Some people that I speak with get nervous when they hear the term “minimalist.” For them, it conjures up images of destitution, barren walls, and empty cupboards. Rightly so, they decide that is no way to enjoy life. Believe me, I agree – that is no way to enjoy life.
Maybe that is why I have been called a “rational minimalist” and I wear the label with pride. If you walked into my home today, you would not immediately deduce that a “minimalist” lives here. When you look in our living room, you would see a television, couches, books, and family photos. In our coat closet you would find a variety of coats, boots, scarves, and gloves. In our toy room downstairs, you would find a video game system and some toys on the floor (unless we cleaned them up before you arrived, of course). Since deciding to become minimalist two years ago, we have been on a journey to define what that means for us and how it fits into our life.
We live in suburbia. We have two small children. We are active in our community. We love to entertain and show hospitality. While not exceptional, our life is not identical to anybody else. It is our life – nobody else’s. And if we were going to become minimalist, it would have to be a style of minimalism specific to us. It would require us to ask questions, to give-and-take, to identify what we most value and be humble enough to change course when necessary.
Your particular practice of minimalism is going to look different from anyone else. It must! After all, you live a different life than anyone else. You may have a large family, small family, or no family. You may live on a farm, in a house, or in a studio apartment. You may collect antiques, stamps, or bottle caps. You may love music, movies, or books. You may cherish old photographs, family heirlooms, or romantic letters from a lover.
Find a style of minimalism that works for you. One that is not cumbersome, but freeing based on your values, desires, passions, and rational thinking. Be aware that your definition will not come overnight. It will take time. It will evolve – even change drastically as your life changes. It will require give and take. You will make a few mistakes along the way. And thus, it will also require humility.
But ultimately, you will begin to remove the unneeded things from your life. You will find space to intentionally promote the things you most value and remove anything that distracts you from it.
the preceding is an excerpt from Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I wonder if this type of style should be called “manageable livable (minimal? haha)” instead of minimalist. I think this type of balance is what we all strive to have – living with our private essentials that aren’t just the “essentials.” Those who own a bit more than needed might be “clutterers,” but like you said – who are we to judge?!
I have been struggling to identify not just what type of minimalist I want to become but also which one I already am. I think, “I can manage just fine with the bare essentials,” but then it comes to the point of how happy I truly am with just that. Aesthetics and mementos are definitely something to take into consideration.
btw, I really enjoy your blog (I read all of it this past weekend), and I find what you have done really inspirational! Thanks for all your hard work – it definitely got me moving and shaking. :)
Our apartment is the same way as your house – when you walk in, you wouldn’t know that we are so hardcore about simplicity/minimalism. It’s warm and inviting, but we still try to live up to the often-quoted William Morris: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
Good post!
Thank you so much for this post. I needed this. Recently I saw photos of a minimalist’s apartment which totally disheartened me. It was completely devoid of life and beauty. My only thought was, “If this is what being minimalist is all about, I don’t want any part of it.” I want my home to feel warm and inviting for my own sake and also because I enjoy having people over. I am letting go of things every day, but my home is not stark and empty. I guess I could be classified as a rational minimalist also.
It’s as if you’ve given me “permission” to hold onto a few beautiful things. William Morris’ quote is on a sticky note on my computer, so I am reminded of this principle every day and I strive to put it into practice.
I so enjoy your blog! Thank you again.
Maybe you aren’t so much a minimalist, but an anti-consumerist to a degree? Or frugal? Sorry, but there comes a point when you cannot call yourself a minimalist. Living more minimally than you normally do does not make you a minimalist.
I am a minimalist. You could fit all of my personal belongings – including clothes – into two average sized moving boxes (possibly less). My spouse is not a minimalist. If you walked into our house, you would think it was neat and orderly, but not necessarily minimalist. So I honestly cannot say we have a minimalist household.
Love this post (and the blog-looking forward to the book). Agree w/you Theresa. I love, love the William Morris quote-refer to it often. I think ‘Minimalist Living’ could be viewed along a continuum. Some are more minimalist than others. So rather than splitting hairs, maybe we can agree that we’re all on a journey towards simpler, more mindful living, and some of us are choosing different stops/destinations along the way. It’s ultimately about wise stewardship.
@Theresa, I saw your comment (and the ensuing and unnecessarily mean post) that the author left. I also left my own comment about her behavior but she has not made the comment available. I really appreciate becomingminimalist writing about rational minimalism instead of opting to chide those who like a bit more aesthetic comfort in their homes! (I would send this as a personal email, but yours isn’t listed.)
@ Theresa and Allison
same with me, my comments had not been accepted.
As for me, I am quite sure my minimalism way of living will change over the next years. I began to get rid off quite a lot of items and later i will buy new items I really enjoy.
