I Fold My Socks
I was going to write about something else this week but this article popped up on The Grauniad (Guardian). The writer tried Marie Kondo’s KonMari tidying method. She “embraced radical decluttering as a way to improve” herself.
I love reading the comments under articles like this because people get very passionate about their stuff. By the time I was ready to post this blog there were almost 1,200. In reading the article and the comments below, I see what I believe to be a misunderstanding of what minimalism is.
What minimalism is not:
I’ll have to get rid of all my things.
A minimalist is not a monk or an ascetic. You don’t have to give away all your worldly goods and live in a cave. While some bloggers count their things, (“Look at me! I only have 47 things!”) it’s not a contest to see who can own the least. Adopting a minimalist lifestyle will not leave you bereft of your beloved belongings—quite the opposite, in fact.
The end goal of adopting a minimalist lifestyle is not to declutter for the sake of decluttering. Have a purpose and use common sense. Don’t mindlessly get rid of things for the sake of getting rid of things. It’s really about identifying what’s important and making space for that, not just physical space but temporal and mental space as well, hence Kondo’s “spark joy,” or for the rest of us, “hell, yeah.” Surround yourself with your favourite things, get rid of the “hell, noes,” and keep your best vegetable peeler.
Will minimalism make me a better person?
Minimalism is not a self-improvement technique. Streamlining your life won’t make you a thinner, smarter, wealthier, happier, or more noble person. But if you’re feeling bogged down by your possessions or your schedule, it might help clear the path to such goals. Like the swimmer who shaves his body to become more hydrodynamic, minimalism can release you from the clutter of things and commitments that create drag in your life.
I don’t want to live in an empty white cube.
Don’t confuse minimalism, the lifestyle, with Minimalism, the art, design and fashion aesthetic. Lower case “m” minimalism is not a tool to turn your home into a sterile white box. Your home does and should reflect your individuality and need not look like a hotel room or a staged show home (unless you want it to!).
Minimalism is just for rich people who have stuff to get rid of.
Some think minimalism is only for the wealthy but it’s a lifestyle ideally suited to those on a tight budget. Minimalism isn’t just about getting rid of stuff. It’s about not buying it in the first place. It’s surprising how little we need versus how much we want. Recognize that the thrill is in the hunting, not the having. Retail therapy is not good for our pocketbook and it’s not good for the planet either.
If I get rid of something today, I’ll probably have to buy it again tomorrow.
If you declutter thoughtfully (see above) you’ll never miss the things that you remove from your home. I have no regrets over anything I have ever decluttered. After a lifetime of donating, selling, and giving away my stuff, the only thing I ever replaced was a muffin pan. $12.00. Oh, and I bought back a poetry book I had donated. I stumbled upon it in the used book store where I had originally taken it. I didn’t realize it was my own book until I took it up to the cash register and laughed to see my own name inside the back cover. $6.00. Total $18.00. And I decluttered the poetry book a second time. I still have the muffin pan.
We all have our own comfort levels when it comes to stuff. I used to live in a 250 square foot apartment (that’s for another post). When I moved into a larger place two years ago I acquired more things and had trouble assimilating them into my psyche. I experienced true discomfort in owning more. It made me anxious. I didn’t feel richer. I felt tired and weighed down. I removed the excess and felt lighter and freer. Here is another analogy I like: clutter is like a sucker on a rosebush—it won’t produce flowers and only saps energy from the plant. Cut it off at the root.
What a drag: Don Rodrigo (Robert DeNiro) does penance for the murder of his brother by hauling a great net full of armaments through the Amazonian jungle until he is finally released by one of the native peoples he once enslaved. He’s so relieved he’s crying! I know how he feels.
Thank you Marie Kondo and all the other minimalist authors and bloggers who challenge me to think in new ways about my belongings. And, yes, I fold my socks.
https://www.becomingminimalist.com/
Look for books by Don Aslett, Elaine St James, Julie Morgenstern, and Peter Walsh too.
Favourite Guardian comment: “My father used to say: ‘You should hang on to that, it’ll come in useless some day.’”