To answer your question Clutterbug … It is easier to “purchase” the yarn or craft products (1 hour tops), but it takes many hours, days or weeks to actually “MAKE” the item (knitting the yarn into a sweater or making a crafting product). The purchasing is the “fantasy” part, but having to sit there hours on end to make “whatever” is the “reality” part. I calculated that I would have to live to the age of 357 if I wanted to use up all of the yarn I had purchased. That made me dial everything back to reality. I bagged up and donated a ton of yarn. Now, I have to live until I am 205 years old!!! I will be de-owning more yarn - just enough to take me to 100+. Now that is reality. Thank you Clutterbug and Joshua. Terrie
😂 It’s so true! It’s so fun and easy to plan a project and buy the supplies, but the work of getting it done… a hard reality. I started crocheting and have decided I will only buy kits of yarn for specific blankets and I won’t buy another kit until I’m close to finishing the current one. So far it’s working out pretty well.
It's not just the physical stuff, it's the schedules. People have cluttered up their schedules so much with activity that they feel like they have no time.
But shopping for stuff, cleaning it, organizing it, repairing it, managing it is all robbing time on our schedules too. Taking care of physical stuff _becomes_ an activity.
I love all that Joshua said about advertising. My dad was a VP of a huge ad agency all the years I was growing up. We got all the slick magazines full of ads every month. But my parents didn’t buy into it. We were comfortable but not rich. We didn’t take elaborate vacations. We went to visit my grandparents most years. Now I’m 65, about to be fully retired and continuing to get rid of unneeded items weekly. We never had an over abundance. But stuff accumulated a little bit at a time. One thing I realized is that I don’t watch ads. I stream most of what I watch and I pay for no ads on UA-cam. It’s wonderful. If I watch tv, I’ve recorded it and fast forward through the commercials. I have to admit that my two indulgences are books and craft supplies, but I really try and limit how much I bring in, and I always give away stuff I’m not going to use any longer. My biggest frustration is when talking with people who are my age and still constantly buying stuff they don’t need and never getting rid of stuff they don’t use. I try and gently remind them that if they don’t downsize, it will be left up to their family members and how unfair that is. They don’t really get it. So I just work on me. I honestly thought I was about done, and then watching this podcast today, I started making a list of more items I will not miss. There are over 50 items on the list already! Thanks, again, both of you, for all you do. You make a difference in my life.
I don’t know if you have children or not, but as the adult child of older parents who have So. Much. Stuff… I truly cannot tell you how inspiring it has been to read your comment. Thank you for being an active example of balanced living and encouraging others to curate their possessions. It is truly a breath of fresh air. ❤
When i first heard of minimalism i was like nope this is not for me im a mom of 5 kids and married i cant own 15 things and then i found Josh and was like oh i can do minimalism ❤ ty joshua!
I am going through a moving scam right NOW. The movers are holding my property hostage for $4,800 CASH! My grandson and I are camping in our vacant home. I feel lighter and free. I almost don’t want my stuff back! I have more energy. It’s as though the weight of all that stuff was draining me. I can feel it in my deep breaths, my shoulders and my attitude. My focus is more outward than inward. 🍃🍂🍃
The California Dept. Of Homegoods and Services took a report for me. A terrific inspector was assigned. He was able to get a third of my things returned. It was all damaged. Much of the damage looks purposely done out of revenge. I'm grateful to have it all over with. Don't hire Express Vanlines out of Las Vegas. I hired National Vanlines of America, which sold my contract to the other thief. It's quite the racket.
22:11 this reminded me of a weight loss tv show where close to the end of the boot camp they had the participants run a few hundred feet and then they would put on weighted vests in the amount of weight they had lost during the boot camp and run back. Many of the participants had lived a majority of their lives with excess weight and didn’t feel it like they did once they were free of it. It’s the same with clutter and excess things. Most of us are at generational excess. My family came to America late 1800s. They went from nothing to the industrial boom. That’s 5 generations of stuff. My mom, sister and I still possess so much of that early 20th century stuff. I had no idea what it was like until I went on an extended camping trip, camping, not glamping. I came home and was so overwhelmed with what had been normal and unnoticed 2 weeks earlier. That’s when I started purging.
I love de-owning!!! All my stuff is from the Lord and there are so many things that I store that are better suited for someone else… Give it away! Let it be useful.
I loved this. I’ve been decluttering for many years. I only can think of one thing I miss…. Out of thousands!!! I can’t even remember 98% of the things I got rid of. I’ve been able to zone in on the important things and let so much go. So much freedom. The more I get rid of, the more I love minimalism.
I remember Joshua mentioning in a different video that it's helpful to ask yourself "if I didn't have this thing, what would I use instead?" This can break through some paralysis, by helping us think creatively about solutions for possible regret. That's helped me in this journey!
I have found that purchasing supplies after choosing a project to make is the most enjoyable. For example after picking out the knitting project choosing the colour and texture of the yarn is so much fun and knowing I can do this process with the next project brings anticipation too. When you have a mountain of yarn there is the burden to use it all up and you end up choosing a project to use it up not choosing the project you are most excited to do.
Great interview! I love the concept of “de-owning”. A word of advice to young people - don’t save all your cards and letters! Be picky about your sentimental stuff. I’m going through all that now and it’s HARD! Just don’t start in the first place!
I have been following Joshua for a while now, and I love his thoughtful and calming advice. I follow you to get motivation and creative ideas. Both of you together, what a great podcast!
It's been playing on my mind that we, as a society, need to change. Companies will continue producing "stuff" and pulling from our natural resources as long as we keep buying it. For change to really happen we must stop consuming and when we do purchase goods we need to prioritise using and rehoming second hand items. Sadly I don't see things improving for many years but I hope something clicks in societies subconscious and we change our consumption habits for the better ASAP. To be honest I'm as guilty as most so listening to people talk about making positive changes and reconditioning our mindset is so helpful. So, this is a long winded way to say thank you!!
