The Less I Own

Does it feel like there has been a glut of articles touting spending challenges this month?  It’s not the first time I’ve seen the idea floated, but I’ve been noticing them in every single publication I read.

The New York Times recounted Ann Patchett’s year without shopping.  She made up her own rules, allowing herself to purchase some things and not others.  The most interesting part of the article came when she discussed gifts:

The idea that our affection and esteem must manifest itself in yet another sweater is reductive. Elissa said she gave people time, a certificate to watch their kids or clean their house. “That,” she told me, “turned out to be the hardest thing. Time is so valuable.”

Or the idea that just waiting a few days can make a feeling pass:

For four days I really wanted a Fitbit. And then — poof! — I didn’t want one. I remember my parents trying to teach me this lesson when I was a child: If you want something, wait awhile. Chances are the feeling will pass.

Lifehacker suggested a month-long financial detox if you can’t handle a year, and focusing on one item that drains your wallet.  Mine is definitely books, but I’m okay with that.  I’m okay with supporting other writers or having a stack of books on hand.  At the end of my life, I don’t think I’ll ever feel that I wasted money on my books.

There were a bunch of others, more of the same touting either a timed challenge or a item-focused challenge, but the post that stood out for me came from Frugalwoods.  It’s really a post about owning less, which translates into buying less, but the reasoning behind it resonated with me:

It’s easier to operate in a home that’s not crammed with junk, it’s liberating to know where everything is, to have a clean spot for all your possessions, and to not waste time looking for things. It’s wonderful to not desire more stuff and it’s a boon to realize when you have enough.

Yes.  And this mantra: “The more I own, the more I have to clean, the more I have to store, and the more I’m responsible for.”  It’s a long post, but she got to the heart of why I’m drawn to these articles: because I see owning less as a way of using my time more effectively.  I hate losing things, and it’s hard to lose things when everything fits into a certain place.

I’ll argue that it’s much easier to do something like this when your life is like her life: Her husband is on-board with the plan and therefore (I assume) puts things back in their proper place, not messing up her system.  Her child is too young to make a true mess or acquire things.  I’d love for her to revisit this post in eight years, when her first child is ensconced in activities and her not-yet-born child has toys and whether she’s still able to hold on to her minimalist lifestyle.

If I had unlimited time, I would put it towards decluttering our house.  I need to scheduling it in, but because it’s not time sensitive, it gets pushed to the back burner in favour of other things that need to get done now.  Though perhaps if we set aside four-hour blocks around the calendar, we’ll be able to keep several in place and get the work done over several months.

We have to try, or I have to stop reading articles like this.  One or the other.