Joshua Becker Quotes

The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don't.

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.

Owning less is better than organizing more.

We were never meant to live life accumulating stuff. We were meant to live simply enjoying the experiences of life, the people of life, and the journey of life - not the things of life.

Don't just declutter, de-own.

Own less stuff. Enjoy more freedom. It really is that simple.

You don't need more space. You need less stuff.

There is more joy to be found in owning less than can ever be found in organizing more.

Our excessive possessions are not making us happy. Even worse, they are taking us away from the things that do. Once we let go of the things that don’t matter, we are free to pursue all the things that really do matter.

If you are not content today, there is nothing you can buy tomorrow to change that.

Stop trying to impress others with your stuff and start trying to impress them with your life.

Simplicity slows down life and frees us from this modern hysteria to live faster. It finds freedom to disengage.

Sometimes, minimizing possessions means a dream must die. But this is not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it takes giving up the person we wanted to be in order to fully appreciate the person we can actually become.

Your life is far too valuable to be wasted on the life that everyone else is choosing.

Overscheduled children lose the space to simply be with themselves and learn the art of being alone. In our noisy, busy world, the importance of developing the life skill of solitude, meditation, and quietly being with oneself can not be overstated.

...minimalism in the service of others is a logical extension of the same ethos of selflessness.

Have the courage to build your life around what is really most important to you.

Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own!

The goal of minimalism, let’s remember, is not just to own less stuff. The goal of minimalism is to unburden our lives so we can accomplish more.

Clutter is a visual sign of…procrastination, and carries with it just as much anxiety,

But maybe the greatest benefit of generosity is this: generous people realize that they already have enough.

I don't want friends who are impressed by fancy things. I want friends who are impressed by generosity, character, gratitude, love, and selflessness. Those are the people I want closest to me.

But nobody gets to the end of life wishing they had bought more things. Why is that? Because consumption never fully delivers on its promise of fulfillment or happiness. Instead, it steals our freedom and results only in an unquenchable desire for more. It brings burden and regret. It distracts us from the very things that do bring us joy.

Any half-awake materialist well knows – that which you hold holds you.” — Tom Robbins

Will Rogers once said, “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.” 

Asking "Who can I help today?" will always lead to a more fulfilling life than "How can I make more money today?

In our overcrowded homes today, most possessions are not truly “belongings.” They are only distracting us from the things that do belong.

Be who you are, not who you wished to be.

Minimalism isn't about removing the things you love. It's about removing the things that distract you from the things you love.

Our excessive possessions are not making us happy. Even worse, they are taking us away from the things that do. Once we let go of the things that don't matter, we are free to pursue all the things that really do matter.

Mark Twain has been credited as saying, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” And I might add a third: the day you throw off any distraction and decide to pursue your purpose fully.

Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to clean water and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Let those facts sink in for just a moment… and slowly allow gratitude and a desire to become part of the solution find a place in your heart.  

Purposefully owning less begins to take us out of the unwinnable game of comparison.

You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?

If organizing your stuff worked, wouldn’t you be done by now?

Learn to enjoy things without owning them. Ownership is nothing, access is everything. Visit a library, a park, or a museum.

Kids who don’t learn boundaries become adults who don’t set them.

You can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything.

Over the course of an average lifetime, because of all the clutter we live in, we will spend 3,680 hours, or 153 days, searching for misplaced items.

Owning less is not about owning nothing. It’s about owning the right things—and the right number of them.

Reorganizing doesn’t actually constitute change in our lives. It is only a temporary fix which we will continually revisit. If organizing your stuff worked, wouldn’t you be done by now?

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” - Buddha

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts from it. It is a highly personal journey that forces us to identify and articulate our highest values. Because of that, it is always going to be practiced differently by each individual.

People who give away possessions hold their remaining possessions in higher esteem. People who give their time make better use of their remaining time. And people who donate money are less wasteful with the money left over.

I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.” —Leo Rosten

It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it…. Life is long if you know how to use it.

