What a Crazy Time with Coronavirus (and more cute kittens), Part 2

Last updated on March 28, 2024.

Kitten on pink blanket All kitten images in this article are from the Kitten Academy.¹

In mid-March, I wrote an article about the craziness that was coming down surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the time, everything was starting to close down in the United States, but I was still going to work until right after I published that article, and I went grocery shopping the day before. Many things had announced closure for 2 weeks.

But this pandemic continually changes things, sometimes on a weekly if not daily basis. The day after that post I began working from home. I haven’t returned to the work and cannot go because it is closed. Officially, that has been extended into summer. I’m truly grateful to be employed and have a job allowing me to work from home. The latest number of unemployment claims in the United States is 36 million, the highest since the Great Depression!

Public schools were closed for 2 weeks, then 4, and now children are finishing the school year at home. High school seniors will not have the usual end-of-year experiences. My son will not be in his first-grade teacher’s classroom again. We were instructed to do guided homeschooling, which has been challenging.

The stay-at-home orders remain in effect in some places and not others. In Tennessee, for example, they’ve been lifted and we are wondering if we will now see a spike in illnesses. In the United States, they are discovering between 20,000 and 30,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day and the death rate is sure to go up. How long will this go on?

We don’t know.

Kitten on blue and white carpet

Uncertainty

On top of that, the Southeast experienced tornados on Easter Sunday. An EF3 hit Chattanooga and dozens lost their homes and some lost their lives. Thousands went without power for a week or more and lost some of the contents of their refrigerators and freezers. This is concerning during a time of partial food shortages, especially in the meat industry.

Now there are wildfires in Florida, forcing people to evacuate their homes. Hurricane season begins in just a couple weeks and they are predicting stronger storms this year. Natural disasters add to the stress people are experiencing.

Everything seems uncertain and distressing.

Kitten on leopard print

But positivity abounds

The Kitten Academy, featured in Part 1, celebrated a new litter of kittens. I’ve featured photos of their kittens again because it’s something cute, positive, and happy.

Our local school district provided Chromebook computers to students who needed them. Several internet companies provide internet for free to low-income families. The school district has even been providing meals for students who need them. People who received their stimulus checks in the last month are donating portions (or all) to those who need it more. People have set up funds to help the tornado victims in several states.

Kitten on blue and white carpet

A chance to slow down

We’ve been allowed to slow down. There’s no daily rat race to get from one place to another. No lessons to rush to, no errands to run, no places to be. If we are healthy and safe, we are blessed. We have this rare opportunity to reassess our values and behaviors to decide what really matters to us.

“This is a rare chance to take stock. Through all of the anxiety, we still have the option to start practicing those values we usually ignore and, with all of the closures and cancellations, we have been given the blankest slate we can ever expect to receive.” -Seth Riley²

Many people are trying to use this time to do new things or be creative, but it’s ok if you aren’t. Stay calm. It is a good time to think and reevaluate your life, however. Joshua Becker wrote an article about things you can do with your family during this time (linked below). These include activities such as going outside, teaching your children a new game, or simply reading.

“May the silver lining of today’s crisis be that we get the opportunity to think about how we really want to live, serve, connect, create and BE in our new normal.” -Courtney Carver

We have had more time to spend outdoors. We have more time together. We planted a garden. We ate dinner on the patio. We have time for evening walks. We literally flew a kite!

My son flying a kite in the backyard. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Maybe it’s a good time to let go

Some are using this time to declutter or even go minimalist and let go of mental and physical clutter. At the very least, maybe it is a good time to reassess and simplify your life. I’ve included some articles on minimalism below under Additional Resources.

“It’s a good exercise in reminding us that we just don’t need a lot of the stuff that we have. When times are bad, having each other, having your health (is most important). We can do with a lot less and I think that’s an important lesson I want my kids to understand… Be grateful for what you have and be ready to share it when the time comes.” -Michelle Obama³

What about remaining eco-friendly?

If you’re trying to remain eco-friendly during this quarantine and struggling, know that you are not alone. It’s harder to maintain an eco-friendly or zero-waste lifestyle right now. I’ve struggled with unwanted plastics in my grocery deliveries and curbside pickups. Bulk bins foods are no longer available and it’s harder to get my usual products in glass. As one of my favorite zero wasters, Kathryn Kellogg wrote in her book (101 Ways To Go Zero Waste), regarding having plastic water bottles in her emergency kit: it’s ok if every part of your life is not zero waste. “Putting your health and safety in jeopardy in the name of wanting to reduce trash is silly.” This is especially true right now.

