Note: The following is a guest post from Vincent Nguyen.
In a society bent towards consumerism, minimalist living is counter-cultural. It uproots assumptions and challenges behaviors we’ve learned from others. It can be scary and mysterious—most new things are.
My mother is the exact opposite of minimalist. She makes good money, but still finds herself in financial debt because of her spending habits. When visiting, I find it difficult to avoid jamming my toes or scraping the sides of my feet against some sort of box when I enter her house. It’s cluttered.
My personal journey into minimalism started with the realization that my mom wasn’t any happier every time she bought a new technological toy. Neither did she feel any better about a house filled with stuff. I began to notice that I got along just fine—even better perhaps—with fewer possessions. I began cutting down more and more. It became part of who I am.
Still, people don’t always understand why my room has only functional things inside, why I don’t have tons of clothes, and why my room is always so clean. I have found that people are drawn to the idea of tidiness, owning less, and finding contentment without buying, but they still hold objections and concerns about minimalism.
My hope is to address some of the most common objections I hear. Hopefully, you will find minimalism is much easier than you think. And perhaps the many benefits will persuade you to make the leap.
10 Common Objections to Minimalism
1. I don’t have the time to start.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t take too long to start the process of cutting down the possessions that you own. In fact, there are tons of creative little tricks you can implement that can start the process, eventually having significant impact.
For example, every morning make it a goal to get rid of one small item you know you don’t need. Maybe every time you do the laundry, you can remove one article of clothing. Pick something out and toss it away as you go.
If you have a lot of clothes, the simple act of turning around all your hangers can get you started. When you wear an item, hang it back up with the hanger facing the opposite direction. After a few months, you’ll probably be surprised with how many clothes you never wear.
Know it’s a process. You don’t have to complete it all at once.
2. Buying things makes me happy.
I’m sure you noticed that after buying something, you feel slightly happier for a short period of time. But soon, you begin gravitating back towards your previous levels of happiness.
There is actually a phrase for that cycle. It’s called “hedonic adaptation,” and explains why we are only temporarily happier after acquiring something new.
Shortly after their winnings, even the biggest lottery winners are often found to be just as content as they were before they hit it big. New purchases don’t have the same thrill anymore. We buy more and more, hoping to achieve happiness. But it’s more like running on a treadmill—never fully reaching our destination.
We know it’s true because we’ve all experienced it before. Keep that feeling in mind next time you start to think buying things makes you happy. It is very short-lived.
3. I’m too used to having ______.
Again, minimalism should be considered to be a process. It starts with only one step at a time. Make small changes. Adapt at your own pace so it’s digestible. Remove the picture in your mind of an overnight shift to a minimalist lifestyle.
It is always a process and you can tweak what you’d like. There are no hard and fast rules, guidelines, or obligations. And you don’t have to get rid of something you genuinely hold important. Minimalism is about cutting the excess, not removing what you love or use.
4. I may get rid of something I need in the future.
Ah, yes. The “what if?” question. Know that you are not alone. In fact, this is one of the most common struggles we all share. It is interesting that we always try to predict the future, even though we are horrible at it.
Get rid of things that are easily replaced and you won’t have that discussion with yourself.
If you get rid of small things that are inexpensive (yet still manage to take up a lot of room), you can always replace them in the future. Most things can be replaced with minimal expense and minimal effort nowadays. But most likely, you’ll find yourself to be far more resourceful than you imagined. Take your time removing large, expensive items—that should make the process easier.
5. I would love to simplify but my ______ wouldn’t agree.
Sandy Kreps wrote an article on this website about the very topic of getting on the same page with your spouse. She recommends you find common ground, focus on the positives, seek input, start small, and start with yourself first.
Joshua Becker, the founder of Becoming Minimalist, is more committed to minimalism than his wife, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get along. They find the line that makes the other uncomfortable and make sure not to cross it. It works well when you work on figuring it out together… just like everything else in life.
6. I have too many commitments.
Harvard Business Review created an excellent article in early September about how people compete against one another over how “busy” they are. Many of us are caught up in believing we’re being productive or busy even though most of it is in our heads.
If you are feeling an overwhelming sense of busy, minimalism is actually a great opportunity to start practicing time management. Segment your time. Remove the unessential. Become more productive at the things that actually matter. That, in a sense, is minimalism.
To regain focus, I have found the Pomodoro Technique to be very powerful. The technique teaches you to work in bursts while allowing you the freedom to take breaks. The standard practice is 25 minutes of driven productivity followed by 5 minute breaks fostering both intentional productivity and intentional rest.
