25 Reasons You Might be a Minimalist
If you have been simplifying your life, or thinking about living more minimally, you might be further along than you think. My actions were screaming minimalism, long before my brain registered that’s where I was headed.
25 Reasons You Might be a Minimalist
1. If you have an empty attic or storage shed, you might be a minimalist.
2. If you are debt-free or paying off debt with gazelle intensity, you might be a minimalist.
3. If walking through Target or Walmart makes you really uncomfortable, you might be a minimalist.
4. If your children are mad at you because you canceled the cable, you might be a minimalist.
5. If you can’t stop giving stuff away, and your dog is worried that he’s next, you might be a minimalist.
6. If a friend asks you to go shopping, and you would rather go to the dentist, you might be a minimalist.
7. If you don’t want your parents to stop by your yard sale, because you are selling their stuff too, you might be a minimalist.
8. If you don’t have a junk drawer, you might be a minimalist.
9. If you have more free time than ever before, you might be a minimalist.
10. If you have ever used a car share service, you might be a minimalist.
11. If you are curious about living with less than 100 things, you might be a minimalist.
12. If clutter makes you crazy, you might be a minimalist.
13. If you follow less than 100 people on twitter, or 100 friends on Facebook, you might be a minimalist.
14. If you vote with your dollars, you might be a minimalist.
15. If people who can fit all of their belongings in a backpack inspire you, you might be a minimalist.
I originally posted this as a guest post on a blog last summer that isn’t active anymore. Since then, I’ve added a few more reasons…
16. If you schedule time for nothing, you might be a minimalist.
17. If you nap, you might be a minimalist.
18. If you read a book, and then give it away, you might be a minimalist.
19. If Everett Bogue pissed you off, you might be a minimalist.
20. If words like trinket and souvenir make you cringe, you might be a minimalist.
21. If you’ve thought about living in a tiny house, you might be a minimalist.
22. If there are less than 33 things in your closet, you might be a minimalist.
23. If you spend more time thinking of ways to reduce your overhead than ways to make money, you might be a minimalist.
24. If you have more resources (time, talent, treasure) to give, you might be a minimalist.
Last, but not least….
25. If you would rather spend a day with Leo Babauta instead of Oprah Winfrey, you might be a minimalist.
Maybe you agree with some of these statements, or think some are silly. With all of the misconceptions about minimalism, it can be confusing to see how it might apply to your life. You might be a minimalist, or maybe you’re just happier living with less. Then again, what’s the difference?
Which of these reasons speak to you and your lifestyle?
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71 Responses to “25 Reasons You Might be a Minimalist”
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Thanks for the smiles, Courtney! I think I qualify based upon 1, 12, 17 and 25 (just to name a few).
Tracey, 3 or more makes you an actual minimalist.
Yay! I’m a minimalist! I think I qualify on about 15 of your reasons. This is the lifestyle I’ve been choosing for nearly 20 years now.
Great list! It makes minimalism seem less scary…
Although, books are my downfall. I cried the last time I purged a bunch from my collection.
Dana, I think minimalism can be a really scary word, but when we really break it down to “living simply”, it isn’t that scary.
I love this clarification! When I first began my minimalist quest, I felt like I wasn’t “good enough” unless I conformed to what other people’s standards and definitions of minimalism were. When I decided that I didn’t really care about the physical number of things I owned, but rather about my attitude surrounding consumption, sustainability, and simple living, minimalism became a much more attainable and realistic goal.
Sometimes we get so caught up in the “rules”, that we forget the true heart of the matter, what really counts.
In Christ,
Anne Marie
Great list. I may just have some minimalist tendencies
I think I might change #6 to “rather go for a bike ride” lol. It’s a tough call which I prefer less – retail shopping or the dentist!!
Karen, That was sort of the point. If you would rather go to the dentist – shopping must be pretty bad.
Yeah, I did realize that
I just hate the dentist waaay more than the average person!!! Had some pretty nasty experiences.
Love #5. Although I don’y have a dog, my husband feels that way.
I really live your blog. Yours is one of my favorites. I read all your posts and love the mini-missions. Keep it up Courtney. You’re doing a great job.