Kitten on pink blanket

Be gentle to yourself, and allow yourself time to evaluate, meditate, and reassess everything. Decide what is most important to you. Let this time of fear and stress also be a time of mental clarity. Love those close to you and call the people you can’t see right now.

Thanks for reading, and stay safe.

Additional Resources:

Article, “25 Things to Do with Your Family While Stuck at Home,” by Joshua Becker, becomingminimalist.com, accessed May 16, 2020.

The Minimalists released a good article on reevaluating our belongings.

An article from Courtney Carver about how to start during the quarantine.

Here’s a video with advice from minimalist Joshua Becker.

Footnotes:

March 15, 2020October 19, 2025

What a Crazy Week with Coronavirus (and cute kittens)

Last updated on March 28, 2024.

All kitten images in this article are from the Kitten Academy.¹

This has been a crazy week! I’ve been working on part 2 of my article about the packaging industry, but I wanted to pause and write about the recent turmoil. Coronavirus has turned everyone’s lives upside down across the globe. The constant news updates, travel bans, canceled trips, closures of schools and organizations, and cancellations of classes, conferences, and appointments.

Besides sympathy for those hit by the virus and the fear of contracting it, our daily lives have changed for an undefined amount of time. Everything has been canceled for the next 2-3 weeks, but it could go on far longer than that. We really don’t know what’s going to happen, because this is unprecedented. There are so many things to worry about and it’s all a bit much at once.

Adorable Kittens from Kitten Academy

I thought I’d feature cute images of kittens in this post to make people feel happy and warm, even if just for a few minutes. My office mate and I often livestream the kittens in our office from Kitten Academy’s YouTube and they’re a nice break between tasks. Those who stop by our office notice the kittens and almost always comment or ask about them. A few will sit and watch them while chatting with us.

Now, I feel the kittens are really important. Work is closed, but we still have to go to work. We are supposed to confine ourselves to our offices. So my office mate and I will at least have each other to talk to, and the kittens will brighten our day a little.

Which brings me to you, dear readers. The next few weeks or months may be very trying. So let me ask:

Do you have kittens in your life?

What I’m really asking is, what do you have in your life that is solid, constant, warm, happy, and brings you joy? Is it a person, your family, or a pet? Reading a good book next to the fireplace? Long walks in nature? Finding time to finish that sewing project, or jigsaw puzzle, or finally learning how to make vegan cinnamon rolls from scratch? Spending more time with your spouse? Perhaps additional time to write, or do yoga. Maybe you want time to simply throw a ball with your child in the backyard. Or perhaps it’s finding time for a (cat)nap. We should use this time to focus our energies on those things…and just slow down.

For me, it’s all of those. But the thing that brings me the most joy is having more time with my son. I’ve already gotten to spend some extra outdoor time with him, doing nothing but play and exploration. We chased bubbles and played in the mud, and it was awesome!

Playing outside this weekend. Photos by Marie Cullis.

Inspiration and Positivity still abound

All of the bloggers I follow have published positive posts this week, and I found them inspiring and full of hope. We will get through this! Here are a few of my favorite reads from this week:

14 Achievable Tasks to Help Declutter Your Home While Stuck Inside by Joshua Becker. While he provides tips on how to stay productive if you’re homebound, he also writes that now’s a really good time to focus on being less busy. I couldn’t agree with this notion more, especially for myself. I have not yet managed to minimalize the tasks in my life.

“Spending a few extra hours or days over the coming weeks at home with family may be just what we need as a society.”

Weekend Favorites: the comparison trap, broken news and comfort music by Courtney Carver. She writes about the heartbreaking decision to cancel her book tour that just started. She acknowledges that while it was something really special, it will be special again. “We are going to get through this together,” she writes so positively.

“What a year this week has been.”

Let’s Talk About the Coronavirus by Joshua Fields Millburn of The Minimalists, who have postponed their current tour. Millburn encourages us to be mindful of our activities and behavior so that we limit the spread of the virus, but also to not panic. We will get through this.

“We never look in the rearview and wish we would have panicked more.”

Take a Break from Breaking News by Courtney Carver. While this article does not specifically reference coronavirus, it does have a positive message to take a break from the constant stream of news. We can catch up at set times so that our minds are not inundated with negative information all day long. Frankly, the frequent updates related to coronavirus are more than we can process at once.

