It’s funny, I guess.
Writing about minimalism – a life philosophy that epitomizes simplicity - is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. There’s just too much to say about it, about how I’ve tried to incorporate minimalist principles into my life, about how my life looked jagged and sharp the night I got robbed – and then reached a startling clarity just a few hours later. I realized, in one night, that I had an obscene amount of stuff, the nameless junk clogging so many of our closets and walls. I realized, too, that I’d just lost a really expensive amount of it, and trust me when I say that sucked.
But I was okay. I was alive, and I had still had my friends, my family, and everything I really needed to survive. And, over those following few weeks, I had a new lease on life – a new understanding, I guess, of a philosophy that would come to dramatically change the way I lived.
This is me trying to write about minimalism. It’s not a very pretty article. But it’s the best way I can think of to describe such a broad concept, one I sincerely hope might come to mean something to you too.
People love stuff. People like shiny cars, expensive furniture, and trendy clothing. People like shopping – and that, I think, is where things are screwier now than ever before.
Think, for a moment, about what you need to live. Food, clothing, and shelter, right? So why is it, then, that we’re locked in this endless cycle of buy, buy, buy? Why do we associate stuff with satisfaction, and why in the hell does (nearly) every major holiday involve buying something for someone else? The hip kids call it consumerism, but I don’t really care about the label – the real point, here, is that things are just wrong when buying stuff is how we come to identify ourselves. We buy, now, to show love. We buy to say thanks, we buy to say sorry, and we buy when we’re bored.
The good news? That can change. This is where minimalism steps in.
Dump the Stuff
Look around the room you’re currently in. Pay most attention to the clutter – the scattered papers, cans, decorations and pillows covering every inch of white space. Taken together, you might think they’re not too big a deal, but ask yourself this: what if you didn’t have that clutter at all? What if you bought only what you absolutely needed, saving your hard-earned coin for more satisfying pursuits?
That probably doesn’t sound fun. But frame it like this: what if you skipped that shiny new car and opted for a series of weekend trips instead? What if you skipped over that new Blu-Ray movie (it’s human nature, I think, to only watch them once) and went out for a nice meal instead? What if you canceled your cable, sold your TV, and realized all the things you could do with that surplus of time?
Somewhere along the way, we started associating new things with happiness and satisfaction. Minimalism, to me, says otherwise. Stuff doesn’t make you happy. Stuff sits on your counter and nags at you, silently, a constant reminder of how much cash you spent on a gadget you never really use. So why don’t we just dump the stuff? Realize that memories and pictures will last you far longer than that hot piece of clothing you’ve been eyeing and spend your money accordingly.
Dump the stuff. Take a trip with friends, try a new restaurant in town – just make memories, not toys, and realize that society has been built around the idea of buying things in order to find happiness. You and I both know that isn’t true.
Take Control of Your Minutes
Minimalism, to me, is inseparable from time. Remove the clutter from your home, yeah, but don’t stop there – remove the clutter from your time. Think about the parts of your day that make you happiest, the moments you look back on with a smile whenever you lay down that evening. Are you doing everything you can to maximize those moments?
I’m guessing not. That’s a shame, certainly, but it’s not surprising. Modern life comes stuffed to the brim with distractions of every color, activities with little long-term value that do little but waste time and keep you from pursuing what makes you really happy. I say this as a former video game player, for perspective – I used to spend six hours or longer each day crouched in front of my TV, eyes glued to the screen. I enjoyed it, sure, but even then I knew that it wasn’t very satisfying. I could have devoted those same six hours to reading and writing, my two true hobbies, or I could have been hanging out with friends. I could have focused on friends and family, but I didn’t.
That’s the sneaky nature of modern entertainment – it distracts us, all of us, and makes us blind to what we could be doing instead. Why not keep the TV off next time you come home after work? Spend the time reading, or working on a hobby, or having a long, leisurely meal with family and friends. Why not rethink your priorities when it comes to the house itself? Sure, a messy home doesn’t please anyone (all the more reason to declutter!), but consider just how much time you spend picking things up and keeping your floors clean. Live simply, live minimally, and you can drastically cut down on all the housekeeping chores so indicative of modern life. The reward speaks for itself: time. Time to play with your kids, time to take that trip to Toronto you’ve always talked about, time to step outside and soak up the sun.
