Thoughts on Minimalism

How did I even come up with this topic?

So, I encountered this word a long time ago, but I never really grasp the meaning of it quite well. I always thought that minimalism is something that is austere, simple, and plain. Generally, when people talk about that word I associate it with architectural or design field. However, there's more to it than that.

Last year I got caught up by the idea of minimalism by one of my favorite youtuber, Jenny Mustard. Her style was very minimal to the point that she didn't have any eyebrows, which I thought was very absurd. However, I got very interested by this idea of minimalist lifestyle. The next day, I did a little bit of research about minimalism, where I found two people that believe that minimalist lifestyle has brought happiness to their life. They are called the Minimalist. I checked on their blog and found some interesting new insights about minimalism. A documentary the ‘Minimalism’ that I watched on Netflix has also been enlightening.

This lifestyle contradicts with our consumerism culture today. The intuition behind it is that we should preserve things that has a certain value and function to us. It allows us to focus on what's really important in life. By decluttering things that are unnecessary we could embrace more on the quality of our possession. The lifetime of a product that we own should be considerable enough for us to buy them in the first place. By being aware of our needs, we could be more mindful when we purchase something.

Level of minimalism vary. Some people enjoy having more stuff than others. It is about finding your own balance. Every time you approach a situation where you have to make a choice to buy something, ask yourself this 3 main question.

1. Is it what you need or what you want? If need, buy them

2. If it is what you want, will it give you enough satisfaction when you start to utilise them?

3. How long will it last?

You don't have to answer 3 of them, because some things don't last. For example, food and other disposable stuff. However, we also need to be careful with these exceptions. Having them is something fundamental in our life, but the amount you consume them is important as well. Consume them enough to make you satisfied and be mindful with the waste you produce for some products (e.g plastics, tissue, etc.)

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