“In the morning, don’t rush out of bed. Take in the birdsong. Brew a pot of coffee.”

Mel Robbins On How To Stay Centered With Coronavirus Anxiety Swirling on Youtube. In this video, she talks a lot about fear and anxiety and how to overcome those feelings.

“This moment is an opportunity for growth, even if it doesn’t feel like one right now. How about we go through these next weeks or months and help one another stay centered in our strength and our spirit.”

Social distancing doesn’t have to doom your weekends. We have ideas from CNN. This article offers a lot of positive, great ideas about how to spend time alone or with others virtually during this quarantine period.

“Social distancing doesn’t mean your weekend is doomed. You just have to get a little creative.”

The Dos and Don’ts of ‘Social Distancing’ from The Atlantic. This is the best article I’ve read yet that describes what to do in our real, everyday lives.

Thanks for reading, please subscribe! Leave me a comment below about how you’re using new found time at home. Stay positive and strong!

Footnote:

January 7, 2020March 10, 2024

You Don’t Need a New Year to Reach for Your Goals

Last updated on March 10, 2024.

Black and white photograph of the beach. — Photo by Marie Cullis.

Happy New Year!

Many of us get caught up in setting New Year’s resolutions that come from good intentions but get lost in the mix of daily life. We get back to work, get the kids back in school, and the extracurricular activities pick back up. For many people, the credit card bills roll in as well, like a hangover from Christmas. Then maybe working additional hours to pay those bills adds to the inability to work toward those resolutions.

I gave up New Year’s resolutions a few years ago. I heard someone say they didn’t set New Year’s resolutions because they didn’t need a certain date to set goals, and I loved the idea so much that I immediately adopted it! If I decide I want or need to do something, I need to do it right away. I don’t want to wait for someday anymore.

“Someday is not a day of the week.” —Joshua Fields Millburn

You don’t need a new year to have a clean slate. Permit yourself to start over now. Allow yourself to start working toward your goals now. Don’t wait until next week, next month, or next year. Let your heart guide you, and live your best life now.

Black and white photograph of a tree branch with a single dead leaf. — Photo by Bea Sz. on Unsplash.

But how do you start?

Your goals should come from your heart.

What do you really want? I’m not asking what you should be doing, because we all know what we “should” be doing, right? Focus less on the things you think you should change and more on the things you love and desire for your life. What can you remove from your life that isn’t adding value?

“Don’t tie your success to the results. When you are hyper-focused on the end of the goal…you discount everything that unfolds along the way. There is great opportunity for growth and joy long before you reach the end. What’s more successful than that?” -Courtney Carver, Be More With Less
Photo by Tono Graphy on Unsplash.

Start small.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says that we need to start with small behaviors and habits to achieve bigger goals. New behaviors create a lifestyle change, and our outcomes come from that – not the goals themselves. Start small! He wrote, “New goals don’t deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is not an outcome, it is a process. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better rituals, not chasing better results.”⁴

“Make it so easy you can’t say no.” -Leo Babauta⁵

Let Go of Guilt.

I’ve written this in other articles: let go of guilt. Feeling bad that you didn’t accomplish something or haven’t been putting in enough effort toward a goal won’t motivate you. It just keeps you down.

“You’re not gonna feel like doing what you have to do all the time. That’s the truth and it makes you human. Don’t beat yourself up for leaning into the lazy space now and then. Just don’t claim that space as your new identity. You have places to go and goals to crush.” -Mel Robbins⁶
Photo by Dave on Unsplash.

My non-New Year’s Resolutions

I want to continue to spend as much time with my little boy as I can. He makes me laugh and feel joy and I want to maximize this.

I plan to continue working on my health by creating individual small habits (per James Clear) centered around diet, fitness, and mindfulness.

I want to spend more time writing and I will continue my quest to find alternatives to using disposable items, plastic items, striving for zero waste, and living minimally.

I am continuing to work on building my self-confidence and I’m still learning how to say no. I’ve just downloaded Sarah Knight’s newest publication on audiobook, F*ck No!: How to Stop Saying Yes When You Can’t, You Shouldn’t, or You Just Don’t Want To. I also follow Mel Robbins on social media.

That is by no means an exhaustive list. They’re just the ones that spilled out of my heart without me thinking too hard about it. Listen to your inner voice for those – that’s where the good stuff is.

Thanks for reading, please share and subscribe!