Thanks Pascale, I really appreciate your feedback.
LOL! Yes to 75% of the list, the last 25% just isn’t complete yet. I probably won’t go to car sharing but I wouldn’t mind sharing an electric car with someone else who lives with me. My car is minimalist though.
Omigosh, that is definitely me! Love this list!
Awesome list, Courtney…lots of serious points and lots of chuckles too! Thanks!
This is fun – I think I had a constant smile while reading this. Some I can identify with, and some I can’t.
I laughed at the one about trinkets – I recently opted out of the secret sister program at our church solely because I didn’t want small clutter as gifts! I have a healthy fear of knick-knacks.
Jill, When I think about the years of “Polly Pockets” or gumball machine/arcade crap that occupied my home when my daughter was young, I could cry. (not to mention all of the “things” I had to put on windowsills and bookshelves. What was I thinking??
Right on, I love it. So many of these applied to me even before I used the term “minimalist.” Fun read!
wakaka! The last one was hilarious
This is great! Constant smile trough the whole list too!
Quote “14. If you vote with your dollars, you might be a minimalist.” – I actually didn’t understood this, but maybe is my poor English (I’m a Brazilian, so English is my third language), or maybe this is a local expression? But could you explain it to me?
Did not knew Everett Bogue, but reading his site, a sound expression was on my mind: “Creeeeppppyyy…” (PS: Reading his site I read that “Coffe tastes purple”. Huh?)
Thanks for the article, really great!
I think Ev Bogue is hard to figure out for new comers because he deleted the contents of his blog. He had a blog a few months back and was a super star blogger that basically said outlandish and offensive things to make people think about minimalism.
He later pissed a lot of people off by saying minimalism was dead, old, passe, or “so last year”. It’s kind of one of those blogging legends.
He made sense a while back but yes, his interests have changed and he comes off creepy to the average person who isn’t into his new brand of humanity.
Felipe,
Thanks for your comment. Glad to make you smile. Vote with your dollars simply means support businesses and people that you love in the way that you spend your money. For instance, if you don’t like businesses like Walmart, shop at your local grocery store.
Vote with your dollars also has political implications but that may be a little heavy for this discussion.
As for Everett Bogue, He was an online entrepreneur who sold products telling people how to live minimalist lives and run minimalist businesses. Then he declared that minimalism was “over” and said some hurtful things about the very people that supported his business. I made the statement about being pissed off at Everett Bogue only because, when it happened, many people that considered themselves minimalists felt taken advantage of and were upset, but now, only a few weeks later, not many remember. All in all, it was an unimportant event for most.
I think, like most people, I wish him the best with his new business, but won’t be supporting him financially — a good example of voting with dollars
Oh, Thanks for the explanation on Voting with dollars.
In Brazilian Portuguese, we don’t have an expression like it, that people can understand it’s full meaning.
Great example of “voting with your dollars” Courtney!
Hmmm, why did Everett Bogue piss people off? I don’t know who that is or anything about him.
Loved this list though!!
Thanks Aimee – see my last comment!
I see! That makes a lot of sense.
Great list! I love #25, Oprah is the opposite of Minimalist.
I must be a minimalist as I would rather do almost anything than go shopping.
A fun post!
Totally #12! Clutter makes me INSANE! I also identify with 2, 13, 17, and 18. Not sure that really makes me a minimalist, but definitely an aspiring minimalist.
Even though I am so far from minimalist, so many of these resonated with me. I think I am like you were, my mind is further along than I am physcially!
I hate walking thru Walmart or Target or the mall.
If something cannot be found in our house, my husband has taken to saying, “Bernice has been throwing out stuff lately, she probably got rid of it!” for anything that is missing!
And even though I hate shopping, I hate the dentist more, lol!
Hubby and I did enjoy wandering through a flea market/antique mall. I had no desire to buy anything really, we had a good time reminiscing about all the things from our childhood!
Bernice
Ahh, the American Dream and a cure
This is hilarious! I was reading down the list nodding my head and laughing along the way. Not all, but many of these resonated with me right away. Thanks for the laugh, and the reminder that I still have two junk drawers that make me crazy every time I open them.
