I was first introduced to the concept of minimalism when I walked into my best friend’s dorm room way back in 2011 to discover that she had gotten rid of almost all of her possessions. She told me that she felt burdened by owning so much stuff, so when she moved from her mom’s house into her dorm room she took almost nothing with her, and she felt freer than ever. At the time, I thought she was crazy, but years later, I now find myself in a similar situation. I have had to move into an extremely tight living space, which has forced me to limit my possessions down to just a couple of duffel bags. And you know what? I understand my friend’s motivations now; I feel more free than ever, unhindered from the weight of unnecessary baggage.
Minimalism isn’t just about Marie Kondoing your life — getting rid of everything that no longer “sparks joy” and organizing whatever you have left into perfectly labelled boxes. It’s also not about throwing away everything you own and feigning unnecessary poverty. It’s a conscious decision to not get sucked into the destructive forces of capitalism that pressure you every day to buy more stuff. It’s making do and being content with what you have. It is about finding joy not in items, but in people, places, and experiences.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to minimalism. No one decides the exact number of objects you may possess in order to be called a minimalist. It’s completely up to you. If you are considering minimalism, I would suggest focusing on areas of your life that seem out of control. Is your wardrobe overflowing with clothes, yet you spend hours every day trying to find an acceptable outfit? You might consider pairing back to just a capsule wardrobe, which involves only keeping a few of your favourite, most versatile pieces, and swapping out items with each season.
Consider a similar habit when it comes to all of the half-empty bottles of lotions and potions under your bathroom sink. Stick with the most basic, necessary toiletries that you use every single day or every week and get rid of everything else. The beauty industry thrives on selling you goop in plastic bottles that will magically fix all your flaws.
If your cupboards are crammed full of pots, pans, and coffee mugs, your pantry is filled to the brim with expired food, and you have a million different Tupperware containers which somehow don’t have a single lid that fits them, then you might want to do a purge of your kitchen. Remove every single item out of every single drawer, shelf, and cupboard. Put it all somewhere else. Over the next month, only put back into the kitchen what you actually use; the rest can go. But what about those “what if” items like your julienne slicer or immersion blender? Just borrow those random, rarely-used items from a friend or a neighbour who is not a minimalist. I promise you won’t need them as much as you think you do, or you would’ve used it in the past month.
Follow this model with every room of your house you feel has gotten out of control. It might even be your entire house if you’re in the mood to purge, or maybe it is just clearing out the stack of useless membership cards in your wallet.
Once you have cleansed your life of needless items, be sure that you don’t refill your space with more clutter; remind yourself of why you started this minimalist journey in the first place. Focus on filling your life with experiences more than things. Minimalism is a reprioritization of where you focus your time, money, and energy, and only giving up those precious, limited resources to the things that most align with your values.
I have no regrets in becoming a minimalist myself. I never look at my tiny space with feelings of want or lack and think to myself: “Gee, I wish I could scan through my old high-school yearbooks right about now.” It feels good to have broken free of the chains of the consumer culture and to be content with my few, treasured possessions.
Illustration: Kayt Hine/The Cascade
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.