Why Minimalism?

Minimalism: simply a trend going around millennials?

For me it's more than a trend, more than something my friends are doing and I feel pressured into trying too. Actually, I don't have any friends that have embraced minimal living. It's not easy, it's not something that I just decided to do overnight - it's something that I've worked on for two years and am still learning what works and doesn't work for me. I had to get over the fear of giving up stuff I "might use later" or trinkets that remind me of a vacation I once took or that pair of shoes that goes perfectly with that one outfit or giving away something someone gave me and maybe one day they'll come visit me and notice that I don't have that thing that they gave me years ago but I never used because it's not really my style but...

what if? 

My parents met in college and moved to Houston shortly after graduation and marriage. For five and a half years, they worked, met with friends on the weekends, traveled a little to visit family and go on vacation. One day, when they were on the plane from a Colorado ski trip, they dreaded going back home. Back to a city where you sat in traffic all the time and worried about the humidity every day. So they stopped to ask themselves, why are we still living in a place we don't like to be in? Once they stepped off that plane, they put their house up for sale and began looking for jobs in Denver, and never looked back.

Sometimes we don't think to stop and ask ourselves why we do what we do. Or wonder if there's a better alternative because we're settled and comfortable where we are. When the buzz of this new idea called "minimalism" came my way, I stopped to think about it and it actually made sense: why do we keep stuff we don't need? Why do we even keep stuff we don't want? I'm talking to you, too-small-2004-Jesse McCartney-t-shirt stuffed in the corner of the closet.

Maybe this will scare you a little bit:
The average American wastes 55 minutes per day looking for something (Newsweek)

Home storage products are now a $4.36 billion industry (Newsweek)

From a survey by IKEA, 31% of their customers said that they were more satisfied after cleaning out their closet than they were after having sex

Of homeowners with two-car garages, they are filled with so much stuff that 32% say they can only fit 1 car, and 25% say they can't fit any (U.S. Department of Energy)

80% of our medical expenditures are due to stress (Centers for Disease Control)

The problem is, all of this consumption and materialism hasn't occurred in a day, a year, or even a decade. It's been progressively getting worse and that's why it's been so easy to ignore it.

So, after thinking about it, here's how I embraced minimalism: I've trimmed down my wardrobe, my makeup and personal hygiene products, my books and my desk supplies. It's been easier to pack up and go home during a break, I only need about half of an hour to get ready in the morning, my desk is clean and free of unnecessary distractions to work, and it's reduced the stress that I feel whenever I get home. I've even noticed that I've saved money not only because I'm buying less, but also whenever I buy something I make sure that I love it and that I'll use it, and that way I won't have to waste more money replacing it in the near future.

Is it hard work? Sure. Is it worth it? Most definitely. Free yourself from the clutter, free yourself from busy schedules, free yourself from stress and anxiety and make room for personal relationships, for your family, and for yourself.

I've started minimizing stuff in my life and started focusing on what really matters, and I don't think that should ever go out of style.