"Who wants to live in a white box?" is a commonly offered criticism of the minimalist lifestyle. It focuses upon a very specific and extreme mental schema, but there are advantages of choosing to live even this ascetically:
1. Mobility. Few would consider freedom unimportant. We value liberty and the right to live with minimal restrictions, yet we typically dedicate our lives to acquiring permanent residence and a cache of possessions. Instead of dedicating our efforts to travel, we tend to focus upon mortgage. By shedding some material worth and tempering our desire for goods we can use our financial and intellectual resources more wisely and follow the mobile ideal.
2. Intellectual focus. Fewer possessions means fewer things with which to concern ourselves and less information to routinely process. Pundits often suggest that Westerners suffer from a low-level case of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder because of the world of distractions we have built for ourselves. The buzz of information and maximum consumer choice are wonderful things, but by leaving them outside and making our homes and workplaces into minimalist sanctuaries, we are able to regain focus and to enjoy greater presence of mind.
3. Autonomy. Every object you own has a financial cost attached to it. As well as the initial cost of acquiring it, an item must be stored, maintained, sometimes transported and ultimately disposed of. The more we own, the more expensive our lifestyles become and the more income we will need in order to sustain it. Having fewer possessions reduces our need to work so hard. If we jettison half of our possessions and start working part-time, we can use the extra time to follow intellectual, spiritual or physical pursuits.
4. Heightened appreciation of objects. Suppose you lead a life of extreme minimalism and do indeed reside in a white box. When you choose to bring an object into this environment, it has a greater importance than the same object acquired by a hoarder. Instead of being another thing in a cluttered space, it has significance and quidity. You can savour the beauty and admire the utility of this significant item as Epicurus would have done. How can one begin to foster this environment?
'Decluttering' was a noughties buzzword, the stuff of Sunday supplements. A decluttering session is like a crash diet; it may have desirable short-term effects, but the old habits remain and the problem returns. A minimalist lifestyle is less about decluttering and more about developing some habits of mind:
1. Learn of the disease. Be aware that stuff accumulates of its own accord. No effort is required on your part for your drawers, shelves and cupboards to fill with junk. Recognising this tendency, and the vigilance consequently required to counterbalance it, is the first step to minimal living.
2. Have frequent mini-clearouts. The work does not end with a single major decluttering session. The moment you take that last black bag to Oxfam, stuff will start to pile up again. Stop it getting out of hand by doing a single drawer or cupboard when the fancy takes you. If you can catch yourself in an unsentimental mood one evening, then throw out some burdensome objects. If you have not been able to rid yourself of something the first time round, you may be able to do so on the fourth or fifth attempt.
3. Be organised. The more organised you are the less stuff you will need; for example, if you don't lose your can-opener then you won't need a spare. Similarly, the less stuff you have, the easier it will be to keep yourself organized. The traditional maxim 'A place for everything and everything in its place' is easier to heed when you have more places than things. Habitually consider ways of streamlining your life, of stripping out things you do not want or need. These should not be unattainable major upheavals but small, incremental improvements. Examples could be organizing your administrative papers, only wearing black socks so you don't have to worry about pairing them or programming speed dial on your phone.
4. Be bold. It's unusual to regret throwing something out.
5. Buy one, bin one. Fancy a new shirt? Fine. When you put it in your wardrobe find your least favourite existing shirt and bin it. Better still, bin two. In this way the average quality of the things you do own will go up and your clutter burden will go down.
6. Encourage consumable gifts. For better or worse, gift-giving is part of the fabric of human life. Presents are laced with social obligation and, as such, can be difficult to bin. The minimalist will counter this by broadcasting broad hints as to the sorts of presents that will go down well: booze, food, books, socks, toiletries and stationary are all orthodox gifts that can be used or, at the very least, disposed of without raising suspicion. Reciprocate by giving consumable presents to others.
7. Don't bother selling stuff. The Japanese word 'mendoukusai' means 'more trouble than it's worth'. Television would have you believe that your accumulated junk is worth something. It isn't. Give it to a charity shop, Freecycle it (at www.freecycle.org) or take it to the dump. The time saved and the expedited rewards of minimalism will far outweigh any pittance you might receive from a sneering assistant at Cash Converters.
8. One for best and that's it. There is a tendency to have 'best' and 'everyday' versions of things. This certainly benefits the makers and sellers of said things but doesn't really benefit you. Bin the everyday version and use the best one. You might get hit by a bus tomorrow.
9. Use a library. Rather than buy a book or DVD, borrow it from your library. You are probably only going to use it once anyway.
10. Treat shops like museums. Western culture has an acquisitive bent. When we see something appealing we want to own it, to posses it. Squash this desire. In particular, if you see some trinket in a shop that takes your fancy, then regard it as you would a museum artifact: appreciate it and move on.
11. Reduce storage space. The purpose of decluttering is not to make way for fresh clutter.Once you have freed space, keep it as space. However, stuff tends to fill the storage space made available to it. Therefore, try to eliminate storage space as soon as you have freed it. For example, once you have cleared that bookcase of science fiction paperbacks, Freecycle the bookcase. This will deter you from accumulating more paperbacks.
12. Seek experiences rather than things. Life experiences take up no space and will not weigh you down. Strive to do and to be, not to own. Do you own your possessions or do
they own you?
Timothy Eyre and Robert Wringham run 'New Escapologist': a magazine dedicated to the art of sensible avoidance. Issue Three: the Practicalities edition is now available.
#6 and #12 really go hand in hand. We've started slowly implementing this in our family. Its easy to want to unwrap things, but really, unless its some thing that person really thoughtfully wanted and asked for, it usually goes unused and unappreciated. Last Christmas I got my husband scuba certification classes. He got me some 'stuff' but its stuff I've used every single day since getting it. Other times we've gone on day trips, 'stay'cations, or for our son we had a fun family party in lieu of gifts (from us at least...its hard to get wealthy relatives to NOT give gifts to their only toddler grandson.) The memory lasts much longer than any toy or trinket, and means so much more. I also love #10. So much easier to not want to buy stuff when you see it from this point of view! Thanks!
Posted by: Barefoot | March 29, 2012 at 08:02 AM
Thank you very much. An excellent article on a topic I struggle with - loving the principle but too often failing in the implementation.
No 7: I have recently learned this (again) from experience. You are bang on here.
No 10: Yes!
My subscription to your magazine will be on its way very soon.
Posted by: Michael | May 14, 2010 at 01:56 PM
"Freecycle it (at www.freecycle.org) or take it to the dump."
The dump is just unloading the problem: landfill is not a sustainable option. Good old freecycle slows down the journey to the dump, so is certainly to be preferred.
And don't forget charity shops. Many people throw out things which could be really appreciated by other people, and help a good cause on the way.
Posted by: Bren | May 13, 2010 at 10:04 PM