Finely Tuned: How to Thrive as a Highly Sensitive Person or Empath - Barrie Davenport Simplify - Joshua Becker Psycho-Cybernetics, Updated and Expanded - Maxwell Maltz, MD, FICS The Mindset of Organization - Lisa Woodruff What is your WHAT? - Steve Olsher (follow the link to get a free copy!) Better Than Before - Gretchen Rubin Books

The goal is not to remove every person from my life who does not serve me. The goal is to bring greater intentionality into each of my relationships. I want to find people who will lead me, mentor me, and love me, but I also want to keep in my life people whom I serve and love and pour my life into. Because both are required for a balanced life.

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them.

Clutter is a visual sign of…procrastination, and carries with it just as much anxiety,” Leo Babauta writes.

We have too quickly bought into the lie that we’ll be happier with more—and as a result, too often miss the joy that comes from owning less.

The rules for parents are but three... love, limit, and let them be." —Elaine M. Ward

At its core, minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from

Life would be better lived if there was less stuff to manage and organize and clean.

Living life is indeed far more enjoyable than managing and organizing stuff!

Often it is those who live quietly, modestly, and contentedly with a simple life who are the happiest.

Generosity is an act of bravery.

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. — William Morris

Successful people are adamant about saying ‘no’ to things that do not align with their mission.

There is more joy to be found in owning less than can ever be found in pursuing more. In

The American Dream has been defined in dollar signs and square footage.

Will Rogers once said, “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.” 1

Replace “Do I want this?” with “Do I need this?” And help your son or daughter ask the same question. It’s one of the most important lessons they will ever learn.

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.

To stop letting advertisers control our lives, we must be mentally prepared to counter their assault.

Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.” – Mark Twain

People who matter are most aware that everyone else does too.” - Malcolm S. Forbes

Don’t just drift through life. Live intentionally and on purpose.” I

But if we're going to be putting up signs on our walls in our own homes, shouldn't they be encouraging us to do our work well and selflessly instead?

If we wait to be healthy, perfect, and prepared in every way, we’ll never accomplish anything.

Sleep deprived new parents are an easy target for marketers.

A home that is filled with only the things you love and use will be a home that you love to use. #minimalisthome

Minimalism isn’t about removing things you love. It’s about removing the things that distract you from the things you love. #minimalisthome

Never organize what you can discard. #minimalisthome

The payoff isn’t just a clean house — it’s a more satisfying, more meaningful life. Minimalism is an indispensable key to the better life you’ve been searching for all along.

The pursuit and purchase of physical possessions will never fully satisfy our desire for happiness.

The typical person saw over 5,000 advertisements yesterday telling them to buy something new. Here's 1 with the opposite message: Buy Less.

You don’t have to live like everyone else. In fact, you’ll probably be happier if you don’t.

If you're not using the stuff in your home, get rid of it. You're not going to start using it more by shoving it in a closet somewhere.

William Morris says it this way: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” 4

You don’t need more space. You need less stuff.

Success and excess are not the same.

Not every possession is belonging.

It feels better to do stuff than to have stuff.

Choosing to invest only in the relationships that benefit us isn't love----it's selfishness.

The secret to a productive life isn’t to complete every task on your to-do list. It’s to remove the ones that don’t belong.

We are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it…. Life is long if you know how to use it. —Seneca, “On the Shortness of Life

Minimalism isn’t about removing things you love. It’s about removing the things that distract you from the things you love.

There are two ways to make a man richer: Give him more money or curb his desires.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Stop holding on to things that drain your time, energy, and purpose. Let them go.

What if we chased gratitude like we chase bargains and sales? How different would our world look?

How to Handle Gifts as a Minimalist. 1) Needs over wants 2) Quality over quantity 3) Experiences over possessions 4) Gift list as early as possible 5) Consumables over non consumables.

We were never meant to live life accumulating stuff. We were meant to live simply enjoying the experiences of life, the people of life, and the journey of life - not the things of life. Guiding

Sometimes, parting with our possessions means giving up an image that we have created in our mind of the person we would like to become. Sometimes, minimizing possessions means a dream must die.