Redeveloping my mindset! Not necessarily to become a minimalist, but to declutter my life. This is a great podcast and Joshua Becker is a motivating force.
It is a first world problem. I actually thought I was being self indulgent to think I needed to even have a conversation about this but it's actually helpful. Excess clutter really is a result of all the targeted advertising resulting in excess consumerism. Experts have learned how to hack us to get our money and they hit us when and where we are most vulnerable. We are not born prepared to resist this. We must learn it.
I find that the excess craft supplies- I have to have this because I want to make it some day - definitely adds stress and overwhelms the silent to do list.
His minimalist story never gets old. Love the content you both share. So funny about hobbies and specifically art being mentioned. I'm actually just getting started leaning about and taking up painting. I will remember that!
There’s a lot of unprocessed trauma emotions beliefs wrapped up in our belongings so we are processing our life as we declutter/tidy. I think this is why we get sense of calm and more time in our lives bc we are able to be more present. De-owning is a great word. It feels more powerful and grander than declutter or tidy. It feels like a philosophy and so it helps me to let go bc I am de-owing… I am tied into a bigger overarching philosophy. I love that🥳🙌🏼
2 of my 3 favorite people on YT (Dawn from the Minimal Mom is my other fav). Thank y'all so much for this podcast. It makes me want to go into each room & just start filling boxes. My craft room would be my worst room to declutter because I used to have the FOMO syndrome. I have learned to control that, but sometimes it still creeps back in. Great video. 😊
I always hear advocates for simplifying/minimalism marveling about the time that miraculously opens up in their lives after simplifying their homes and minimizing their possessions. There is a certain amount of time - maybe even 30 minutes a day or more - that can be freed immediately by not losing keys or phones or remotes. There is time saved when in order to clean you don’t have to first exhaust all of your time and energy finding places to put things. But as an extremely busy, naturally messy adult with a too-full house and ADHD allow me to propose an alternate reason for hours of time opening in your schedule. The overwhelm has multiple side effects. Depression, feeling unequal to the task, mega-procrastination, all drive two time sucking habits - watching hours of “get organized”, “get out of debt”, “clean with me”, “why do I suck when everyone else is awesome?” UA-cam videos, and self medicating with Netflix binges. Intentionality is the main ingredient in de-cluttering and minimalism, and that intentionality kicks in across all areas of your life once you develop the habit. For me that would mean a good 3-4 hours (more on weekends and in the summer) opening up. It’s not the absence of stuff. It’s the intentionality with time and ending mindless waste. That’s my theory.
I am trying to declutter so my daughter won't have to deal with it when I'm gone. I just had some friends help me empty my liquor cabinet. I don't drink, and MORE THAN HALF of the bottles were trash. I got new wiper blades installed on my car at the auto parts store and asked the clerk if any of the car fluids were usable, and he said no due to age. So when I see those things, I'll know they're trash (hazardous waste). I'm taking this a piece at a time. Will keep you informed. I love these videos, so keep it up as you can.
Cass, I'm with you on minimizing the craft supplies. I recently went thru my knitting needles and crochet hooks. I now have a stack of things that I am going to try and sell, but if they don't sell, I will donate them to a local thrift store and let someone else find joy with them. Life is too short to hand onto things that you don't need, use, or love. I don't need a stash of supplies to create the items I enjoy. I am keeping the ones I use and letting go of the rest. Joshua has inspired me on many levels as well. Thank you so much!
The minimalists Josh Becker Courtney Carver Dawn Cass Are responsible for changing I mean CHANGING my life. I am so grateful for all of your expertise! I have no one in my life that lives like this. I think it’s time to connect with this community 😁
The ``Moment´´ I had, when my children didn´t want any of this old stuff. Many wonderful antigues. So I´ve got them all together to sell the items on an antique market. They´ve got the money out of it. 20 years ago....exactly, when I began minimalism. Today I´m practing Swedish death cleaning, to get rid of items I no longer want. It makes me feel safe in my life and surroundings.
WOW ! Minimalism is literally so profound ! Good Medicine for an unencumbered life ! Oooh … De - OWNing ??? YES , PLEASE ! Cas & Joshua , Thank You ! Liz
I grew up in central Asia in a minimalist family with mom that constantly declatered but sinse living in Europe i noticed that mentality to have more stuff influencing me in a bad way, so trying to declutter & teach my Venetian hb to own less to be free, happier. Actually i declutered entire house full of stuff about 50 years😂
While I am not yet what would likely be considered minimalist, I do understand and follow the principles and as I declutter and move towards less, I feel the freedom and relief that comes from having my things at a manageable level. One thing that has helped tremendously is recognizing just how much money and time I have wasted on so many things just to discard them. I have been a terrible impulse shopper for decades, and all this decluttering has made me stop to think now about every purchase I make, whether I really need it, etc. So I am saving tons of $$ now by being more intentional with my purchases. One way I still get that "rush" without overspending is I shop online and add what I like to a wish list instead of my cart. Then I revisit the wish list and add/delete items and if it stays on the wish list over time and i still like it or feel it will be useful, I will purchase it with no regrets
I love decluttering! Of course, now i don’t have any more to really do, so now I do my relatives’s houses. The most important thing is not bringing stuff in!!
This was a great interview. I really saw Cass’s brain explode a couple of times with this one! I hope that we can all learn something and try to let go of some more of these “stuff chains” that hold us back! ❤
I'm a scrapbooker and it's easy to gather all the stuff I love. In actually, it doesn't take that many supplies to create a beautiful and meaningful album page. I'm using an upcoming move to keep only the best, and scheduling regular dates with my craft room.
Excellent podcast! The Orson Welles quote really resonated with me. Two areas I'm realizing are challenging are tools and hobbies. I've been enjoying learning how to fix things, but i wonder how people know what tools to have on hand, and when to trade some out. For hobbies, the same question applies. It seems to be a skillset all unto itself to recognize that you can let go of one thing and try something else.
