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?
illy says
Actually, the complaint I hear from my husband when I enthusiastically talk about minimising are:
– He finds minimalism to not feel homely, he likes clutter.
– He mentions that we don’t buy much to begin with anyway.
The first comment depends on the decor and minimalism doesn’t mean bare. The second, in some ways it’s true, apart from videogames (which I can’t see him ever giving up) we don’t buy anything much. BUT the little we do buy (or gifts) accumulates as we rarely ever throw stuff away. I want to get rid of stuff but he doesn’t.
I guess he doesn’t understand how minimalism will affect him in any way because he doesn’t clean and our financial situation is ok… We have a mortgage, for a house that’s considered small to him (2 beds + conservatory), we have no children (and don’t plan on having any) but do have a cat.. I wish we were debt free instead and had the liberty to do whatever we want.
I feel others have it easy, comparatively. I find myself having very different values at times from my husband which makes things hard.
Kelekona says
The stuff I have now keeps me from wanting more.
If I pared down, I would back at the thrift stores looking to fill the space again. Big waste of money when I don’t enjoy shopping that much.
Right now, most of what comes in is food or stuff where the lack actually drove me to face traffic and crowds. What goes out is mostly recycling.
Vincent says
You caught me! I worded that part rather poorly… I apologize for that.
“Small things” are things of little significance, not size. I can’t believe I missed that! :P
With the second quote, I advise to always practice caution. You run the risk of being scammed (your examples are great,) but you replacing cheaper doesn’t always have to be second-hand items.
Anastasia says
Thanks, Vincent! I agree there’s no need to hoard things beyond what’s in everyday use (like three different slow cookers lovingly gifted by family on every single holiday). Beyond that, most things around the kitchen can be done using very low tech tools. :)
Kelley says
I don’t think he’s saying that you should buy cheap things. It’s that the difficulty of buying things these days is low compared to the difficulty of storing backup objects.
For example, is it really worth it to keep an extra toaster (or whatever) in the house “just in case” your current one breaks, when you could probably buy a new toaster just buy walking to the nearest store or by clicking the “buy” button on Amazon? There are few things that are so difficult to find or replace that it justifies keeping duplicates.
chris says
Thanks to inspiration from Becoming Minimalist, and starting today, the minimizing in my life has begun. 20 new or gently used items gone from my home this morning, and another 11 from my office. Luckily, United Way fundraising is happening at work right now so I have a convenient & worthy cause to donate them for sale. I’ll be doing a sweep of my home & office every day, to see what else I can live without; I hope it is a lot. This is me being accountable & transparent. I don’t just want to talk about changing my life; I want to actually do it, & maybe inspire others.
Vincent says
Chris, that’s great! You’re going to love it. If not, feel free to throw salad at me.
The Maui Taoist says
(less = more) that is the truth…
Oh BTW, for sme people it is easier to just “start with zero”..
example.. last time I moved I kept one or two boxes with “essentials”… a year later almost all the other boxes remain unopened. See what you can learn by just doing it… Now I can open a box and see (objectively) that it’s contents are usually worthless…(worth-less to me!)
Vincent says
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing. :)
Jess says
How do you suggest tackling sentimentality and nostalgia? I seem to have less issue throwing out things and objects that unpaid for or didn’t use, but I like to cling to things from my childhood because of the associated memories they trigger. Old school projects etc, I think my kids will like to see, born from loving going through my parents little boxes of keepsakes. Except they had one tiny box each and I struggle to cull anything!
Vincent says
For things like that, I say definitely keep them. I highly doubt your home is overflowing with items like this so I’d assume there are few enough, right? :)
Remember, it’s about cutting the excess. Things that hold sentimental value aren’t excess. They are a part of you.
Beverly Wittler says
I take pictures of things like that and donate if I can. I keep things that are very sentimental.
Peter says
Someone I know actually claims he’s minimalistic and totally into it all the while buying more and more stuff. Some people are insanely delusional about what they are or aren’t in addition to the list above.
Vincent says
I wonder if it’s because he defines it a different way. Ask him what defines minimalism as. Maybe he has a super profound answer and it’ll all make sense. :)
April says
My favorite minimalist trick IS owning a small house! Reasons I love my small house:
1) Less to keep clean! I can vaccum the whole first floor from ONE plug-in location and it takes about 6 min tops!
2) I can be in the kitchen and my family can be in the living room, and I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING and can SPEAK to them (not like this huge houses these days!)
3) We simply CAN’T store much stuff! We have been holding onto baby paraphanelia and clothing, and now that we know this child is oppposite gender, I am FINALLY able to pass along all those lovely girl items to someone else and bless them! Then my storage room with be PRETTY darn empty!
Vincent says
That’s actually why my grandma sold their old house! It was way too big which meant a lot to clean. Downgrading to a smaller house loses its “prestige,” but saves you from a lot of trouble.
Nick says
Becoming a minimalist has been one of the best decisions if not THE best decision I have ever made.
My one worry when I started decluttering was if I got rid of alot of my possessions I would find myself bored. These days my only means of entertainment at home is the internet (albeit a very vast form of entertainment) after selling my guitars and xbox and such…
However, with the money from selling these devices PLUS not having to buy more games/repair instruments I have become a lot more social, I am always available, I always have cash and I find myself exploring more activities other than tv (visiting the cinema, “Hanging out” with friends more, playing golf ect…).
My friends always comment on how they are able to call me knowing I can always go and do stuff.
Life is good.
Nick.
Vincent says
Life is indeed good, Nick! Stories like yours are always fun to hear and I’m sure the fear that held you back is holding tons of people back right now.