On Minimalism
Espresso, Notebook, Pen. Perfect.
There’s a change going on in my life.
I’ve noticed it a couple of years ago, but it’s only really taken a more aggressive course in the past few months.
I’ve written and talked about it before, but never has it taken over me the way it has now.
It’s an OBSESSION.
It is MINIMALISM.
It’s my sudden and intense realization that having too much of anything sucks.
Too much food results in too much fat stored and is one reason why our society is in the unhealthy state that it’s in.
Too much information results in mass confusion and lack of action due to paralysis from over-analysis.
Too much stuff/things/posessions results in individuals finding their definition of self from those posessions thus never really filling or dealing with the void in their lives.
Even having too much money (without the right set of values), although I don’t have that “problem”, can tear families apart and make some people ignorant towards what really matters in life.
So here’s what I’ve done so far to clear out the excess in my life…
Inbox(es)
I’ve unsubscribed to at least 10 newsletters that I get via email. Turned off notifications on Twitter & Facebook. Uninstalled the messenger & gmail apps and disconnected any e-mail boxes that I had been receiving on my Blackberry (now I only get the default email messages and text messages). I don’t answer the phone (unless it’s my wife or kids) because I refuse to make important what someone else has made a priority in their day at that moment. I check my email twice per day – at 10am & 3pm.
My Workouts
No more gym membership. I train at home using my own bodyweight and kettlebells. I get outside and play beach volleyball or pick-up basketball. I teach my girls how to do push-ups and even use them as weights when I train just to add a fun element to things. I used to spend 15-20 minutes getting to the gym, warming up and then hitting the weights. When it was all said and done, over an hour had passed. My kettlebell workouts take 20-30 minutes max – no traveling, no meaningless socializing, MORE TIME for me and the family.
Laptop
I deleted any programs that I don’t use. I write using an application called WriteRoom which gives me a basic black background with white text. I cleared my desktop and got rid of any icons on it. I cleared my task bar as much as I could (I have a Mac). Now all I have is a nice minimalist/clean picture that makes me smile when I look at it.
Workspace
It used to be cluttered with bills, staplers, scissors and a bunch of things to write with. Now, when I wake up in the morning, all I see is my MacBook, my Moleskine notebook, a pen and a lamp.
Business
I’ve finally decided to hire an assistant. I have a friend who goes to the same coffee shop that I go to and she’s really keen on exercise, knows her stuff and is very efiicient at getting things done. So I’ve handed off a lot of the tasks that I don’t enjoy doing to her. This allows me to do what I do best which is working on my business, writing programs and networking. It also gives me more time with my girls.
Car
There’s a rule now in our mini-van that nobody is allowed to bring food into the car and that everyone, before leaving the car, must try to find 5 pieces of garbage to throw out (for which Frankie, not able to find anything, took a piece of pocket lint out of her jeans, dropped it on the floor, then picked it up and said “Look I found a garbage!”). If there’s one thing that you should do today, it’s to try to create a minimalist car – especially if you use it to commute every day. There’s just a sense of peace that comes over me every time I have a seat inside my car. That is, of course when I’m not using my…
Bike
Gone is my 21-speed Gary Fisher Wingra (I sold it to a friend) and in comes my new Giant Bowery Mashup Custom bike – white frame, black detail, no logo, no gears, 1 speed, 1 brake, that’s it.
Wardrobe
I threw out (almost) everything. All I’ve got left are some underwear & socks, 4 pairs of jeans, 4 pairs of shorts and a bunch of grey t-shirts (so if you see me on consecutive days wearing what looks to be the same t-shirt, don’t worry, it’s actually a new one…probably). Mind you, I’ve had to keep some formal attire so I still have suits in black and grey and 2 crisp white dress shirts.
Kitchen
The kitchen is my domain. My responsibility. So I took advice from my friend Leo @ ZenHabits.net and cleared the counters of anything that wasn’t essential. I bought a paper towel dispenser and installed under a cupboard. Now, the only thing left on my counter is my espresso machine, a dish rack, a toaster oven and our bread box (which doesn’t have bread in it, but Rozanne’s pre-natal vitamins and my nuts – pecans & walnuts…get your head out of the gutter).
What’s next?
Given all of that in the past month alone, I’ve been pretty good. But there still is a lot to go.
Finances
I’m meeting with my accountant and financial planner and we’re going to sort things out so that they’re easily trackable and on a set schedule.
My bookshelf
I have a crapload of business, diet, self help & fitness books. There are essentials that I need to keep for reference purposes. And I’ll keep the ones that have had a general impact on my life. The rest of them are gone.