I'm not sure it's convincing people but educating them. I love how Joshua puts a family picture in front of his UA-cam award showing priorities. I use the container concept with my crafts and it really helps! Thanks!
You both have been helping me on a more intentional journey and amazing podcast. Helped me still with motivation as feel there is one or two more de-owning stuff . But already see the benefits of having more free time and less stress. ❤❤🇬🇧❤❤
I'm so happy I did the marie kondo method and all I have left to do is declutter my digital photos on my phone and computer. It's literally life changing for our whole family. The kids can see all the things they love and they're using their things more. Everyone's reading more. I have sooo much more free time which I can use for cooking and baking which I love doing. I'm not sure if you'd call her minimalist but I for sure minimized! You guys are all awesome with the work you do with helping others. ❤
The KonMari method was definitely the first steps towards minimalism for me. I don’t call myself a minimalist but I’m definitely trying to live more intentionally now.
@thisnthat42 that's like me as well. I am a family of five and love having things like photo albums to look through and books on a shelf..I love having their drawings they made organized in binders that we can look through years later. Stuff like that. I like the idea of having what you actually use and having the things that mean a lot to you in reach and having everything in its place. I couldn't just have photos on a hard drive or something like that some things I like to actually hold
I am drowning things in my bedroom tomorrow! I meant to type de-owning. LOL. Spell check has a Freudian slip! Pray for me. I am taking a day off work and starting this journey tomorrow!
I have reduced my clothes twice. Now I think, I am bored, a new red shirt would give me joy. I surely dont need it but I feel a kind of void. I want to reward myself for decluttering by buying new stuff. It is a long and hard process.
Is it the variety in clothing colours that would bring you joy or the shopping for clothing part? If it’s the lack of colour then maybe that lets you know that you don’t want to own five shirts in the same colour but you enjoy variety. At the end of the day though you have clothes to keep you warm. Perhaps when one wears out replace it with a red one instead but be content that you have what you need to support you in your day to day life. If it’s the shopping part that you crave I would suggest trying to find other ways to fill your time and don’t use shopping as a leisure activity. Concentrate on hobbies or travel or just take a nice walk in nature. Window shopping steals our time and our money, making us crave things we didn’t know existed five minutes before.
I know Minimalism kicked in yesterday when my friend came over. I told her I was decluttering, and she asked if I was spring cleaning. I said no, it was just on-going.
What a refreshing addition to all the discussions on minimalism, decluttering and downsizing. I am sure this episode will create a lot of "ah-ha" moments for a lot of people. It sure did for me. Thanks to you both! (Note: I would love to see you interview Sandra Felton of Messies Anonymous!)
Returns! Online returns are annoying!! I feel like most things I buy online get returned!! It's not as pictured or doesn't fit right! There's something so deceiving about things being sold online. If I had seen that cheap looking item in store or tried that dress on first, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place and wouldn't have to return it. Nowadays we got so consumed in researching and thinking that the product we're buying is the right thing for us and then when we get it it's not and we have to return it then go to the process looking again if only everything was in stores again like in the past....
I have a “no return” rule. I have been shopping online *weekly* for 10 years and have only returned one item - my wedding dress that came in the wrong colour. If something arrives and it isn’t good enough for me to use, I sell it at a considerable loss, donate it or trash it, immediately or within a few days. This helps me to stay accountable about buying things online. Especially clothing. Also, I don’t buy any clothing that retails for under $90, excepting for a few tops by Hanes for lounging. I don’t buy clothing because it looks cute. I buy clothing because it fills a gap in my wardrobe, which is planned out by categories and colours ahead of time. Learn which fabrics and materials you like best by reading the tags of all your current clothes and keeping track. Don’t buy items that aren’t made with those materials. Learn your favourite colours to wear and don’t buy anything that isn’t in those colours. Be intentional. Don’t buy things that are “cute” - that’s not shopping, that’s scratching an infected itch.
Interesting. I am a minimalist, my husband has ADHD (a dopamine deficiency), every time he gets a box from Amazon it gives him a dopamine boost. It takes me three months to pull the trigger on a new dress, and he opens the box.
Thank you for sharing about your craft supplies, Cass. I've been feeling that same way with some scrapbooking supplies that I know I don't need to finish some pages from printed photos before I went to online photobooking.
I feel books need to be the exception to the minimalism rule. They will be all we have left of our history as people are 1984'ing books right now. The books we love today will be banned tomorrow. That and tools.
To be fair, aristocrats and royalty have had waaaaay more stuff than us throughout history and they weren't stressed or overwhelmed, because they had employees who managed everything for them. So it's not the stuff in and of itself, as it is the limited time an average person has in a day, and society expecting us to do way more within that timeframe than any human is capable of doing.
Please be mindful of how you get rid of your stuff. Please don't just put everything in garbage bags and throw them in a landfill. Please donate or give away your usable items to others who may need them or donation centers. Everything has been extracted from our natural resources. Help care for others, ourselves and our planet.
Also be mindful of how things come back into the house as necessary. We try to buy secondhand as much as possible. It’s easier on the wallet and we’re supporting small local businesses and their programs.
But also remember that everything is trash in the end. Reduce what you bring in is the first step or you will just be creating demand for them to produce more.
With all due respect, it is not always possible to donate things. If you are mentally in the space not to make a bunch of trips or are having a hard time giving to donation centers, sometimes some things just have to be trashed. Last resort is giving away on a “buy nothing” facebook page in your area. My friend is getting divorced and going through a lot, sometimes your mental health is worth more than saving a few things for others when they probably have enough already.