7. Minimalism is easy for you. It’s your personality to live with less. But that’s not me!
Though there may be some truth in that statement, it’s certainly not all personality. Minimalism is a conscious decision to pursue less. Many of us have made it and almost none of us had it completely easy.
I didn’t just wake up one morning and decide, “I’m going to be minimalist!” For me, it happened through a series of realizations and struggles. A lot of thinking and sacrifices took place.
I didn’t decide to love less because of my personality. I decided to live with less because I saw value in it. There may be some people out there who desire less since birth, but they are a small minority. The rest of us struggled through it. Eventually, we thanked ourselves for doing so.
8. The math doesn’t add up, how could someone be happier with less?
It sounds bizarre, but having less can make you a lot happier. When you have a lot of possessions, you have extra worry. You have more to clean. You have more to manage, more to organize, more to repair, and more to replace.
When you own less, you find more freedom, less stress, and less worry. And that doesn’t even begin to mention the financial benefits of owning less.
There are so many problems that can be solved by subtracting. It’s almost surprising more people haven’t discovered it.
9. I’m an overthinker and there’s nothing I can do about it!
Simplifying your thoughts isn’t easy, but it certainly isn’t impossible either. I used to be an over-thinker.
Every single social interaction would leave me anticipating what would be said, how I should respond, and of course what I did wrong once it’s over. This bled into every other aspect of my life where I tried to control all the variables.
Without a doubt, meditation has become a common solution for over-thinkers and is a valuable step towards minimalism.
10. I don’t want to be judged by others.
In a society where we are evaluated based on what we own, it can be scary to break free and purposely seek less. People still don’t always understand why I don’t want things.
I get asked a lot of questions about my choices. I may even be seen as an outsider for a while, but none of it matters. They ask. They move on. Typically, I don’t stay on their mind for long because they’re more concerned about what others think of them anyway.
I spoke with Joshua a few weeks ago. We drank coffee. We talked about life and we talked about minimalism. We discussed how others perceive minimalism. People eventually notice he purposefully owns less. And when they do, one of two things happen: 1) They forget about it and no longer make a big deal of it, or 2) they admire his simplicity. It’s usually that simple. It never occurs to most that they could find contentment with less.
So what’s holding you back from exploring what minimalism has to offer?
Faith says
Whenever anyone tells me “why would you want to live with less?” (#8) I always say, but I won’t be living with less I’ll be living with MORE! More freedom (and uh.. money) to do the things I’ve always wanted to do, more time to pursue my dreams, and a greater ability to focus on bettering myself that doesn’t involve material belongings, like volunteering or reading more. We waste so much time, energy, money, and space on buying, cleaning, organizing, and purging all this stuff– you feel so much more free when you don’t have to deal with it! Less really is more.
Vincent says
Then they raise an eyebrow and go on as if they didn’t hear anything. :P Sometimes it’s just something people can’t wrap their heads around!
Karen @ Journey towards simplicity says
Thanks for the great guest post… it hits so many of the areas of resistance. Some think minimalism means having to accept deprivation which is so not the case. It really promotes a greater sense of fulfillment and freedom. Seems strange but so true :)
Vincent says
No problem, Karen! Let’s keep spreading the good word and debunk misconceptions!
Meg says
Great article! I find that the greatest benefit to us has been taking time to think about what kind of ongoing maintenance will be needed for anything new that we choose to buy. When we stop and think about the time or money involved we often change our mind.
I also have a ‘one in – one out’ policy for a lot of the smaller things, like clothing, kitchen items, books and CDs: We only buy something new if we can think of something in the existing collection that we don’t want.
I think a lot of people imagine that minimalism looks like an empty room with mismatched chairs, and overcoming that stereotype helps people to move towards it. I still have plenty of clothes, books, CDs, furniture and even a few precious decorative items in my home. To the casual observer it doesn’t necessarily look ‘minimalist’ but I now own about half of what I used too, and I own less and less each year. It’s about shedding the superfluous, appreciating what you have and not accumulating stuff for the sake of having it.
Vincent says
Good point! The definition really can vary from person to person and what looks minimal to one may not be to another. There’s whole degrees and spectrums. I often see a lot of debate when someone claims to be minimal. “That’s not minimalistic!”, they shout.
As long as you cut the excess from your own life than you are indeed minimal.
Christy King says
This is such an important point: “Minimalism is about cutting the excess, not removing what you love or use.” I often see comments by people who seem to think minimalism means getting rid of their hobbies, photos, etc. – instead of getting rid of only the excess.
