My thoughts on Minimalism

"Minimalism is a lifestyle that helps people question what things add value to their lives.  By clearing the clutter from life's path, we can all make room for the most important aspects of life:  health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution."  

-Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus

There seems to be this new buzzword floating around more these days - minimalism* - and I decided to learn some more about it.  After following some blogs and reading some articles on minimalism, I understand its appeal - the beauty of living without bondage to stuff.  As a human product of consumerism, I grapple with the difficulty in finding worth outside of our physical possessions; our society linearly correlates status with ownership.  We find comfort in owning everything could possibly need, even if we have no idea where it actually is in our home.  Our drive is often fueled by the desire for the next thing on the list:  a bigger home, a nicer car, another gadget or smartphone.  The mantra of 'Just-In-Case' reigns supreme.

As with most things, there are extremes.  Some folks latch onto the idea of minimalism, taking it to one end of the continuum of owning almost nothing, while there are TV reality shows about folks who cannot seem to let anything go.  Most of us think of ourselves somewhere in the middle, being responsible by having items on hand for emergencies, but also slightly in denial by holding on to jeans and dresses from our days of optimal metabolism (as I guiltily walk to my closet).  

The goal of minimalism is to find the right balance.

Ironically, there is no right or wrong way to look like a minimalist - its principles are grounded in perspective, one that focuses on living right here, right now, not the nostalgically in the past or impatiently for the future.  It relates to the "no bag for your journey" approach that Jesus told his disciples when they were about to embark on their mission.  Minimalism is about living with only the necessary so that we are available to experience life with intention and purpose, not for the sake of obtaining more or in fear of losing our precious stuff.  What constitutes 'necessary' varies from person to person, to family to family, from season to season.

As "neat" and "organized" are not the same, the difficulty with minimalism arises in one's ability to accurately defining what is truly necessary, filtering out the influence of our culture from our real needs.  It's about letting go of the motion of acquiring for frivolous reasons:  sales, newness, convenience, therapy, or status.  It's about taking a look at all the stuff (and this includes our schedules) and weighing the pros and cons.  It looks at quality over quantity.  It appreciates simplicity and generates gratefulness.  It encourages us to value relationships, enjoy our work, and pursue our passions.  At the core, minimalism asks us to dictate how we spend our time, intentionally instead of haphazardly.

Our lives are in a perpetually fragile state, with our last earthly moments never fully known - and the stuff stays here.  What if our drive was no longer based on what we own, but on who we can become?  People who exude love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  People who help build, not tear down.  For me, it's harder to make strides towards these qualities when my energy is devoted to things.  So, this is my concluding thought on minimalism: holding on to stuff keeps you from being the best person you could be.

If you are interested in generating your own thoughts on minimalism, here are a few blogs that you can reference:

Becoming Minimalist, a blog by Joshua Becker

The Minimalists,  Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus

Zen Habits, a blog by Leo Babuata

*Side Note: I know 'minimalism' is often referred to as a type of decorating or artistic style.  What I am speaking to here is more of behavior or mindset, which ultimately would affect design choice at some level.

Know organization, know efficiency

In a previous post, I wrote about the difference between efficient order (organized) and visual order (neat).  Most of us like things to look neat, but perhaps we'd rather have things working smoothly instead. So, what IS efficient?

EF FIC ENT (/I’ fiSHent/, adjective)

·         (especially of a system or machine) achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.

·         preventing the wasteful use of a particular resource. 

‘Nuff said.  This is the epitome of organization – finding what you need, when you need it with the least amount of effort.  Also, I love the use of “wasted” and “wasteful” here.  Some folks think that getting or staying organized is overrated and not worth the trouble.  In some cases, I agree and understand the value of a mess.  There is a point where more organization does not make you more productive - that's the law of diminishing returns.  On the flip side, some effort (or expense) to organize generates greater productivity, where “a little bit goes a long way.” 

For example, you have a lot of crayons and you make use of a clear box to corral them all.  The amount of effort used to maintain that system is fairly minimal and effective; it only takes tossing the crayons back into the box and putting that box back with the other art stuff.  Done.  However, if you insist on arranging the crayons in ROY-G-BIV order followed by shortest to longest – the system becomes overkill.  Adding those extra steps makes it harder and decreases productivity, which in turn can make us less inclined to stay organized in the long run.  Efficiency is all about doing the most with the least.

**This graph just shows my thoughts, no scientific inquiry was done to construct it**

It can be a very thin line to walk.  Sometimes, adding extra steps helps make better use of other resources such as space or money even though it costs you more time or energy (such as shredding or recycling unwanted documents).  Other times, those steps aid in making things neater, but not necessarily more efficient (like making sure all the magazine spines are facing the same way in their basket).  Honestly, I have always struggled with this concept.  While I love making things tidy and pretty, I have to remember that neatness is not a pre-requisite for organization. 

Perhaps the biggest misconception is that organizing just makes things neater with full of stacked and labeled plastic tubs in (insert your room of choice).  I beg to differ.  Organizing should aim to make our lives more productive.  Maybe we should focus on using organizing tools as a means to an end, such as having more time to relax, more time to learn a language, more money to give to others, or more space to enjoy your favorite hobby.

Here are a few reasons why we should try to make friends with organizing:

1)      to become better stewards of our valuable assets (time, money, space, energy, natural resources)

2)      to enable us to be more productive and reach our goals

3)      to lessen the pains of stress, unpreparedness, and uncertainty

4)      to make our daily lives simpler

Are there some areas in our lives that could use some more productivity?  How about less wastefulness?  
For me, I am taking a hard look at how I spend my time in the mornings.  Left to my own devices, the morning hours would be wasted away doing nothing of critical value towards my goals.  Part of this problem relates to my energy levels peaking in the afternoon and early evenings.  However, that does not mean I should consistently waste those minutes – I’ve been blessed with them, so I need to put them to good use.  So I’m going to try my hand at being more productive in the mornings, so stay tuned – hopefully it will be a positive post!

How have you brought more efficiency to your life?