Time is the most valuable thing we own. Living minimally, I think, is the best way to take advantage of that fact. If nothing else, it’s the best way to be aware of just how you’re using your own minutes, and awareness is the first step to transforming your life for the better.
That, my friends, is what minimalism means to me. Focus on what matters in your life, cutting away the expensive junk that doesn’t make you happy, and live each day as best you can. Sure, we all have a lot of time left on this globe, but treat every day like the special treat it is. Spend your time wisely and happily – minimalism lets me do that, and I hope it can do the same for you too.
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24 Comments »
I'm a writer, minimalist, and health dork with three goals in mind: to teach you how to lose weight, move more, and be happier by living a simple, natural life. It works. Like what you read here? Get 3NL delivered straight to your inbox!
Amazing how things can change so drastically in a moment, isn’t it? One minute we’re content living with our obscene amount of stuff, the next, it’s all gone. Sometimes it’s on purpose and other times, it’s not (like in your case of being robbed). Regardless, if we do not fear change, especially change for the better, we can do anything. And if that means living a simple, minimalist life filled with abundant joy and love for what we do, then all the better!
Henry David Thoreau only deemed these 4 entities as essential to his living, as experienced and recounted in Walden:
1. Food
2. Shelter
3. Clothing
4. Fuel
After all, possession is illusion.
You know, I’ve never read Walden (for shame!), but his four necessities are minimalism defined: simple, wonderful, and terribly obscured by modern times.
Me personally, I’d tack “Friends” on to that list, if only for how important they’ve become to me over the last few years. Coming from one of those former self-styled “lone wolf” types, that’s a pretty remarkable change!
I liked your last line, too: possession is illusion. The only thing we can legitimately own, I think, is our memories – those experiences so full of life and wonder that they linger in our thoughts throughout the years. Even then, though, I feel like “own” isn’t the right word. I don’t *own* memories, much like I don’t really own all the crap I accumulated throughout my life.
Maybe we just *hold* memories? That gives them a distinct identity, but still shows how closely they tie into our lives. We’re not master/possessor/whatever, but a mind holding tight to these precious experiences until either they leave us or we leave them.
…woops! That’s a tangent. Sorry.
But your comment is great food for thought, so please forgive how non-responsive this response is! Haha.
I just recently found your blog…and I’m going through such extreme changes in my life right now. Like clockwork, every year I get the urge to purge, and I go through my things and donate them. But then I will accumulate the equivalent, and repeat the cycle all over again. About a month ago, I started having that itch to give away; however, this time I promised myself to not buy it all back down the road. I simply want to keep things I need (or that bring joy to my life)…not merely stuff that creates an illusion of (non-material) abundance. As a college student I feel it is both easy and difficult to live this way, but I don’t have a car (I walk, ride my bike, or take the bus), and since starting school a few years back I haven’t had the desire (or the time, haha) to want to watch tv.
And on your idea about memories…I agree, simply because not only do we ‘hold’ onto these visual (and I guess tangible to an extent) images/sounds but they also shift and evolve into something different than the actual instance. When I experience something, versus when I first attempt to recall it, compared to years after the experience, are all so varied and I feel they change with the person I am becoming.
Oh boy, I guess I’m guilty of a tangent as well. Haha.
ANYWAYS…I just wanted to say I feel so liberated and refreshed (regarding living simply), and I don’t know how I lived any other way. Thanks for the post! I’m definitely going to be checking out your archives.
Nothing wrong with insightful tangents, my friend.
I completely understand where you’re coming from. I’ve only been out of college for about a year myself, and maybe nine months back (the start of this blog, coincidentally!) found my world expanding and imploding on a daily basis. I felt tugged in a thousand different directions, but there was at least one thing that I knew wouldn’t change: dedication to living simply, minimally, and as uncluttered as possible. Stay strong with that promise to prevent the (creeping) clutter. Speaking from experience, at least, living with less becomes easy — effortless — the longer you stick with it.