Not everything your child creates is a masterpiece. Not everything they create needs to be displayed and/or stored. Keep the best. And then, challenge them to create even more of their very best.

Clutter is a form of visual distraction, and everything in our vision pulls at our attention at least a little. The less clutter, the less visual stress we have in our environments. A simple, minimalist home is calming.

Teach your kids to reject blind conformity. Because when they do, rarely will they discover their heart desires more money, possessions, fame, or power. It will usually ask for something far more countercultural than those.

Minimalism is about what it gives, not what it takes away. It’s the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them. It’s a new way of living that fills us with hope.

as your minimizing frees up resources you can share, go ahead and give them away with freedom and joy. Your heart will feel warmer. The world will be a better place. And you will discover you never even needed the stuff in the first place.

Stop the glorification of busy. Busy, in and of itself, is not a badge of honor. In fact, directed at the wrong pursuits, it is actually a limiting factor to our full potential. It is okay to not be busy. Repeat this with me: It is okay to not be busy.

I have not met a single minimalist who denies their child the privilege of owning toys. I have met many who limit the number of toys their children own because teaching the value of boundaries allows them to flourish. And that is the very opposite of cruelty.

For example, one of the things cluttering up the garage was a set of golf clubs. I rarely used them. Would I really be playing golf much in the future? If not, was it worth keeping a set of clubs around? I decided golf was not a high priority of mine, so I got rid of the clubs.

minimizing is actually optimizing—reducing the number of your possessions until you get to the best possible level for you and your family. It’s individual, freeing, and life promoting. It’s a makeover that you can do on your own, in your current house, just by getting rid of stuff.

What if contentment is actually found in the opposite place from where we have been looking? What if contentment is found not in accumulating things for ourselves but in meeting the needs of others? It’s true that the less we need, the more we can give away. But what if the inverse is also true? What if the more we give away, the less we need? In other words, what if generosity leads to contentment? People who give away possessions hold their remaining possessions in higher esteem. People who give their time make better use of their remaining time. And people who donate money are less wasteful with the money left over.

Simplifying your life can be more than just removing physical belongings. If minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things that I most value, it is also about deciding what is most important in my life and removing the things that distract me from it. It is about removing the urgent for the sake of the important. Plain,

Adopt a traveler’s mentality. When we travel, we take only what we need for the journey. As a result, we feel lighter, freer, more flexible. Adopting a traveler’s mindset for life provides the same benefit—not just for a weeklong vacation, but in everything we do. Adopt a mindset that seeks to carry only what you need for the journey.

These, in review, are the baby steps to owning less: • Write down your goals. • Start decluttering with the easy targets in your lived-in areas. • Then go room by room, tossing out and tidying up. • Eliminate duplicates as you make your circuit. • Share your story with others to keep yourself motivated during and beyond the first steps.

More time and energy — Whether we are making the money to buy them, researching and purchasing them, cleaning and organizing them, repairing them, replacing them, or selling them, our possessions consume our time and energy. So the fewer things we have, the more of our time and energy we’ll have left to devote to other pursuits that matter more to us.

Clutter attracts clutter. If you drop the mail on the kitchen counter, someone else is going to find it natural to leave his keys there. A dresser with receipts is also going to collect coins. A purse dropped in the entry is soon going to be joined by shoes and gloves. An empty soda can on the end table usually winds up with a few candy wrappers next to it.

So this very day, donate clothing you don’t wear, sporting equipment you don’t use, books you aren’t going to read, or furniture needlessly taking up space. Make a financial donation to a charity you support. Be generous with your time by volunteering at your local school, a homeless shelter, or the nonprofit of your choice. It’s the quickest shortcut I can suggest to having a life of impact.

Approach the spaces in your home this way: First, your living room and family room. Second, your own bedroom and the other bedrooms in the house. Third, all the clothes closets. Fourth, your home's bathrooms and the laundry room. Fifth, your kitchen and dining areas. Sixth, your home office. Seventh, your storage areas, including your toy room and craft work spaces. Eighth, your garage and yard. ...this represents the easier-to-harder progression.

