I’ve said it before and I will say it again: minimalism will lead you to places you never thought you could go. Like living in the Isle of Man, ditching cable or scaling back to a no-gift Christmas.
For Jessica and Jeff becoming more conscious of how they spend their money, and what those dollars could do for others, lead them to set a lofty goal to raise $1 million for Oxfam America. Jessica shares their story, and the role minimalism and consumerism has played in it, below.
By the future Jessica Van Squigglebottoms
I believe wholeheartedly that stuff doesn’t make us happy. Rather, the pursuit and maintenance of stuff can distract us from deeper sources of joy, such as family, friends, and community. My husband Jeff and I have played around for a while now with figuring out what we need, what we want, and what we neither need nor want. Our primary focus has been on reducing what we buy.
Part of our inspiration is the idea that minimizing our spending allows us to free up money for charitable giving. After reading Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save, we began matching the amount we spend on eating out and (non-food) shopping every month with a donation to charity.
And then two months ago, we decided to take it a step further …
We pledged to legally and permanently change our last names to Van Squigglebottoms if we raise $1 million for poverty relief by December 31. We figured our names were a small thing to sacrifice for all the good that Oxfam America could do with $1 million.
Oxfam America says that $20 is enough to buy water collection and storage containers for an entire household of Syrian refugees. $40 is enough to provide a family with a blanket, mattress and pillow. $125 is enough provide two weeks’ worth of food vouchers for a refugee family. And $240 can build a shower to serve 50 people in a tent settlement. Imagine what $1 million can do. Literally, this is about trading more stuff – another shade of lipstick or a new sofa – for the safety, health, and basic comfort of others.
Many of our friends and family share our vision and have pitched in what they can, but I’ve been surprised that some people who have been comfortable watching us cut back on our spending have told us that they believe that giving up our names is too much. Somehow we’ve crossed a line.
I think this raises interesting issues related to minimalism. How much of what we have — either physical stuff or the identity we project — is integral to who we are? What are we willing to sacrifice for a life of greater meaning?
I’m reluctant to believe that minimalism is really just about shifting all our files to electronic format and finding the 10-in-1 dress-skirt-kitchen appliance that replaces all the others. Minimalism can’t possibly be about an endless cycle of shopping and discarding.
Rather, I am beginning to think that minimalism is about loosening our hold on the trappings of an identity that is not true to who we really are. We’re not our stuff. We’re not the car we drive. We’re not the music we listen to, or the clothes we wear. We’re not even our photo albums or our report cards.
I was who I am before I had any of this stuff. I will be the same without it.
Nine years into marriage, using the name I was given at birth, I am finally beginning to understand why a bride takes a new name or couples combine their names into one. Simply put, we are not our names.
A name is just another kind of thing. And things are our possessions. They do not possess us.
It’s true, Jeff and I will have a ridiculous last name if we raise $1 million for Oxfam America, but we will also have a deep satisfaction that we have reduced others’ suffering. For me, a name is a small sacrifice for that kind of joy.
What do you think? Would that which we call a rose by any other name really smell as sweet? Have you ever given up something you thought defined you?
You can donate to Jeff and Jessica on their Oxfam page here. No amount is too small and if you can’t donate at this time but want to support them please spread the word about their goal.
I love what they are doing and I salute them for taking the step of changing their name to something rather distinctive. But some of us don’t have that choice. I did chose to become Smellie when I married but my daughters didn’t . Don’t get me wrong. We love our name, we are memorable and different, and no, we don’t pronounce it Smilie. But what is a name?
I was at school with a girl who’s name was Freake, it never entered our heads to tease her, it was just her name. Likewise my children have never been teased. There have been the occasional double takes and guffaws but hey we can live with that. Whilst I admire the thought behind the action, why choose a name change to celebrate it? There may well be some van Squigglebottoms who are somewhat bemused by the idea.
I wonder if they had pledged to change their name to something more controversial such as an overtly Muslim or Jewish name or something that would have forced them to justify why and what they were doing rather than something that merely makes people giggle they would have been quite so keen to go ahead.
Sorry, good idea but cheap trick.
I support your goal, but I disagree that names are simply possessions. Names are an important part of our identities and often reflect our cultures and our past. Many cultures change their names upon reaching certain milestones in their lives (e.g., the apostle Paul/Saul in the Bible). The names you choose for your children and the names you take or do not take upon marriage should be approached with seriousness, not frivolity.
Very nice what they are doing and worth imitating.
Of course the cause is worthy enough without a gimmick. But if all a cause needed to earn 1million in donations was to be worthy, then there wouldn’t be a fund-raising issue. Gimmicks like a march for dimes, a pink ribbon, a 24-hour walk-a-thon, crop-walks, etc. help raise-awareness and encourage people to give more than they might otherwise consider.
Congratulations. I think trying to raise $1 million for those who need it most is really admirable. I’m just confused by the changing your last name part of the project? I guess the thought is that sticking you with a silly last name could motivate some people to donate?! To me the cause is worthy enough without that gimmick.
Or… you could change you name if you don’t reach the $1 million goal! 🙂
Seriously, I think what you’re doing is quite noble and admirable. If issues of world poverty and hunger interest you, you might want to check out the work of Paul Polak. He has a very enlightened take on the whole topic, and has devoted much of his life to tackling the problem in unique and meaningful ways.
I love what this family is doing. However, I have to voice sort of an opposite opinion. When I first read that they were going to change their last name should they reach their $1 million goal, I was left feeling like that wasn’t enough. I thought, “Really?! They are JUST going to change their last name?!” To me, it didn’t seem like a big sacrifice or really any thing significant, especially for that amount of money. It brings up one of those questions–what would you do for a million dollars? Changing a last name to something silly hardly seems like a big leap, in my opinion. Just my two cents…