I keep items whenever I enjoy them even if some people may call them clutter. I could get rid off them if I intended to go abroad or …
@nicole and Theresa,
Thanks for the heads up. I was wondering if I should remove her off my list of blogs and I think I will – I was waiting for her to release the comments but since she’s posted in the meantime I think that means she won’t. I found her that post mocking Theresa completely unprofessional, immature and in bad taste.
Sorry again Becomingminimalist for taking over your comment section – there’s just no way to email them privately. thanks.
I totally agree with you, Theresa & Allison. I left a (very polite) comment on her blog also and she didn’t make it available. If you can’t handle opposing viewpoints in the least, why blog? She has been removed from my reading list. She is defensive, rude, and isn’t living the lifestyle I aim for anyway.
I am all about rational minimalism! And I do think it deserves to be called minimalism even if you can’t fit your life in a backpack. But whatever you want to call it, it’s all about mindfulness and having only what you use. This blog does a great job focusing on doing with less but not going without. Thank you.
Hey Theresa, Allison, and Sarah – do you mind my asking which blog you are referring to? I read a lot of minimalism blogs and will be happy to boycott one that treats the readers with disrespect!
On another note, I am very happy at how becomingminimalist looks at minimalism. I like that we aren’t told to get rid of everything because I think that outlook is extremely depressing. Thank you becomingminimalist for treating us all as individuals and not lumping everyone into the “extreme minimalist” category!
Hey guys-I think your comments were posted-there is a lag due to work commitments. Not 100% certain, but you might want to check.
i wrote this post for several reasons:
1. i wanted to encourage others to pursue minimalism. i have found the lifestyle very fulfilling and enjoy sharing it with others.
2. i wanted to offer freedom to people to pursue a lifestyle of simplicity that fits their unique lifestyle and stage.
3. i wanted to give people the opportunity to interact with some of the material in the book (one of the advantages of a blog over a book).
4. i wanted to raise awareness of the book release on monday.
those were the reasons for the post. hopefully, we can get back to one of those (especially creating awareness of the the book’s release on monday…)
I was thinking something similar recently: though I’m not done minimizing my stuff, even when I am done I know that visitors will look around and not realize they’re in a minimalist’s home.
I was sad for a second until I realized the magic is in what they won’t see (and what doesn’t exist): there’s nothing hiding from them in storage units, or in the garage (except my bicycle) or in my basement. What they see will be what there is. And like others who posted, I want a warm and inviting home.
In fact, by the time I finish getting rid of “theoretically useful but not useful enough to keep” things, a GREATER percentage of my belongings will probably be artwork than when I started.
Rational minimalism. I like it!
Its great to see that someone who is on the “A-List” doing there own thing and not just copying everyone else. This post was encouraging. Thanks,
Bernie
Joshua, I want to thank you for your blog. I really embrace your ideas and your thoughts have contributed to a lot of changes in my life during 2011. If you set out to make a difference…please know that you have! Happy New Year!
I’ve been poking around on the web and have found extreme minimalism abhorrent. (Extreme as in not owning a stick of furniture or not being able to prepare fried egg on ramen.)
Actually, I had to spend a week in a rental house furnished down to the cookware, and by mid-week I had to visit one of the more jumbled thrift stores just to keep myself from going crazy. (And fumed that I found some great items but left empty-handed simply because I knew I wouldn’t want to deal with those new things right away.)
But I do admire “staged” spaces, especially in sitcoms. Everything in that space was chosen intentionally and is where it needs to be. If I could do a five-minute tidy (without any dump-and-run) and have everything but the storage room be ready for a magazine shoot, that is about as simple as I would be willing to live with.
Mid-line minimalists are cool, but it’s not my thing. I imagine people who live more “out in the world” than I do, don’t do any cooking that requires specialized gadgets or more than three pans, mostly have hobbies that don’t involve equipment, or only have one hobby with minor equipment needs.
I also intend to prove to my husband that you can indeed have more places to put things than you have things to put.
I do have inactive things, but it is much easier to hold onto something and eventually need it (or finally give up and toss it) than to need it and not have it.
However, I have determined that with a little time and effort, everything that is truly important to me will fit onto a hard drive. (There are things that I would spend years mourning if I had to leave them behind, but most of my physical stuff is things where I could and would buy a new one of. I honestly do use both of my crockpots at the same time often enough that I would be beyond annoyed to live with having only one.)
Just recently, I’ve decided to simplify, declutter, ‘move to minimal’ if you will. But then I was immediately conflicted about the thought that I’d have to just toss everything. It’s such a great idea to approach it “rationally” and to see that it works well to shape the idea to my life and not the other way around. Thanks for a great post!
I greatly appreciate your non-judgemental attitude on minimalism. Minimalists that believe it should be a rigid way of doing things or rather NOT doing things don’t make their lifestyle very welcoming. I’m glad there’s a sliding scale. The process is one step at a time anyway, and I’m sure our ideas of minimalism will change as we go.
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