We’ve all had those days — you come home after a long day at work only to find the whole place out of place. All you long for is some space to kick back and unwind, but you can’t figure out how to with all the chaos and clutter around you. With lazing around then taking a backseat, you begin tidying and organizing. But, in your head, you know this is a recursive loop, and that you will probably have to go through the whole ordeal again, as soon as the day after tomorrow.
Is there a fix for this mundane conundrum?
Minimalists will tell you that the extra stuff in your life is the root cause of it all. That you need to learn to “let go” and “get rid” of everything you have no use for. That “less is more”, and minimizing your life belongings is the solution to resolving your household feng shui. You follow up on that piece of advice, thinking that throwing a few things away and adopting a simpler lifestyle is easy. It can’t really be that hard to tone down on your materialistic purchases and let go of non-essentials in your home.
Minimalism is becoming increasingly popular for a variety of reasons among millennials. Minimalists have such strong views about minimalism — it’s like they have strong minimalistic blood flowing through their veins. We wonder why everyone wants to latch on to what might seem like another crazy fad. For all we know, this could be happening because people are so stressed about how hectic their lives are outside of their homes, that minimalism on the inside helps counter that. Or you could probably attribute this trend to the ever-inflating prices of anything and everything we desire. Then, there are possibly others who simply want to get rid of stuff they don’t need or have no use for. Whatever it is, minimalism is definitely in vogue.
The reality is that adopting this lifestyle approach is not for everyone and much harder than we think. Just ask home stagers and prop stylists, and they will tell you how “less is NOT more” and how achieving that minimal look with “just enough stuff” is pretty damn hard. As a design methodology, minimalism has been misinterpreted and misused by many people. Not to mention how the minimalist mafia also misrepresents the whole concept. Before you drool over any of the minimalist content that you see online, consider reading through these common mistakes aspiring minimalists make in a desperate attempt to turn their homes into a minimalist paradise. If you’ve already made up your mind to toss it all away to relaunch your said ‘lifestyle’, you might as well do it properly.
> Don’t be reckless
A de-cluttered home will NOT result in a de-cluttered mind. For all you know, your mind is playing games with you because it’s the aesthetics of minimalism that trigger all that dopamine and serotonin in your head. Accumulating material possessions takes time and so does getting rid of them. Doing away with it all hastily, without any intention or thought, will result in you losing things that you may need or cherish. Recycling, donating or trashing things you have no use for, just for an idealized version of minimalism, is quite senseless. Begin by setting a pace you’re comfortable with. Start with bigger objects (like furniture) and keep things of sentimental value for later. Getting rid of your larger belongings creates space and is relatively easier. This will not only teach you how to let go but will also help you understand what you truly need around you to be happy. Be wary of doing away with anything you’re not sure about. Take as long as you need to, but don’t be reckless in your pursuit of minimalism.
> Don’t Opt For Fashion Over Function
The core essence of minimalism is all about keeping what you need and nothing more. A lot of people have been taking this way too literally and making the same mistake. After they’re done with getting rid of the furniture that ‘held them back’, they usually end up in a furniture store to look for pieces that ‘reflect their style’.
And while they window-shop, you will hear them say things like,
“Oh, look at that chair. It’s so simple. So polished. So suave.”
When in reality, they should be saying,
“I can sit on this thing for 1.2345 seconds before I get comfortable on that recliner. That recliner is what I NEED.”
Fine, go minimal.
But, why stop being practical? You obviously need more things in life than what these people are suggesting. It may seem simple and chic to have just the 2 bean bags, 1 floor lamp in the corner and that minimal coffee table in your living room, but it’s also very impractical. So, if you feel like functionality has been sacrificed during the process of purging your possessions, know that you’ve gone too far.
> Don’t let minimalist rules dictate your life
Several people plainly assume going minimal is a binary choice — you’re either minimal, or you aren’t. And the only way to go minimal is to throw everything away and start afresh by living out of a suitcase. Having blank walls in your home because you’re minimal classifies you as a ‘no personality’ individual. You don’t need a massive gallery wall, but well-situated wall art adds some color and character to your space. Blank walls are like bland tarts — cold, empty and impersonal. The predominant question in the ‘minimalist community’ is — how much stuff can you own and how necessary is that stuff?. This leads to a tendency to compete for who can own the least number of items. You’re missing the point if you think like that. What works for someone else won’t necessarily work for you. The whole idea is to scale back on your possessions a little so that your life becomes more manageable. You can always be a tad less minimal and reap the many benefits without being too hard on yourself.
It’s pretty much an open secret that the capitalist economy that we thrive in has conditioned us to want more things in life. Who doesn’t? Even the slightest upgrade on the smartphone you own makes you salivate.
The latest iPhone has 3 rear cameras instead of 2.
Wow.
Now, that’s the kind of mindset that needs to be ‘minimized’ and convinced about how hoarding all the good stuff isn’t going to be a fulfilling life experience. If the minimalist mafia then successfully persuades you to do away with all the ‘good stuff’ you own, know that you don’t need to get rid of anything if you don’t want to. Minimalism isn’t a competition to see who can own the least. Instead, you should use that minimized headspace to figure out your priorities and passions to toss away anything that has little (or no) meaning/function in your life.
If your home works for you, there is no reason to break it.
But who am I to stop you? From the look of things, mid-century modern home furniture makes everything look so effortlessly expensive.