See also Bronnie Ware, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2012). The five regrets are as follows: (1) “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” (2) “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.” (3) “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.” (4) “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.” (5) “I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I have come to realize that the mindset of competition is based on a faulty premise. It assumes there is a finite sized pie – that one more success in another’s life equals one less success in mine. But quite frankly, this thinking is incorrect. The size of the pie is not finite.   In reality, the pie keeps growing. Another’s success does not mean I have less shot at it. In fact, another’s success can actually be my success if I had an opportunity to encourage and promote them along the way!

We come to a point where we realize there is more to life than what the world is peddling. We admit we have foolishly bought what the world is selling—and our lives are still empty. Possessions have not bought happiness. Money has not provided security. Popularity and power have not satisfied.… The answers clearly do not lie in a life conformed to the unoriginal culture of our day. We know it to be true. And we seek desperately for teachable moments to transfer this understanding to our kids.1

Who knows what advantages you might find in a smaller home, even beyond what you were initially hoping for, after you move in? Maybe you'll be inspired to become a more creative person when you take up residence in a quaint older neighborhood and get out of that suburban tract where you can have a house of any color as long as it's beige. Maybe by putting your preadolescent kids in a bedroom together, they'll socialize better and develop closer bonds. Maybe you and your spouse will rediscover each other when you're actually spending time together instead of tag-teaming on chores.

Whatever your motivation for downsizing, you're going to love the benefits that come with this change. Let me highlight a few: 1. More money... in general a smaller home costs less to buy or rent and less to maintain. 2. Less time and energy spent cleaning and maintaining... 3. Better family bonding... A smaller home naturally brings family members into proximity, leading to their having more conversations and doing more things together. 4. Less environmental impact... using less energy and fewer natural resources. 5. Easier perpetuation of your minimalism... 6. Wider market to sell.

The pull toward conformity can be strong. The desire to fit in with popular culture is significant at times, as is the desire to impress others with our clothing. And no matter how old we get, the desire to run with the cool kids can remain. But I believe that within each of us is a desire that is even stronger- the desire to be ourselves, to embrace the things we love and enjoy and that make us unique. One of the best decisions we can make is to reject the cultural expectations that change with the wind. And to accept the fact that we don't need to run with the cool kids to be happy. We can choose to be ourselves instead.

This is what makes the unexamined life so dangerous. We think we are living life to the fullest but we aren’t. Instead, we are often trading long-term purpose for short-term pleasure. When we eat unhealthily, we miss an opportunity to fuel our bodies properly. When we watch too much TV or spend too much time online, we miss opportunities to interact with people in the real world. When we neglect to exercise, we miss the opportunity to enjoy the kinds of adventures available to those with physical stamina. When we stay up late and sleep through the morning, we may be missing out on the most productive period of our day. When we buy more than we need, we miss the opportunity to live free and unburdened. When we spend more than we earn, we shackle ourselves with bondage to debt. When we spend too much money on ourselves, we miss the opportunity to find greater joy by being generous to others. The way to avoid these kinds of mistakes is to live intentionally. That is, we examine our options and make choices with larger purposes and longer-term goals in mind. If an activity, a decision, or a habit is not bringing us closer to our purpose and passion, then we should remove it. Because most of the time it is only distracting us from what really matters.

In your process of removing the unneeded excess, you’ll want to develop your own working definition of clutter. Early in our minimizing journey, my wife and I began to define clutter as (a) too much stuff in too small a space, (b) anything that we no longer used or loved, and (c) anything that led to a feeling of disorganization. Feel free to rip off that definition if you want. But there are other definitions you might find resonate better with your ideals. For example, Joshua Fields Millburn defines clutter as anything that does not “add value” to his life.1 Marie Kondo describes clutter as those things in her home that do not “spark joy.” 2 Peter Walsh goes even further, saying that clutter is anything that “interferes with the life you could be living.” 3 And William Morris says it this way: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” 4

