Why Perfect Minimalism Is An Illusion
With an infinite amount of documentaries, books, podcasts, videos, and well, blogs, the minimalism craze seems at an all-time high. Not to mention, as the popularity in minimalism has grown over the last decade so too have the common misconceptions that come with living a minimalist lifestyle.
And at Elegant Simplicity, we believe that Home Is Everything You Need + Nothing More™ So, let’s dive in and look at what minimalism actually is and what the benefits are.
Along the way, we’ll uncover misconceived notions about minimalism as well as why perfect minimalism is an illusion and what you should actually do instead.
You ready, friend? Let’s roll :)
What Is Minimalism
A burning question for many is, what is minimalism? What we found was that there are two incredibly popular applications for minimalism but most definitions only apply to one.
So, let’s take a look…
Aesthetic Minimalism
The first is aesthetic minimalism.
Wikipedia defines minimalism as, “a trend where the subject is reduced to its necessary elements.”
Our good ol’ pal Merriam-Webster defines minimalism as a style or technique that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity.
And lastly, Cambridge defines minimalism as, a style that uses the smallest range of materials and colors possible, and only very simple shapes or forms.
And while these definitions all seem relevant to the visual arts like music, interior design, architecture, graphic design, and theater — what about the almost trendy pop-culture definitions of minimalism as “clutter-free”, “less but better” or “a simple life?”
Minimalism As A Lifestyle
Definition number two. Minimalism as a lifestyle.
In recent years, minimalism has come to not only define the visual arts but also represent a specific lifestyle choice. As a lifestyle, minimalism is defined not only by reducing the stuff you physically own but also by eliminating the distractions that keep you from focusing on what truly matters to you.
Thus, minimalism as a lifestyle practice is about shifting your focus towards eliminating distractions and on how you use the space (both physical and emotional) that you have.
At Elegant Simplicity, we’d define minimalism as a lifestyle that fundamentally changes the way you think about your life and the world.
And so this really begs the question, what are the benefits of minimalism?
The Benefits Of Minimalism
Based on what we’ve discussed so far, it’s pretty obvious, that the benefits of minimalism aren’t merely more physical space in your home but the benefits are actually much deeper rooted in who we become and how we see ourselves in the world we live in.
Let’s take a look…
Clarity In Values
We’ve talked a lot about how clutter affects our home, our life, and our mind but minimalism begins to provide clarity in what we want in our lives. It helps to establish priorities for what we find important. And that clarity in our values gives us peace of mind.
Peace of mind that we’re not getting rid of things we actually care about. Peace of mind that the people we care about know we’re there for them. And the peace of mind that we’re living life on our terms — not dictated by an algorithm in our news feed.
Psst… checkout Core Values And Home.
Focus
If the first benefit of minimalism is clarity then a pair to that is without a doubt is focus. The two are almost synonymous these days but what clarity does is identify or highlight something that is important to us. But focus on the other hand ensures we match our clarity with effort towards those things.
Ultimately, what you’ll discover is that minimalism places a focus on experiences and doing things rather than stuff.
If you’re jiving with this concept of focusing on experiences, not stuff, then you should definitely check out our blog: furniture disposal and a culture of waste.
Reduced Stress
When our homes (or frankly, our lives) don’t match up with who we hope them to be it can cause us to feel ashamed, embarrassed, and stressed. In fact, it’s odd how persuasive what we see on TV or read online can be in changing our level of contentment.
By reducing what we own and even what we do with our time, you end up living with a more conscientious purpose.
Less Stuff = More Space = Less Clutter
Alright, less stuff simply means there’s more space which is definitely a benefit of minimalism. However, more space isn’t merely the only goal for living a minimalist lifestyle.
Remember the definition from Wikipedia was about reducing elements. In this case, those elements are the clutter. When we have disorganization (a la clutter) our minds are excessively stimulated but when we have less stuff and more space, we’ve effectively made room for the things we end up holding onto.
Decluttering your home (or life) is about creating systems that work for the way you live (including your loved ones) and getting organized so you can manage the lil clutter that happens daily.
Cleaning Is Easier
It should probably go without saying, but let’s ensure it’s outlined anyway, that minimalism leads to easier cleaning. Now, whether that cleaning is for you personally just before company comes over or more regularly for your housecleaner when you own less — the house is easier to clean.
Meaningful Belongings
One aspect that often gets overlooked when discussing minimalism is that the things that are kept actually have meaning to you. And what I mean by that is as an interior designer, when your belongings have meaning — they tell a story.
Your story, your family's story or someone else's story that you want to remind people about and share with guests. Home should be designed around an emotion + the things held dear to you (that you keep) should help convey what’s meaningful to you.
Better Time
Keep in mind, minimalism isn’t simply about reducing the stuff you own. It’s also about analyzing how you spend your time. Truthfully, being intentional about how you spend your time doesn’t give you more time as we all have 24-hours in a day.