Jenny, Nothing ever came out of my junk drawers. Stuff went in, but never came out. When I realized that, I knew they had to go! Glad to make you laugh today.
#7 actually happened to us. We had a garage sale on a Friday and Saturday. My parents kept saying they wanted to stop by our garage sale, and were planning to come by on Saturday. Luckily most of the stuff they had given us sold on Friday. Really, most of it we weren’t too worried about because is was junk, old, or really of no use to us.
We did have one item though, a juicer, that we had asked for a few Christmases ago, and they bought it for us. It was more than they usually spent ona Christmas gift, so I was suprised to get it. We had that juicer at our garage sale all day Friday and very early Saturday morning, before finally bringing it back inside to avoid any hurt feelings. Turns out the never showed up and that darn thing is still sitting in the pantry.
Give it away or put it on Craigslist. I bet it will go fast with Spring right around the corner.
Ach, I do enjoy walking through Target though not, gag, Walmart. I live in clutter but it is becoming less and less. I am trying to fit a four season wardrobe including jammies, nursing uniforms, etc. into one antique, well, wardrobe! Extra uniforms I have put in a back closet to use when the current ones wear out(to avoid buying more). Read the Everett Bogue post – Leo does twitter, too, but I don’t. I like spending time with people, F2F or online (like this reply!). And yes, I would rather spend time with Leo than Oprah. I read Oprah’s De-Clutter focused magazine issue – good god, all she had people do was re-organize stuff they had. And who needs so many houses?? Books are hard and dogs – HA; I have a dog sanctuary, have 19 on site now and a neighbor just called about two small ones most likely dumped up the road. But dogs are alive – not the same as the dead clutter in this house and garage, though not my basement as it can get seep water when the Mississippi floods. My mom said I had the cleanest basement she had ever seen – LOL. GREAT POST – thanks.
Thanks Roberta. I love that you do such amazing work for dogs. You are an angel!
Roberta, you’re right. Most “declutter” articles in magazines (“Better Homes and Gardens” comes to mind) are about reorganizing too much stuff. If any of you have ever read Don Aslett’s books, you’ll remember he calls all those specialized storage items “junk bunkers!” I used to be a shelter magazine addict, but not any more. My desire to “decorate” has just evaporated — though Miss Minimalist recently had a great post on adding warmth to minimalist decor which I loved.
LOVE this list Courtney!! I resonated with so many on the list. 2, 5, 7 (on my virtual yard sale), 11, 13, 18, 19 (ha), 20, 21, 22 (thanks to you!), 23, 25
Ah…nice
Dr. Laura
Love it…you must be a minimalist
Courtney,
OMG! I’m a minimalist. Go figure. I agreed with about 3/4 of your list.
One thing though – as much as I love Leo Babauta if Oprah called and wanted to spend time with me I’d be on a plane faster than you could say, “I’m every woman!”
Angela, Maybe we could lunch with Leo and Oprah?!
Courtney, I was thinking the same as above. I would love to take part in a conversation between Leo and Oprah. I think it would be fascinating! Love your list.
Okay, it’s a deal!
Oh boy…I can say yes to more than 50 percent of this list…so it’s final…I’m a minimalist. Of course might not agree ;P
Reckon I hit 15 – over half way there!
You go girl!
A Dave Ramsey disciple! Love it, lol! Seriously, until our 10th cross-country move, we never would have considered minimalism. Then our parents reached the age of not being completely able to do for themselves and we, again, realized that keeping whole households of stuff even though it’s never used but once meant something attitude was for the birds and we didn’t want to leave our own son with that way of living and thinking. We are still learning but want our later years to be much less cumbersome.
Scotty, Sounds like you have serious motivation! Dave Ramsey and his thoughts on money completely changed the way I handle finances. Even though I am debt free, I still listen to his podcasts and know I have more to learn.
omg. i answered yes to every single one except the one about sharing a car, i’ve never done it but i would.
i’m not sure why everett pissed me off but he did. i need to go back and refresh my memory.
i CAN’T be a minimalist – i have a lot of stuff still. i love all the stuff i’ve kept but it is still a lot.
xo
don’t worry about refreshing your memory. Leave it behind and enjoy your day!