Footnotes:

May 24, 2019February 9, 2025

What do you do with all that beautiful child art? A minimalist approach.

Last updated on February 9, 2025.

Is your child a budding artist? Does he or she create more pieces than you can keep up with? Maybe you have lots of school work or multiple science fair projects that you want to keep the memory of.

My son, who is now almost 6, is a budding little artist and makes A LOT of art! He has been creating art since he was under 2, and I am guilty of saving almost all of it. I did not realize how quickly it would all accumulate. And if you’re a mom, you’ll understand when I say I think that all my child’s art is beautiful!

Painting by my son at age 2 and a half, abstract colors on paper. — Scan of a painting by my son at age two and a half.

Do you have tons of art that you think is lovely and you can’t let go of? That’s perfectly normal, so don’t feel bad about it. But what do you do with all of that art – especially if you’re trying to reduce clutter or even striving for minimalism?

If you search Google or Pinterest you will find many great ideas! I was inspired by other bloggers and people searching for a solution to the same problem. Marie Kondo would say I should keep only the pieces that spark joy. I was also inspired by The Minimalists, who recommend scanning your photos and documents and letting go of the hard copies – so why not child art as well? I opted to scan and photograph the majority of my son’s art and make a Shutterfly photo book – and it came out beautiful!

So how did I do it? I managed to do it while working full-time, after bedtime. I’ll explain my process next.

White clay Thanksgiving turkey sculpture made by my son at age 3, with beads, googly eyes, and colorful feathers stuck in it. — Photo of a Thanksgiving turkey sculpture made by my son at age three.

“Nothing a child ever does is trash. It is practice.” -Naomi Shihab Nye, Cast Away: Poems For Our Time

Organizing

First I had to organize everything. The art pieces accumulated quickly over just a few years and I had stored it all in three bins. Over the years, I had managed to write information on the backs of most art pieces, such as the date and what my son said about the piece or titled it. I did this because a colleague advised me to document those things. That was great advice!

I stored my son’s art in bins for several years until I decided it was time to do something with them!

So for several nights, I sorted the art by year. Next, I sorted the stacks into the months of each year, in order. As I sorted, I selected my very favorite pieces – the ones that spark joy! – and set those aside, as I plan to put those together in a scrapbook later this summer.

Digitizing

Once I had everything organized, I started photographing and scanning the art, working on just a month’s worth at a time. I have an Epson scanner and I scanned all of the art pieces I could. Some of the art was larger than the scanning bed, and other pieces were three-dimensional. For those, I set up a basic background using a folded black poster board on a table next to a lamp with two light sources. I simply set up each piece in the best light I could and photographed those pieces using my iPhone on the HDR setting.

"Foil fish" art piece that my son and I made together. — “Foil fish” that my son and I made together.

Making the Photo Book

I put the images into folders divided by year and as I went through each month, I uploaded them into Shutterfly and designed my photo book. You can use any online photo service, I just already had an account with Shutterfly. I do recommend a larger-sized photo book. I chose 12 x 12 which is the same size as a standard scrapbook, and I’m super happy with it.

Cover of the photo book with rainbow heart background. — Cover of the photo book, featuring a photo of my son painting. I removed his name and pixelated his face for privacy. The backside is a similar background with additional photos of my son working on various art projects.

Interior page of the photo book. — Interior pages of the photo book.

Most online photo services offer a large variety of backgrounds, colorful embellishments, fonts, layouts, and many other design options included in the price. This book ended up being about 90 pages. I also opted for the hardcover version with the lay-flat option, both of which cost slightly more. After applying a few coupon codes at the end, this book still cost quite a bit, almost $75. Without the coupons, the retail price would have been over $200. Always wait for Shutterfly’s “Unlimited Photo Book Pages” sale or coupon to place your order. You can design the book ahead of time, place in your cart, and wait for the sale to trigger the order.

I will cherish this book forever!

What will I do with the art pieces now?

Since I’m going to let them go, I’m of course going to separate all of the recyclables (mostly paper) and recycle them. Some of the non-recyclables (beads, buttons, pipe cleaners) can be reused and put back into our art supply cart. I’ve now made my son’s art organized and accessible. The art book is so easy to pull out and look through, whereas the art in storage bins was not.

Strict minimalism would probably suggest just tossing everything, keeping the memory of the art, and saving the money. But if you’re like me and feel that your child’s art is just too dear to part with, you might find this a good compromise.

