“Most of the luxuries, and many of the so called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.”
Henry David Thoreau, Walden (“Economy,” 1854)
Thoreau wrote this a few pages into Walden, before the pond and the beans and the famous cabin details. He was building his case early. His next line goes further: “the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor.”
The word that does the work here is “hindrances.” Thoreau isn’t only saying we could live without some comforts. He’s saying some of them get in the way. They cost money to buy, time to maintain, space to store, and attention to keep running. A thing that was supposed to make life easier can quietly become one more thing to manage.
You don’t have to move to a cabin to test this. Most of us have at least one comfort that stopped earning its keep a while ago. The bread machine that lives on the counter. The streaming service you open, scroll, and close. The second car that mostly needs insurance and a jump. None of these are bad. The question is whether they still help, or whether you’re now working for them.
Notice he says “many,” not “all.” Thoreau still kept a bed, a table, and three chairs. This isn’t a call to suffer. It’s a call to check.
How to live it this week
Pick one comfort to put on trial. Choose something you own or pay for that you suspect is more upkeep than help. A gadget, an appliance, a subscription, a piece of furniture that mostly holds other stuff.
Take it out of your week for seven days. Unplug it and put it in a closet. Pause the subscription. Leave the car parked. Make it easy to undo, so you can be honest about the result.
Keep a two-line note. Each evening, write down whether you missed it and what you did instead. Be specific. “Made toast in a pan, took two minutes” tells you more than “fine.”
Decide at the end of the week. If you missed it every day, bring it back without guilt. It earned its spot. If you barely noticed it was gone, let it go for good: sell it, donate it, or cancel it.
One trial won’t change your life. But it teaches you to ask a better question about the next comfort you’re tempted to buy: will this help me, or will it need me?
Want more lines like this? Browse our minimalist living quotes and the full list of simple living quotes, or read why possessions can keep you from living freely.
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