Occasionally, I hear chatter around the topic of minimalism that sounds something like this, “Minimalism isn’t for everyone. It’s only for _______.”
Well, that’s hogwash. Of course minimalism is for everyone. And I’d like to share some thoughts about that today.
There are any number of versions to that sentence above, but here are some of the most common:
– Minimalism is great for me. But may not be right for you.
– Minimalism is only for the rich.
– Minimalism is only for certain personalities, like non-sentimental people.
– Minimalism isn’t for people who are crafters.
I can’t possibly speak to every version of the “Minimalism isn’t for everyone” argument, but I can talk about those four specifically.
But first, I think it might be helpful to remind ourselves what minimalism is and what it is not, because I think that will clear up a lot of the confusion.
Minimalism is not a set of specific rules or guidelines and the goal of minimalism isn’t to own the fewest number of things possible.
Minimalism is about owning only the possessions you need to accomplish your greatest goals in life. It is the intentional promotion of the things we most value by removing anything that distracts us from it.
And minimalism is always going to look different from person to person based on any number of factors: where you live, the size of your family, your career, your hobbies, your age, your socioeconomic realities, just to name a few.
All of these factors should influence the physical possessions you keep and the ones you remove. Minimalism is entirely freeing in this way.
It is also important to note that minimalism is about more than owning less, it is also about seeing the world differently and removing the unending pursuit of physical possessions.
Sure, many people own too much stuff and need to minimize their possessions to reach the optimal amount. But even someone with little can embrace minimalism as a means to not over-accumulate in the first place.
In the end, minimalism frees up our most important resources for things in life that matter more than physical possessions—however you choose to define that. And that is something that benefits everybody who embraces the lifestyle—regardless of any individual characteristic.
Of course minimalism is for everyone. We all have a finite amount of money or days to live, and the less we waste them on physical possessions, the more we can spend on meaningful pursuits.
Now, let’s look at some of the thoughts above in more specific terms:
1. Minimalism is great for me. But may not be right for you.
Minimalism offers the same benefits to everyone who embraces it: more opportunity to pursue greater passions than physical possessions.
Certainly, each person is going to define those passions differently. But a life lived pursuing happiness and fulfillment in places that can actually deliver it, is a recommendation that is absolutely right for everyone. We should be bold in spreading it.
2. Minimalism is only for the rich.
“Minimalism is for the rich” is a critique that pops up from time-to-time in articles written by people who do not fully understand minimalism.
You don’t need a lot of money to own less stuff, you need a lot of money to own more stuff.
Perhaps my thinking is skewed by the resident of an underdeveloped African country who approached me after a presentation and said, “This is a message that the people in my home country desperately need to hear. They are so focused on wanting and accumulating things, they miss the joy and happiness right in front of them.”
People who believe that minimalism is only for the rich, in my opinion, are focused too much on the process of removing possessions to achieve a more minimalist life and less focused on the benefits that arise when the pursuit is removed.
If someone has to declutter an entire home of unneeded possessions to begin living a minimalist life, then it is highly likely that person has excess finances. But again, minimalism is about more than “decluttering.”
Minimalism is about realizing there are greater pursuits than material possessions and that directing our focus and money towards pursuits of greater significance is always a better decision—whether we have little or much.
3. Minimalism is only for certain personalities, like non-sentimental people.
I don’t disagree at all that minimalism may be easier for certain personality types. But I do disagree that just because minimalism is harder for some than others, the lifestyle is not beneficial for all.
Minimalism is about owning only what you need to live your best life. And what possessions are necessary to live your best life is going to change from person to person—but there is always a point where excess possessions become a burden, regardless of your personality type. Minimalism forces you to discover it.
If sentimentality is beneficial to you in pursuing your greatest purpose, you will own more items of sentimentality than others. But you can still own too many.
If a cluttered desk is how you get your best work done, you will keep more stuff on your desktop than others. But it can still become too cluttered.
If you are gifted in keeping the family history, you will likely keep more possessions from past generations than others. But you can still keep too many.
Minimalism isn’t about forcing every individual into the same set of rigid rules on the number of outfits they can wear or items they can keep on their desk. Minimalism is owning the optimal number of possessions to accomplish the most with your life and removing anything that distracts you from it, regardless of your specific unique personality characteristics.