Debt
We are in debt. But, focusing on less has allowed me to take a look at my debt and realize how much I was in love with stuff for so many years. Now we have a plan to pull ourselves out of debt and really focus on what’s important to us -
Live simply. Live healthy. Celebrate relationships. Value the Present. Learn Continuously.
…Which, by the way, is Our Family Mission Statement.
So now, my only question is…
Because I’m a Minimalist now, does having 5 kids make me a hypocrite? 
Congrats on the de-cluttering. How to get no one to eat in the car – I cannot for the life of me make that one stick!
I know, Jeremy. It’s wishful thinking I guess. I ‘ll just ride the wave while I can.
Chris
I agree Jeremy!
Ever since we started driving our (almost) two year old to the daycare, right next to office, my car has become like a trash-can on 4 wheels. It has cake pieces, biscuit leftovers, crumpled chips, and what not. I try to vacuum it once a week, but the effort doesn’t even last one full day
But then given our routines and our commute, this sure is a necessary evil. We must keep the baby fed, even if it means doing it while commuting.
So I surely admire chris to pull it off (I hope it lasts forever).
Cheers!
Anand
(India)
Clearly a human sacrifice is in order… maybe four. I mean, if you are to have one, and a little over 2 is the average, than a minimalist should have 1, right?
Nono, the minimalism feeds the time to love on them while they are there.
True. My choice in lifestyle has allowed for more time with them!
Chris
I love this! Minimalism for me is a snowball, as it appears to be for your too. Once I get a couple small things rolling it just keeps building from there.
It’s awesome to see a Dad of 5 actively making these changes. I know how hard it is with just one so I truly respect your commitment to consciously prioritizing your life!
Nice work!
Hey Baker,
Thanks for the comment. Do you have any minimalist tricks for me on how to declutter a home office?
Chris
Hey Chris, looks like we’ve done same of the same de-cluttering.
We made a rule 2 months ago that no one eats in the cars, so much nicer to get into a clean car.
I clered out my wordrobe and gave a load of clothes and shoes to charity. Even with the limited clothes a did have I still didn’t wear about 80% of them?
Twice this year I’ve unsubscribed to a ton of emails. I still seem to find myself subscribe to too many. Gunna unsubscribe to whole bunch more now.
I work in a gym and completely understand you not wanting to go there to train. I can never get a workout in without being disturbed : (
I end up doing a lot of bodyweight movements now at home -need some KB’s for my home.
No idea how you cope with 4 + one on the way, but kudos to you. I have one child and another due on December 23rd (my birthday)and it’s difficult at times.
Hey Austin
I think I’ve congratulated you on the new addition already, but just in case…Congrats!
The car thing has held up pretty well so far, so I’m happy about that. We’ll have to wait for a long road trip. That’s usually the true test.
Get on those KBs! They’re awesome.
Chris
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the post. You’ve inspired me to re-examine my life and de-clutter from a-z. I’ve done a mini-version of what you’ve outlined, but am now motivated to kick it up a notch. Just the little bit that I’ve done in the past felt so good. Looking forward to implementing this philosophy in other areas of my life. Love your families mission statement too. “Live simply. Live healthy. Celebrate relationships. Value the Present. Learn Continuously”
Thanks again.
Deb
p.s. Don’t think you’re a hypocrite because you have 5 kids either….you just have a lot of love going on in your family. lol
Hi Deb
The family mission statement has been an amazing tool for us thus far. I, personally, refer back to it all the time just to get “reset” in case I feel like I’ve veered off the path.
See you in a couple of weeks up here in Toronto!
Chris
First time reader and I’m digging what I’ve seen so far. I’ll tag along by adding you to my RSS feed.
Any M.S. Windows users might be interested in a program that is similar to the Mac version of WriteRoom, called WriteMonkey. You can pick read more about it here and download a recently updated version.
http://writemonkey.com/index.php
Hey Sam
thanks for the recommendation on your program.
So what about the post did you really “dig”? Would love to hear your thoughts!
thanks,
Chris
Congrats, and thanks for reminding me that I really have too much, much of which I’ve thought I ‘needed’ at one point in time.
No problem, Scott.
That’s exactly where I was earlier on…the realization that I don’t really “need” things…hence the family mission statement.
It’s been liberating and i look forward to reading about your experiences.
Chris
Thanks for the reminder Chris, this is a refreshing reminder of the joy in simplicity.
I started down the Zen path a few months ago. Found zenhabits.net and purchased Leo’s book…which I still haven’t read.
Why?