toys,” I told Santiago. “Think about it this way. When you were young, you only had three toys. But more importantly, you knew that wasn’t going to change. You had three, that’s it. So you were forced to make do with what you had and find happiness in it. That was your only choice.” My friend was nodding, so I knew he was with me so far. I went on: “Your daughter, on the other hand, is in a completely different circumstance. Whenever she wants something new, whether it’s something she saw in a commercial or something her friend has, she just asks for it and then she gets it. You allow her to keep looking for happiness in the next toy, the next game, the next purchase. Heck, you practically encourage it. Maybe if she was forced to find happiness in the toys she already has, she just might find it. But for now, she is able to live under the impression that the next toy is going to bring it.” My friend’s face grew sadder because he knew that what I was saying was true. His own decisions were contributing greatly to the unhealthy relationship his daughter had formed with possessions. This is a reminder all of us parents need: Our kids need boundaries! If we don’t give them a sense of how much is too much, they’ll just keep wanting more. And if we let them grow up without considering the downsides of overaccumulation, we could be dooming them to repeat the errors of excess that are so common in our world today. 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 — more fun, that is! It’s one of the best ways you can show them your love.

we haven’t updated the countertops yet. We are getting embarrassed over all the wrong things! Social norms and acceptance are not really what we should be embarrassed about. What if, instead of being embarrassed over the brand of our clothing, we became embarrassed over the enormity of our walk-in closet? What if, instead of being embarrassed over the type of car we drive, we became embarrassed over how often we take the luxury of automobile ownership for granted? What if, instead of being embarrassed because our house seems too small, we became embarrassed over the amount of unused space within it? What if, instead of being embarrassed over the quality and quantity of our possessions, we became embarrassed over how much money we have spent on our own selfish pursuits? What if excess became the cause of embarrassment? And responsible living that championed generosity became the norm? Maybe then we could become a little more proud of “normal.” Are you buying too many things and spending too much money because you want others to like and accept you? Change your view of what’s acceptable and what’s normal, and you will be freed from embarrassment and freed to make more of a positive difference in this

Overcoming fear is not a onetime achievement but a lifelong skill.

They say the two best days for owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.

Si te sientes frustrado con tu casa, lo más probable es que la razón sea la falta de alineación entre tus posesiones y tus propósitos.

Cuando preguntamos "¿necesito esto?", en realidad estamos preguntando "¿esto me ayuda a lograr mi propósito o dificulta la búsqueda?". Esta es una base robusta que nos permite tomar decisiones sobre qué conservar y qué eliminar.

Si necesitas cosas buenas para impresionar a los amigos, tienes amigos equivocados.

Sería prudente pensar cuidadosamente si queremos que la televisión decida qué pensamientos van a llenar nuestra mente al empezar el día. La noche ofrece una valiosa oportunidad para meditar y evaluar lo que hemos hecho durante la jornada.

El mundo moderno no es bueno promoviendo la virtud del descanso. De hecho, creemos tontamente que estamos mejorando nuestro bienestar durmiendo menos, en favor de una vida apresurada y productiva.

the

No toda posesión es una pertenencia.

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

Ask yourself: To grow, what should I remove from my life? Often, progress is found in what we let go, not in what we gain.

Many people fear that if they remove an item from their home they will regret it in the future. So they keep it “just in case.” This is a major cause of clutter, even though we rarely find ourselves needing the thing we have kept “just in case.” If the fear that you will regret removing things is hindering you as you go from room to room to declutter, try this easy method to get around it: get rid of duplicate items. The beauty of eliminating duplicates is that you know there will always be one available “just in case.” To

Remind yourself today that talking about change is not the same as implementing change.

Stopping myself from buying unnecessary things is my second source of income.

Never underestimate the importance of abandoning crap you don’t need.

The older you get, the more you see that owning a lot of stuff just isn’t as impressive as you once thought.

When you choose to collect experiences rather than things, you never ever run out of storage space.

Subtracting from your life can be as impactful as adding to it. What will you let go of to grow forward?

