I sometimes find myself wondering why I’m carelessly browsing the aisles of a forever 21 in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. one hour goes by. Then two. Then two and a half. I move on to the next store searching for something to purchase to kill that consumeristic desire that I usually develop on the weekends. After a day wasted, I return home with a bag full of clothes. Clothes that I probably won’t give a second thought in a week or two. The cycle repeats the next week. And the next. And you guessed it; the next.
One day after looking at the cluttered mess of clothing in my closet I realized I had a problem. And something needed to change.
So I became a minimalist.
For those of you who are new to the term I’ll briefly describe Minimalism and some resources you can go to learn more about the movement. Minimalism is the pursuit of living with less. I personally like to use the statement a minimalist by the name of Joshua Fields Millburn once said in a documentary,“Minimalism is living with things that bring value to your life with no excess or clutter”.
The goal of minimalism is not getting rid of all of your possessions and living with just a toothbrush and fork, but rather surrounding yourself with items that genuinely spark joy for you. It’s about being intentional with the purchases you make and conscious of materialistic items you bring into your life, which is why minimalism can look different from person to person. Some minimalists prefer to wear black t-shirts and jeans everyday while others actually find joy in variety of styles in clothing. Some live in an RV while others love the feeling of living in an apartment.
Minimalism can be bent, twisted, and flipped to fit your lifestyle and you have the freedom to define what it means to you. (For more in depth information I suggest The Minimalists podcast, blog, or youtube channel or watching The Minimalists documentary on Netflix)
When I first heard of Minimalism, I was a freshman in high school. My older brother Isaiah and I were both fascinated by the lifestyle some minimalists chose to live particularly the ones who minimized their clothing and possessions to live in a RV to travel on the road or just for the sake of having a simple lifestyle. We both aspired to one day be able to renovate an old school bus or buy an RV and live a life on the road. Or one day get a compartmentalized or mini home to achieve the minimalism lifestyle.
Four years later, I started digging deeper into the movement; researching articles, listening to multiple podcasts a day, and reading books about minimalism. After deciding that living intentionally was the lifestyle I wanted to lead, I got rid of any possessions and clothing that wasn’t adding value to my life and decluttered every nook and cranny of my bedroom until I felt completely satisfied with every item in my room. Every item in my room sparks pure joy.
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