what minimalism means to me

Talking about minimalism can be a tricky topic.

When you think about a minimalist a certain picture comes into your mind. At least for me it does. It is a house with white walls, blank shelves, and no more than 100 items owned in your entire home. Or it is someone who lives in a tiny house or their van and travels the world with everything they own. Or maybe it is someone who prides themself on not having purchased a single item in the past year.

Well I don’t fit into any of those boxes. None of my walls are white and there is a decent amount of things in my home. I do not live in a tiny house or van and while I think it would be cool to travel in one I don’t know if I could full on live forever like that, and I definitely have purchased a lot of things in the past year.

But I still do think I am a minimalist.

There isn’t one type of a minimalist, just like there isn’t only one type of crafter, or writer. I try and be conscious of all of the things coming into my home and not buy decor, or trinkets, or something else just because they are pretty.

I try and live in a space for a while before figuring out what needs to go on the wall or in a corner (if anything). This helps my from being unhappy with the things coming into my home.

I routinely edit my closet and go through challenges such as project 333 and 10×10 to teach myself how few things I really do need to feel fulfilled in my wardrobe. I do the same with my makeup and skincare products as well as making sure that I use something up completely before purchasing a replacement so I don’t have cabinets and counters full of products that will go bad before I can even get to them.

Where I do need to get better in my life in terms of minimalism is consuming content. It is rare that I don’t have something going on audibly whether that is music or a podcast, watching something on the TV, or on my phone. I want to get better at creating space in my life for quiet, whether that is taking walks with no headphones, doing yoga or stretching in silence, or just taking time to be still which is very needed for me.

Minimalism looks different for everyone and what works for me isn’t going to be what works for any of you. Minimalism is as much to me a mindset than anything else. More how I think about what is coming into my life and my home than what the items actually are.

The more in tune I am with myself the more like I feel that I am not bringing things into my life and home that clutter it up (both physically and mentally) and that is what minimalism means to me.