"Minimalist Mom" advocates throwing straight into the trash until youbhave arrived at a less overwhelming lifestyle, and THEN adding the burden of sorting for donationl
I leave my unwanted items in my building complex so tenants or people coming for some recyclabes can take them for free or I take them to nearby community centre's clothing room to be taken by people for free also. I see no value in donating to overpriced thrift stores where people in need can't afford these things nowadays.
This is unparalleled excellence. I encountered content with a similar message, and it was life-changing. "The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Living Guide" by Matthew Cove
I so appreciate all the Josh shared. When he talked about how we think we have developed all the gadgets to be an amazing cook. My grandparents were the most amazing cooks my grandfather won an award for his whole wheat bread. My grandfather was given the green from his work. But you know he didn't have a fancy gadget he used to blender, It wasn't a fancy blunder. But out of that he was able to grind the grain to make the most amazing bread. My grandmother hosted holidays on real dishes and only had a dishwasher two years out of her whole entire 93 years. I grew up with a mom that for a short time was a single mom not by choice and she worked full. Then we became a blended family of eight kids. My mom talks about her cleaning was dusting vacuum cleaning the bathroom. She never had to run around and organize she never had to worry what the bathroom look like, We had food to eat I don't remember growing up feeling that I really lacked anything. When joshua spoke about his neighbors saying how he could have freedom and not Be bound to having to clean out a garage it's pretty powerful. That statement is really huge think of the time we can all get and have. Cass I so appreciate all that You share and encourage as well and thank you what a powerful team you were today. We need to wake up world. I know you woke me up in some different areas today thank you! I have a garage that was in this spring I'm I'm taking it back. How many people could we be helping with the money that we waste on stuff or how many people would be debt free in our own lives
Would love to hear a discussion with him about the organizing styles, particularly the visual bugs - was super bummed it wasn't in this one. He was the one whose writing taught me exactly how to declutter - for years I wanted to, but had no idea how to do it in a way that wouldn't cause a ton of regret. That is, until I found him and read _The More of Less_ - instant life changer! I introduced his work to a friend after randomly glancing over at what she was doing (she was sitting next to me) while we waited on another section to rehearse their part during choir practice, and read "Decluttering at the Speed of Life ~ A Slob Comes Clean" written in her open bujo. It sparked some really good conversation (outside of choir rehearsal, of course😜), especially because she and her family moved to the U.S. from England almost 5 years ago, so she was unsure about certain things, like keep times for certain legal documents. I also introduced your stuff to her, Cas, and she has found both yours and Joshua's to be really helpful - she and her husband have 5 boys under 12 (the youngest is a baby, I believe the oldest is 11). That was 2 years ago now (before the baby was born). Now I need to tell her about "Hot Mess House" and "Take Your House Back".
Joshua, you look way much better with your grey hair :-) as opposed to when you were younger (picture in the introduction). I wish I could say the same about me
I. Have several. Bed pillow’s. They don’t work for me they are flat. What do I do with it. I have to throw them in the landfill. . It hurts me the throw it away. I can’t give it to goodwill. It’s to far gone. What do I do about things like this as example. Ugh
Hello everyone what do you do with things your getting rid of? If you don’t make a garage sale do you feel guilty if you give away perfectly good things?
Donations of “stuff” to local non-profit thrift stores. The donations can be tax-deductible. I like knowing that I’m supporting local programs and that I’m not adding to landfills.
No, thrift shops are doing me a favour by redistributing things I no longer need and some of my things may help someone else on a tight budget. You have to try and move away from this idea that we have to recoup the cost of everything. The money has been spent. Now let it go so someone else can make use of it instead of it just sitting in your house not being used. Items should be used up so just let it go so it can find that person who can use it.
Perfectly good things are useless if they are not being used. Release/recirculate them and people who need that stuff will find it. I like to put it all in a /FREE BOX/ on the street.
I find now yes I see fill in the Blank item can be time saving or help with this or must see this. Finding myself saying no a lot now and if not going to enhance my life or fill a specific purpose sorry don’t need
To answer your question Clutterbug … It is easier to “purchase” the yarn or craft products (1 hour tops), but it takes many hours, days or weeks to actually “MAKE” the item (knitting the yarn into a sweater or making a crafting product). The purchasing is the “fantasy” part, but having to sit there hours on end to make “whatever” is the “reality” part. I calculated that I would have to live to the age of 357 if I wanted to use up all of the yarn I had purchased. That made me dial everything back to reality. I bagged up and donated a ton of yarn. Now, I have to live until I am 205 years old!!! I will be de-owning more yarn - just enough to take me to 100+. Now that is reality. Thank you Clutterbug and Joshua. Terrie
😂 It’s so true! It’s so fun and easy to plan a project and buy the supplies, but the work of getting it done… a hard reality. I started crocheting and have decided I will only buy kits of yarn for specific blankets and I won’t buy another kit until I’m close to finishing the current one. So far it’s working out pretty well.
I had great intentions with yarn too and just packed up and gave away a bunch.
It's not just the physical stuff, it's the schedules. People have cluttered up their schedules so much with activity that they feel like they have no time.
But shopping for stuff, cleaning it, organizing it, repairing it, managing it is all robbing time on our schedules too. Taking care of physical stuff _becomes_ an activity.
Joshua's reason being able to spend time with his son instead of cleaning his garage. Cas did a great job interviewing. ❤
I love all that Joshua said about advertising. My dad was a VP of a huge ad agency all the years I was growing up. We got all the slick magazines full of ads every month. But my parents didn’t buy into it. We were comfortable but not rich. We didn’t take elaborate vacations. We went to visit my grandparents most years. Now I’m 65, about to be fully retired and continuing to get rid of unneeded items weekly. We never had an over abundance. But stuff accumulated a little bit at a time. One thing I realized is that I don’t watch ads. I stream most of what I watch and I pay for no ads on UA-cam. It’s wonderful. If I watch tv, I’ve recorded it and fast forward through the commercials. I have to admit that my two indulgences are books and craft supplies, but I really try and limit how much I bring in, and I always give away stuff I’m not going to use any longer. My biggest frustration is when talking with people who are my age and still constantly buying stuff they don’t need and never getting rid of stuff they don’t use. I try and gently remind them that if they don’t downsize, it will be left up to their family members and how unfair that is. They don’t really get it. So I just work on me. I honestly thought I was about done, and then watching this podcast today, I started making a list of more items I will not miss. There are over 50 items on the list already! Thanks, again, both of you, for all you do. You make a difference in my life.
