How to Get Rich Quick (It’s Not What You Think)
“It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.” - Henry Ward Beecher
Honey and I have been ebbing toward a minimalistic and simple lifestyle for years now. We are coming up on our tenth wedding anniversary in the spring. I can look back on the last decade and see the slow evolution of our ideals and values in this area: every time we’ve moved (8x!) I start packing and wonder “why the heck do I even own this?!”
We believe in having less so that we can live more. We choose to have less stuff in our house – less to clean, less to organize, less to sort through and eventually sell at a yard sale, or worse – send to the landfill. We choose to resist the consumeristic addiction of our culture.
“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” - Socrates
In early July we made a decision to pack up and move back to our home province approximately 3,600 kilometres away. We’d been living in Tiny Town on the Canadian prairies for 2.5 years, and the time had come to uproot again.
Pack, toss, or sell?
It was the question of the summer in our house.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” - Leonardo da Vinci
Stuff takes time. That what it boils down to for me. We’ve created a stuff-focused culture in which we shop, we consume, we sort, we organize, we clean, we de-clutter, we replace, we curate, and we collect. All of this distracts from breathe-deep-joy and real-life-living.
There are just 24 hours in a day, no matter who you are or what you do. How many of those hours are spent on things that do not add to the richness and depth of your living? Each of our answers will be different, but it is a worthy question to ponder against the backdrop of your own unique story.
This is how I plan to get rich: Find contentment in my present circumstances (even when it’s tough). Fine-tune my heart to be kind, generous, loving, and full of grace and humility. Spend time in self-improvement through relationship with my Maker.
It’s the only get-rich-quick scheme that works.
I used to LOVE finding great deals and getting stuff for cheap. As my mentality has shifted over the past few years (helped in large part by a decluttering rampage last March) I find I’m more satisfied with accumulating less stuff and am okay with spending a bit more on things we’ll use and love and that will last. I think our next move will be a great chance to purge, but I’m trying not to put it off when I find odds and ends that I know are just taking up space.
Yeah, getting stuff cheap is a great marketing technique, hey? I used to be (and still am sometimes) often suckered into buying something I didn’t really love or need, just because it was so cheap. That comes back to bite you every time when you wonder why it’s cluttering up your house six months later!
Love this!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed
I love the William Morris quote: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” It covers it all: if it’s not something you need, get rid of it. But let even the simplest of things be beautiful. We are doing our annual de-cluttering and also preparing to welcome in someone who needs a place to stay for a while. It’s been a great push for us to get rid of even more than we thought we could, and to make ourselves fit comfortably into our small home by getting rid of the unnecessaries.
Yes, I totally love that quotation as well. It’s perfect. Getting rid of “the unnecessaries” (love your word!) is so freeing, isn’t it?
I truly need to do that. Go through room to room and get rid of the “stuff”. I need to do that the most with the boys’ toys. They have soo much stuff they don’t play with anymore! It’s so hard when they are around, though, as they will see my trying to get rid of something and will say “I want that! I will play with it!”. I really need to just do it, though. Thanks for the inspiration.
Krista
Yup, that’s a tough one. I do my toy decluttering when the kids are in bed! (And I keep it in the garage for a few months in case they ask for a specific thing – I’m willing to keep it if they’ll actually play with it – but most times they don’t ever miss it!)
An article on simple living quoting Socrates? Yes please. A great piece that I just had to share on my Facebook page.
Thanks Paul! Glad you enjoyed it!
I used to have this complete philosophy- it def has some merit and everyone should go through a stage of purging and cleaning. YET, I have also been taught AFTER that stage that I was also missing something. And in thinking my simplicity was the greatest sophistication was in itself it’s own form of pride and clutter in another sense. Plus, I think that phrase was talking about the simplicity of the heart in love- which is a different concept…but maybe not. Both ways of life had to show myself and balance and the heart of faith. Now, I like decorating, my creativity comes out with how I arrange my stuff, mostly I adore dusting and laughing with my kids as we put things back in place. I do not like dishes or laundry so I simplify that as much as I can but there is only so far I can go with a family…but my stuff- I do not have anything in my home that I do not believe to be beautiful or useful but I have lots of stuff on the walls and in certain places…each one holds a memory or a symbol of another soul either from a gift or a time. I treasure these. No my ultimate treasure is not in them but I view them as gifts from God too. I don’t worship them and I hate shopping but overall I think that there is not one way that is better. It is what suits our personas. I have been in homes that are very bare that I feel comfort and peace and been in the same sort of bare in another house that speaks of constant striving to be “clean” and minimalist and discontent and pretentious….Just as I have been in cluttered homes that speak of greed and discontent and pretentiousness and been in similar homes that are cluttered that speak of home and love. It depends on what suits the personality of the person and what balance they strike in their homes.
Stuff does take time and we DO need to prioritize and remember that. But sometimes that time invokes good conversation pieces and memories too. It’s a balance. I loved your last paragraph as that is exactly it- no matter if we have lots of stuff or not some manage lifestyle choices better than others but if our ultimate goal is love we can not judge which choice is the best or shows the most godliness or sophistication. It all comes down to contentment either way or we must choose to do our stuff differently in any circumstance. I loved Henry’s quote and I completely agree that consumerism and the economic story ( read Monoculture) needs to change. A Lot. But I also wanted to show that the number of things we choose to housekeep with is not the deep down matter…
Hopefully this doesn’t come across as contrary or rude because I get what you were saying and have been there. I think I was hit because someone just haughtily told me about my “stuff” and they jumped to conclusions yet all who come into my home remark on the love they feel and welcome…which is partially the time I put into making it that way in combination with who the family living in it is….
Anyway, great sparks for conversation. I hope your move is full of future friendships, stability and peace.
Kmarie, I totally get what you’re saying. I’m sorry I gave the impression that stuff is bad in general… I totally didn’t mean that! In fact, I’ve got a post percolating around my head about how I’m a minimalist with a lot of stuff
It’s more about having stuff intentionally, rather than mindlessly… not so much about the exact amount of things you have. Does that make sense? (There’s really no set definition of “minimalism”, and I probably should have defined my terms first!)
Thanks for adding your thoughts. A pleasure, as always
Oh, sorry I read that wrong. I get that then. A book you would like is called Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin. I wrote a post about it here but I think you would appreciate her balanced perspective. Its really different for everyone:)
http://acquiringbalance.blogspot.ca/2012/09/simplifying-truth-of-it-all-christian.html
That’s funny – I just heard of that book recently and it intrigued me! Thanks for the recommendation