Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Sarah Peck.
“We live in a world of scarcity. Which means we feel like we never have enough.” – Brené Brown
Living in a world of scarcity means that we’re constantly searching for the next thing to fill us up, the next destination or achievement to make us whole. Our world is filled with messages that tell us we don’t have enough space, enough stuff, enough clothes, enough fitness. We’re never skinny enough or pretty enough or good enough or rich enough.
This scarcity model drives consumption and accumulation; it spurs us to want more, to buy things because we think it will fill the void. We press to work harder, to get fitter, to buy more clothes, to acquire more things in the name of filling the hole.
The problem with scarcity, however, is that you can’t fill it or fix it with things.
The answer to scarcity, ironically, isn’t more. It is enough.
What you have is enough. Who you are is enough. As Danielle LaPorte says in her Fire Starter Sessions: “You already have everything you need.”
What about Minimalist Enough?
This cuts both ways, however. As a person with lots of things, and an apartment with hundreds of books, I sometimes feel like my efforts to de-clutter and reduce the number of things that surround me aren’t enough. And the thought begins to creep in: I’m not minimalist enough. I see someone who is minimalist and only has 100 things and the internal voice begins again, “I guess I’m not minimalist… enough.”
These attitudes are pervasive and can race around in my head. I can quickly become overwhelmed with the desire to eliminate stuff, lose weight, be better, do more, achieve….more.
But the idea of minimalism isn’t about reaching a goal, or checking off a box, or reaching a certain destination. To me, minimalism is realizing that what I already have is enough, and that adding clutter to the pile won’t make it any better. And chasing a dream of more minimalism is, ironically, not what I’m after either.
To me, as I breathe out and sigh into the life that I’m living, and find gentler ways to tweak, edit, and refine; I find that recognizing what is important and what is not is the most critical exercise.
Stripping away the excess lets us get to the bones of what really matters. Get to the heart space. Get to the pieces that are important. And that level can be different for different people.
My Modest Minimalist Journey.
I recently conducted an experiment in which I decided to stop buying new clothes for the entire year. (There were two exceptions: shoes and underwear, but only as needed). For an entire year, I lived without buying anything new, on purpose. As a female in a clothes-and-image-centric society, I wanted to see what it was like to live without shopping for a while.
I was always dismayed by the number of female friends that were readily going into debt to maintain their image in public. When I thought about it, $400 outfits (the average price on any feature shopping magazine page) can add up to a lot of money if one were to wear a new outfit every day for a year. (That’s $150,000 just on clothes—who are we kidding?). You might think I’m joking—but to be perfectly honest, I know people who are $20,000 and $30,000 in credit card debt from clothes shopping alone. The image pressures on females (and males!) can be increasingly intense.
Yet over the year, as I experimented in my journey of wearing and re-wearing the same outfits hundreds of times, I also found there were times when I got discouraged—especially when I looked around online and saw things like the Versalette by revolution apparel. I inadvertently compared myself to other people who were doing a better job at buying nothing than I was.
But then I realized: I don’t have to be the best or the most minimalist. I can be minimalist enough. Minimalism isn’t about winning, and it isn’t about a particular achievement. It’s about finding out what matters to you, and getting rid of the peripheral.
Over the course of the year, I thinned out my closet and pared down to a few favorite items. I made over twenty trips to charity with bags of clothes and gently worn shoes that I no longer needed. At one point, I had socks and underwear with holes in them, and I got out my sewing machine and fixed them up. Making old things new again was surprisingly satisfying. Getting rid of all of my extra socks—and just having a few pairs to use each day—actually made my life simpler. The process of getting rid of things reminded me of what I liked—and what mattered.
Over time, I started to become acutely aware of everything that crossed the physical threshold of my front door. The amount of stuff that piled up around me on a daily basis crept into my consciousness, and I’m still surprised by the amount of clutter we let into our lives each day. Every time I brought something new in—mail, letters, books, ideas, shopping bags—I tried to make a conscious effort that the stuff I was bringing with me was valuable, and that I was also taking enough stuff out of the apartment each day to keep my space maintainable.
