For the love of God, somebody help me! I have nearly blown $300 on a Playstation 3…on multiple occasions. We have been snowed in here in northern Virginia for the past two weeks. There is nearly 40 inches of snow on the ground right now. It’s freezing, it’s ugly outside with all the sand on the roads and what not, and I’m getting bored.
Every time I venture outside I nearly commit the ultimate minimalist sin: impulse purchasing. An expensive impulse purchase at that: $300 for a PS3, plus another $60 each per game. I’ve been able to hold myself back thus far, but I need your help.
I’m begging you, my dear readers, please stop me from blowing my money and destroying my minimalist street cred. Help end these impulses! I know of the 30 day rule, and I always try to remind myself of more productive things: blogging, reading, writing. But I’m starting to feel like this will only hold me back for so long! So please, I beg of you, give me some of your favorite tips and tricks to stop these urges!
What is a minimalist? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately. I even wrote an article about it on Tuesday. Over the past few days, I’ve been scouring some of my favorite blogs looking for definitions. One thing I’ve found: there is no cookie-cutter definition. Read the links below to see how other leading minimalists embrace minimalism.
On Ego and Why I’m Here
The Number One Argument for Not Simplifying
Simplifying Simplicity with Five Simple Questions
Our Definition of Minimalism
On Minimalism
The Why and How of Simplicity
The Unconventional Truth of Being Minimalist
All 72 Things I Own
For my own views on minimalism, read How do you define minimalism? and my Mission Statement.
Minimalism is embraced differently by different people. As Charley says in On Ego and Why I’m Here, “Some want to live more consciously, some want to escape the stranglehold of consumerism, some want to lighten their footprint, some want to live out of a bag and travel the world, some want to break their attachment with anything considered materialistic.” Being a minimalist is an individual choice, there is no right or wrong way to be one.
There is one thing I hope you learn from these different perspectives: Minimalism, no matter how you embrace it, is an amazing tool to creating happiness and satisfaction in your life.
Do you embrace minimalism in a way that wasn’t addressed here? Feel free to share it in the comment section below.
There are many interpretations of minimalism. Everyone has their own idea of what a minimalist should look like. Some live by the 100 things rule, others are just interested in getting rid of those books they never got around to reading. I fall more towards the latter definition. I live in an apartment, own a flatscreen TV, and drive a car, which by some definitions makes me the anti-minimalist. But I call myself a minimalist because I’m constantly ridding my life of clutter in order to concentrate on things that are important to me.
Here are the goals I strive for through minimalism:
- Uncluttered. I hate having things lay around that don’t serve a purpose. Everything in my apartment has a purpose, and everything has a place to live. Because of this, my apartment looks a LOT bigger than 670 square feet. In fact, my sister has the same size apartment, and she barely has room for anything in there. My apartment, on the other hand, almost looks spacious.
- Freedom. Many people don’t realize this, but unnecessary possessions restrict you both mentally and physically. Maintenance and upkeep becomes a never-ending chore, eating up all your free time. Your mind becomes constantly distracted with the next thing that needs to be fixed, cleaned, sold, whatever. Free time is consumed by the constant upkeep and maintenance of unnecessary possessions.
- Happiness. Clutter weighs you down. Owning only the essentials enables me to pursue things I enjoy. I don’t spend my time worrying about fixing or cleaning. Being minimalist frees my time, which lets me do things I love to do, like reading and writing.
There is no template to fit in order to call yourself a minimalist. It’s a personal choice that has a different meaning for everybody.
How do you define minimalism? How do you apply it to everyday life?
(Our Definition of Minimalism on Becoming Minimalist inspired this post. Check ‘em out.)
Right now, minimalism may be be an underground, low-key movement, but make no mistake, minimalism is the future. We can’t continue down the path of consumerism we’re on now, it just isn’t sustainable. Minimalism has already begun its transition from cultish to mainstream.
I recently saw the George Clooney movie Up In The Air (which was great). Clooney’s character, Ryan Bingham, makes a living by firing people, as well as being a motivational speaker. Bingham’s motivational subject? Minimalism. Here’s his gig:
- Make the audience imagine an empty backpack.
- Imagine filling said backpack with all your possessions, start with the small things in your drawers and move all the way up to the large things: furniture, cars, etc.
- Feel the backpack begin to weigh you down as you fill it up.
- Now, put on that backpack. Imagine trying to move and get things done while having to carry that around all day.
- You can’t move with all that weight dragging you down, he says, and moving is living.
I’m not gonna lie, I’m a nerd, and I got all excited watching Clooney endorse minimalism in a big time movie. But wait, that’s not it!
I got home that night and turned on the TV. A commercial came on that went something like this:
Is all your junk weighing you down? Use our storage facilities to store your junk, clear your mind, and keep you from going insane!
I’m paraphrasing because I don’t remember the exact words, but that was the general theme. The commercial was for Public Storage, which according to its website, is one of the largest landlords in the world based on tenants.
Witnessing both of these endorsements of minimalism in one night was pretty cool. What I really took away from it is this: minimalism is for real, and it’s just around the corner from becoming mainstream.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for scientific and technological advances, but half of our worldly problems could be fixed simply by consuming less. Consuming less would lessen our impact on global warming, stop support of unethical farming techniques, decrease energy consumption, etc.
One of my favorite minimalist bloggers just released an eBook on being minimalist. I won’t even try to explain it any better than him, so check out Everett Bogue’s The Art of Being Minimalist by clicking here (check out Everett’s blog on minimalism by clicking here).
Between Everett’s eBook and my previous article, What Michael Scott and The Office Can Teach Us About Minimalism, it’s easy to see just how simple (and necessary) it is for all of us to embrace minimalism.
“You can lose all your money, you can lose all your gold. You can never lose your heart, you can never lose your soul.” – Marc Roberge, from the song That Was A Crazy Game of Poker by O.A.R. (greatest band ever).
I approach minimalism, and my life, this way. Life is not something to be filled up by the pursuit of money or material things. True happiness comes from the friendships and memories you create.
If you are trying to join the minimalist movement, or just live a happier life, adopt this quote as your life motto. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, if there are no deep friendships in your life, you simply won’t be happy.
It’s time to get rid of some of the crap that is filling up your house and distracting you from what’s really important. Donate it, throw it away, sell it, just get rid of it. Clear out that stuff that prohibits you from doing what really matters. Get out there and hang with your friends, form those close bonds, and create lasting memories.
If you do that, I promise you, you will find true happiness.
For the love of God, somebody help me! I have nearly blown $300 on a Playstation 3…on multiple occasions. We have been snowed in here in northern Virginia for the past two weeks. There is nearly 40 inches of snow on the ground right now. It’s freezing, it’s ugly outside with all the sand on the roads and what not, and I’m getting bored.
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