Why I Became A Minimalist

Learning about minimalism and adopting this lifestyle has brought me more peace, more meaning, and more happiness. This is my story of why I became a minimalist.

The Beginning

A few years ago, I had my dream job. I was working 9-5 and had my own office, I was on salary, I had a company laptop and double monitors. I was important, respected, and well-liked in my office. I worked in the wine industry and got plenty of opportunities to further my wine education. We had fancy company holiday parties and I was making more money than I’d ever made before. I thought I should be happy; I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t.

Why I Became a Minimalist

What Was I Doing?

During this time, I was living quite the lavish lifestyle. I had relatively low overhead costs. I was renting a one-bedroom with my boyfriend, and I had previously bought my used car in cash. I had a low car insurance payment, I got health benefits through work, and my only monthly bills were rent and my cell phone bill. I used most of my income on shopping sprees at Target over the weekend (to spruce up my home furnishings, pick up some new work clothes, or try some new makeup), happy hours after work, or dinners at nice restaurants. If I wasn’t shopping on the weekend, I was wine tasting – though I got free tastings for being in the industry, I’d still spend hundreds of dollars stocking up on fancy wines.

The Ted Talk

One day after work, I stumbled upon a Ted talk by The Minimalists. It was called A Rich Life With Less Stuff. I watched it three times in a row, and then forwarded it to everyone I knew. I made a plan to declutter my spaces and live a more minimalist lifestyle. I started with my living room, donating tons of books. I moved to my bathroom and decluttered heaps of lotions, creams, shower gels and old makeup. I cleaned out my closet and donated clothes that still had tags, bags of shoes, and a massive pile of accessories that I never wore.

Going Minimalist

I did a total of three rounds of decluttering. I had a few discussions with my boyfriend, who wasn’t interested in minimalism or getting rid of any of his stuff. Once I finished my last round of decluttering, I started to pay attention to the lifestyles of the minimalists I admired. I started to question my own lifestyle and the ways I was spending my resources – my time, my money and my energy. I decided to make some big changes.

Why Minimalism?

Intentional Living

One of the biggest changes that I made with minimalism was becoming more intentional with how I spent my time, money and energy. I quit my job, broke up with my boyfriend, and I started saving like I’d never saved before (it’s amazing what happens when you stop shopping and going out). For the first time in my life, I had a plan to do something just for me. I saved for five months, got my first passport, asked for a 44L backpack for my birthday, and left the US for a life of world travel.

The Happy Ending

Two years later, I’m still traveling full time. I’ve been to twenty-four countries, I’ve lived abroad in two, and I have lots of travel planned for my future. I spend my days how I want to spend them. Because I spend so little money, I don’t need to work full time to support myself. I am rich with time, my passport is filling up rapidly, and I’ve lived more in the past two years than the last twenty-seven.

As you can see, minimalism has been so beneficial to my life. I will be forever grateful to the minimalist movement and the people who introduced me to it. Thanks to them, I can now say that I live a Rich Life With Less Stuff.

Your Turn!

  • Have you tried minimalism?
  • If so, why did you become a minimalist?

 

2 Comments
  1. Thanks for sharing your story! I recently started my minimalist journey. It’s crazy how much time and money you gain if you stop wasting them for things you don’t really need. My reasons for becoming minimalist are similar to yours. I often caught myself spending my time on stuff, and with people, I didn’t quite need. Now, I find pleasure in the little that I own and I’m focused towards creating a positive impact.

  2. Awesome story. I’m 51 and finally decluttering after raising two kids. It’s taken months and will take months more before I even can get to living a minimalist lifestyle . At least I’m on the road!! Hope to share my story eventually but still throwing stuff in a dumpster , donating it or selling it, exhausting.

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