9:32
I don’t know if you have children or not, but as the adult child of older parents who have So. Much. Stuff… I truly cannot tell you how inspiring it has been to read your comment. Thank you for being an active example of balanced living and encouraging others to curate their possessions. It is truly a breath of fresh air. ❤
This is so beautiful. Such a great example. Thank you
You're a good person.
When i first heard of minimalism i was like nope this is not for me im a mom of 5 kids and married i cant own 15 things and then i found Josh and was like oh i can do minimalism ❤ ty joshua!
I am going through a moving scam right NOW. The movers are holding my property hostage for $4,800 CASH!
My grandson and I are camping in our vacant home.
I feel lighter and free. I almost don’t want my stuff back! I have more energy. It’s as though the weight of all that stuff was draining me. I can feel it in my deep breaths, my shoulders and my attitude. My focus is more outward than inward. 🍃🍂🍃
Call the police for theft. Easy peasy
And then sell your thing when police helps you
So how'd everything turn out?
The California Dept. Of Homegoods and Services took a report for me. A terrific inspector was assigned. He was able to get a third of my things returned. It was all damaged. Much of the damage looks purposely done out of revenge. I'm grateful to have it all over with.
Don't hire Express Vanlines out of Las Vegas. I hired National Vanlines of America, which sold my contract to the other thief. It's quite the racket.
@@m.51373that’s crazy. I’m a journalist. Would you be willing to speak about this experience?
22:11 this reminded me of a weight loss tv show where close to the end of the boot camp they had the participants run a few hundred feet and then they would put on weighted vests in the amount of weight they had lost during the boot camp and run back.
Many of the participants had lived a majority of their lives with excess weight and didn’t feel it like they did once they were free of it.
It’s the same with clutter and excess things. Most of us are at generational excess. My family came to America late 1800s. They went from nothing to the industrial boom. That’s 5 generations of stuff. My mom, sister and I still possess so much of that early 20th century stuff.
I had no idea what it was like until I went on an extended camping trip, camping, not glamping. I came home and was so overwhelmed with what had been normal and unnoticed 2 weeks earlier. That’s when I started purging.
I love de-owning!!! All my stuff is from the Lord and there are so many things that I store that are better suited for someone else… Give it away! Let it be useful.
I believe Joshua Becker has a rich spiritual life. Jesus fills that void. ❤
I loved this. I’ve been decluttering for many years. I only can think of one thing I miss…. Out of thousands!!! I can’t even remember 98% of the things I got rid of. I’ve been able to zone in on the important things and let so much go. So much freedom. The more I get rid of, the more I love minimalism.
I remember Joshua mentioning in a different video that it's helpful to ask yourself "if I didn't have this thing, what would I use instead?" This can break through some paralysis, by helping us think creatively about solutions for possible regret. That's helped me in this journey!
I have found that purchasing supplies after choosing a project to make is the most enjoyable. For example after picking out the knitting project choosing the colour and texture of the yarn is so much fun and knowing I can do this process with the next project brings anticipation too. When you have a mountain of yarn there is the burden to use it all up and you end up choosing a project to use it up not choosing the project you are most excited to do.
Hurray. Two of my favourite folks together. Thanks for bringing Joshua to us, Cas.
Great interview! I love the concept of “de-owning”. A word of advice to young people - don’t save all your cards and letters! Be picky about your sentimental stuff. I’m going through all that now and it’s HARD! Just don’t start in the first place!
I have listen to Joshua and you are so right how wonderful he is. I find him very calming
I have been following Joshua for a while now, and I love his thoughtful and calming advice. I follow you to get motivation and creative ideas. Both of you together, what a great podcast!
Well said Mr Joshua Becker.❤
It's been playing on my mind that we, as a society, need to change. Companies will continue producing "stuff" and pulling from our natural resources as long as we keep buying it. For change to really happen we must stop consuming and when we do purchase goods we need to prioritise using and rehoming second hand items. Sadly I don't see things improving for many years but I hope something clicks in societies subconscious and we change our consumption habits for the better ASAP. To be honest I'm as guilty as most so listening to people talk about making positive changes and reconditioning our mindset is so helpful. So, this is a long winded way to say thank you!!
Redeveloping my mindset! Not necessarily to become a minimalist, but to declutter my life. This is a great podcast and Joshua Becker is a motivating force.
It is a first world problem. I actually thought I was being self indulgent to think I needed to even have a conversation about this but it's actually helpful.
Excess clutter really is a result of all the targeted advertising resulting in excess consumerism. Experts have learned how to hack us to get our money and they hit us when and where we are most vulnerable. We are not born prepared to resist this. We must learn it.
I find that the excess craft supplies- I have to have this because I want to make it some day - definitely adds stress and overwhelms the silent to do list.
His minimalist story never gets old. Love the content you both share. So funny about hobbies and specifically art being mentioned. I'm actually just getting started leaning about and taking up painting. I will remember that!
There’s a lot of unprocessed trauma emotions beliefs wrapped up in our belongings so we are processing our life as we declutter/tidy. I think this is why we get sense of calm and more time in our lives bc we are able to be more present.
De-owning is a great word. It feels more powerful and grander than declutter or tidy. It feels like a philosophy and so it helps me to let go bc I am de-owing… I am tied into a bigger overarching philosophy. I love that🥳🙌🏼
Always enjoy listening to Joshua Becker.
