I received an advance reader copy of this non-fiction, self-help category book entitled Love People, Use Things: Because the Opposite Never Works by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus due for publication release July 13th, 2021 by Celadon Books. The authors are best known as The Minimalists and have shared their philosophy of living with less to millions through documentaries. podcasts, newsletters, and prior books.
In this new book, Love People, Use Things, Joshua and Ryan go into more depth beyond simply teaching one how to declutter to show how minimalism makes room to reevaluate and heal the seven essential relationships in our lives: Stuff, truth, self, money, values, creativity, and people. They use their own experiences along with those of other people who they have met along their journey to provide a template on how to live a fuller, more meaningful life.
While I heard of The Minimalists and may have read a few Facebook posts they wrote or saw them interviewed on TV, I never really paid much attention to them or their books before. Now, after reading Love People, Use Things, I have to admit I am intrigued by their premise that once we have fewer things in our lives we can make room for the right kind of more. That personal relationships and our creativity often suffer when we succumb to the idea that having bigger, better, more up-to-date, more status symbol-type things in our lives. Part memoir, part confessional, part collection of rules and guidelines this book gave me quite a bit to ponder. I was shocked to read in their book how many possessions the average person owns, the amount of debt many people occur, and the lack of savings many have toward retirement. In the constant quest to acquire things many actually only add stress and unhappiness to their lives. That often overflowing collections are relegated to storage units--a growing and almost uniquely American phenomenon.
One of the exercises The Minimalists use is to advise someone very dedicated to removing clutter from their lives to pack up all their belongings as if they were going to move and then to unpack only the essentials that one needs in daily life progresses. This extreme exercise teaches what possessions we have are really important, as often much never needs to be unpacked. That made me reflect on when my husband and I moved from our house in Brooklyn, New York to a house in the Denver suburbs almost nine years ago. We had lived in our Brooklyn house 36 years, just a few years after we were married. When packing to move I was surprised by the amount of stuff we had accumulated over the years. It was all organized and much of it was hidden away in closets, basement and garage storage, and in drawers and cabinets. I discarded, donated, sold, and recycled much, but as you can see from the photos above a lot also moved West with us. Upon reflection, after reading this book, I would have pared down these boxes even more. The Minimalists made me realize that it is better not to keep things "just in case," or "maybe I'll need it someday." More often than not that never occurs or the object will have become outdated or out of style. An example of this is the much smaller size clothes most of us keep in the back of our closets "just in case we lose weight." Even if we do lose that weight we often find we don't reach for the old or even remember that we saved it!
Other exercises and suggestions in this book are how to get out of debt, the best investments to make, how to withdraw from constant use of electronics and smartphones, how to increase our creativity and utilize our time, how to improve our relationships with both ourselves and others.
When you read Love People Use Things you will most likely find, much as I did, much to think about beyond decluttering the possessions we have. It is a self-help primer to ridding ourselves of emotional baggage, of being driven to acquire more material things, and encouragement to instead enjoy our relationships, experiences, and have a life with fewer distractions.
If you'd like to learn more about The Minimalists go to their "Start Here" page on their blog to learn most about them and their social media sites and prior publications.
Disclaimer: I was provided with an advanced copy ( ARC) of the book Love People Use Things: Because the Opposite Never Works by Celadon Books in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was provided
#LovePeopleUseThingsBook #CeladonReads @CelandonBooks #partner.
Sounds like an interesting read. I especially like the sub-title.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
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Hello,
ReplyDeleteInteresting book, thanks for the review!
I am going through my clothes closet today, I know there are things I will not be wearing again. Take care, enjoy your day! Have a great new week ahead.
I'd like to read this book too. I feel guilty have so much in my 'spare bedrooms'. I wish now I had left them 'spare'! lol Thanks for the good review. I'll check out the link too! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting book. Thanks for the recommendation, and for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/06/arty-sea-world.html
ReplyDeletePat, I haven't read this book yet, but I love The Minimalists and have read many of their essays and listened to some of their podcasts. They really make sense. Your review was beautifully written! Happy Summer!
