How This Quote from St. Basil Made Me Feel Like a Bad Person in a Good Way

“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.” –St. Basil

Happy *Belated* Feast of St. Basil the Great!

I’m a Catholic but it’s only recently that I’ve really started to dive deeper into my faith and try to find a closer connection to God. In the midst of that search I’ve found myself being called to a simpler, more refined way of life and I’ve been trying to follow that calling even though I have found it difficult. I like my possessions, my clothes, my shoes. I like having a pantry full of everything I would ever need and I like having money in the bank (even if that may be the part I’m not the best at.) It’s odd then, that the more things I’ve accumulated and the more I have surrounded myself with stuff the unhappier I’ve been. I find it hard to breathe, to relax, or even to tidy up because I’m surrounded by so much that I start to find it overwhelming.

These were the feelings I was dealing with when I read this quote for the first time and I was immediately struck by its message. I took a moment to look around me and realized that all the clutter I was surrounding myself with wasn’t just annoying, it was unkind. It was not charitable.

Not my house but you get the point.

I thought of all the things I had stashed away for a far off, hazy future when I might have a house and need these things to fill that house. I wasn’t living in the present. I was preparing for an uncertain future in a way that was making me unhappy in the here and now. Then I thought of things I was holding onto. Sheets, dishes, food, extra clothes… all these things could be put to use by someone else right now, could be loved and cherished by someone today, and instead they were just collecting dust in the nooks and crannies of my apartment. I felt ashamed.

I immediately started to make changes. First I went through my closet and my drawers and I cleaned out three full bags of clothes. I started to breathe a little easier. Then I went through my kitchen cabinets and gave away food and even found a lot of china that I could part with and gave it all away. Some people advised me to sell it to make some money but a voice in my head told me that that was contrary to the point I was trying to make.

I cleaned out my linen closet and got rid of another bag full of shower curtains, tablecloths, and sheets that I hadn’t used in years. It’s been liberating and fruitful because not only am I doing good, I’ve been feeling good. The fact that my linen closet, my kitchen cabinets, my dresser drawers, and my closet can now hold everything that I need (with room to spare!) means that I enjoy it all that much more.

That’s where I stand right now. My son is seven months old so I don’t have a lot of stuff accumulated for him yet but I have committed myself to making sure he never has an unreasonable amount of toys or clothes and so far I’ve stuck to that. My husband is a simple man so he really doesn’t have a lot of stuff either (except for his sports stuff but I can’t very well take that away from him if I want to keep both my hands lol).

I’m now in the process of going through all my other shelves and drawers in the hallway and in the living room to pare down things even further but its slower going. I've even committed myself to Unfancy's capsule wardrobe (more on that later). All this minimalism is starting to hurt. It’s bothering me on two different levels: 1) I’m upset that I’ve let myself become so attached to things but I’m doing my best and 2) I’m now getting rid of things that I like and I’ve had on display because I like them but they’re just cluttering my space.

I think when it’s all done I’ll have a huge load taken off my shoulders. Even though it’s been difficult I can feel in my heart that it’s good and just.

Do you live the simple life? Do you have any advice for me to help with the transition?