471 | Holiday Anxiety

In 'Love People, Use Things,' Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus move beyond simple decluttering to show how minimalism can help individuals reevaluate and heal the seven essential relationships in their lives. The book uses the authors' own experiences and those of others they have met on their minimalist journey to provide a template for living a fuller, more meaningful life. It emphasizes the importance of valuing immaterial things, such as relationships and living in the moment, over material possessions. The authors discuss how minimalism can lead to a life with less stress, debt, and clutter, and more time, meaningful relationships, growth, and contentment[1][3][5].

This memoir tells the story of Joshua Fields Millburn, who, after losing his mother and his marriage in the same month, began to question the life he had built. He discovered minimalism and, over four years, jettisoned most of his material possessions, paid off significant debt, and left his six-figure career. The book is a heartrending, uplifting, and deeply personal account of his journey, interspersed with insightful and often humorous comments from his best friend, Ryan Nicodemus. It focuses on the 'why' of minimalism rather than the 'how,' exploring themes of simplicity, consumerism, and finding true fulfillment.