5 Ways Minimalism Improves Our Lives

[TheRealPepperPotts]

I've been on the minimalism journey for the past three years, and it's truly amazing. I've identified 5 ways it makes life so much better. Feel free to add your own experiences and ideas!

Credit: Jamie Beck

1. More time. I am not picking up stuff all the time, trying to find a place for stuff, organizing and reorganizing stuff. I now have time to do things I love.

2. More space. I don't need a ton of room or a larger home. I have more than enough room for the things that are lovely and/or useful.

3. Less stress. I don't mind so much when a mess is made on a project, because it's so easy to clean up. I don't feel self-conscious about having friends over now, even if they just pop by.

4. Less emotional weight. For me, keeping things really boils down to fear. "What if I need my first cell phone again?"(!) "What if I forget that my honeymoon was in Hawaii?" and so on. Those are silly examples, but the fear of losing the feeling associated with past experiences can subconsciously prevent us from letting go and embracing the future joys we can still experience.

5. Freedom. The knowledge that letting go of the stuff doesn't lead to feelings of regret, but to a sense of weightlessness and freedom. It's so liberating and filled with hope.

Minimalism is not having one chair in the living room or paring things down to nothing. It is editing our possessions so that they serve us better and more effectively. What's also amazing is when storage containers and bookcases start going into yard sales because the storage is no longer necessary.

Possessions don't bring happiness or security. Relationships and a full and meaningful life do that. And a side benefit of minimalism is that there is less interest in escapism activities because we can actually enjoy what we have, where we are, and what we are doing more. I'd highly recommend watching "The Minimalists: Less is Now". I just watched it earlier this year and it is great. If you lack motivation or have a reluctant partner, it's an inspiring and moving watch.

My late husband was one to hold on to things, and I've been going through years of unprocessed stuff. It has been a huge job, and if you are one to never let go of stuff, I'd encourage you to consider your loved ones if you were to die suddenly, leaving them with decades of stuff that will likely end up in the landfill.

The Inheritance....

This is my experience and it's been life-changing and inspiring for me. So if you've been thinking about going for it, just do it! Start somewhere and don't overthink it. If you don't want to actually get rid of anything yet, just get a bunch of cardboard boxes and pack up some stuff you don't use or is obviously never going to be used (mismatched plastic containers in the kitchen are a good place to start). If you haven't missed anything from inside the boxes for a month, you can get rid of it.

If you're on this journey too, I'd love to hear how it's been for you and what tips or ideas you have, too. What do you think?

[TheSpaceGnome]

I have the opposite view on this, I prefer maximalism, I've tried minimalism before and got depressed. Maximalism gives me way more things to do, experience, and see everyday, it gives me artistic inspiration and life motivation and keeps me busy.

I'm the type to collect reference books, video games, music, movies, anime, action figures, model kits, lego sets, trading cards, technologies, instruments, cosplay outfits, robots, artifacts, specimens, minerals, and have lots of pets.

I also need somewhere to store my ever growing collection of art I make.

Then there are also the workshop tools. I like to take stuff apart and tinker with it, I like to do experiments and research and express creativity and invent, I like to repair/restore/preserve/understand things instead of throwing them away (I love museums and historians for this reason) and I need a lot of space for it all.

I also generally like the look of stylized clutter. The minimalist appearance of rooms stresses me out from an aesthetics point, because it just doesn't look good in my opinion.
Even in a video game, I will often put pretty clutter all around my character's home in a very specific way, and I will make the furniture and even the house itself look extremely decorative and complex as well from an architectual standpoint.

Just looking at the various shapes, sizes and colors organized perfectly makes me happy, like the room/stuff/house itself has become a work of art. I am definitely the old fancy mansion hermit type of person.

And there is also that finding older things I forgot about jogs my memory of the past, staving off things like dementia/alzhiemers and securing old memories that bring me joy and creative ideas by reminding me of things that I previously enjoyed, but forgot about.

I want to have a library in my home so big you can literally get lost in it, I want to do varied fun things every day with no routine and never be bored. This is what brings me happiness.

I've never really had happiness from interpersonal relationships, I tend to not keep friends for very long as they always end up annoying/frustrating me, and if I manage to find a wife, she's going to be the only person I really spend time with.