ReplyDeleteI agree too the book seems interesting I usually bag my clothes up and take them to the charity shop :-)
ReplyDeleteHave an interestingreadtastic week 👍
Very interesting . Since I am in the middle of getting my whole house repainted on the inside, moving everything around, I am very aware that I have too much. I have given away a lot, but need to purge some more.
ReplyDeleteInteresting book and I love the title
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting book! Yes, I'm also decluttering - recycling as much as possible too.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great book. We have been trying to declutter and have made tremendous progress but what we found out that it is a process and not an event. One has to do multiple rounds of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing this one out.
ReplyDelete...a GREAT title!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic title! Many moves have taught me to pare down constantly. I try to keep closets organized (but fail with my fabric stash).
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a book I should read. I confess, I go to the basement, walk around it, turn around and go back upstairs because I just can't deal with it. Oddly enough, most of the things down there I really like -- but you can only USE so much, at least at one time. This could be a good textbook for me. (After Rick dealing with his mom's stuff, I feel like I should start to make some choices for myself now instead of waiting till I'm either too old or too ill to be able to do it rationally!)
ReplyDeleteAny time you have to have a house project done and you have to move stuff to accommodate work this is always a good time to think do I need to have.... This is often our best time to declutter because we are tired and much more willing to let go of things when we think of the work required to box and then put back when the work is finished.
ReplyDeleteSelling out to become full-time RVers as we did was an excellent way to declutter, We had raised four children in a four-bedroom, three-bath home that we sold. So yeah, a lot of donations, family gifts, and an "estate" sale.... But it is surprising how much "stuff" has accumulated again in the 20 years since then. I still follow some of the "rules" of full-time RVers, such as not buying items of clothing unless I give away or throw away something first . And never ever visiting "stuff" stores (souvenir shops, gift shops, and that kind of thing), in other words, shopping only for what we need, not browsing around just in case I see something. But still it is not hard to amass "stuff." I enjoyed your review.
ReplyDeleteI agree that once we have fewer things in our lives we can make room for the right kind of more. I, too, enjoyed your review.
ReplyDeletePat - thanks for this book review - sounds like a good read. I think I am in good shape from a possessions point of view, but I find myself resenting my computer at times ... Maybe it's time for a fresh perspective! Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday!
ReplyDeleteI would be interested in this book for sure, I certainly like the idea of pairing down. In some respect, we have done this here in Phuket. If you remember we came for Christmas and half the weight limit was Mr Wren's golf clubs. It is quite liberating. You have achieved a good book review Pat - thank you.
ReplyDeleteWe do a declutter yearly now. When my Mother died and we had to clear her house, we realized that we did not want to leave a huge task for our daughter at some point...It sounds like an interesting book....Michelle
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book to read. I've moved before, and one never realizes how much junk they have, until they start packing :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. Sounds like a good read!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read for adjusting one's perspective.
ReplyDeleteI think they nailed it with the title!
ReplyDeleteYour link this week at 'My Corner of the World' is appreciated!
Sounds like an interesting book. We down sized when we moved from New England to Florida. There is one thing to keep in mind concerning only keeping the essentials that we need in daily life...there are treasures that we have collected during our lives that we definitely don't "need" but they add so much pleasure to our lives. They are priceless so I could never be a true minimalist. 😊
ReplyDeleteGreat book title!
ReplyDeleteSeems like a good book. I have several totes that are filled with things that I have imagined that I will 'someday' need or use.
ReplyDeleteI am only familiar with them from FB posts as well but will certainly be checking this book out very soon. Thanks for the review and the suggestion of something great to read. #HomeMattersParty
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good philosophy, Pat. I remember the year my (late) husband moved to Italy, with only two suitcases. We rented an apartment and it was interesting to see how little we actually needed to get by -- and get by beautifully. Having fewer possessions is a kind of liberation.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and makes a lot of sense.
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