Most of these were problems/excuses for me, but I’ve adopted a “gradual minimalism” policy so now I just slowly plug away at it. It’s amazing how much stuff you can get rid of in just a few months without ever making a big project of it.
Vincent says
Yeah, I think painting the right picture in the other person’s head is very important. When you settle their fear of getting rid of EVERYTHING and show them it doesn’t have to be that way, you realize people love the idea.
BrownVagabonder says
That’s the problem with my family and friends for minimalism – they do not accept minimalism as a long-term lifestyle for me. I want to alternate travel and work for the rest of my life – working for a year, travelling for a year, but again, they don’t think of it as a viable option. This resistance that comes from them daily is what causes the doubts that I sometimes have. But then I read a blog like yours, and the doubts disappear. Thanks for making a space for people interested in minimalism.
Vincent says
You will meet resistance when you take any sort of unconventional path. It’s different and it scares them.
I face this in pretty much everything I do, strangely enough. As long as you don’t let it affect you then you’re golden. :)
Amy says
What held me back when I started this journey 8 years ago was the intense guilt I felt getting rid of things that I had paid for and just never used. I started the purge any way and quickly felt relief ridding my life of all that crap. If I find I have a need in the future I can borrow the item or buy it again no big deal.
Vincent says
Great point and I wish I had mentioned that in the article!
11. But I paid for this!
Annette Gartland says
I’m a nomadic, webworking journalist, so need to be minimalist (with everything but my work equipment); and I love it. Yes, I found it hardest to get let go the clothes I had paid a lot for. Luckily for me, when I was in Europe last summer doing yet more clearing out, there was a an open day and bring-and-buy sale for a local charity so I finally gave those things away. I still have some books and photos stocked somewhere, and quite a few documents, and bags of things in various cities, but compared with what I did have, it’s brilliant. People sometimes criticise me for the amount of luggage I carry, but then I remind them that this is my “house”, and is not that much stuff at all compared with what I used to have.
Kim says
I’ve been working on becoming minimalist since January 1st when I took 4 van loads of ‘stuff’ to the thrift store.. 4 1/2 months later and I haven’t missed a thing! Spring cleaning starts next week with round 2. I cannot believe how much more time and money I have NOT shopping for things. Thanks for the reminder tips :)
Kim
Anne says
I forget who it came from, but the quote “Store it at the store” has helped me with this issue. Plus, comparing the cost of long-term storage with the value of the items we are storing.
C says
I used to pay for a storage unit. It occurred to me there isn’t anything in there I couldn’t buy at the Salvation Army. And it would be a lot cheaper to replace a desperately needed muffin tin at $.50 at a second hand store than to pay $50/mo storing one. When you look at a thrift store as a storage unit, you start to realize you don’t really need to be hoarding bread pans and dish drainers and old mugs and DVDs. I know I sure haven’t spent $600/year at GoodWill since I got rid of the storage unit.
Happy Annie says
Great article! I especially like what you said about how minimalism is about cutting the excess, not getting rid of what you truly love and use. :)
Vincent says
It’s all about the perspective, right? Telling yourself you’re cutting the excess is much more appealing than “throwing away.” The latter implies wastefulness. :)
Mitzi Roberts says
Word!
fly won says
this is amazing, and i will share it with everyone I know!
Vincent says
Thanks! Maybe you’ll create some new minimalists! :)
Vincent says
Thank you so much for the opportunity, Joshua!
Ms. Minimal says
I’ve been in the process of selling nearly everything I own now for over a year. I hope to have that task completed by the end of the year. My wardrobe is sparse, I only have what I need in my living space and nothing more. My biggest hurdle thus far is a box of photos that I’m trying to figure out how to handle.
It is certainly a process.
Thank you for a well appointed article, once again.
Namaste,
Ms. Minimal
Vincent says
That sounds awesome! I can only imagine the sorts of questions people ask you when they realize how little you own. :)
Amy says
I scanned all our old photos and papers. I can look at them on the laptop when I want to see them. When my Grandpaw passes away 4 years ago we bought a digital picture frame for my Grandmas and I put a bunch of pictures on it both new & old. When she broke her hip last year and had to go stay at a rehab center for months she was able to have her pictures with her still. This was important to her, every inch of her wall space at home was covered in photos and she had a closet full of them too. When she passed away last Dec. my Dad got the frame.
hi says
Make sure you back up your files on an external hard drive! I have lost many important documents due to unforeseeable events.
