Looking back, I can now begin to see some of the reasons why becoming a minimalist was an easy decision for me:
- I don’t make a ton of money. We have enough, but not too much. Financial circumstances have always played a role in my decision making.
- I’m a bit naturally frugal. Minimalism is not the same as frugality, but there is plenty of overlap.
- I enjoy minimalist design in all things, from clothes & watches to art & interior design.
- We are done having children. Although my kids are young, we have no need to “hang on to something just in case.” When they outgrow something, we can give it away. That doesn’t mean future parents can’t become minimalist, it just means, for me, the process was a bit easier.
- I don’t fear change. Becoming minimalist is definitely a life-changing decision. I’m not afraid of it, I look forward to it.
- There are things I value more than possessions. God, family, relationships, character. When our pursuits are for greater things that material possessions, minimalism is an easy change to see the benefit of.
- I enjoy clean, tidy, uncluttered rooms. I like clean spaces, but don’t like to clean. Go figure! Minimalism scratches that itch.
- We entertain often. Minimalism helps us keep the house in a perpetual state of order for when company arrives.
- I kinda like the attention that comes from being minimalist. I’m not afraid to live a countercultural life. In fact, I love to tell others about you. Mostly because people love the idea when they hear about it.
How about you? What factors/experiences in your life, have made you a good candidate for minimalism?
di says
I just never had a lot of money.
di says
We were brought up in a minimal home. I remained a minimalist, but my 2 brothers have always lived beyond their means are deep in debt.
Bigsanga says
“…what factors/experiences in your life, have made you a good candidate for minimalism?”
My sister and I grew up in what could only be called an ‘anti-minimalist’ environment. If there was space, it meant something was:
A) stolen or B) we had rebelliously thrown something out (in secret, because mum never ever threw ANYTHING away).
This went beyond war-time frugality. It has been called hoarding by some, but I think anti-minimalist fits better, as her philosophy was about creating an environment with loads of shit around, because she hated blank space. She thought it was a waste The more crap the better. NO BLANK WALLS. No floorspace. And even the porch was just another ‘outside storage space’.
Our aunty tried to remedy this many times (she’s also more minimal and likes to move around. Her thing is portability) but whenever she’d throw something out, three things replaced that item, or sometimes ten. A good example is when we said we needed a new door for the bathroom, she bought 10. The doors just lingered around for years, in our bedroom, with the 4 wardrobes, because the glass in the doors was pretty. We moved out- but they are now in her shed ‘just in case’.
So as for us, we dig minimalism. Give us space- LOTS OF SPACE. And don’t you ever dare try to put a carpet where none is needed (rolled up, we might add). The key is to FEATURE one beautiful thing, not drown your goodies in some crazy colage so the house looks like a Moroccan market theough the lens of a hash dealer.
Gen says
To Bigsanga:
I LOVE that line: Don’t “drown your goodies in some crazy colage so the house looks like a Moroccan market theough the lens of a hash dealer.”
di says
Where did she get the money and the time?
Frank says
Honestly, I think I’ve been a minimalist most of my life after childhood. Books are just about my only materialist drug, and I’m seriously considering buying myself a Kindle, which will take care of most of that (though there will undoubtedly still be some books I decide I have to have in paper form/0
di says
It’s best not gather a collection.
Karen says
In no particular order:
I love to travel, so being a minimalist helps me save money for my next trip, and frees me to up and leave a place if I want to, without having to worry about a whole apartment full of things I need to store.
I love a clean, almost stark look. I like deserts and adobe houses and Japanese design. Possessions get in the way of that aesthetic.
I have bad habits like nail-biting and hair pulling that come out when I feel anxious or stuck. Too much stuff overwhelms me, but minimalizing relaxes my mind.
I’ve always been attracted to the challenge of getting by with less. Minimalizing is my real life response to wilderness survival fantasies.
di says
At times, just a few decorations are all that is needed.
Rachel says
Fascinating! My reasons:
* I do make plenty of money. This enables me to let go of things… I know I can re-buy if I find I really need them. Most of you are saying that the opposite also makes you a good candidate; I don’t understand the dynamic but I guess it just shows that minimalism can work at various perceived income levels.
* I don’t have a lot of time, so I don’t want to have things that are high-maintenance.
* I live in the city and have already been getting by without a car for years (prefer this anyway; cars are high-maintenance.)
* I’m childfree by choice and have never had a TV, so there are two more classes of objects I’ve never needed.
* I grew up in an atmosphere of both poverty and clutter, with things always being lost in the messy environment. This has made it very hard for me to learn non-cluttered patterns, but I’m also motivated, because I don’t want to live the way I grew up.
* I don’t like to clean, either. When I must, I’d rather it be easy.
* Like others, I value things that are not physical: work, fitness, learning, friendships, snuggle-time with my family, etc.
* I’ve always found physical possessions to be a bit of a burden. Even in college I remember debating with friends about the cost of stewardship.
di says
There are many things you can do without.
Summer says
*We don’t have any money to waste, so we have to find out what we need verses what we just want.
*We move a lot because we move into cheap old houses and fix them up to sell or rent, so we can’t have too much stuff or no one would ever want to help us move!
*We love simple, clear spaces.
*We would rather have one large piece of art than several smaller pieces.
*We sometimes live in small houses (under 700 square feet) so there isn’t room for clutter.
di says
What kind of furniture do you have?
di says
Do you use multi-purpose furniture, such as a futon couch?
Jane says
We don’t have our home yet. My husband lost his job. I am suck at organizing. I am fat( eat less), my child need my attention.
enid says
After 22 years of marriage, my husband disappointed me and broke my heart. We are working through our problems, but in the meantime, I have decluttered and made peace with letting go of many things. I want to always only have enough stuff that will fit in a small uhaul if I decide to go or if he decides he wants to go.
Do not be sad for me. I am totally at peace.
di says
At times, things also carry bad memories…
Meg says
Let’s see…
* My husband and I have both appreciate quality over quantity. We’re both really tired of cheap plastic crap that breaks way too easily.
* We’re both trying to be more frugal, be more eco-conscious, and just generally reduce waste.
* We also are trying to save money because we are trying to pay down debt. * We both love simple designs.
* Neither of us like to clean, but we like things to be organized and look uncluttered. And it is easier to clean when there’s less stuff in the way.
* We don’t really entertain often personally, but we have a roommate, so having things less cluttered helps the house seem a lot larger than it is, I think. While our roommate has a child who stays with us every other week, she’s good about putting things back into her mom’s room.
* My husband and I have no plans to have kids of our own — at least any time soon, so we don’t have to worry about where to store kid stuff. We have five cats and that’s enough for us.
* As my husband and I were recently discussing, we both really like change and trying/learning new things. We’re both always looking for a better — and especially simpler — way to do things.
We’re still far from truly minimalist, but we’re doing a lot better than we are. We’re still cutting back but perhaps more importantly, we’re a lot more careful about what we add to our collections now.