10 Reasons to Escape Excessive Consumerism

I am trying to live a minimalist life. But that doesn’t mean I still don’t own stuff. But we have worked hard to escape excessive consumerism.

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Recent videos:

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Most popular videos:

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You can read more tips in my newest book, Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life:

Read hundreds of articles on decluttering and owning less on the Becoming Minimalist blog.

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[iggythemightydog]

After watching your videos, I stopped shopping as a coping mechanism for boredom, and my home is much more organized and clean😊

[lbbass]

I have been downsizing in items for.about 8 yrs. Have sold and gave away a lot. Love it. I am elderly now and can not clean like i once did and it feels great with less. ❤

[meaningfulgoodday]

I am a Korean who learns English. I love your YouTube content. Because your subject is very useful and your pronunciation is slow and accurate. So I recommended my friends who learn English. Thank you always.

[hushingsilence]

I wore the same 16 tee shirts and 3 (4?) pair of jeans for 15 years+. I'm dead serious. Wasn't a minimalist thing exactly, but I know it saved me a LOT of money. I've never been to Starbucks (really), a nail salon, hair salon, hair wax-thing.... Matinee about 8 times in 20 years, drove the same car for 20 years.... I did all this before the Minimalism trend. Oh, did I mention I've been retired for a long time? I just work part time for fun.🙂 No stress.

Great video, great advice.

[simply.clutterfree]

I treated shopping as "retail therapy" and it just resulted in stress, depression, and a house full of excess. I've got a handle on my shopping now and ruthlessly decluttering 😊❤️

[jenniemurphy]

I have come to realize, after watching minimalist videos, that shopping for me was a form of entertainment. I have nothing to do - well let’s go to the local mall and just look around. Wrong - end up buying something.
Your videos have helped me realize I can just be. I can read a good book, cook, garden- wow so much more entertaining and enjoyable and stress free.

[JazzyBabe]

it wasn't until I got older that I realized that the things I thought were important, just weren't to me anymore....I think you have to gain a certain amount of self-esteem in order to get to that point and age will do that for you if you are open to liking and loving that happens all the rest falls

[piercrab]

A couple weeks ago one of the kitchen cabinet shelf fell & broken a few dishes & bowls. Instead of getting upset, I was happy to see less things to clean going forward.

[kensiblonde]

At 19 I backpacked around Europe. Didn’t even have a backpack. I had a shoulder bag. One pair of shorts I washed ever night. Two tshirts. My let’s go book. Some cash. Chapstick and contacts. That was it! Best time.

[Monica-ioru]

Rich is he who needs less. Thank you for the video.✨

[cjsmith]

For years, I wanted a Swiss automatic watch. I worked hard and saved for it. When I went to the shop and I tried it on…..something dawned on me.

I think I got the thrill out of the chase, as opposed to the acquisition. I didn’t really need that Rolex. I knew I would want another watch and probably at a higher price point.

I decided to just put that money away. My obsession is to see that number grow. All of my retirements and investments grow and I love that.

Thanks for the content!

[BlueWren]

I love Joshua’s messages! His minimalist approach is grounded upon a strong Christian morality and will never go out of date. I’ve noticed other minimalists are now ‘giving it up’, which makes me realise that minimalism for them was just a passing fad and had no real substance. I’m learning more from Joshua’s minimalism messages than from anyone else’s.

[pking]

Your channel and the movie "Fight Club" in 1999 taught me alot about life and consumerism. I always remember the quotes from that movie to keep me in check. Tyler Durden’S anti-consumeriam quotes "The things you own end up owning you", "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.”, “We’re consumers. We are bi-products of a lifestyle obsession.", “We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”

[valerierogers]

Stuff robs us of our time, and time is the essence of life. Be minimal in a maximal world.

[carrie]

I’ve always had this feeling that if I could just have this (fill in the blank), then I’d be happy. Now I realize this is just crap! Thanks for all your insights!!

[TheJojo]

I’ve declutterred very slowly over the last five years, and generally aimed for a simpler home. Streamlining has become a way of life, I suppose. The big lesson I’ve learned lately is that as we age we change, and we love some of our heirlooms less and thus we are able to part with things we once thought we’d have for our life.

[Dana-mbhd]

Joshua❤. I just want to say THANK YOU. I am on a journey towards minimalism but I have a long way to go. I just ordered your book The Minimalist Home because I am in need of help! Your a huge inspiration ❤️🙏

[summerwine]

I managed to stay away from impulse buying but I am bit in relapse at the moment because am a bit depressed. And i see how easy it is to get back to and the "joy" impulse buying once you let go of the effort while the brain has not integrated the new habit yet.

[mikelobrien]

One of my favorite books about the pitfalls of consumerism is Madame Bovary written by Gustave Flaubert in 1856. It's a great read.

[Katrinarose]

As Joshua mentions, we often claim to understand that a nicer house etc won’t make us happy, but clearly our lifestyle and bank accounts aren’t reflecting this understanding. Listening to this channel on repeat has helped me to emotionally understand and not just intellectually process this concept. And it’s saved me from the interior design videos I would have likely been watching instead haha. You need to really marinate your mind in a concept to make lasting change. I appreciate the abundance of content to help us achieve it!

Thanks for the wisdom, humbleness, and reminder to make sure your lifestyle should reflect your goals. I’ve made much more time to develop my relationship with God thanks to your channel! Big journeys begin with small steps.