Amy says
We always back up our files. We have them on two laptops, a thumb drive and an external hard drive. All of the pictures & videos are also saved online.
carole293 says
I would like to know how to do that. I had some movies made into dvds then I decided it was a waste and got rid of them. who the heck wants to see me giving birth or an event I planned haha. but it would be nice to do some photos.
Jan says
Ms. Minimal – We scanned all our photos into the computer and then got rid of them. It was hard at first but we actually look at them more now because they are part of a program where they are seen in a screen saver over and over. It is great!
hi says
Make sure you back up your files :)
Stephanie S says
This is a great idea. Right now, most of our photos are digital and we had been talking about printing them out and adding them to albums.. but we have so many older photos still not in albums. This makes so much more sense .. organize the digital photos, scan and organize the old hard copies and move on. What do you recommend as a good way to store them to make them accessible. My children (10-23) love to look at photos!
Miss Growing Green says
That’s really impressive, and brings up a good point:
the suggestions to get rid of one item every time you clean or do laundry is great, but only if it exceeds the rate at which you are acquiring new items. I have a friend who constantly “throws out” old stuff, but always buys twice as many new things for everything she throws out, because it makes her feel like she has “room to spare now”.
Personally, I commit to investing time into *everything* I try to throw into the garbage. It is much too easy to just throw things away nowadays, and when you make it harder to get rid of your items, it curbs your desire to buy new ones. First, I research online and see if there is demand on craigslist or ebay to sell it. If not, I try to re-gift it to a friend or neighbor, and if that fails, I’ll take it too goodwill.
I think if we had to keep our own personal landfills in our backyards, people would be much more minimalist.
Colleen says
“I think if we had to keep our own personal landfills in our backyards, people would be much more minimalist.”
That, my friend, was well said!
Kate says
Ms. Growing Green–You have written something very wise about “backyard landfills”. I once had neighbors who refused to pay for trash service and piled everything up in their garage until the annual city-wise cleanup–intended for large items that would not fit into trash bags. When they opened their garage door, there was a mound about 5 feet high by 10 feet long and 14 feet wide. What a mess! The city refused to pick up anything that would fit into a bag and they had to pay for a special collection. This was a real eye-opener for the neighbors because none of us ever see how much a year’s worth of trash amounts to for a family of four. I provided the other extreme when I told them that I share a container with the woman next door and never have more than half a plastic grocery sack a week because I have a reduced number of purchases and then recycle and compost, too. From this experience, I know that three composters appeared in the backyards on my side of the street. I hope other good practices occurred as well. Thanks for sharing your good idea!
Danny says
being totally facetious… Here in eastern Ky some of the yards are personal landfills and it is a depressing sight that people would actually choose to live in filth…
ren says
Well I can’t believe the way some people choose to live, I’m far from neat freak, but what are people think they are saving their junk for, some places around here are goldmines of scrap iron of old machinery and broke down cars. Also the amount of junk people keep in the house. Most people’s kids do not want their treasures. Next time my kids are home, I am having heart to heart, of what kids want handed to them.
Vanessa says
Colleen, you’re a genius, such an excellent point!
drew says
Digitize them
Heather says
Photos are not something I am willing to part with (I think everyone hits that bump in the road, for many it seems like books are their issue.) What I have found, is that with the process of getting rid of SO much stuff we didn’t need or didn’t use, it made far more room for what we wanted to keep. My photos are organized and placed on a shelf where I regularly rotate them in/out of our framed photos on the wall. (I had a digital photo frame and oddly enough, that was purged during an initial round. I try to keep my contact with electronics minimal.)
My photos on the wall are something I wasn’t willing to compromise. It makes my house feel more like “home” to me. :-) And I’m okay with that!
Geraldine says
Heather
I think if you have them in a system and they make you happy then that is great. I totally agree with you about photographs I am an Historian of photographs and recently had the opportunity to handle Victorian photos from a huge private collections and it was amazing, gave me a lovely feeling to know that these have survived over so many years. I first viewed them online, then handled them and am now writing about them again viewing online and for me its not the same. I have just inherited many of our family photos after my mum passed away earlier this year and am about to digitalise them all for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and I am sure for them they will all be happy with that as they don’t have the same feeling as I do with handling the original, but they will be able to handle it if they want to. Thank you for a wonderful post.
Allie says
Totally agree with you on this one… I see photos as memories… And they can’t be retook or replaced like an item of clothes or stuff that u can just buy..!!
Laurie McVey says
Scan all your photos and then back the up on a small thumb drive, then you can get rid of them.