Take Back Your Weekends!

All winter you’ve looked at that garage piling up with stuff. It’s a disaster, so you’ve dragged everything out to the driveway to reorganize, and put it back together again. Not surprisingly, your kids quickly lose interest and start begging for your attention.

“Are you done yet? Come play with me!” You hear it over and over again. Late afternoon arrives, the driveway is still covered with all your prized possessions, and you shake your head in disbelief. And that’s when you finally see the child waiting for you in the backyard because you’re his favorite playmate.

At a recent Florida conference for Senior Move Managers, blogger Joshua Becker shared this story to a mesmerized crowd, speaking openly about his personal experience. “I looked out across the yard at my child and saw the one thing I loved more than anything on this planet. And I suddenly realized that my stuff was keeping me away from him.”

This experience was the catalyst for the blog BecomingMinimalist.com, as Becker and his wife began a journey of reclaiming their lives, their time, their money and their energy.

Living a minimalist lifestyle doesn’t have to be extreme. Becker describes it simply as “the intentional promotion of everything you most value, and the removal of anything that distracts you from it.”

Think of how many hours you spend every day, every week, every month simply taking care of and managing your stuff: buying it, organizing it, cleaning it and storing it.

Does the way you spend your time (and your money) reflect what you most value in your life? Are you discontent with how little free time you have available to simply be with those you love? If so, be encouraged. “Discontentment is the greatest seed of change,” Becker states.

Maybe it’s time to let go of those household items and make space in your life for what you value most. Simply put, everything has to be dealt with eventually. When would you rather be free of the clutter and the financial burden — now or later?

Here’s some practical advice from Becker:

1. Ask yourself, “How could owning less stuff make my life better?” Rather than looking at the “evils” of excess, look at the positives of having less. For example, I’ll have more space, more energy, more time for my passions, more gratitude, more contentment, less stress, fewer responsibilities and more money.

2. Experiment with what “enough” feels like, after all, you’re the one who gets to define this process. “Living with Less” will look different within each family.

3. There are two steps. The first is owning less, and the second is wanting less. This is where true contentment arrives — so look forward to it!

#homeessentials