I have been thinking about "minimalism" lately. For lots of reasons.
- Sometimes I feel chained down by our stuff. I feel like it owns me instead of me owning it. Sometimes the work of cleaning, organizing, and caring for our stuff just seems so overwhelming. How much more time and less stress would I have if I didn't have so much stuff to take care of? What kinds of things might we do? What kinds of experiences are we missing out on by having so much stuff to maintain?
- Sometimes I feel like consuming stuff is an addiction. That no matter how hard I try to not buy more stuff as soon as I walk into a store something else takes over and I have to get more stuff.
- I feel like our kids are learning to be consumers, and learning to be entitled to stuff. They already know more about eating at restaurants, buying stuff in stores, and name brand things than I ever did as a kid. I don't like this at all. And don't even get me started on all the cheap crappy toys that somehow make their way into our house!
- I am learning more and more about how our things are made, the impact our consumerism has on the environment and others (sweat shops really exist!). I feel more and more convicted that as Christians we should consider this issue more carefully. Does what I choose to consume show love for others or wise stewardship of the earth?
- The more that I think about it the more I realize that my attachment to my stuff and my desire for more stuff is pure and simple idolatry. If I claim that my treasure is in heaven, that God is faithful to supply my needs, that what the Bible says about caring for the poor is really true, then my stuff reveals something about my heart and my priorities.
So far I haven't made any radical changes. I regularly go through our things and get rid of excess books, toys, clothes etc. But none of it is really sacrificial or radical. And we keep replacing what we get rid of with more or new things. But the thought process continues as I read more blogs and talk to like-minded friends. I find myself wanting to make a more radical lifestyle change. (Aaron and I haven't talked about this in depth, and he is a bit more of a "pack rat" than I am. So he may freak out when he reads this.)
Here are some of the blogs I have been reading lately that are giving me much food for thought.
Becoming Minimalist - This post "What is Minimalism" really distills the thoughts I have been having.
A Guy Named Dave - This guy pared all his things down to 100 possessions. While I definitely can't fathom doing that yet, his blog has lots of good conversation about our attachment to possessions.
One Dress Protest - One girl, wearing one dress, for one year. Lots of good stuff here. Definitely worth a read and a scroll through the archives. This post "Minimalism, Fashion & Idolatry" really gave me much to think about as did "The Image of God and Our Earthly Dominion"
I am not sure where this will end up. Any one else thinking about these issues have anything they can share with me?
- Sometimes I feel chained down by our stuff. I feel like it owns me instead of me owning it. Sometimes the work of cleaning, organizing, and caring for our stuff just seems so overwhelming. How much more time and less stress would I have if I didn't have so much stuff to take care of? What kinds of things might we do? What kinds of experiences are we missing out on by having so much stuff to maintain?
- Sometimes I feel like consuming stuff is an addiction. That no matter how hard I try to not buy more stuff as soon as I walk into a store something else takes over and I have to get more stuff.
- I feel like our kids are learning to be consumers, and learning to be entitled to stuff. They already know more about eating at restaurants, buying stuff in stores, and name brand things than I ever did as a kid. I don't like this at all. And don't even get me started on all the cheap crappy toys that somehow make their way into our house!
- I am learning more and more about how our things are made, the impact our consumerism has on the environment and others (sweat shops really exist!). I feel more and more convicted that as Christians we should consider this issue more carefully. Does what I choose to consume show love for others or wise stewardship of the earth?
- The more that I think about it the more I realize that my attachment to my stuff and my desire for more stuff is pure and simple idolatry. If I claim that my treasure is in heaven, that God is faithful to supply my needs, that what the Bible says about caring for the poor is really true, then my stuff reveals something about my heart and my priorities.
So far I haven't made any radical changes. I regularly go through our things and get rid of excess books, toys, clothes etc. But none of it is really sacrificial or radical. And we keep replacing what we get rid of with more or new things. But the thought process continues as I read more blogs and talk to like-minded friends. I find myself wanting to make a more radical lifestyle change. (Aaron and I haven't talked about this in depth, and he is a bit more of a "pack rat" than I am. So he may freak out when he reads this.)
Here are some of the blogs I have been reading lately that are giving me much food for thought.
Becoming Minimalist - This post "What is Minimalism" really distills the thoughts I have been having.
A Guy Named Dave - This guy pared all his things down to 100 possessions. While I definitely can't fathom doing that yet, his blog has lots of good conversation about our attachment to possessions.
One Dress Protest - One girl, wearing one dress, for one year. Lots of good stuff here. Definitely worth a read and a scroll through the archives. This post "Minimalism, Fashion & Idolatry" really gave me much to think about as did "The Image of God and Our Earthly Dominion"
I am not sure where this will end up. Any one else thinking about these issues have anything they can share with me?
1 comment:
You probably don't need any more blogs to follow, but just in case, here are a few that I still subscribe to:
http://mnmlist.com/
http://www.missminimalist.com/
I used to subscribe to a bunch more, but then I minimized my Reader feed :) Plus, there are a whole lot of minimalists out there who seem to want to be able to sit at home in their jammies, blog about how little stuff they own, repost other folks blogs about how little stuff they own, and publish e-books about how you too can live in a one-bedroom house in an urban area (car-less) and move around every time you feel tied down. As none of these folks have either real jobs, homes they own, spouses, children, or community, I lost interest...
Related but different:
http://www.carlhonore.com/
This guy doesn't really talk about minimalism, but he is the evangelist of the Slow Movement. Here's some of his work:
http://www.enjoytheride.wa.gov.au/
Enjoy.
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