But without all that stuff, without all the excitement and inspiration, we'd both be bored.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@TheSpaceGnome Thanks for the detailed opinion and perspective! I hear that. I don't care for the look of minimalism as it is generally shown, either. It stresses me out (Do NOT move the single plant on the single table with the single chair. Do. Not. :D )!

I think people who initially think of minimalism think of those photos and understandably say, "Ugh, no thanks". I used a photo by Jamie Beck because she is a master of aesthetic photography.

What you are describing sounds reasonable in that you are living the life you love, and for you that include tons of creativity. That is the goal of "minimalism" as a lifestyle, to only keep and have and do what you love and what serves you. Obviously, the world would be a dull and sorrowful place if minimalism provoked artists to burn their work and visionaries to destroy the record of their ideas. Maybe we need to come up with a new term for it, like "Intentionalism" or something like that.

The point of what I shared is mainly that many people do not keep things with intentionality or because it brings them happiness and peace. They keep stuff out of fear. Fear-based possessionism (new word; I made it up) is more what I intended to address.

[TheSpaceGnome]

I'm trying to find pictures to show what I mean but there is so much AI generated garbage in the image results when i try to search up examples :(

[RingOfFire]

Funny cartoon... I have seen that in the past and always remembered it and got a good laugh about it. As the inheritor of a hoard from a hoarding parent I can definitely relate. It's distressing to say the least.

But...

"Possessions don't bring happiness or security."

Not sure it's quite that simple. I enjoy the feeling of being self-sufficient, for example. It gives me both security and happiness. I enjoy owning a very competent and broad set of tools so that I can deal with any repairs or tasks that come up without having to rely on someone else and knowing that I can do the job better and more securely than I could have it done by an outside party.

Possessions are more than inanimate objects. They are a reflection of things we aspire to and that can be motivating.

I don't think it is quite that one dimensional.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@RingOfFire Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it! Love the Johnny Cash reference; no one sings that song like him.

[RingOfFire]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WyLhwYFgmk

[HawkPerception]

Actually part of my dream is to build an off grid self sustained tiny house and renovate my own campervan. I love looking at designs where furniture has multiple uses. I love beds that can go fold into the wall or go into the ceiling to create space. I love tables that fold out from the wall, chairs that are part of tables, stairs that have storage in each of the steps, desks that turn into cabinets... you name it. I love all the innovations people come up with to save space.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@HawkPerception Go for it! It's a fantastic experience. The only thing I missed when doing it was a dishwasher. Laundry was super easy because I'd just throw everything in multiple washers at the laundry facility and be done with all the laundry (sans folding) in about an hour and a half.

The multi-use thing has pros and cons, for sure. People are so creative, it's always amazing and fun to see how others handle space efficiency. I found that I personally didn't like to need to fold something up or put it away every time in order to function in the space. Especially if it was something I needed every day, or several times a day. The hidden, accessible storage is so handy and makes a space feel larger when various items are out of sight. I heard there's a show called Tiny House Nation and it's on my watch list (I have a lot of things I still need to watch, ha).

[msc545]

I think this is a really good idea and it has made me think of all the things in my house that I need to go through and discard. I'm responsible for some of these things but my ex is responsible for the great percentage of them. I will be relieved when all of it is gone.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@msc545 Thanks so much! That was kind of you to say. :)

[msc545]

Thank you very much for asking this question. I think it's the best question I've read in quite some time

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@msc545 That is high praise, and I appreciate that!

[strateguy632]

good points to balance the "keeper" hoarding mentality.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@strategyguy632 Thanks!

[Anonymous]

minimalism these days is seen as being broke

[Unit1]

That's because it usually is. Ask me how i know. My case is called bare minimalism.

[Opinion Owner]

@Unit1 it can be if you have higher aspirations you believe you would need e. g. 2 floor house with 5 bedrooms and a white picket fence

[Unit1]

And what ways would that be if not being a drug dealer or a swing trader for multiple years?

[Opinion Owner]

@Unit1 if you find a cheap apartment and keep your spending at a minimal while having disposable income I wouldn't classify that as broke

[handsomelad70]

"Minimalism?" Suppose all women had minimal boobage?

[diversethought]

I love how your mind works.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@diversethought Thanks! That's one of the best compliments someone has given me.

[diversethought]

You're welcome. I like the possessions don't bring happiness part. They can add to the equation but are not necessary. My happiness, even in the worst of times, has come from focusing on the qualities I have and the qualities I see in friends and family.

[bobby_bush_eater]

Enjoying simple pleasures