If I can ever be of help, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Take care!
5. Friends
There are people that can be successful hermits, but they are not the norm.
Awesome Matt!
I haven’t poked around yet (going to now), but you got robbed? If you haven’t put that to words yet, it would probably make for an interesting story.
As for Walden: it’s available for free: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/205 No excuse not to read it now.
Cheers,
Karol
Karol! Thanks for stopping by, man!
I’ve written about the robbery once before at Vagabondish (http://www.vagabondish.com/robbed-saved-consumerism/, if you’re curious), but I’m thinking I’ll touch on it again here in more detail sometime soon. It’s an interesting way to explain my change in life goals, so hopefully I can be forgiven for reusing material.
Walden’s next on my list! Thanks so much for digging it up for me. It’ll no doubt inspire some awesome material for the blog, too! And keep up the great work at RE! Your story is inspirational every time I see it. I hope I’ll see you around here again too.
Hey, Matt. Great blog and great idea. I am starting today with a garage sale. I saw an article I think it was yours, through Get In The Hot Spot, and you mentioned Freecycle.org ? I am having trouble signing up to it and wondered if you had a tip to get it working? Keep up the Good Work.
Thanks, Fuzz!
Yep, that was mine, and sure! I’d be glad to help. Why don’t you send me an email at the address on my contact page and describe the problem you’re having? Freecycle can be a little confusing, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you out!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
i am a senior woman discovering how delightful it sounds to live minimally. i am new at this so i am taking baby steps to create more peace and less “herd thinking”.
thank you for to sharing your experiences.
Thank you for coming by!
Best of luck in your minimalist adventure. If you ever want help finding your way, please email me or check out some of the sites in the Links section. You’ll find a wealth of great material there to guide you.
Take care!
I’ve been to where Thoreau lived, and it’s a lovely spot, up a little trail in the woods. His house was absolutely tiny, and I’d love to live in it (the original is gone, though).
I’m a fan of “mediumism,” I think – have a few things that you absolutely love and which comfort you, but don’t get too attached to them, keep them tidy, and know WHY you have them. In the end, all we get to take with us is love, and the connections we’ve made to other people, so that should be the focus of our lives.
Hi,
Love this post, you should watch this film( http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-century-of-the-self/) it changed the way I see the world. This is part 1 of a 4 part BBC documentary. Hope you find the time to watch it!
It’s on my list! Thanks for the recommendation.
Thank you so much for this Matt! I have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much in my life right now. I am about to snap a few photos of it all (its almost a joke) to post on my blog today. Next week I will have after photos and will probably cry after it all.
I have been wanting to simplify my life for months now and have never set the time to do it. Now is the time. I was led to your blog which is about the primal lifestyle (this is what my blog is about) and also about living minimally – living simple. Now is the time.
Thank you so much for inspiring me to make the move NOW. I now hope to inspire others to do the same. And the positive cycle continues! Thanks!
I thought I had found ALL the Blogs on Minimalism. I am very happy I stumbled across yours. I read alot that say ALOT of the Same things, just a bit different. I enjoyed reading your post. It truly resignats with my Life today.
Glad to hear it, Tammy! Thanks for the kind words.
I completely agree with you. There is an awesome book on this subject by Dominique Loreau called The Art of the Essential, although, unfortunately, I don’t think it has been translated into English yet. The basic principle behind the book is: only keep a material possession if you need it or you love it. I think she’s absolutely right!
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I wholeheartedly agree. One of my blog posts is about living with a packrat. I’m sure you will get a laugh out of it. To read it, click on the topic “packrats.”
Continued success with your wonderful new lifestyle.
Thanks so much, Rina! Having been a former packrat myself, I can only imagine your agony.
I totally agree with you except for one point, which is that “time is the most valuable thing we own.” I think it is the second most valuable, the first being our bodies, which is the most intimate and important piece of property any of us will ever own.
Fair enough, Josh! Though I’d counter that we need our bodies in order to celebrate time, and that we need time in order to truly appreciate our bodies, so maybe they’re one and the same.
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