2 of my 3 favorite people on YT (Dawn from the Minimal Mom is my other fav). Thank y'all so much for this podcast. It makes me want to go into each room & just start filling boxes. My craft room would be my worst room to declutter because I used to have the FOMO syndrome. I have learned to control that, but sometimes it still creeps back in. Great video. 😊
I always hear advocates for simplifying/minimalism marveling about the time that miraculously opens up in their lives after simplifying their homes and minimizing their possessions. There is a certain amount of time - maybe even 30 minutes a day or more - that can be freed immediately by not losing keys or phones or remotes. There is time saved when in order to clean you don’t have to first exhaust all of your time and energy finding places to put things. But as an extremely busy, naturally messy adult with a too-full house and ADHD allow me to propose an alternate reason for hours of time opening in your schedule. The overwhelm has multiple side effects. Depression, feeling unequal to the task, mega-procrastination, all drive two time sucking habits - watching hours of “get organized”, “get out of debt”, “clean with me”, “why do I suck when everyone else is awesome?” UA-cam videos, and self medicating with Netflix binges.
Intentionality is the main ingredient in de-cluttering and minimalism, and that intentionality kicks in across all areas of your life once you develop the habit. For me that would mean a good 3-4 hours (more on weekends and in the summer) opening up. It’s not the absence of stuff. It’s the intentionality with time and ending mindless waste. That’s my theory.
Amazing comment!
I was losing things so frequently I genuinely wondered if I had early dementia. Nope I needed to declutter. 😂
I am trying to declutter so my daughter won't have to deal with it when I'm gone. I just had some friends help me empty my liquor cabinet. I don't drink, and MORE THAN HALF of the bottles were trash. I got new wiper blades installed on my car at the auto parts store and asked the clerk if any of the car fluids were usable, and he said no due to age. So when I see those things, I'll know they're trash (hazardous waste). I'm taking this a piece at a time. Will keep you informed.
I love these videos, so keep it up as you can.
Thank you for having Joshua on your channel. You have both made a difference in my life, for the better.
I love this more, in-depth content from you, Cass. Shows a completely different side of you that I really appreciate! Keep up the great guests!! ❤
Love it when my fave social media people collaborate❤🙌 great chat, thank you to you both 🙏🏼
Cass, I'm with you on minimizing the craft supplies. I recently went thru my knitting needles and crochet hooks. I now have a stack of things that I am going to try and sell, but if they don't sell, I will donate them to a local thrift store and let someone else find joy with them. Life is too short to hand onto things that you don't need, use, or love. I don't need a stash of supplies to create the items I enjoy. I am keeping the ones I use and letting go of the rest. Joshua has inspired me on many levels as well. Thank you so much!
The minimalists
Josh Becker
Courtney Carver
Dawn
Cass
Are responsible for changing I mean CHANGING my life.
I am so grateful for all of your expertise!
I have no one in my life that lives like this.
I think it’s time to connect with this community 😁
The ``Moment´´ I had, when my children didn´t want any of this old stuff. Many wonderful antigues. So I´ve got them all together to sell the items on an antique market.
They´ve got the money out of it.
20 years ago....exactly, when I began minimalism.
Today I´m practing Swedish death cleaning, to get rid of items I no longer want.
It makes me feel safe in my life and surroundings.
WOW ! Minimalism is literally so profound ! Good Medicine for an unencumbered life ! Oooh … De - OWNing ??? YES , PLEASE ! Cas & Joshua , Thank You ! Liz
Joshua is great about breaking things down into do-able pieces!!
I love to listen to Joshua and all the others sharing about minimalism .
The way Joshua turned around that fear of regret - that’s a way of looking at regret that I haven’t encountered before.
I grew up in central Asia in a minimalist family with mom that constantly declatered but sinse living in Europe i noticed that mentality to have more stuff influencing me in a bad way, so trying to declutter & teach my Venetian hb to own less to be free, happier. Actually i declutered entire house full of stuff about 50 years😂
Thank you so much. Love you both
While I am not yet what would likely be considered minimalist, I do understand and follow the principles and as I declutter and move towards less, I feel the freedom and relief that comes from having my things at a manageable level.
One thing that has helped tremendously is recognizing just how much money and time I have wasted on so many things just to discard them. I have been a terrible impulse shopper for decades, and all this decluttering has made me stop to think now about every purchase I make, whether I really need it, etc. So I am saving tons of $$ now by being more intentional with my purchases. One way I still get that "rush" without overspending is I shop online and add what I like to a wish list instead of my cart. Then I revisit the wish list and add/delete items and if it stays on the wish list over time and i still like it or feel it will be useful, I will purchase it with no regrets
I love decluttering! Of course, now i don’t have any more to really do, so now I do my relatives’s houses. The most important thing is not bringing stuff in!!
I am a huge fan of Joshua! Love his books and watch him weekly on his channel. He is so inspirational and calming. Thanks for having him on.
Being a quilter is hard for my practice of minimalism. I know I have to quilt more in the next few years, and buy less fabric. I needed to hear that.
This was a great interview. I really saw Cass’s brain explode a couple of times with this one! I hope that we can all learn something and try to let go of some more of these “stuff chains” that hold us back! ❤
Wowwww this is good!!! Can’t wait to listen to again with my husband! … 2 of the best out there for sure!
I'm a scrapbooker and it's easy to gather all the stuff I love. In actually, it doesn't take that many supplies to create a beautiful and meaningful album page. I'm using an upcoming move to keep only the best, and scheduling regular dates with my craft room.
very powerful messages. Thanks
Excellent podcast! The Orson Welles quote really resonated with me. Two areas I'm realizing are challenging are tools and hobbies. I've been enjoying learning how to fix things, but i wonder how people know what tools to have on hand, and when to trade some out. For hobbies, the same question applies. It seems to be a skillset all unto itself to recognize that you can let go of one thing and try something else.