What minimalism does for your time is provides you the opportunity to spend your time in a better way; in more meaningful ways.
Gratitude
Call me crazy, but a foundational and unspoken benefit of minimalism is gratitude. As John + I have built Elegant Simplicity, we’ve spent so much time in our lives dreaming about the future, setting goals for what we want, and racing to achieve them. All in an effort to dream bigger, set better goals + yep, yet again race to achieve those.
But thinking minimalism left me thinking about all the things I’m grateful for. A quote by a friend of ours + NY Times Best Selling Author Rory Vaden, “Gratitude is a habit that is cultivated intentionally, not accidentally.”
When you begin the process of curating a meaningful home + meaningful life — minimalism sets in and you also begin to relish in all the little moments you have to be grateful for.
Perfect Minimalism Is An Illusion
Ya see back in the good ol days of 2009 *wink* Elegant Simplicity was founded on the idea that our homes could be both beautiful (design) and functional (organizing). But in order to do great design, we also needed to help simplify home for our clients by eliminating distractions.
And somewhere along the way, as minimalism became mainstream the simplicity and dare I say the elegance of the lifestyle began to get lost in translation. Now, contrary to the way our digital world likes to operate there’s not one person or thing that created this deviation.
Instead, what most people think of minimalism today is actually the culmination of different and often unique interpretations of what minimalism really is. It’s photos on Instagram, videos on TikTok or YouTube, and glamorous images in print magazines or books.
But many (not all) of those things are what we’d refer to at Elegant Simplicity as perfect minimalism. An ideal way of living that forces us to play the comparison game, pressures us into fitting in ultimately questioning if we are actually minimalist, maximalist or some other home trend of the month.
And we know this to be true because working with clients 1:1, what we often find (when they come to us) whether they're relatively skilled in the organizing of their home or not is that a lot of people are chasing an illusion of what minimalism actually is.
They’re trying to replicate and make their homes live up to what they see, everywhere.
And the reality is, what they see isn’t real-life minimalism.
What they see is idealism.
Perfect minimalism is an illusion, a fallacy, for one very specific reason and very few (if any) are actually talking about.
And that is because home is continuous. Our lives are not static, they’re literally always changing. Very little about home (or our lives) is set + forget it.
You grow up, get married, buy a home, get a new job, start a family, get another job, build a new home, have a second child… and on-and-on life goes. With it, our likes and dislikes change. Our wants and our needs become different.
And trying to live up to the perfect expectations of what we see minimalism as in the world is daunting and overwhelming or dare I say it, unachievable.
But who the heck determines if you’re minimalist anyway? The answer is you.
So, whatever you call it — living clutter-free, living with less but better, minimalism, or having everything you need + nothing more isn’t really the point.
Unequivocally, the most important point is what you actually do. It’s how you live your life + how you curate a home that has real purposeful and intentional meaning to you.
Remove the label of minimalism and rather focus on the act of living + creating a home that’s in alignment with your values.
Suddenly, everything about minimalism feels obtainable.
What Does Being A Minimalist Actually Look Like Then
Being a minimalist isn’t just mindless decluttering for the sake of paring down your belongings (or someone else's). Being a minimalist isn’t having a home full of white walls or clear countertops.
There’s not a standard, board, or certification that says “now you’re a minimalist.”
What being a minimalist is actually about is taking ownership of your life and belongings by only keeping what will actually add value. It’s Everything You Need + Nothing More™
What we hope you take away from minimalism as an illusion is that there are many unique approaches (not merely one) and everyone striving for a more minimalist lifestyle is simply on the same journey as you are.
Common Misconceptions About Minimalism
With that said, let’s look at several common misconceptions about minimalism. Because of our lengthy discussion, some of these will be points we’ve discussed above.
When You’re A Minimalist, You Have No Stuff
Certainly, minimalism is about having less but not less than you need. The focus of minimalism rather is what you make room for — better experiences, better time, more meaningful belongings.
Minimalism Always Looks A Certain Way
Another common misconception about minimalism is that it looks perfect all the time — like there is NEVER any clutter. Ever. And while that may (possibly) be true for some — it couldn’t be further from the truth for others.
Minimalists are still challenged with clutter, they’ve simply identified how to handle it. They’ve got clarity in their values which helps them stay focused on continuously curating a home with stuff that has real meaning to them.
Minimalism With Kids Is Never Going To Happen
Regardless of if you have kids or not minimalism is absolutely possible! Certainly, having kids means you accumulate a lot of stuff over the course of their lives. But because they grow SO fast (omg, will Brooks please stop growing already *wink*) this leaves ample opportunity for continuously culling through what is unnecessary and removing the excess.
“Minimalism is a guiding beacon of inspiration, not a standard to compare yourself to.”
That’s my rift for today, thanks for tuning in :)
Don’t forget, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat.
P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home. And you might also enjoy, the 7 Elements Of Interior Design.