Why Minimalism Isn’t About Stuff

I became a minimalist because the idea of having a clean and clear home and mind was appealing to me. Once I got past the decluttering stage, I was able to see that getting rid of stuff was the easy part. When you have a clean and clear house, that is when the real magic starts to happen.

Why Minimalism Isn't About Stuff

Gaining Clarity

The first major change I noticed when adopting a minimalist lifestyle was the amount of mental clarity I gained. I didn’t have to think so much about what I wanted to wear in the morning, I didn’t have to keep a running to do list in my head anymore – because my life had become simpler. I had a streamlined schedule.

After the mental clarity came, I started to realize that while I was working full time and living a minimalist lifestyle (aka I had quit my nasty weekly shopping trips), I was able to save a LOT of money every month. I wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck anymore. Before changing my lifestyle, I had become stagnant in my life. I had a good job, I was able to afford my rent, and I did pretty much whatever I wanted. Enter financial freedom.

Living in Alignment With Values

When I realized that I was accidentally saving a ton of money, my dreams of buying a brand new Audi went out the window, and in came bigger dreams. I wanted to travel the world and I wanted to write. I knew I didn’t want to stay in my windowless office, creating Excel spreadsheets that I wasn’t sure anyone even looked at.

why minimalism isnt about stuffFollowing the minimalist movement, I realized that I had a lot more choices in my life than I ever thought possible. Being financially free gave me the opportunity to follow whatever dream I could dream up. I had time to figure out what I wanted in my life, how I wanted to live, and how to spend the resources that I had – and I became much more intentional with those resources.

I started spending my time and money in ways that aligned with my values. I strengthened my pact to live my life creating minimal damage to the environment. I learned more about living a sustainable life, I saved up $12k so that I could travel for a year, and I learned about working visas so that I could continue traveling after my savings ran out. I learned about long term plans to create my own business online and spent more time working on learning about photography, which was an undeveloped passion before minimalism.

Unexpected Benefits

When I turned to minimalism, it was largely due to not wanting to spend my weekends knee-deep in laundry. What I got from minimalism was so much more than doing my two loads of laundry per week now – I’ve been traveling for two years, I’ve visited 25 countries, I’ve worked abroad, I’ve met people who’ve changed my life, and I’ve changed myself.

I’ve done something that made me feel better than any change in diet could, something better than simply getting out of debt or decluttering my house. I’ve become intentional about how I spend my resources that I get in this short life. I’ve chosen exactly how I want to spend my time and money, and following through with that has given me the chance to follow my dreams and live more than I could have ever imagined.

Your Turn!

  • How has minimalism affected your life?
  • What benefits have you noticed from adopting a minimalist lifestyle?
2 Comments
  1. Thanks for all the information in this article =)

  2. Very perceptive. I realised sometime ago that minimalism is like dieting. Initially, it seems like a physical process, but it is actually a mental realignment. The process of throwing stuff out becomes almost incidental.

    I started the process about 18 months ago, and realise now that the hardest part is starting. Once you begin, it gains momentum, and gets a lot easier.

Leave a Reply