Learning the insurance world: it’s a grownup thing to do. Minimalism is for Everyone. Graham Hill’s New York Times Op-Ed piece Living with Less had a dramatic response as most stories of minimalism do. The response varies from “I could never live like that.” and “Easy for you to say.” to “Living more simply changed my life, made me happier, more loving and giving, and opened up the time and space to figure out what really makes me happy.”
A quick recap, if you haven’t read Hill’s piece; he tells his story from his 420 sq foot apartment of selling a company in the late nineties for more money than he thought he’d earn in a lifetime, buying a huge home and filling it with the latest and greatest and then, realizing that more stuff didn’t make him happier, he changed his life. He says, “For me, it took 15 years, a great love and a lot of travel to get rid of all the inessential things I had collected and live a bigger, better, richer life with less.” Hamilton Nolan an Editor from Gawker said in this article that “The problem here is not the message. 7 Reasons a 1950s Housewife Had It Made | Parent Society. Turn Stuff You Don't Need Into a Good Deed | DonateStuff.com.
Simplify what you do for Minimalist Guide. Minimalism Is Not a Radical Lifestyle. Some people meet me and when we talk about minimalism they think I live a radical lifestyle. They say things like “I could never be a minimalist.” But the truth is that my lifestyle is not radical. I don’t consider myself a radical person. If you met me today and we didn’t talk about minimalism (which we probably wouldn’t), you wouldn’t think my lifestyle is much different from yours: I don’t count my stuff, but I have hundreds of things, even after I got rid of 90% of my stuff.
But there are three key distinctions 1. 2. 3. Minimalism is not a radical lifestyle. How about you—what could you strip away from your life that would allow you to focus on the important aspects of your life? Sharing is radical. The Quick and Easy Guide to Coming Out as a Minimalist. “So, I hear you’re a minimalist. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Last week, a reader emailed me for advice on how to “come out” as a minimalist. She wanted to explain to friends and family her desire to live simply—in a way they would understand, and without sounding judgmental of their lifestyles. I think it’s a fabulous question, and imagine she’s not the only one struggling with this issue. For outside the cozy confines of the blogosphere, a declaration of “I’m a minimalist” may very well be met with, “You’re a minima-WHAT?” Smirks, raised eyebrows, and quizzical looks are not out of the realm of possibility, either. I’m lucky—I eased my way into minimalism long before it was a popular Google search.
Those of you on a faster track to freedom-from-stuff, however, may find things a bit more challenging on the friends-and-family front. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. It’s never easy to make a dramatic lifestyle change, let alone explain that choice to those around you. Find a Rational Minimalism that works for you. On Defining Minimalism | The Minimalist Woman. There’s at least two ways of looking at nearly anything.
Minimalism is no exception: is it the ultimate cynical luxury of the privileged, or is it mindfulness and appreciation of essentials? Or a mix of both? Has the plug been pulled--or is it simply not plugged in? How about when we look at a house without much stuff in it: is there very little by choice, or by misfortune? Regardless of which, could there be equally appealing results? Is there no flat-screen plugged into the wall and hooked up to cable because it is mental clutter, or is it because it is physical clutter? No matter what began the lifestyle, or what the lifestyle is called, living well with only what you need is a philosophy that brings good things to those who share it.
Even if it isn’t a permanent lifestyle, the exercise in awareness remains. Living well with only what you need gets fuzzy in the area of aesthetics vs. philosophy. It isn’t just the not-buying of stuff that determines Minimalism. 20 Dollars, 20 Minutes: Getting Rid of Just In Case Items. Just In Case People often hold on to things just in case they need them. They don’t let go because they might need something in the future. And they pack too much stuff for trips and vacations just in case they might need it. But we needn’t hold on to these things just in case. Instead, if we remove the just in case items from our lives, we can get them out of the way, we can free up the space they consume.
Over the last year, the two of us let go of the vast majority of our just in case items. And then we tested our theory… 20/20 Theory Anything we get rid of that we truly need, we can replace for less than $20, in less than 20 minutes from our current location. More importantly, we haven’t missed the hundreds of just in case items we got rid of, and we didn’t need to replace most of them at all. Getting rid of these items clears one’s mind, frees up their space, and takes the weight off their shoulders. What are you holding on to just in case? Minimalism Explained. Defining Minimalism After my All 55 Things I Own post the other day, I want to take a second to go over Minimalism as a philosophy and a practice to make sure we’re all on the same page as to what it means and how it’s done.
So when you think of Minimalism, you likely think of getting rid of stuff, not buying anything new, and living in a small white room with no furniture or pictures on the wall. This COULD be true, but in most cases it’s not. It’s important to understand that the reduction of physical possessions is often a RESULT of Minimalism, not Minimalism itself. Just giving away a bunch of things doesn’t make you a Minimalist, any more than buying a statue of Buddha makes you a Buddhist or doing yoga makes you healthy. It’s one aspect of the whole, for sure, but you needn’t partake if that’s not where your priorities happen to be. There are always other options. And that’s what’s important to establish here: priorities. My Minimalistic Tendencies Booya. Getting Rid of Stuff You? » minimalist FAQs. Some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about minimalism and living the minimalist life, for those new to the concept.
Q: Why be a minimalist? A: It’s a way to escape the excesses of the world around us — the excesses of consumerism, material possessions, clutter, having too much to do, too much debt, too many distractions, too much noise. But too little meaning. Minimalism is a way of eschewing the non-essential in order to focus on what’s truly important, what gives our lives meaning, what gives us joy and value. Q: Isn’t minimalism boring or too sparse, with nothing in your life? A: This is a misconception about minimalism — that it’s necessarily monk-like, empty, boring, sterile. Q: What is minimalist living? A: It’s simply getting rid of things you do not use or need, leaving an uncluttered, simple environment and an uncluttered, simple life. Q: What are the benefits of minimalism? A: There are many. Q: What does the schedule of a minimalist look like? A: There are no set rules. A: No. Benefits of Minimalism. Tour My Minimalist Apartment: Photos and Commentary.
The Allure of Minimalism in Photographs Step inside my apartment for a moment. Welcome. I’m glad you could spend a few minutes chez Millburn. Please pardon the mess. People are often intrigued by my living space, or rather by the idea of my living space, wondering what it looks like, how a minimalist really lives, often posing all sorts of voyeuristic questions: How many things do you own? But that’s okay—I understand the allure. When Ryan and I first started this website, I counted my things as a parody, showcasing the fact that I didn’t have the desire to be as extreme as some minimalists. When I left my corporate job, however, I decided to downsize; I decided to reduce my expenses so I could afford to live my dream. At first, I wondered whether I could be as happy with my new apartment.
Fast-forward a year and, truth be told, I enjoy my new, smaller apartment more than my old loft—a feat I thought impossible a year ago. Photos of a Minimalist’s Apartment Entryway Bedroom Closet. What Is Minimalism? So what is this whole minimalism thing all about? To tell you the truth, it’s quite simple: to be a minimalist you must live with less than 100 things, and you can’t own a car or a home or a television, and you can’t have a career, and you have to be able to live in exotic hard-to-pronounce places all over the world, and you have to start a blog, and you can’t have any children, and you have to be a young white male from a privileged background. OK, we’re joking. Obviously. But people who dismiss minimalism as some sort of fad usually mention any of the above “restrictions” as to why they could “never be a minimalist.” The truth is that minimalism isn’t about any of those things, but it can help you accomplish many of them if you’d like.
If you desire to live with less material possessions or not own a car or a television or to travel all over the world, then minimalism can lend a hand. Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Minimalism has helped us: