Summary

The author reflects on living a Scandinavian minimalist lifestyle in an American suburb, highlighting the contrasts and acceptance of their unique choices.

Abstract

The author of the article shares their experience of living a minimalist lifestyle, influenced by Scandinavian values, within a typical American suburban setting. They discuss how their choices in home decor, yard maintenance, and family life, such as owning only one car and embracing a less cluttered living space, make them stand out in their neighborhood. Despite the differences, the author appreciates the freedom to live authentically in the United States, where diversity in lifestyle is generally accepted. The article emphasizes the joy of simplicity, the environmental and financial benefits of minimalism, and the personal satisfaction derived from not conforming to the mainstream American suburban culture.

Opinions

The author feels that living differently, with fewer possessions, makes them noticeable but not necessarily in a negative or positive way.
They prefer a natural yard with wildflowers and dandelions over manicured lawns, rejecting the use of pesticides.
The dining room is repurposed as a creative space for children rather than a traditional eating area, and the author values this use of space.
The author is indifferent to seasonal decorations, choosing a minimalist approach that is sustainable and aligns with their personal values.
They express contentment with owning only one car, despite the American norm of multiple vehicle ownership, and see it as a challenge they are willing to navigate.
The author appreciates the tolerance and individuality embraced in the United States, allowing them to live authentically without judgment.

Reflections From Living a Scandinavian Minimalist Life in a Typical American Suburb

You become visible with less

Just by living my life a little bit differently than the typical middle-class suburban person, I stick out. Not particularly in a bad way or a good way.

Sometimes, sticking out is just that. Different.

By typical, I mean two cars (one of them likely to be a pickup truck), two kids, one dog, a garage filled to the brim, a house with carpet flooring and a dining room turned playroom with enough toys for a lifetime, and a picture-perfect, clutter-free yard. And a giant TV.

Wildflowers and dead roses

The only flowers that seem to thrive in our yard are dandelions.

I’ve tried planting roses, tulips, and other more common, prettier garden flowers, but the only ones that seem to make it at our place are the weeds and wildflowers. Our neighbors have gorgeous landscaping, green lush grass and flowers that are not weeds.

It doesn’t look terrible, our yard, but it sticks out.

It doesn’t look like it’s taken straight out of a garden magazine. By Norwegian standards though, it’s a healthy, decent yard, and that’s good enough for me.

A New York Times article talks about how homeowners use up to 10 times more pesticide per acre than farmers do, and it encourages readers to change the way they think about their own yards.

Personally, I’d rather ditch the pesticides and keep the dandelions.

A creative dining room

It’s not packed with toys, our dining room.

A lot of the homes in our area are. I guess it’s what happens when you have more square footage than you know what to do with. I thought I’d seen everything until I found myself in a dining room with a giant playhouse pirate ship.

We don’t use the dining room for eating, though, unless we host a larger group of people. Our IKEA dining room table has scratches, pen strokers, papers and colors on it. I let the scratches stay, and we are keeping the table until it literally falls apart.

It’s a creative space for my kids and they love spending time there, drawing and making fun things. In my eyes, it’s a perfect way of using space.

Timeless, seasonal

I am very boring when it comes to seasonal decor.

Aside from a few small pumpkins from the farmers’ market in October and some red here and there in December, our house and entrance look the same in July as it does in November. I haven’t changed it up since we moved to the suburbs three years ago.

You could say it’s because I’m trying to be sustainable and help the environment what little I can, or that I’m trying to save money, but the truth is I just don’t care for stuff.

The minimalist logic tells me more stuff is more to clean. It’s more stuff that doesn’t mean anything to me. The environmental aspect and the money not spent are both a great bonus, but for me, the holidays simply aren’t about excessive decor.

I also know I wouldn’t enjoy redecorating every other month. There are only 24 hours in a day and I prefer not to spend hours decorating.

Pictures usually say more than words, so I’m leaving this one here:

That must’ve taken hours, if not days, to set up!

Our decor was a carved pumpkin.

Car, without the ’s

We still have one car and are very much so happy with that.

We’re the only family with kids in our neighborhood that only has one car. Most have at least two, and if there are teenagers 16 and up in the house, they often have three cars.

It’s considered to be perfectly normal around here.

Nationwide, according to PolicyAdvice, about 24% of households in the United States own three or more cars, or other light vehicles. This includes 3.4% that own more than five (!) vehicles. 33.5% own one car, 33.1% own two.

Almost 9% of households don’t own a car. Taking a wild guess that those nine percents are mostly located in cities.

Over the spring, we debated if it was time for us to get a second car. Not because we wanted to, but because it was getting challenging to manage life and responsibilities with kids in the suburbs without two cars. Also, taking an Uber isn’t as painless in the suburbs as it is in the city.

However, we’re still on one car, and I’m enjoying it for as long as we can.

Different works

One of the things I love the most about living in the United States it’s that you get to be who you are, even if it’s different from the mainstream. People are too busy living their own lives to care.

Your lifestyle is quirky? Cool, or not, or whatever. It doesn’t matter.

It’s fine either way. Different works here.

A pirate ship in your dining room? Go for it! Bare walls? Cool.

Part of moving overseas included adapting to all things new and being open to seeing things from a different, non-judgmental lens. Just as important; staying true to who I am.

It’s a fine balance and I’m a constant work in progress.