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.
WhatThisGirlWears says
Interesting and awesome that you did this project! I am currently seeing how many consecutive days I can go without wearing a whole ‘repeat’ outfit, and am close to Day 30 with many more to go. It just reinforces the truth that I do have plenty.
Beth Kallimani says
I’ve done the same! It’s invigorating and humbling all at the same time.
Sally says
I am 11 months through my year of no new clothes. I have given some clothes and shoes away, and I have received some used clothes from family. I have only bought one item in the clothes/underwear/shoes/accessories/jewellery categories – a scarf, for a good cause (http://store.hamlin.org.au/collections/scarves-and-wraps-alpha-asc). No one seems to have noticed the lack of new things :) and yes, I have enough. And with the savings I have been able to be more generous with charity.
Thera says
I admire those taking on a minimalist lifestyle, I think it is awesome and maybe I am feeling critical or mean or something, but for many out there, including myself, it comes almost “naturally” from simply being poor.
I have never had enough clothes, let alone too many, same with shoes. What household things we have are all hand me downs, thrifted or dollar store items. Never had a blender, slow cooker, fancy coffee makers or two of anything.
My point is, I think it is great that you all are doing this and perhaps adding being grateful for the excess you need to deal with and delighted that you can perhaps enhance someone else’s life with your cast offs could be a part of the process.
news says
I can’t believe I’ve been going for years without knowing that.
Linda says
GREAT ARTICLE!
Cutting down on purchases is easy for me! Doing more on the donation side still needs work! Thanks for the inspiration and I hope to donate a few more things this week and continue next month!
Burma Sester says
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jazz says
I realise when I keep working to become a healthy self in the terms of diet and exercising, i infact do not need EXTRA clothing to feel confidence, as my confidence and feel good radiance from inner rather than outer. Thanks Sarah for this articles as I am gonna challenge myself not buy any new clothing for the next 6 months :)
Erin Pierce says
This was amazing. I’ve been down about not being minimalist enough. I wasn’t as good as other people. I’d stopped reading some blogs because I’ve felt less. Thanks for helping me realize that I need to find my balance for happiness in this path.
Darrell says
Sarah, Regarding the books you mentioned, They also take up a lot of space and are hard for many to part with. I have found that over time of maybe 10 to 20 years the glue in the backing becomes brittle and they will fall apart also. This will devalue them or require rebinding them. I had a whole wall of books I downsized by buying a digital book scanner and scanning the ones I valued. The book scanner takes up very little space and now the books I value fit into the space of a wallet. Also, the time it takes to scan a book helps you decide how much value you have on the book. Less value means a reason to get rid of it. In addition, by making them digital, you can make the print on your PC or laptop any size you like for easier reading. Another nice feature is that this way you can take a whole resource library with you when you travel. The airlines would really gouge me for each box of books. Now, when I browse books that I like, I ask myself would it be worth scanning it?
Kuwanna says
My birthday is April 5th and my year of no clothing shopping will officially start this coming April 5th (or even now). In fact, I am selling a coat on Ebay and rather than replace it as I had planned to, I will keep the money, as your story reminded me of the other coat I already have hanging in my closet… :)
Thank you.
Bruce Elkin says
“A thing should be simple enough – and no more.”
— Albert Einstein
Great article! Thanks.