Because I subscribe to about a billion newsletters (which I usually delete), I am busy …in my mind… to the point that I can’t focus and finish …well, anything. Paralysis by analysis. And everyone seems to want more and more of my time…
Hey Tom
His book (the Power of Less) is amazing and has been acting as my “guide” through all of this. I’ve read it twice and constantly refer back to it.
Once you read it, I’m sure you’ll start implementing his strategies immediately.
Chris
Awesome. I also love the minimalist life style. Although i don’t like to think of it as ‘minimalist’, because that kind of has a negative, masochistic sound to it. I prefer simply “living with enough”, just the stuff i need, and nothing more. It’s a great way to do it. And living in America it’s a constant battle. Thanks for the great post, and sharing.
Hey Russ
“Living with enough” sounds perfect. It’s a great way of describing a lifestyle where you just have only what you need and nothing more.
So true living in a commericalized society where we’re constantly bombarded with ads and images that say “we need this” or “you need that”. It’s a resistance against the “norm”.
cl
Hi Chris,
I just had to comment after reading this post. Pretty much all the decluttering you’ve been doing is the same as my wife and I have done the past few months. We’re still learning the habit of keeping stuff clean though, especially the car – with a 5 month old boy it seems we have a whole lot of extra stuff now (baby bag, buggy etc) that we *have* to have anytime we go out.
Cheers,
Elliot
Hey Tom
His book (the Power of Less) is amazing and has been acting as my “guide” through all of this. I’ve read it twice and constantly refer back to it.
Once you read it, I’m sure you’ll start implementing his strategies immediately.
Chris…
This post inspired me too – I attacked my attic/home office, wardrobe closet and my side of the master bathroom this past weekend – was great! Tossed a ton of stuff and cleaned up! Now I sit at a barren/clean desk and my closet/bathroom are also very “clear/decluttered”
Here’s a before and after shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-emerson/3900182793/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-emerson/3900962638/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-emerson/3904988943/in/photostream/
Now I’m trying to figure out what room to do next – but mostly I need to figure out how to get the wife into the concept because her “agreement” is pretty much mandatory if I want to do anything in other rooms of the house.
Anyhow – thanks for this article!
Hey Chris
Great pics with the office! And the bathroom looks immaculate too.
I agree with you. You’ve got to get the “better-half” involved if this is going to be a success. My suggestion is to do what you can now (as in cleaning and decluttering whatever you can) and I’m sure she’ll come around. She may even applaud you on taking this on by yourself and will be impressed.
I can’t see how anyone could not want less clutter in their life. I’m sure she won’t be hard to convince. The results speak for the themselves.
Chris
I love this post and I too am an avid minimalist fan. Thanks for sharing some great thoughts on your lifestyle change to minimalism and I hope to hear some more suggestions on such in the future.
Dave
LifeExcursion
Im an Avid Minimalist Fan. I follow zenhabits.net like you do. Im also going to buy the book “The Happy Minimalist” by Peter Lawrence (although I doubt if i’ll go to that extreme).
Have cut my possessions down to 96 things… including books, cooking utensils and clothes. Its easy for me – Im single.
Cheers
Anand B. from India
96 things, that’s truly amazing! I wanted to try the 100-things challenge too, but soon realised that I would fail miserably, even though I don’t think I own much unneccesary stuff. I mean, things you rarely use can easily be important, such as tools, office supplies and especially kitchen utensils, so to me it seems very hard to get down to 100 things, because most people actually require more than 100 things. Even though most things may be used rarely, they can still be importantly neccessary.
What were the hardest things to get rid of, and how did you manage? And what categories of things do you have most of? If you wouldn’t mind sharing, I think this could be highly inspirational
Thank you for this interesting post! I think you did a very thorough job, adapting every day life to the concept of minimalism. I live much the same way, although as a student with no kids.
With regard to your closing question, having 5 children is not hypocritical (rather, it’s impressive!) Minimalism is all about removing unneccessary stuff and activities, so that the important stuff can get the attention it deserves. It’s not necessarily about actually having or doing less, although the would be a prerequisite to most, it’s just about proritizing deliberately. So, I suppose that loving 5 children and doing stuff with your family is what YOU really love, and a primary motivation to stay minimal. From that point of view, going minimal and you NOT having 5 kids would be hypocritical, because it would defeat the promise and true purpose of minimalsm
I got you on my feed now, keep it all up
Best regards
Kristian Sørensen
Denmark
We have 3 kids under 3. Stuff everywhere. My poor wife married a packrat. I’m not quite a hoarder, but I could use somebody to hijack my house and toss away 65% of the junk that I wouldn’t miss anyway. And our cars…. maybe we’ll still have a snack sometimes, but the madness has got to stop.