Last year, I stumbled onto some minimalist blogs and became intrigued. Minimalism is about owning less and embracing experiences over things. It’s a more conscientious, thoughtful way of living. It’s asking yourself the hard questions about whether or not you need or use something. It’s refusing to turn shopping into a sport. It’s about having less possessions so you can focus more on what’s important - the people you love. It was yet another thing that supported the realization that I require much less than I thought to be happy.
I started with my clothes and shoes.
As someone who has always had a piece (or 10) that didn’t quite fit, wasn’t my taste or was in my closet because it was on sale, this was an opportunity. I read about smart, professional women who had things called ‘capsule wardrobes’ for each season; women like Mathilda Kahl, a successful art director in New York City, who wears that same thing every day - a white silk shirt and black trousers. With that choice, she managed to completely eliminate the agony I’d faced many mornings over what to wear.
It made me realize that I needed to accept the woman I am, instead of the woman I think I am supposed to be.
I am a woman who does not like to fuss with clothes. I like a neutral palette - mostly black. I’ve no issue wearing the same clothes repeatedly, even in the same week. I’d prefer the absence of fashion angst and ‘fat pants’. I like it when my clothes fit my body - as it is now, not a few less pounds ago. A uniform of my tastes would be perfect for me. I started sorting my closet. Either the clothes met the standard or they had to go. No in between, no hedging. Simple. Despite having less clothes, I felt more polished and put together. It was fucking liberating.
After that, room by room, I started ruthlessly editing. Seven trips to Goodwill last year.
It has now become one of my life goals to own so little that my physical possessions will fit into one large duffel bag and one backpack. I don’t know if this will happen during the time in my life that my husband and I are living out of an RV, traveling around the country or if this will be next year, but it will happen. I’m much too interested in seeing what else I can live without.
I wish to challenge myself and the idea that all of the conveniences we enjoy are helpful. It doesn’t take much to survive and it doesn’t take much more than that to flourish. My intention is to continually reduce the fluff, and embrace the essential. It’s not about the number of items. It’s about examining whether or not the current incarnation of the American Dream (which is heavy on consumption) is what I actually want vs. what I’ve been told I should want.
It’s about having my own original thoughts about important things, like the way I want to live my life, which take time and quiet to appear.
It’s also about FREEDOM, which is what I value the most.
For me, less stuff = more freedom.