I am currently working on a second book because this book only went up through 2017. I’m enjoying putting it together.

UPDATE February 11, 2024: Since writing this, I’ve put together several photo books of my son’s art (he’s made a lot of art over the years). I physically kept only the most special pieces. I hung some on the walls and the rest I put into a scrapbook. Everything else I scanned or photographed and put in the photo books. For me, this is still the best way to preserve my child’s art. I enjoy getting the books out and paging through them.

UPDATE February 9, 2025: Alternatively, here is a more economical way to put something together: Buy a blank scrapbook when it goes on sale at your local craft store. They’ll often either come with blank white scrapbook paper, or you can buy packs of scrapbook paper at a discount. You’ll still scan the art pieces, and when Shutterfly or Google runs a sale on prints (such as “100 free prints” or “101 prints for 4 cents per print”), buy prints and adhere them onto the scrapbook pages! This creates a scrapbook of your child’s art that is less expensive than the photo books.

I hope this post inspires you to do something fun and creative with your child’s art! Please subscribe and leave me a comment below about your project!

All photos in this post were taken by Marie Cullis. This post contains no affiliate links, nor was I paid to review Shutterfly’s product.

April 10, 2019October 30, 2024

How Dave Ramsey and Going Plastic-free led me to Minimalism

Last updated October 30, 2024.

Long before I ever heard of Minimalism, I read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I also listened to his radio show for a long time.¹ My husband and I were able to pay off debt, increase our retirement, buy a house, and go on a family vacation once a year. While we’ve had to set some of those financial goals aside while I worked less outside of the home for the last few years to take care of our son, it really helped us start questioning all of the things we “needed” to buy.

Before we were married, my husband and I both spent years “chasing the carrot,” meaning trying to get an education, get a job, advance to a career, and then gain a higher income. All to improve our quality of life. But deep down we have always questioned this American way of living. We don’t want to wait until we retire to do the things we enjoy. At retirement age, we will both be 70, and we may not be able to travel, hike, kayak, or take long walks on the beach. I mean, I hope we can, but there’s no guarantee.

Budget Cuts

In the last few years, we have been living on less than we make in order to avoid accruing additional debt. That meant removing some things from our budget, such as brand-new clothing and household items. We eat in restaurants less. We make lists for the grocery store and stick to them.

None of us suffer.

We also decided we wanted to raise our son differently. To be content with life, love, and experiences. Not a bunch of stuff.

Sea turtle with plastic bag graphic. — Image by Painter06 on Pixabay.

A life-changing Preschool lesson

Recently I wrote about one of my homeschool preschool lessons with my son on the environment and pollution. Those lessons are one of the things that prompted me to start going plastic-free after learning about plastic pollution in the ocean and discovering that only about 9% of our plastics get recycled. That means 91% is not recycled!

Sometimes we learn more just by teaching others.

So in 2016, we started eliminating many items that were only available in plastic packaging. Striving to go plastic-free led me to learn about toxicity in our everyday products and the cumulative effects they can have on our bodies and health. By 2017, we started phasing out most household and personal items that contained toxic and harmful ingredients, such as shampoos, make-up, perfumes, deodorants, household cleaners, etc. I bought less and less commercially produced products. I embraced the idea of making my own necessary items (household cleaner, shampoo, conditioner, and laundry detergent) and eliminating the rest from my life (scented lotions, body sprays, household cleaners, fabric dryer sheets, etc.).

Eliminating shopping stress

This enabled me to eliminate bi-monthly trips to Target, which saved me time, energy, and money. Eliminating shopping at department stores had the added benefit of reducing stress since I find most shopping stressful! Especially when there’s too much shopping and too many errands in my life. It’s fun to buy a new blouse or cute shirt for my son now and then, but stores are visually overstimulating and cause sensory overload for many of us.

Then I discovered minimalism

If you’re not familiar with minimalism, Joshua Becker from Becoming Minimalist defined it like this: “It is a lifestyle where people intentionally seek to live with only the things they really need” in order to spend time on the things that really matter.

My family and I have been exploring this lifestyle in recent months. My most recent influences include Joshua Becker; The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn, and Ryan Nicodemus; and Courtney Carver of Be More with Less and Project 333. I’m also inspired by Marie Kondo. If you’re interested in reading any of their books please check out the Minimalism section of my Books page.

The common thread I’ve learned from these amazing people is that you can improve your quality of life and live your best life by owning less stuff. But what does owning less stuff have to do with my quality of life?

