Minimalism: How living with less is living more

Imagine waking up in a clean, clutter-free room. The walls are painted white and stripped off everything. There are no photo frames, no ornate pieces of art, and no nails to accommodate more shelves to accommodate more stuff. It’s a room with three pieces of furniture: a worktable with a chair and a mattress to let you rest.

This room belongs to a minimalist. Someone who’s moved away from most things most people hold precious in their lives—a big house, a fancy car, fancier gadgets, designer clothes, a clunky watch that costs a bomb, shoes that steal looks of envy…you get the picture.

The minimalist has moved away from ‘material’ things to focus on aspects of life that matter most in his/her daily life. Yes ‘less is more’ is the staple diet for this lifestyle for sure—but the minimalist doesn’t need to run away from city life to live in a forest to obtain these goals. The minimalist only chooses to run away from the traps of worldly living to try and obtain true happiness.

1. The hidden cost

Minimalists believe that ‘things’ consume our life. These things could be a bottle of expensive perfume that lasts a couple of months—but its hidden cost is the hours a person has to work doing a job he/she may not enjoy.

An obsession with ‘things’ disallows people from going after their burning desire in life. A high-profile businessman might enjoy the power and status that he has earned in society today. But, he might hate the politics and aggression that has become a part of his daily life.

His work might keep him so busy that he has no time for his wife and kids, no time to dedicate to his own health, and no clue why he wanted to become a businessman in the first place. He might want to pursue a career as a writer—something that he knows he’s good at and loves doing but giving up his job to write fulltime seems like an impractical idea. For starters, it will never fetch the kind of money he is now used to making.

Minimalism sets us free from these traps. It makes us understand that material things can never replace the value of true human relationships. And the time we can spend going after things that last a short while is a distraction from finding true happiness.

2. Save time and money

Many people think minimalism is about throwing things away. On the contrary, minimalists are not trying to get rid of everything they own. They are only trying to get rid of all the things that are unimportant so that they waste no time on them—even if it’s 10-minutes a day.

For example, a minimalist will not keep a car if she never uses one. In cities like NYC, where renting parking space might cost up to $300, keeping one is equal to half the rent of a studio apartment. She will go for public transport instead.

 A minimalist’s refrigerator will not have an assortment of cheeses, bread, fish, juices, pickles, or leftovers from eating out. It will not have space for anything that will go bad cause it’s never consumed. Instead it will only have space for milk, eggs, veggies, and meat to last a week—when the grocery store can be visited for a refill.

The minimalist has thought through her habits to save big on time and money—skipping long queues doing wasteful shopping and getting rid of traffic jams cause she uses the subway.

3.   Zero followers

Being on social media has become a part of who we are and what we do. Staring at your phone has become the modern equivalent of daydreaming.

‘Nomophobia’ is the new word that is being proposed to describe the anxiety a person feels when they don’t have their phone on them. These days a single person could easily own one smartphone, one laptop, one tablet, one smart watch, wireless headphones, and one fitness tracker.

Of course that’s a lots of e-waste that we are dumping into the environment, but we are also doing the same to our brain—playing peeping Tom on Facebook, using Instagram to post whatever we eat, and tweeting every random thought we have. Do we ever stop to give ourselves a break from all the digital noise around us?

 Minimalism will force you to throw out all your devices and only use what you need for work. It will teach you the importance of getting rid of social media apps that you don’t need notifications for. And will allow you to be present in the moment and connect with people in the real world. 

4.   Create space

When you only have space for things you need you’ll get rid of all the clutter in your apartment. You’ll have ample space in your closet for all your clothes—cause you’ll throw away the jeans, dresses, and shirts you haven’t worn in years.

Your shoe rack will sustain the weight of a few pairs of comfortable sneakers that you can wear to your office and for working out. Your kitchen will look spacious, your garbage will be recycled in time, and you will not keep a juice blender if you don’t make juice.

Once your apartment gets more breathing space, you’ll also carve out some in your own head. Of course there’ll be no need to pay for extra storage. And you’ll finally understand why psychologists are right when they say that the state of your room is the state of your mind.

5. Make meaningful friends

The best part about being a minimalist is that it’s an attitude that will permeate every aspect of your life. What you’ve managed to do to your apartment will trickle into your personal life.

 This does not mean that you’ll start judging people based on their usefulness. Instead you’ll only have time for people you genuinely care for. You will also develop a strong instinct against people who only use you for their personal gain. Just like you threw away clothes that were eating up your closet space, you will have no time for people that are toxic influences in your life.

Minimalism will also help you understand the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Smart working will be your new mantra to work—to maximize efficiency and focus. While at work you’ll learn to give time to your career goals. While at home you’ll keep your work phone switched off and just chill with friends and family.

6. Live anywhere. Travel more.

If you are not obsessed with living in an expensive apartment with a gym, parking space, and swimming pool—you will be open to moving into neighborhoods and apartments that suit your needs.

You’ll figure out accommodation that is 20-minutes away from work, perhaps one that’s right next to a train station. If you live by yourself and like exercising outdoors, you won’t think living in a studio next to a park is a compromise. Instead it will make perfect sense.

Though some minimalists have gone one step further. Some of them have joined hands with the ‘tiny house movement,’ choosing to live in a trailer that they’ve converted into a permanent home. They have given up all their possessions to live in van with a bed, stove, and living room—all packed neatly inside.

This does not mean they’ve gone broke. This only means they don’t choose to spend more than half of their income on living expenses. This also allows them to drive off with their trailer whenever they choose to live in some place new. They can choose to live in different cities, become a part of different communities, and experience life with greater freedom.

7.   Live happy.

Minimalism will allow you to create more space, time, and energy for people and experiences that make you happy. It will allow you to use less and therefore waste less. This way of life is not only good for individuals—it’s also good for our environment.

Of course you don’t have to go extreme and go live in a trailer. You can pick and choose elements of a minimalist lifestyle that you can live with. If you think of minimalism like spring-cleaning, it’ll be something you’ll be able to do. It’s simply a way to throw out garbage that you have accumulated in your life and house to start things on a clean slate.

By now you may have realized that minimalists are not hippies following a new fad that’s recently become available. They’re instead offering a practical solution to many problems modern society faces today. In choosing to build a fulfilling life using less resources—they’re leading the way to simple sustainable living.