4. Minimalism isn’t for people who are “crafters.”
This thought extends beyond crafters, by the way. Some might say that minimalism isn’t for artists, or teachers, or outdoor enthusiasts, or photographers, or whatever.
When I was first starting on my journey toward becoming minimalist, I read an article by Karol Gajda who made a very helpful statement. “I love biking,” he said, “and because of that I own more biking equipment and tools than others. But I own less of other items than most people do and that is fine with me. Biking is a hobby that improves my well-being and will always require a certain number of things for me to keep in my possession.”
Recently I received a comment from someone who was new to this blog. In her comment, she said, “Minimalism is not for everyone. Why would I ever give up my piano? I have played that piano every week for the last 15 years.”
Of course, the article had nothing to do with giving up pianos and neither does minimalism. If you play the piano every week and that is a hobby that enriches your life, you shouldn’t remove the piano from your home. But maybe you don’t need the basement full of possessions collecting dust, or all the items in your kitchen, closet, or drawers.
If you are an artist or crafter, keep the possessions required for your hobby and passion. But remove the other unneeded possessions in your home. Freeing up time and space and money may just allow you to thrive even more in your creative craft—whatever that is.
Minimalism doesn’t dictate what hobbies you can or cannot pursue. It doesn’t dictate what career path you can or cannot choose. And it doesn’t dictate what possessions you can or cannot keep.
It only reminds us that our lives are too valuable to waste pursuing and accumulating physical possessions. And that is true for every single one of us.
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I’ll plan to be active in the comment section answering questions you might have related to this article. I think it is an important one.
Martha G says
You are never too old to change!! At 70 I started to declutter so my kids won’t be burdened someday. Found unexpected but very welcome benefits for me now.
Got rid of lots of stuff that’s too heavy for me with my increasing disability. Emptied lots of drawers with long forgotten “stuff” I haven’t used in ages. Souvenirs from long ago travels that only collected dust are gone and now I can actually see and enjoy the few pieces I kept. Everything is easy to find in my home. Very helpful as I grow forgetful
The result is a home that is much more user friendly for me. I won’t trip over clutter in the house or garage. It’s a breeze to keep clean. Best of all it’s calm and peaceful. Intentional spending has freed up money I can give to
my church and charities I love. My home might not look minimalist but it certainly is by my definition!
Lauren says
I tend toward minimalism naturally–or perhaps I should say I tend more toward “just right-ism” (referring to Goldilocks) but even still I clean out closets and make choices.
Yesterday I dropped off at my favorite thrift store two gorgeous expensive table lamps that unfortunately do not work in my own new home and color scheme. (I tried to sell them on CL but couldn’t so I decided to donate them.) There was also a brand new air fryer / pressure cooker a friend who is a reviewer gave me. I actually squealed with joy when I got it but after a couple of days I realized it was so big, and any recipe made in the air fryer can also be made in my oven, that I wanted it gone. It now is and I am breathing easier.
When October arrives and I take my autumn decorations out of the shed I intend to see what I still love and what the thrift store will get. I’m very careful about holiday decor so I doubt there will be much to give away but you never know after a couple of years of not seeing it.
But your article today, Josh, reminded me most of photographs. As a pretty good minimalist I have, for years, encouraged anyone interested in my opinion to take those multiple photographs and keep only the ones most important. Toss or delete every other one, then take the ones kept and print them, frame them, and hang them on the walls of your home where you can see them every day and feel the emotions they bring up. I have less than a half dozen of my parents, now deceased, but they live in my heart and in those photographs I see whenever I walk through my house. I see them far more than when I had them in albums with numerous other photos of them and only looked at them every few years (when I remembered or ran across them). I have three photographs of my first marathon, not the 80+ I had in a heavy album high up on the guest bedroom closet shelf, because they are where I see them all the time.