Because the stuff is a representation

The Minimalists explain that minimalism begins with getting the stuff out of the way so that you can get to the things that really matter in your life. While that includes belongings, it’s also about eliminating the tasks, commitments, and other things you don’t want to do to make time for what you do want to be doing. The things that matter most to you might include relationships, health, giving, experiences, following passions, working on hobbies, and improving yourself. The question all of the authors above pose is: What could your life be like if you didn’t have such a cluttered, busy life? Could you:

Work less, and develop passions more?
Save money by living in a smaller home (because you have fewer belongings), which would cost less for the mortgage/rent, energy, water, and general maintenance?
Save money by buying less?
Enjoy more time with family and friends instead of spending that time on cleaning, maintaining, and repairing a larger home and thousands of belongings?
Focus on taking better care of your mind and body with that extra time?
Volunteer some of that saved time and energy? Give some of that saved money to your favorite charity or cause?

You can also read my article about the book Everything That Remains by The Minimalists, where I shared how profoundly inspired I was by the minimalist mindset.

Field of daisies. — Maybe tomorrow you can take the time to smell the daisies! Image by GLady from Pixabay.

Algorithm?

Fewer toxins + less plastic + less shopping+ less stuff

= less stress + extra money + more time + better health

= higher quality of life.

I hope some or all of this can help you and your family too! Let me know what steps you’re taking to make your life better and to be the change too! And don’t forget to share and subscribe!

Footnote:

I have since stopped following Dave Ramsey. I like his general principles, especially about living within your means, but he has become too out of touch with modern finances. Childcare, housing, and healthcare have inflated beyond many people’s reach. I heard one clip when a person on his show advised a parent to find a free summer camp. These do not exist. There may be one or two for very low-income families, but otherwise, free childcare doesn’t exist. Home prices have increased 47% since 2020, and rents have increased almost 30%. And don’t get me started on healthcare costs. ↩︎

January 23, 2019October 30, 2024

Book review: “Everything That Remains” by The Minimalists

Last updated January 28, 2024.

"All you need is less" in white scrabble-like tiles on a lime green background. — Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash.

I recently wrote an article about the film Minimalism, featuring Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, also known as The Minimalists. I recently rewatched their film and then discovered their TED Talks, which led me to their books. I’ve read several of their books and enjoyed them all. I also enjoy listening to their podcasts.

Everything That Remains A Memoir by The Minimalists book cover

This book, Everything That Remains, was impactful in ways I didn’t expect. I expected it to be a story leading up to the film. Or a detailed version of their minimalism journey. And while it was both of those, it was so much more.

The book covered the mindset of minimalism, almost poetically at times, and I found myself thinking about their ideas frequently. The book isn’t just about minimalism concerning physical possessions. It’s about living life with the understanding that relationships and experiences are more valuable than material possessions. And making sure the possessions you do own add value to your life. Minimalism can make your life easier, less stressful, and more fulfilling.

Here are a few of the quotes/ideas which spoke most strongly to me:

“The American dream really just seems to imply that we are fat and in debt, discontented and empty, every man an island, leaving a void we attempt to fill with more stuff.”

Before my husband and I got married, we established that we didn’t want to buy a huge house or fancy cars. We wanted no debt and we strived for financial freedom. While we’re not there yet, we’ve moved closer to those goals. We find contentment in other ways, like spending time together with our son, getting outdoors, new experiences, and traveling.

“Most organizing is nothing more than well-planned hoarding.”

I spent years organizing. I believed that organizing was the answer. I even wanted to become a professional organizer for a time. Now I know that I don’t need to spend much time organizing if I don’t have too many items to cram into my closets or drawers. And less time “organizing” means more time with my family or working on hobbies. I’m looking forward to the hours I’ll add back to my life once I’m not “organizing” and cleaning all my stuff.

Child running through meadow. Photo by Rodolfo Sanches Carvalho on Unsplash. — Photo by Rodolfo Sanches Carvalho on Unsplash.

“As children we asked ‘what if?’ with optimism. As adults, we ask ‘what if?’ out of fear.”

I know this quote to be true because I have observed my young son who creatively asks me “What if?” out of optimism all the time. Admittedly, when I ask that question, it’s out of worry. That’s something that I hope to change.

“No one gets to the end of their life and wishes they had bought more stuff. Most people wish they had had more time with loved ones.”

