The reality is I will never be the poster child for minimalism. My house is full of stuff and most days is generally messy. Yet, I do try to keep our lives relatively simple. I try not to buy for the sake of buying. I value experiences much more than things. The rest of my family refers to me as "anti-stuffist" and every year I try to get 40 bags of stuff out of our house (some years I get closer than others - this year so far I am at 12).
Every once in a while, I pick up a book on minimalism. I really admire people that live that life and I get inspired reading these books. I enjoyed The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life by Joshua Becker. There isn't anything earth-shatteringly new in this book. If you've read about minimalism, you've heard this all before. Although, like I said, it is always useful to read and be inspired to take even small steps to having less stuff. Thankfully, there is nothing in these pages about only keeping items that "spark joy". There is a lot of stuff a family needs that does not spark joy!
What I really liked about this book, however, was that it wasn't just about getting rid of the stuff. Becker writes from a Christian perspective and emphasizes how getting rid of the stuff helps us to be more generous with both our money and our time. When we aren't spending so much to buy things or to maintain the things we have, we have more money to use to help others. When we aren't spending so much time caring for stuff, we have more time to spend with others and care for others. There is where the true gift lies.
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