Adjust your focus from having more to being more. Watch how your world changes when you value purpose over possessions.

When you decide to own less, you let go of what was and make space for what can be.

Busy does not need to define you. It’s okay to be happy with a calm life.

Create a home that restores your energy, not one that drains it.

As you get older, you start to see that most possessions just aren't as impressive as they once seemed.

It’s better to live a simple life with a rich heart than a luxurious life with an empty soul.

Let’s not pursue happiness. Let’s pursue purpose…and allow happiness to come to us.

If we wait to be healthy, perfect, and prepared in every way, we’ll never accomplish anything. Everything valuable that has ever been done was done by someone with flaws and wounds.

Not every fear is wrong, but every fear does result in an opposing desire. We can never eliminate fear, but we can prioritize fears so that our fear of not living up to our fullest potential outweighs whatever fears keep us from taking action and making a difference. That’s courage: action taken not in the absence of fear but in the face of fear. Or, in the immortal words of the Great Wizard of Oz, “True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.

It's not the size of the house that matters, but the joy within the home.

Our homes should be the launchpad for our dreams, not a storage unit for our stuff.

Society tells us to buy more. Wisdom tells us to need less.

Being grateful for what you have is the greatest gift you can ever give yourself—and it doesn’t cost a penny.

A closet won’t turn your clutter into treasure. Let it go.

Letting go of excess possessions is often about letting go of an old version of yourself.

We might think happiness lies in the next purchase, place, or promotion. But until we let go of the idea that we "need more" to find it, we'll miss the happiness waiting for us right now.

Just because you grew up that way doesn’t mean you need to stay that way.

Minimalism isn’t just about less—it’s about making room for more: more passion, more purpose—more life.

Your Computer Screen Computers, even with all their time-saving devices, can actually become one of the most distracting things in our life. In order to keep your computer use stream-lined, I recommend these simplifying techniques: • Clear your email inbox every day. • Uninstall unused software. • Use folders to sort documents. • Hide desktop icons. • Use a simple word-processor. • Limit your time on social networking sites.

We own too much stuff. And it is stealing our joy.

Life would be better lived if there was less stuff to manage and organize and

Minimalist living is counter-cultural. It is contrary to every advertisement we have ever seen because we live in a society that prides itself on the accumulation of possessions. But there is far more joy to be found in the pursuit of fewer possessions than can ever be discovered in the pursuit of more.” ~ Joshua Becker, Becoming Minimalist

Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted. — Albert Einstein

Removing possessions begins to turn back our desire for more as we find freedom, happiness, and abundance in owning less. And

Wanting less is a better blessing than having more.

If an activity, a decision, or a habit is not bringing us closer to our purpose and passion, then we should remove it. Because most of the time it is only distracting us from what really matters.

We do not care for our bodies simply for vanity’s sake or to fill an emotional void within us. We care for our bodies so we can more effectively accomplish what we most want to do with our lives.

countless truths I desire to pass on to my children: being content with less is among the most important.

David Allen said it best, “You can do anything. But you can’t do everything.

minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it.

By setting one price at the top of the range, they make everything else look cheaper. In retail, this is accomplished by pricing one item significantly higher than similar items next to it (large-screen televisions, for example).

Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.

Limiting your child’s screen input will have a positive impact on your journey to clutterfree (most of those advertisements are brainwashing us anyway).

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts from it.

Gratitude is a discipline, not an emotion. Work hard to develop this habit in your life.

As a result of my experience on that summer day as well as similar experiences I’ve seen repeated many times, I have some advice for you: If you’re getting rid of things to simplify your lifestyle, don’t try selling them. It’s not worth the trouble. Selling everything brings extra burden and stress to the minimizing process.

Living life is more enjoyable than managing and organizing stuff!

