Let’s Not Put a Label on Minimalism
How I became a minimalist overnight.
One day I went through my ‘stuff’. I counted all my life’s belongings. This is what I own:
- Earphones
- Phone
- Bluetooth speaker
- Laptop
- 6 pairs of underwear
- 6 pairs of socks
- 1 pair of jeans
- 4 button-downs
- 3 t-shirts
- 1 pair of shorts
- 3 pairs of shoes
- 2 jackets
- 2 sweaters
- 2 watches
- 1 belt
- 1 hat
- 1 pair of sunglasses
- 1 shower towel
- 1 toothbrush
- Wallet
- Amazon Firestick
- 1 waterproof phone case
- Digital camera
- Film camera
- Backpack
That’s it. Forty-five belongings; forty-five items to bring with me when I move around the world.
Eleven kilograms to lug around in my full backpack.
That’s how much I brought with me when I decided to move across the world with a one-way ticket. And I gave away the rest of the stuff before I left home.
A lot of people head out of the country with a one-way ticket and travel around for six months or a year. I give those people major props.
Travel wears on you and that kind of commitment is trying. I’ve gone one or two months on the road and by the end, there’s nothing more that I want than a place to call my own.
Those people are real travelers.
But, when I moved, I moved for good. After about a month of traveling, I landed in my end destination — Malta.
After four months, I’m still on the island. I have a few jobs and I’m starting a temporary life with the few possessions I brought with me. I didn’t buy any extra stuff when I arrived because I know that in a year or so, I could be ready for my next move.
The minimalist who didn’t know.
I was always familiar with minimalism. Someone who lives by a code; only taking what is needed or of utmost importance.
I thought it was an inspirational lifestyle but never considered myself a minimalist. I was always intrigued but never ready to commit to it.
That was a big part of the confusion: I thought it took an external commitment. In my mind, if I wasn’t holding a garage sale to sell my belongings, I wasn’t a minimalist.
Then came moving time, and I started making a list of any belongings that held value to me. As I did this, I noticed I was parting ways with a lot of stuff. Stuff that was important to me before but held no value to me on the road.
I sold my car. I gave away my clothes. I pawned a few electronics and gave a few away. I even left behind my all-important baseball memorabilia collection.
I filled two medium-sized moving boxes that now sit in a closet of my parent’s home. I packed away sentimental value (mostly photographs, ticket stubs, and journals). The rest, I packed into my 50L backpack with a lot of room left in it and I set off on the road.
But still, I didn’t see myself as a minimalist.
It wasn’t until I saw the documentary “Minimalism” that I felt my life reflected the code.
People were shocked when I’d tell them the little amount of luggage I carried.
I lived with other foreigners with two suitcases. This, along with their carry-on’s stuffed far past the given allowance.
It started to dawn on me that maybe I had committed to the lifestyle. After all, I had very limited possessions now.
There’s one secret to the lifestyle.
I was borrowing — which is a key to minimalism.
It’s a sort of community movement. After all, borrowing a pair of shorts isn’t such an uncommon, weird thing to ask of your roommate.
You start to rely on others a little bit more.
This isn’t to say you’re mooching off others. The right people will understand and also borrow things from you.
Minimalism becomes a lot more difficult if you’re not prepared to share.
The more I thought about that, the more it bothered me. Society has become radically selfish. It’s something I never noticed until I realized that I may have adopted a style.
What have I noticed since I adopted Minimalism?
I’m living life more stress-free. It sounds cliché, but it is utterly true.
Think about having so few decisions in life. Instead, we ask ourselves things like:
What will I wear in the morning? How will I afford a suit and tie that I will wear once a year? Is it worth the cost to repair my 18-year-old car that could give out any day? But I need a car, right?
There are no decisions to be made for this way of living.
Today, I spend virtually no time shopping. Back home, I used to spend far too much time browsing on Amazon. I was, admittedly, an online shop-a-holic.
I have to be honest, though, it helps that Amazon doesn’t ship (or charges outrageous shipping fees) to Malta. But, still, I’ve successfully ditched that part of my old life.
I’m a lot more resourceful than I used to be, too.
When you don’t have the right gear or utensil, instead of purchasing it to use once, you find a way to get around needing it.
Part of being resourceful is borrowing from friends. Part of it is recycling and upcycling. I don’t throw away near as many things anymore. I fix things that break and it pains me when I need to buy new things.
My ways have changed and I am so fortunate they did. It’s a much more rewarding way of life and leads to more happiness, more freedom, and closer friendships.
In a world full of materialistic consumerism, I’m proud to say that I have escaped it.
Join my FREE 5-Module Medium Crash Course for Early Success!
If you found this article engaging, please hit the clapper button to help me out!
Read More:
4 Ways to Grow Into a Real Traveler The travel that you won’t find on an Instagram feed.
Connect with Me:
** This article was originally published at www.adamcheshier.com **