. I now knew that what I wanted with every fiber of my being was to be happy, and I suspected that simplifying some of our possessions was just the beginning. I wanted to simplify my life. 

But what did that mean, exactly? I dreamt of moving slowly and steadily through my days. Of saying no with ease. Of being truly present with those that I love. Of being truly honest with myself.

I no longer wanted to live in a constant whirlwind. I no longer wanted to chase accolades. I no longer wanted to give the best of me to things that didn’t really matter. I wanted life to be simple. 

Could simple be enough? 

I started with the word ‘no’. It was terrifying at first, but I quickly realized that saying no to the things that I no longer wanted for myself brought much peace. Soul level peace that far outweighed the discomfort of saying no. 

The more I said no to things that no longer served me, the more I was able to say yes to the things that I thought were important.

A new appreciation for intention was born, one which has brought with it the gift of presence. Soul level presence that has made me realize just how much we miss when we are distracted by things that don’t matter. 

The more I practiced intention in my work, in my relationships and in my schedule, the more freedom I felt. Soul level freedom. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from expectations. Freedom to slow my pace and quicken my heart.

Years later, I look around and see a life that I had never expected for myself. A life that seems… simpler. And I ask, can simple be enough? 

Now I know the answer.

Simple isn’t just enough. It’s abundant.
It has brought an abundance of joy. An abundance of happiness. An abundance of space, both in my home and in my calendar. 

Simple isn’t just enough. It’s deeper than enough. It’s soul level.
It has taken me from soul level longing to soul level peace. Soul level presence. Soul level freedom. 

Simple isn’t just enough. It is bountiful.
It breeds contentment. It yields gratitude. It nurtures passion.  

Simple isn’t just enough. It is less and it is more. 
Less expectations and more authenticity. 
Less distraction and more connection. 
Less doing and more being. 

I searched for simplicity, wondering if it could ever be enough, and what I found was a life of abundance. 

***

Angelina Lee is a wife, mother of three and an Attorney-at-Law in the Caribbean who seeks to delve deeper into the art of being with her blog Exploring Plan Be. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

The Perfect Home

We live in a culture of unreasonable expectations.

Nearly every day, television, magazines, websites, and billboards offer us countless images of the “perfect” home.

Beaming faces, sparkling eyes, pristine decor, and bountiful tables of food are shown on media platforms of every sort. Many of these images stand side by side with corporate logos and retail stores.

It would seem, from the image on the screen, these items are essential for a perfect home. Because, obviously, the smiles are bigger, the family is happier, and the lights shine brighter—if, and only if, we buy the consumer product to make it so.

This is not a new strategy from marketers. Our entire lives, they have communicated subtle (and not-so-subtle) messages that our lives will be better, happier, and more fulfilled if we buy whatever they’re selling.

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.

I assume one reason for the effectiveness of these ad campaigns is because we all desire a joyful home filled with love, warmth, and comfort. We cherish our time with family and want it to be picture perfect. We love our kids and want them to be happy. And we all enjoy times of celebration and desire them to be memorable.

But let’s remember one important truth today: You don’t need any of those things in the ads for a perfect home.

You don’t need new furniture or updated countertops. You don’t need the stainless steel appliances (or whatever is most trendy this decade). You don’t need the largest-screen television. You don’t need all the perfect decoration. You don’t need expensive food or drink. And you certainly don’t need a Lexus in the driveway with a red ribbon wrapped around it.

Home is about family, thankfulness, acceptance, love, and strength. It’s about reflecting on the life that was and looking forward to the life that can be in the future. It’s about counting blessings. And it’s about slowing down from life long enough to appreciate and enjoy the people who matter most.

Too often, the consumeristic promises and fake photos keep us from all that.

Instead of slowing down, we speed up. We rush from store to store (or website to website), filling our homes with all the things we think we need to make it just perfect.

We fill our schedules with increased commitments and responsibilities. We max out our credit cards. We get so frustrated and weary chasing the perfect home that we never take time to enjoy the one right in front of us.

But once we slow down enough to notice our blessings, we begin to see that we already have everything we need for a perfect home. We just need to appreciate it more.