This is obvious but true as well! Sometimes we need the obvious stated to make us think and reflect. And that’s what this book does – it makes you think about all aspects of our lifestyles.

Millburn and Nicodemus pose questions, like how many clothes do you actually wear? Do you need a giant house that is full of furnishings and has more TVs than people living there? Why do we work at a job or career for years and decades to buy stuff we don’t really need? All to stave off doing the things we really want to do until retirement.

Do you know that retirement age is 67 now?

Here’s a helpful rule that the Minimalists use: For each possession, they ask, “Does this add value to my life?”

I think asking this question makes you focus on each item and think about whether or not you need it. The question is frank and easy to remember.

While all of those ideas seem simple, few of us in American culture are raised to practice them in our daily lives. Instead, we are raised to get more stuff, faster cars, and bigger houses. I want my family to have a happy life. Not a frenzied, busy, cluttered life. Maybe it’s time we rethink all of this. I know I am. Thanks for reading. Please share and subscribe!

Plant in vase. Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash. — Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash.

January 4, 2019April 29, 2023

Film Review: “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things”

Last updated on April 29, 2023.

Minimalist space, dining room with living space and windows overlooking water in background. — Image by Jean van der Meulen from Pixabay.

How might your life be better with less? That’s the question Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus pose in this documentary. I recently rewatched it after my family went through many changes in our home: eliminating many toxic products; eliminating plastics; reading Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up; reducing household waste; etc. We got rid of so much stuff and had a big yard sale. We’ve been constantly reducing our material possessions, little by little, because it’s a process. I found the film inspiring!

But What is Minimalism?

I know it sounds like a trendy word, but it’s about living intentionally. It can mean different things to different people. It does not mean giving up all of your possessions, your house, your car, your boat. etc. It means becoming more aware and refocusing your life on what’s most important to you.

Here’s how The Minimalists define minimalism:

“Minimalism is a lifestyle that helps people question what things add value to their lives. By clearing the clutter from life’s path, we can all make room for the most important aspects of life: health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.”⁷

It’s about more than our material possessions. It’s about the over-consumptive, planned obsolescent, mass-marketed culture that we live in, and how discontent we are in our society. A “documentary about the important things” really means just that. It’s not the stuff in our lives that’s important. Check out the trailer:

Define Success and Happiness For Yourself

We live in a society that teaches us that success is defined by income and material possessions. Earn more, buy more, buy bigger. What if we all started defining success in different ways? Success and happiness can be found in many ways other than by job title, income, and house size. Let’s decide for ourselves, instead of letting society do it for us.

Maybe you want to spend more time with your children. Maybe that means you quit working 60 hours a week for a smaller salary. Perhaps you’re tired of working all the time to pay the big mortgage payment on the big house. That could mean moving into a smaller home, with a smaller mortgage, with fewer belongings; the trade-off might be having more cash for travel, spending less time cleaning the home, and less stress because your finances are less stretched. It could be any number of scenarios.

How might your life be better with less?

The word "Imagine" in the center of a mosaic tile floor, black and white. — Photo by Jeremy Beck on Unsplash.

The Environmental Impact of Minimalism

Consumerism is ruining the environment through the production and waste of so much stuff. The less we consume, the less we waste, and the less pollution. Consider just these facts, just about plastic consumption:

Globally, we produce 400 million tons of plastic waste a year. About 98% of single-use plastic products are made from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels, which are also used to make petroleum products, take millions of years to form and release carbon, which is causing our planet to warm.⁸

Approximately 36% of all plastic produced is used to create packaging, 85% of which ends up in landfills almost as soon as we’ve opened the product.⁹ Read my Packaging Industry series to learn more.

Consumerism causes 60% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, which are increasing global warming. Watch the film, The Story of Stuff (linked below) to learn more. Read my article about Black Friday and how we can do things differently.

Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life book cover

Minimalism Teaches Us to Live Intentionally

I highly recommend watching this film and learning how you can make your life better through a minimalist mindset. Also check out my review of their book, Everything That Remains. We all have the power to make our lives better. And we all have the power to make great changes to the environment. I’m going to strive for less stress, less waste, and more happiness. What will you do? What improvements in your own life can you make?

Feel free to leave me a comment below. As always, thanks for reading, and please share and subscribe!

Additional Resources:

Website, The Minimalists.

Film, The Story of Stuff, 2007.

TEDx Talk, “The Art of Letting Go, The Minimalists, July 2016.

Footnotes: