Why No One Talks about Minimalism Anymore
Well, there is only one real reason and that’s capitalism. But let’s talk about this a little bit.
What is minimalism?
Minimalism is essentially living within the basic necessities of life. To live in a space that is sustainable for yourself and the environment. Minimalism is being able to look at anything in your life and ask ‘Does this add value to my life?’ and the answer being ‘yes’.
“Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom”- the minimalists
When you think about living life in a minimalist way, your head will probably be filled with images of living in a hut with no car or career, that you live in an exotic hidden away place in the world, you own one outfit and you resent technology. I mean sure, you would be considered a minimalist if that made you happy, but it’s not necessary. Being a minimalist means de-stressing your life and adding value. It means to take a step back from society and recognise you don’t need to buy all this ‘stuff’ that is thrown in your face from every angle. It means to look in your wardrobe at your 5 identical white tshirts and question whether you really need all of them. It’s all about coming out of the bubble of consumerism and finding the true value of your life.
Let’s clear a few things up before we carry on. Consuming is not wrong. In fact consuming what you need is clever, being able to assess what you need to survive is a human instinct. Excessive consuming is wrong. Consumerism in the 21st Century is obscene and it makes no sense. Let’s say you purchased an iPhone 7, when you got it you were filled with joy and it added value to your life. There is nothing wrong with that. However, 6 months later when Apple announce the newer version, that phone loses all it’s value to you. Yet it is still fully functioning and still does everything which once filled you with joy. Are you following me yet? It makes no sense right? There have been studies into the relationships humans have with physical things and it is not unlike the relationships we have with other humans. It is a natural instinct to bond with the things in your life. But here’s the thing, these things are not other humans. We think they fill an emotional void in our lives, but they don’t. Ergo leading to the inevitable disappointment that we never have enough.
“So much of our life is lived in a fog of automatic, habitual behaviour. We spend so much time on the hunt, but nothing ever quite does it for us. And we get so wrapped up in the hunt that it kind of makes us miserable” — Dan Harris
And it does. Because we never feel as though our life is fufilled because we don’t have that slightly bigger house, or newer car or different clothes. Yet the ones you have are more than sufficient.
‘But there’s nothing wrong with me wanting to do well in life so that I can get the things I want, and it’s not wrong for me to want these things’ — I can hear a lot of you thinking this, and you’re right. I’m not saying that it’s wrong to want these things, actually, you’re being exactly what you’re supposed to be. You’re experiencing a “biologically-based delusional craving”, and that’s not to be offensive, it is the way we have evolved. As an early human we were always on the move, on the physical hunt, trying to constantly better ourselves to survive. That hasn’t left us. But the world around us has changed. This craving in the consumer driven world we live in is not only damaging to our own emotions but to the enviroment.
How is it damaging? Well now we’re getting onto why no one talks about minimalism anymore. Because it is the answer to almost every problem on earth. Let’s work through a couple of problems that we all face in our lives.
Housing. As I’m approaching the end of my education and looking towards what I want to do for the rest of my life, moving out plays on my mind often. But as I live on the outskirts of West London the prospect of moving out seems impossible. I would need a lot of money just to be able to afford a mortgage on a small house/flat. Now let’s break that down. A lot of money. To not own a house, but just be allowed a loan to buy one. And that is just a small one. But it being small is the least of my worries. In fact it’s what I want. It should be what we all want.
“We’re living our life depending on the space we’ve got rather than creating our space to fit our lives…nothing is more responsible than living in the smallest space you possibly can.” — Frank Mascia
Again, I’m not saying everyone should live in a one room house, if you have a big family, or you need an office to work from home, then that is what you need. But the thousands of housing estates that are built to be 4 bedroom houses, no matter what is the need for the people that fill them produce so much wasted space, and what is that space filled with; stuff.
“even though we have three times the space per person that we used to in the 50's…there is still a $2.2bn self storage industry, which is ludacris.” — Graham Hill
So even though we have more space that we ever have, we still need more. We need more because we have so much stuff to put in these rooms. But do we need it? If you walked into your garage, your storage room, how much would your life change if you threw it all away? That is what being a minimalist entails. It means you detatching yourself from these objects that you think you need, you think they add value to your life, but ultimately they do the opposite. They make you think you need more space, when you don’t.
What if every house/flat was created around exactly what we needed in the smallest space possible? Think of the thousands of acres that would be spared. Think of the prices in London if space was used more creatively. Now think of the way we approach buying a house. ‘Oh, I have £500,000 to spend on a house, so let’s get the biggest house I can for £500,000'. Well no, you have a deposit that can get you a loan for £500,000 so you don’t have that much money, you have a loan that big, which is a massive stress. You have £50,000-£100,000 with the opportunity to create a space that could fit your life perfectly. But we don’t see it like that, because it is not the way the housing market works. You need to buy the biggest thing you can, so you can make the most profit, so you can then buy an even bigger house. One with so much space that you’ll end up with three dining tables which you will never use.
I know this whole idea seems so ridiculous because who wants to live in a small cramped space? But just give this video a minute of your time.
Life doesn’t have to be cramped, because we don’t need everything that the media tells us we need. Think about what you take on holiday with you, how much you leave behind and you still function just fine. That is the whole idea behind being a minimalist. You need to be able to let go. But if we were all able to let go, how would the housing market continue to grow in the rapid way it has been? It wouldn’t, which is exactly why they sell us the dreams of bigger is better.
Fashion. Now this isn’t a problem as such, it is an art at the end of the day. However, there are parts of the fashion industry that drive the greater problems of society. The fashion industry exists to make you feel out of trend, it is there to show you these supposedly ‘perfect’ lives that we feel we need to accomplish. It thrives on you spending money on more and more clothes. If we think about the purpose of clothes, they exist to keep us warm and to make living in certain climates more bearable. Again, if you love fashion and you enjoy clothes, there is nothing wrong with that, but you have to be aware of your responsibilty. To not hoard. To continue to give your clothes value, because the self esteem surrounding fashion can be dangerous.
We’re experiencing a world in which fast fashion exists, where there used to be two seasons a year, maybe four, there is now 52 seasons a year. Every week you are made to feel out of trend, that you do not look good enough. But who is to say that you look out of trend? The media? The same that tells you your life is not perfect because you don’t have the newest blender? I personally still think you look cool in those jeans that you bought 4 years ago. Give your clothes worth and do not keep what you don’t wear, give them to friends or clothes banks.
Not only does the fashion industry leave us out of pocket, they also do not pay the ecological price of their business. We all know they use sweatshops, but we overlook this. Not only are they not paying the staff enough, but what about the effects on the environment when they are making the millions of pieces of clothing? This clothing that is known to be thrown out and slashed so that no one can wear it, so that we have to spend money.
Keep your wardrobe small, and your mind clear. Women around the world have been trying the 33 in 3 challenge, which is to live with a wardrobe with 33 items or less for 3 months. Feel free to google this and see what a change it made on their lives. Another stressful decision taken away from everyday life. If you don’t have an outfit for a specific event, why not ask a friend? Why would you want to spend so much money on something you may only need once? (I can excuse you for your wedding dress)
Transport. Have you ever noticed how it is now normal for a family to have up to 4 cars? They may tell you it’s necessary, because one person is here whilst the other is here and of course that is a valid reason. But let’s look at it this way, when talking about the studies on human relationships with objects, cars is a common theme. The Three Car Theory. The first car is bought because you need one and it fills you with such joy and accomplishment, the second car is bought because you tire of the first car and you need something new, and the third car is bought because you couldn’t resist the amazing deal you recieved. But they all do the same job. They all emit harmful fumes. It is irresponsible to buy cars because society is telling you that you need a new one, or that you’re getting such an amazing deal.
We can see a theme here, can’t we? Minimalism isn’t spoken about because ultimately it means spending less money in a world run by Capitalism. In a world where the rich get richer, it’s time to think about new options.
Minimalism is about more than the physical changes that you can make. It also focuses massively on your emotional well being. Growing up my parents always used to say to me ‘you better get a good job so you can afford the lifestyle you want’, but it’s never sat right with me. For the past couple of years I’ve had a serious inner battle with myself because I seem to have a lack of motivation. My dad obviously just responds with ‘well you better find some’ but I think it’s more than that. What I have realised is that money does not motivate me, living in the biggest house does not motivate me. Sure, those big houses look nice, but I highly doubt my life would be fulfilled because I have 5 lounges. I quickly began to realise that for my life to be fulfilled, I would have to travel. I want to experience as much of this planet as I can, because at the end of your life do you think about your house and cars or do you reminisce on all of your memories?
I know this is not the same for everyone, and this is largely down to the media having moulding our ideas of a perfect life. If you, like me, think that happiness is the main priority in a perfect life then give all of this a thought.
Sit back and watch the documentary that started all of these thoughts in my mind. ‘Minimalism’ is on Netflix and it so perfectly explains the simplicity of achieving happiness without all the ‘stuff’ cluttering your mind and home. It is about giving up unnecessary traits to benefit your life. It is about removing yourself from the grasp of consumerism. You are no longer a player in their game, you use them to benefit yourself and that is it. Give it a chance, and your mind might be blown just like mine.
“minimalists don’t focus on having less, less, less; rather, we focus on making room for more” — the minimalists
