What Minimalism Taught Me

For many people, the past year was just an ordinary one, but for me, last year is one of the happiest years of my life.  We moved to this new home with renewed enthusiasm for the future.  We've taken away everything we deemed not important. For the first time, I felt everything is in order, and with minor fine-tuning here and there, we have a home running on oiled wheels. 

Thanks to the earlier decluttering  that we did and the simple living ways that we adapted.  As a result, we feel lighter; truly, minimalism is in sync with simple living in many ways. 

"Minimizing is better than organizing", says Joshua Becker in one of his blogs, Becomingminimalist.   His philosophy being that organizing can be a cycle, it has no end, we'll be doing it again sometime soon, if not over and over again.    Minimizing on the other hand gives us some kind of permanence as well as the freedom and the space that leaves us more time to pursue other opportunities.  Yes, take it from me, "I've been there, done that".

Being  a minimalist is very popular nowadays that more and more people are embracing the idea; what with life becoming more expensive.  A great majority of us have come to our senses and finally learned not to be taken easily by sales pitches and advertisements, we now look for value for money and try to acquire only things that are timeless.  Nowadays, some retailers are having a dilemma because tourists minimize shopping, if not totally omit it; they travel more for the experience. 

Though we had decluttered, I realized that we can't totally embrace minimalism.   There are stuff that we're used to having around; old habits are hard to break.  Besides I want a warm house free from clutter but not bare, I still want to put my personal touch; so I kept my celadon collection, a few decorative vases and coffee table books even though my younger daughter asks why buy a book only for the purpose of putting it on your coffee table?  She has a point, right and it resonates with minimalism. 

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 The good thing though is that I learned to stop shopping except for food and the essentials.   I'm trying to adhere to zero shopping like Cait Flanders' shopping ban on herself as expressed in her blog: Blonde on a Budget. 

But then, what is true minimalism through and through, as in true blue?   Is there a standard?  Can it be measured by the number of stuff we keep, like only 100 pieces or is it 1000?  I have yet to get an answer.  

What I understand though is that by becoming minimalist, we have to purged all of the excesses in our lives, not just material things.  If we eat too much, drink too much, smoke too much, those are excessive.   Spending too much time on facebook or on the phone runs counter to the principle of minimalism.    When we cook too much food and throw away the left overs, we are not minimalists.  My  younger daughter today messaged me that she will limit herself to only two days a week of watching tv, she feels that too much exposure to that little box is not good for her. 

Finally I conclude that minimalism is knowing when and practicing what is enough for us and to overcome which ones are excessive.  

So, what do you think?  Am I on the right track?  Did I put the correct message across?