Susan says
Thank you for reminding me of these truths. One of my hobbies is re-selling and, as you might imagine, it can cause an accumulation of possessions. These items are in my possession only temporarily of course. In gives me enormous pleasure to repurpose items, to help find a person who needs what someone else has discarded and to
make money in the process. My other possessions are definitely minimalized but sometimes I feel like a fraud when my family and friends ask about minimalism. This article has helped me frame these possessions as the minimum number of items I need to pursue my hobby/side-hustle. Thank you. I am right now on vacation in Glacier National
Park hiking and loving life. Practicing minimalism has given me both the time and money to take this trip. I was also able to get by with only a carry on bag for a 10 day trip because my brain has recognized there there is benefit to taking only what I NEED. Thank you for what you do.
Susan says
Sometimes, in the attempt to create the “perfect” life, buying things, surrounding yourself with what seems to create the image of what you want, you find yourself spending more time preparing to live your life than actually living it. Letting go of fantasy items and actually spending time doing instead of accruing makes such a difference in the quality of your real life not your fantasy life.
Valerie Rogers says
Don’t obsess, over-analyze nor take yourself and stuff seriously. There’s no schematic for minimalism. It’s a journey. Hang loose. Take the best, leave the rest.
Jessalynn Jones says
All great points Joshua! I loved that you touched on people who think minimalism is for the rich. I think that they think you only need minimalism if you already have too much but I also think they think they need to buy special furniture and clothes when what they have is perfectly fine. The consumer culture we live in has made minimalism something you can buy, ironically. That’s the style, not the lifestyle and that confuses people.
I also like the point about crafters because I LOVE to sew and make jewelry which I sell on Etsy. When I first moved into our 400 square foot studio apartment I thought I had to give that up but I learned that giving those things up was like giving up a piece of my heart so I learned how to buy stuff for one project at a time and let go of my creations instead of keeping them forever. (I still keep some of course) I learned to enjoy the process instead of the product. And yes, I still have a few more clothes than I probably need to but I love clothes and it is an art form for me so it’s different for me and that is ok.
Minimalism has given me time for the things I love to do and that’s the beauty of it!
Jana says
This is a very good common sense approach to the subject.
Martin Hietkamp says
Very insightful article!
My greatest passion is music and playing musical instruments. I play in a band, in an acoustic duo and also record and try to write my own music.
I love musical instruments and during the years I bought several instruments: guitars (acoustic, electric), a slide guitar, a mandolin, an octave mandolin, bas guitar, a piano and even a Nyckelharpa (a bowed instrument).
After a while I thought: hmmm, maybe I am trying to learn too much different instruments, maybe I need to focus. So I didn’t play anymore on some instruments anymore and because they were hanging on the wall doing nothing I sold them. After a couple of years I got the itch to play those instruments again and I regretted selling them! So I bought back similar instruments, but they aren’t as nice as the ones I sold.
So my question is: how do you know what you should hold on to? In my case, musical instruments.
Maria Bennett says
Sorry about your regretting some of the musical instruments you sold. I have to say that there is little I’ve gotten rid of that I wish I hadn’t. I’ve always fought the urge to follow the crowd & trends around me in keeping up with the ‘latest and the greatest’. In my heart, I knew those pursuits are not how I wanted to live my life. If you have a passion, your interest tends to also go in waves but your passion for all things music doesn’t go away. It’s in you. In this case, keeping the items that revolve around your passion makes more sense that selling them. You bought them probably knowing they were good quality at good prices. A helpful tip for me is if I hesitate I usually keep the item for now. For whatever reason, I’m just not ready to give it up. I am good about paring down and reducing clutter so I don’t beat myself up when I am being indecisive about particular items. Don’t give away the things you love, need or will miss. Give away the items that have no value to you or in your life. There will always be plenty of those. Hope this helps!!
Martin Hietkamp says
Thank you Maria!
If in doubt, hold on to the musical instruments.
My interests in music and instruments indeed comes in waves.
Laura says
Maybe it should be called “Intentionalism”. I’m not sure people can truly understand until they experience the peace, freedom, and financial rewards for themselves. It’s tough to stay focused and grounded, but it’s always worth it, which is why Joshua’s blog is so important to me.
debb brown says
Maybe it would help for many folks trying to get their heads around “less is more” to switch out “Simplify” for “Minimalism”. I’m afraid many equate minimalism with: “one succulent boldly occupying a white urn on an empty counter top.”