The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide by Francine Jay

consumer items cheap, widely available, and easy to obtain. Sure, it’s convenient; but as many of us have learned, it can be too much of a good thing. If we don’t voluntarily limit our consumption, we can end up drowning in stuff!
    Setting limits not only helps you ; it also eases other members of your household into a more minimalist lifestyle. Explain to your family that stuff must fit into the space allotted—and that when things overflow, they must be pared down. Limit your children’s toys to one or two storage bins, and your teenager’s clothing to the size of her closet. They’ll benefit enormously from this guidance, and develop valuable habits for later in life. At the very least, limit each person’s possessions to what fits into his or her room—be it a child’s bedroom or playroom, or a spouse’s office, craft room, or workshop. That way, you’ll prevent personal stuff from spilling over into family space.
    Of course, the ultimate limit on your possessions is set by the size of your house—which, as a minimalist, you may someday decide to reduce. Stuff expands to fill the space available (I’m pretty sure there’s a physics equation for that!). Limiting that space means less stuff, less clutter, less worries, and less stress. If you don’t have a big house, you can’t have a big houseful of stuff. Imagine moving from a studio apartment into a house with an attic, basement, and two-car garage—those storage spaces will undoubtedly fill up just because they’re there . If you stopped using an exercise bike in your small apartment, you’d likely dispose of it; but in your bigger house, it would surely end up in the basement. Smaller digs put a natural limit on the number of things you can own—making it that much easier to live a minimalist lifestyle.
    You may initially think that limits will be stifling; but you’ll soon discover that they’re absolutely liberating! In a culture where we’re conditioned to want more, buy more, and do more, they’re a wonderful breath of relief. In fact, once you’ve discovered the joy of limits, you’ll be inspired to apply them to other parts of your life. Limiting commitments and activities can lead to a less harried lifestyle and free up valuable time. Limiting your spending slashes your credit card bills and boosts the balance in your bank account. Limiting processed, fatty, and sugary food can reduce your waistline and improve your health. The possibilities are, well…unlimited!

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If one comes in, one goes out

 
    Sometimes we declutter, and declutter, and declutter some more—but when we look at our homes, we don’t see any progress. We can’t understand it—we’ve filled up trash bags to put on the curb; we’ve filled up our trunks with stuff for charity; and we’ve filled up boxes to give to our brother-in-law. Yet it seems like we have just as much stuff in our closets, drawers, and basements. We’re working hard, and we want to see results. What’s the problem?
    Think of your house, and all the stuff in it, as a bucket of water. Decluttering is like drilling a hole in the bottom—causing the bucket to empty slowly, drip by drip, as you rid your household of unwanted things. Great, that sounds like progress! As long as you keep up the good work, your stuff level should steadily decrease.
    Here’s the catch: the stuff level only goes down if you stop pouring more in the top. Every item that enters your home is inflow into the bucket. So if you’re still shopping, and buying things, and bringing home freebies from business conferences, those drips out the bottom won’t do much good. The bucket will never empty, and may in fact overflow!
    You can solve this problem by following a simple rule: if one comes in, one goes out. Every time a new item comes into your home, a similar item must leave. For every drip into the bucket, there must be one drip out. This strategy ensures that your household won’t flood, and