Let's Talk Minimalism

Article by Joana Kim

Minimalism is not a new topic. However, I do believe it can be easily misunderstood. Shortly defined as owning fewer things, I myself have viewed minimalism as some sort of trend or used it as a word here and there without truly understanding what it meant. Whenever the word came into mind, automatically white walls, sleek designs, and some fashion bloggers would come into picture. 

But for many others, they might consider minimalism as a means of restricting oneself. As Brian Gardner from the No Sidebar blog writes, “The word minimalism has a negative connotation...they believe being a minimalist means you are sacrificing things. It means you are not taking advantage of all that is available in the modern world today.” Not only are all these varied assumptions misleading, but until recently, I can say they create a far different picture from how I personally view minimalism as now. 

Rather than a certain curated lifestyle, I now see minimalism more as an invitation to intentionally reflect on the items I own. By spending more time at home and getting inspired by lifestyle blogs/articles about minimalism, what started off as mere curiosity to see what this so-called minimalistic lifestyle could offer me led to an unexpected journey of much more. 

To start off, I can admit to being a bit of a hoarder. During spring cleaning or any other room cleanse, it’s hard for me to decide what goes or stays. Usually, my “stay” pile remains larger than what goes. It might drive other people crazy, but to me, however, it’s a matter of genuinely thinking there is worth in what I still want to keep - whether it be a favourite book I owned from middle school or an old, pilling sweater that I will “probably still wear” one day. However, I soon realized that in order for me to create my ideal space, I needed to be serious about re-evaluating the necessity of my possessions, and a hoarding habit would only make it more of a challenge. The following are lessons I have learned and am still learning through this experience.  

I learned that minimalism does not have a requirement in size. What I mean by that is, I found that the concept of minimalism applied to even the smallest things - like pictures I kept on my phone and old papers that weren’t even visible since they were packed under the bed. It might sound silly, but I found that even while I was cleaning the space off my phone, I had to consider things like which one of the three same looking-pictures had more value to me than others in order to make a significant reduction. Although this was of course an easier task, the mindset I had to keep was the same as when I was looking through my closet to get rid of clothes I just didn’t need anymore. Intentionality and minimalism go hand in hand. The times I didn’t fully establish the reason behind letting go of a certain item, I would find myself regretting it. On the other hand, keeping something just because I felt like it at the moment didn’t serve as a strong enough reason as I would eventually throw it out one day; it was only a matter of time. 

With the mindset of owning less, it actually helped establish personal preferences. Many times, I find that defining even my own wardrobe style is a gray area. It is definitely not bad to experiment with different styles, to determine what would work for you. However, with fewer distractions, it was easier for me to gradually establish the type of clothes that I did truly like, or the products that I no longer had any use for. In that, I am able to simply throw away what is unusable or donate/sell what isn’t. This gives me more confidence in knowing that what I am keeping is not only useful but also what I genuinely like and care about. 

Minimalism unveiled to me my own materialism. Materialism can be defined as finding excessive meaning/value in physical comforts or material possessions. It was one thing to know that I owned too much stuff, but another to realize the extra value I was putting in them. And the more I acquainted myself with the topic, it grew evident that those who practice minimalism in their daily lives do not consider it as merely just owning less than everyone else, but rather are better equipped in releasing the significance material possessions hold in their lives. 

Likewise, by first focusing on my own consuming patterns, and general habits along with the non-essential items I own, I am challenged to reflect more of a “less is more” attitude in my life. At the end of the day, I view minimalism not as a be-all and end-all, but exactly for what it is - a tool that can help. By slowly practicing separating myself from the mindset of ‘needing” certain non-essential possessions, I hope to learn to appreciate and be grateful for what I have in life all the while without feeling tied to its value or constantly needing more. I believe that this can also be helpful for many to apply at one point in their lives as well, so I hope you can join me!  

Article Sources: 

Gardner, Brian. “Why Minimalism is a Better Way of Life.” No Sidebar, https://nosidebar.com/why-minimalism/#:~:text=They%20believe%20being%20a%20minimalist,it%20can%20improve%20their%20life.

Millburn, Joshua F., Nicodemus, Ryan. “What Is Minimalism?” The Minimalists, https://www.theminimalists.com/minimalism

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