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Many thanks for this podcast. I really enjoyed your questions and Mr. Becker's answers.
Thanks you for this! This is something I definitely needed today. 🙏❤
Love this video! The two of you together is so good. I have watched it already twice, and might do so a third time.... :)
Crafters do better with less! So true!
❤ 'DE-OWN' = Taking a deep breath of Fresh Air❤
I'm not sure it's convincing people but educating them. I love how Joshua puts a family picture in front of his UA-cam award showing priorities. I use the container concept with my crafts and it really helps! Thanks!
Bingeing your content. Kinda thick headed but it's starting to sink in. Thanks so much! 🙏❤
You both have been helping me on a more intentional journey and amazing podcast. Helped me still with motivation as feel there is one or two more de-owning stuff . But already see the benefits of having more free time and less stress. ❤❤🇬🇧❤❤
I can also relate to the books!
I'm so happy I did the marie kondo method and all I have left to do is declutter my digital photos on my phone and computer. It's literally life changing for our whole family. The kids can see all the things they love and they're using their things more. Everyone's reading more. I have sooo much more free time which I can use for cooking and baking which I love doing. I'm not sure if you'd call her minimalist but I for sure minimized! You guys are all awesome with the work you do with helping others. ❤
The KonMari method was definitely the first steps towards minimalism for me. I don’t call myself a minimalist but I’m definitely trying to live more intentionally now.
@thisnthat42 that's like me as well. I am a family of five and love having things like photo albums to look through and books on a shelf..I love having their drawings they made organized in binders that we can look through years later. Stuff like that. I like the idea of having what you actually use and having the things that mean a lot to you in reach and having everything in its place. I couldn't just have photos on a hard drive or something like that some things I like to actually hold
This was an amazing podcast, I love this one, and I love this new channel!
I am drowning things in my bedroom tomorrow! I meant to type de-owning. LOL. Spell check has a Freudian slip! Pray for me. I am taking a day off work and starting this journey tomorrow!
Your comment is motivating me to dive into a room and learn how to de-own! So, how did your day go?
Your great ty for being in my life no more mess
I have reduced my clothes twice. Now I think, I am bored, a new red shirt would give me joy. I surely dont need it but I feel a kind of void. I want to reward myself for decluttering by buying new stuff. It is a long and hard process.
Is it the variety in clothing colours that would bring you joy or the shopping for clothing part? If it’s the lack of colour then maybe that lets you know that you don’t want to own five shirts in the same colour but you enjoy variety. At the end of the day though you have clothes to keep you warm. Perhaps when one wears out replace it with a red one instead but be content that you have what you need to support you in your day to day life.
If it’s the shopping part that you crave I would suggest trying to find other ways to fill your time and don’t use shopping as a leisure activity. Concentrate on hobbies or travel or just take a nice walk in nature. Window shopping steals our time and our money, making us crave things we didn’t know existed five minutes before.
I just love him!
Thank you
I know Minimalism kicked in yesterday when my friend came over. I told her I was decluttering, and she asked if I was spring cleaning. I said no, it was just on-going.
Wonderful! Thank you.
This is so good! 👏 It’s one I’ll listen to on repeat and recommend to friends!
What a refreshing addition to all the discussions on minimalism, decluttering and downsizing. I am sure this episode will create a lot of "ah-ha" moments for a lot of people. It sure did for me. Thanks to you both!
(Note: I would love to see you interview Sandra Felton of Messies Anonymous!)
Returns! Online returns are annoying!! I feel like most things I buy online get returned!! It's not as pictured or doesn't fit right! There's something so deceiving about things being sold online. If I had seen that cheap looking item in store or tried that dress on first, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place and wouldn't have to return it.
Nowadays we got so consumed in researching and thinking that the product we're buying is the right thing for us and then when we get it it's not and we have to return it then go to the process looking again if only everything was in stores again like in the past....
I have a “no return” rule. I have been shopping online *weekly* for 10 years and have only returned one item - my wedding dress that came in the wrong colour.
If something arrives and it isn’t good enough for me to use, I sell it at a considerable loss, donate it or trash it, immediately or within a few days.
This helps me to stay accountable about buying things online. Especially clothing.
Also, I don’t buy any clothing that retails for under $90, excepting for a few tops by Hanes for lounging. I don’t buy clothing because it looks cute. I buy clothing because it fills a gap in my wardrobe, which is planned out by categories and colours ahead of time.
Learn which fabrics and materials you like best by reading the tags of all your current clothes and keeping track. Don’t buy items that aren’t made with those materials. Learn your favourite colours to wear and don’t buy anything that isn’t in those colours. Be intentional.
Don’t buy things that are “cute” - that’s not shopping, that’s scratching an infected itch.
Interesting. I am a minimalist, my husband has ADHD (a dopamine deficiency), every time he gets a box from Amazon it gives him a dopamine boost. It takes me three months to pull the trigger on a new dress, and he opens the box.
Love him too! Fantastic guests
Thank you for sharing about your craft supplies, Cass. I've been feeling that same way with some scrapbooking supplies that I know I don't need to finish some pages from printed photos before I went to online photobooking.
"Hijacked our passions...'
'Freedom from the passions to possess'.
Thank You. 🙂
Needed to hear this! Great podcast!
Great interview 😊
Thank you!
When your things interfere with your spirituality, mental and emotional, and physical health, then do self-examination
I feel books need to be the exception to the minimalism rule. They will be all we have left of our history as people are 1984'ing books right now. The books we love today will be banned tomorrow. That and tools.
To be fair, aristocrats and royalty have had waaaaay more stuff than us throughout history and they weren't stressed or overwhelmed, because they had employees who managed everything for them. So it's not the stuff in and of itself, as it is the limited time an average person has in a day, and society expecting us to do way more within that timeframe than any human is capable of doing.
I doubt they had more stuff. Anything they had they used. They didn’t have loads of cheap dollar items made in china.