  SIMPLICITY IS FREEDOM FROM THE PASSION TO POSSESS Modern culture has bought into the lie that the good life is found in accumulating things - in possessing as much as possible. They believe that “more is better” and that happiness can be purchased at a department store.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.” — Charles Spurgeon

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it.” —Joshua Becker

The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don't.” – Joshua Becker My

Embracing a life content with fewer possessions has modeled for them the important truths that personal belongings are not the key to happiness, that security is found in their character, and that the pursuit of happiness runs a different road than the pursuit of possessions.

Consequently, gratitude is more valuable to us as an intentional habit than as a spontaneous response. And

Consequently, gratitude is more valuable to us as an intentional habit than as a spontaneous response. And so it’s a good thing that gratitude is an attitude we can cultivate through attention and discipline. It requires practice when it’s easy and even more practice when it’s difficult. The more we train ourselves to that end, the more we are able to access it when we need it.

There may be times when competition is appropriate, but life is not one of them. We have all been thrown together at this exact moment on this planet. And the sooner we stop competing against others to "win," the faster we can start working together to figure it out. The first and most important step in overcoming the habit of competition is to routinely appreciate and compliment the contribution of others.

Consider what happens to us when we choose to serve others: life flips upside down. In helping others rather than seeking our own gain, we find greater freedom. We live lives of less stress, less anxiety, and less frustration. We begin to feel more fulfilled, more complete, more alive. Living for others abolishes our need for a pecking order. It lifts a great weight off our shoulders because we no longer seek power and mastery over others. We know what we’re doing, and we know it matters. We have contentment and purpose.

Those of us seeking simplicity can learn a lot from marathon runners. Admittedly, I have spent most of my years on earth competing against others rather than encouraging them in the journey. It was so important for me to succeed that I often tore others down rather than building them up. Looking back, I owe them all an apology. I wish I had competed less and encouraged more.

Organization does not benefit anyone else. The possessions we rarely use sit on shelves in our basements, attics, and garages—even while some of our closest friends desperately need them.

Teach your children to ask questions about who, what, where, how, why, and why not. “Stop asking so many questions” are words that should never leave a parents’ mouth.

Realize that significance is not dependent upon success. Too many people fall into the trap of thinking, “Once I make it rich, I’ll become significant.” This is rarely the case. Begin striving for it now.

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” - Angela Schwindt

MINIMALISM: the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them

Why is that? Because consumption never fully delivers on its promise of fulfillment or happiness. Instead, it steals our freedom and results only in an unquenchable desire for more. It brings burden and regret. It distracts us from the very things that do bring us joy.

I’ve accomplished way more with my life than I ever thought I would. It’s not because I’m special. It’s because I’m intentional.

If you need nice things to impress your friends, you have the wrong friends. #minimalisthome

Make a point to read books from previous centuries, because all living writers are swimming in the same cultural and ideological currents. But a book from centuries ago will come from a different perspective and will challenge your thinking in new ways.

Maybe the life you’ve always wanted is buried under everything you own. —Joshua Becker

Right before you die, you’ll realize your whole life was about loving people. And you watched too much television. —Donald Miller

We come to a point where we realize there is more to life than what the world is peddling. We admit we have foolishly bought what the world is selling—and our lives are still empty.

The bathroom and the laundry room may be humble, utilitarian spaces, but let me point out a simple fact you may have overlooked: they can also be noble places. If you're cleaning yourself and attending to your own grooming regularly, you're making an effort to present yourself well to the world. If you're taking the time to relax in a bubble bath periodically, you're recognizing that life is not all about activity and achievement and that there are suitable times to de-stress and meditate. If you're monitoring your weight on a scale or taking vitamin supplements kept in your bathroom, you're pursuing the value of health. If you're storing medical supplies that you can grab when a child wakes up sick in the night, you're prepared to bring relief. If you're bathing an infant, or perhaps a disabled spouse or elderly parent, you're giving comfort while serving a basic human need. If you're teaching and modeling a simple approach to health and beauty for your kids, you're helping to start them out well in life. If you're going through the routine of washing your family's clothes week in and week out, they may not thank you but they owe you. Let me say it: thank you for caring and thank you for making the most of these spaces in your house by keeping them tidy and uncluttered.