Make minimalism work for you.
Disclaimer: This article is not about “how to become a minimalist”.
What’s a ‘minimalist’, anyway? I think people defining themselves as ‘minimalists’ (except of course The Minimalists) actually goes against what minimalism really stands for. For me (and that’s just my opinion), the beauty of minimalism resides in the fact that its application takes a different form for every single one of us.
Minimalism is not about having a small quantity of things, it is about having the right amount of them. And this amount differs from one person to another, depending on lifestyle, taste, interests, etc.
But Minimalism is not about things, really, it is about knowing what is important in your life, and not letting things get in the way. It is about recognizing that things can’t fulfil you 100% like life experiences can. It is about letting go of your attachement to certain things in order to free your mind and your time for the people in your life. It is about refocusing.
Cluttered life. Cluttered mind.
I have been intrigued by minimalism for a while now. In my twenties, and due to the sudden financial independence working gave me, I accumulated things. I bought, and bought, and bought. It didn’t help that I lived in 6 countries in 5 years and ended up coming back from each trip with more things, duplicate things. But mostly I used shopping as therapy, and valued quantity over quality. It took me years however (I’m thirty now…) before actually making a change in my life.
I realized I was feeling oppressed, burdened. I had too many things for the space I lived in, no matter how often I tidied my apartment, it always felt cluttered. I honestly believe the space you live in influence your mental state. I was living in a cluttered space and it cluttered my mind.
So I started looking into minimalism. But for me, because I do value my material possessions, and owning beautiful things actually do make me happy, it wasn’t about getting rid of everything and going traveling. For me, it was about finding peace. It was about owning the right amount of things. And the right things. It was about creating a calm living space for myself and changing my consumption habits for the long term.
It is about having 10 pens in your house, and yet using this one pen you like 90% of the time. For me, it was like this with everything. From wearing 10% of my wardrobe, to always cooking with the same pan and wearing that same lipstick I like. It is about having 5 different lip balms and 3 moisturizers but only using one of each that I prefer. So I decided: no mercy.
Quality over Quantity.
This process took me 9 months because there was a lot of work, but also because I wanted to carefully decide how to deal with each category. I researched a lot. Read a lot. (Thank you, Marie Kondo) Nine months to finish the beauty products I didn’t like, and dispose of my extra things properly: donate, recycle, etc.
Nine months to feel guilty about acquiring all these things in the first place, the impact on the environment, the impact on my finances and the realization of how unhealthy my consumption habits were.
Making new habits.
As they say, blaming yourself doesn’t really get you anywhere. I can’t change the past decisions I made, but I can focus on making sure that I make better ones in the future. I can make sure that I don’t buy things impulsively, that I make better purchasing decisions and that I never arrive to this point in my life again (the point where I need 9 months to declutter my apartment… sigh.).
To this end, I made a list of thoughts I want to keep in mind for the future:
Material possessions are just that. Even though I value my material possessions, I took a step back during this process. And I can tell that if all my things were destroyed tomorrow, I wouldn’t be that upset. Things are things, they have nothing on the people I love and the experiences I’ve lived.
One in = One out. I will now take my time in any purchase I make, evaluate options, choose quality over quantity, and try to apply the one in = one out rule to make sure not to fall back in my old ways.
Environmentally-friendly decisions. My next focus is to change my consumption habits to be more eco-friendly and carefully consider what I am buying/consuming and look for alternative options.
