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Our possessions can haunt our heads like persistent poltergeists.
But before they possess us, they tend to dispossess us—they rob life of its spaciousness long before they clutter the space in our minds.
Almost every day, someone asks me about my stuff.
What brand of black T-shirt do you wear?
Where’s your modernist couch from?
What kind of desk chair does a minimalist use?
These questions used to drive me crazy.
I’ve spent years writing and talking about letting go. About needing less. About finding satisfaction without adding more.
So why are people asking what to buy?
Are they missing the freaking point?
But I was wrong.
When I step back, I see something else entirely:
People aren’t asking for permission to accumulate.
They’re asking for guidance on how to be intentional.
Their questions are a signal of their trust.
As one of the titular Minimalists…
They trust that I’m deliberate.
That I’ve done the research.
That I’ve let go of the excess.
That my things serve a purpose.
And they’re right.
Most people don’t need anything new.
But sometimes, we do need something.
And when that moment comes, you want to make a better decision—not a bigger one.
So I’m no longer frustrated by these questions.
In fact, I’m leaning into them.
Because minimalism isn’t anti-stuff.
It’s anti-excess.
It’s not about depriving yourself.
It’s about getting more from less.
That’s the paradox: I get far more value from my things today than I did when my life was cluttered with thousands of them.
Fewer things.
More value.
So yes—people will keep asking me what I own.
And that’s okay.
Not because you should own what I own.
But because sometimes it helps to see what “enough” looks like for someone else.
That’s why I’m introducing a new segment on The Minimalists Podcast: What Would Joshua Own?
If you need to buy something anyway—a coffee grinder, a mattress, a stainless steel pan—you can ask me what I use.
Not as a prescription.
Not as a recommendation.
Just as a reference point.
Because the goal isn’t to copy my life.
It’s to be more intentional with yours.
So if you have a question about my bath towels, infrared sauna, leaf blower, yoga mat, daily supplements, or anything else, email me a short voice memo: podcast@theminimalists.com.
And I’ll do my best to answer it.
Not to help you own more—
but to help you need less
and get more out of everything that remains.
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