They were a very small part of the population… not representative of the average.
@@audreyandrea460 true, and irrelevant
@@kensiblonde4203doubt all you want, they literally lived in mansions and castles with tens of bedrooms and hosted parties for hundreds of people lol
Please be mindful of how you get rid of your stuff. Please don't just put everything in garbage bags and throw them in a landfill. Please donate or give away your usable items to others who may need them or donation centers. Everything has been extracted from our natural resources. Help care for others, ourselves and our planet.
Also be mindful of how things come back into the house as necessary. We try to buy secondhand as much as possible. It’s easier on the wallet and we’re supporting small local businesses and their programs.
But also remember that everything is trash in the end. Reduce what you bring in is the first step or you will just be creating demand for them to produce more.
With all due respect, it is not always possible to donate things. If you are mentally in the space not to make a bunch of trips or are having a hard time giving to donation centers, sometimes some things just have to be trashed. Last resort is giving away on a “buy nothing” facebook page in your area. My friend is getting divorced and going through a lot, sometimes your mental health is worth more than saving a few things for others when they probably have enough already.
"Minimalist Mom" advocates throwing straight into the trash until youbhave arrived at a less overwhelming lifestyle, and THEN adding the burden of sorting for donationl
People don’t realize that the donation places throw away most of what you give them…
Hoping this is not leading to “you will own nothing and be happy” 😂
I recommend “The Day the World Stops Shopping” by J.B. Mackinnon.
I leave my unwanted items in my building complex so tenants or people coming for some recyclabes can take them for free or I take them to nearby community centre's clothing room to be taken by people for free also. I see no value in donating to overpriced thrift stores where people in need can't afford these things nowadays.
Thanks. Tina, Al's wife
This is unparalleled excellence. I encountered content with a similar message, and it was life-changing. "The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Living Guide" by Matthew Cove
I so appreciate all the Josh shared. When he talked about how we think we have developed all the gadgets to be an amazing cook. My grandparents were the most amazing cooks my grandfather won an award for his whole wheat bread. My grandfather was given the green from his work. But you know he didn't have a fancy gadget he used to blender, It wasn't a fancy blunder. But out of that he was able to grind the grain to make the most amazing bread. My grandmother hosted holidays on real dishes and only had a dishwasher two years out of her whole entire 93 years. I grew up with a mom that for a short time was a single mom not by choice and she worked full. Then we became a blended family of eight kids. My mom talks about her cleaning was dusting vacuum cleaning the bathroom. She never had to run around and organize she never had to worry what the bathroom look like, We had food to eat I don't remember growing up feeling that I really lacked anything. When joshua spoke about his neighbors saying how he could have freedom and not Be bound to having to clean out a garage it's pretty powerful. That statement is really huge think of the time we can all get and have. Cass I so appreciate all that You share and encourage as well and thank you what a powerful team you were today. We need to wake up world. I know you woke me up in some different areas today thank you! I have a garage that was in this spring I'm
I'm taking it back. How many people could we be helping with the money that we waste on stuff or how many people would be debt free in our own lives
Would love to hear a discussion with him about the organizing styles, particularly the visual bugs - was super bummed it wasn't in this one.
He was the one whose writing taught me exactly how to declutter - for years I wanted to, but had no idea how to do it in a way that wouldn't cause a ton of regret. That is, until I found him and read _The More of Less_ - instant life changer! I introduced his work to a friend after randomly glancing over at what she was doing (she was sitting next to me) while we waited on another section to rehearse their part during choir practice, and read "Decluttering at the Speed of Life ~ A Slob Comes Clean" written in her open bujo. It sparked some really good conversation (outside of choir rehearsal, of course😜), especially because she and her family moved to the U.S. from England almost 5 years ago, so she was unsure about certain things, like keep times for certain legal documents. I also introduced your stuff to her, Cas, and she has found both yours and Joshua's to be really helpful - she and her husband have 5 boys under 12 (the youngest is a baby, I believe the oldest is 11). That was 2 years ago now (before the baby was born). Now I need to tell her about "Hot Mess House" and "Take Your House Back".
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Joshua, you look way much better with your grey hair :-) as opposed to when you were younger (picture in the introduction). I wish I could say the same about me
I. Have several. Bed pillow’s. They don’t work for me they are flat. What do I do with it. I have to throw them in the landfill. . It hurts me the throw it away. I can’t give it to goodwill. It’s to far gone. What do I do about things like this as example. Ugh
Yes, I just did this and felt the same way. Ppl used to burn their garbage, idk if this would work? Hmm
People need to or try to give away their extra stuff one by one.
Hello everyone what do you do with things your getting rid of? If you don’t make a garage sale do you feel guilty if you give away perfectly good things?
Nope! Thrift stores and friends are the way we've gone for years. We've never had a garage sale - ever.
Donations of “stuff” to local non-profit thrift stores. The donations can be tax-deductible. I like knowing that I’m supporting local programs and that I’m not adding to landfills.
No, thrift shops are doing me a favour by redistributing things I no longer need and some of my things may help someone else on a tight budget. You have to try and move away from this idea that we have to recoup the cost of everything. The money has been spent. Now let it go so someone else can make use of it instead of it just sitting in your house not being used. Items should be used up so just let it go so it can find that person who can use it.
Perfectly good things are useless if they are not being used. Release/recirculate them and people who need that stuff will find it. I like to put it all in a /FREE BOX/ on the street.
It's hard when I'm made fun of and shamed for decluttering
Hundered percent true.
MY PROBLEM IS I MIGHT NEED SOMEDAY
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I find now yes I see fill in the Blank item can be time saving or help with this or must see this. Finding myself saying no a lot now and if not going to enhance my life or fill a specific purpose sorry don’t need
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Great conversation but, so many ads for a podcast that talks about the negative effects of seeing 5,000 ads a day.😢❤
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