This was great fun, Courtney! I think I met every single one of these, and had a special laugh over the one about not wanting the parents at the yard sale
This is hilarious, I am still laughing, and thanks so much for posting this on a day that’s unbelievably gloomy!
Meg, Happy to make your gloomy day a little brighter.
I could relate to more of those than I thought I would- but I really aspire to number 8! No junk drawer(s)!! Thanks for the laughs!
Made me giggle for sure, thank you!
As for Oprah, her latest magazine cover suggests she may be catching up to us and she is doing a lot with Peter Walsh and clutter
http://myown.oprah.com/search/index.html?q=clutter
Just found your blog ~ love it! Looking forward to reading through your posts!
Definitely a fun post. Thank you.
I don’t like the tag minimalist but I do fit quite a few of the items on your list and read minimalist blogs like yours for ideas on reducing clutter in my life.
I found myself laughing out loud at #19. I didn’t even know recent history but Everett Bogue never resonated with me. Something seemed false. What bothered me most about him and some other bloggers who have made the decision to live out of a backpack is that they aren’t responsible to any place. I discovered that I believe it’s important to be grounded and rooted in a place you care passionately about and want to make better.
Even if I don’t want to consider myself a minimalist I love these posts because they challenge me to consider new ways to think about how I want to live my life.
#2,3,5,6,11,12,13,14,15,16,18,20,21,25 all speak to me! I guess I am a minimalist in spirit if not in practice (yet). I am a recovering packrat with a lot of sentimental attachments, so it isn’t an easy road going from there to minimalist.
I’d not only car share (if such a thing existed in my town) I’d DOG share if someone would take my lovable fur-factory for 1/2 the week! Seriously, he’d have twice the pack and I’d have 1/2 the mess, it would make me love hime so much more!
Malls make me so uncomfortable that I sometimes feel ill. Spending money on needless crap makes me physically uncomfortable and paying interest has always been a kind of torture…. so I guess I’m a financial minimalist too!
oh ya… and I really don’t mind the dentist… I think of it as a SPA DAY for my teeth!
Thanks for your list. Now I´m sure. I´m a minimalist. Took me 8 years and it feels great.
Hmmmm, I might be a minimalist
Great post, Courtney!
I absolutely loved reading this post, especially reason #19. Thank you for the great writing.
That was a fun list. I’d say I am 95% of the things on that list, though I definitely follow more than 100 people on twitter and facebook. I’m in the process of shedding all my belongings to leave for an extended trip around the world, but even before I decided to leave, I was a minimalist. Let me tell you, even as someone that lives in a very small house (750 square feet) and does not have a lot of possessions (by US standards) I still I have a lot of crap. It’s amazing what you don’t need.
Oh these are hilarious! I can tick quite a few on that list!
Well, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17 & 21 are for sure me.
13-sort of, 16 almost.
Courtney said above to another poster that 3 or more make you an actual minimalist so
I guess I am, technically, a minimalist!
Ha ha ha – yes to nearly all of those! No car share, because of the remoteness of where I live. And I have slightly more than 100 friends on Facebook, but only because I went on a huge tour with 50 of them and they all live overseas and thats the only way we stay in touch. It would be less than 80 otherwise.
Im a little proud of that.
Brilliant article Courtney!!
I love that some of these are so poignant, and some are so funny, but all true.
Yes to SOO many of these. We don’t have the attic and garage clear…but only because we are focused on decluttering the main areas of the house first. I am not sure about the 33 item wardrobe cause right now I’m rewearing the few things I didn’t toss in January and haven’t gotten my ideal basic wardrobe in place yet. I hate the dentist…but hate most shopping too. My kid doesn’t know about cable cause we cancelled it 2.5 years before he was born. Never used a car share, but have been car-less in the past. Can’t quite be inspired by the 100 or less or fit-it-all-in-a-backpack crowd, but I HAVE lived out of two suitcases for extended periods of time (I like it minimalist, but not stark)!! I’ve got right at 200 Facebook friends (but most live far away and that’s how we keep in touch)…but currently only follow 17 people on Twitter (and half of those are just for the duration of giveaways)!! But pretty much yes to everything else!!