Untethering from the need to consume was surprisingly easy. It was the attitude change that made the most difference: looking through my things and realizing I already had enough—that I didn’t have to rush out and buy something new to fill a hole or a need—let me breathe again. It was relaxing and reassuring to know what I had was okay. What you are is already good enough.
I learned, slowly, that having excess stuff was giving me a headache, wasting my time and energy, and wasting a lot of money I wanted to focus on eliminating debt.
Over time, I will continue to whittle away at the things I don’t need in order to make space for the things I love. It turns out, all those unnecessary clothes were crowding out the space of the things I loved. I got rid of several boxes and cleared off a space for all of my books—one of my loves. Clearing out, to me, is about reducing the unnecessary clutter in your life to make space for what matters, and finding a balance that lets your soul breathe. It’s about stripping away the things you don’t need so you can focus on what’s important.
Sometimes a subtle attitude shift or a small sacrifice can make a big difference. Like taking the time to appreciate that what you already have is enough. And your effort? It’s enough.
Because stuff isn’t what matters.
What you have is enough. YOU are enough.
***
Sarah Peck is a writer, designer and storyteller.
I did a year of buying nothing. Used or new. Nothing. No material goods, and no personal consumable goods either , like toothpaste or shampoo or sunscreen or make up. And no material goods for the home like furniture or kitchenware. I did buy consumable necessities like toilet paper, food, gas, medication. And I did purchase experiences like theatre tickets or a trip.
I disagree that we live in a world of scarcity and can’t imagine being that easily led into thinking you’re not enough. What is the point in looking at somebody’s bigger house or bigger closets and feeling envy? They are a different person and not you. You have decided to live, however that may be, in a way that fills a need in you. You might want to take a look at what that need is instead of just dealing with the symptoms (e.g. overcrowded closets). If you never do analyze it, and instead just clean out your closet, those needs will eventually reemerge and express themselves in some other way.
I’m a musician and like fancy, cool clothes. I find the best stuff at thrift stores, well made a nd durable. have to really search, but pieces can last for years. Just trying to put my best foot forward.Not in to the raggedy, poor musician scene. Professionalism. But don’t need many to make it work.
I have realized that greater than 98% of the time I wear two outfits, jeans/shorts and a t-knit shirt or a blouse at home. Or my nursing uniforms. I have a few nice outfits, couple of “emotional outfits” that I am having a hard times letting go of. But I could, doubt I will ever wear again to attend a funeral like the one I wore it to, hope not. And clothes I bought that are new that don’t fit me – Yet. ha ha, don’t we all do that.
I have already weaned down the amount of clothes and shoes I have so much, that my closet space is way down.
I am going to concentrate on quality “everyday”, a few professional and dress up outfits and get rid of more.
This will open up a area where I can remodel 5 closets into one and get room for a small bathroom I want instead.
Also I will be helping environmental causes on reducing clothing waste, which is a huge issue. And it sounds like you all are also helping – so pat yourself on the back for that.
I think I will look for a women’s professional clothing closet to donate the funeral dress – it will make me happy to help someone get a happy – hopefully use out of a Nostrums dress that has been worn once.
The minimal life works for me and the no shopping suggestion has been in place for years. I have never been a fashion follower. Even during teen years I rebelled against the “Cool Girls” and was voted Most Individualistic in high school. I also had the pleasure of being a hippie [and still such], so individuality was easy. Now in my sixth decade I continue to be “different”. I love to craft so making my own clothing and accessories is wonderful. I work the front desk at a library so I am highly visible daily. My patrons and staff members all comment on what new and crazy things I have made. I also recycle items and enjoy creating something from nothing. I encourage others to think less about stuff (that covers everything) and think more about living each day to the fullest.