Why I Choose to Stick With Scandinavian Minimalism After Moving to America

And what the lifestyle looks like, day-to-day

It didn’t take me long after moving to the United States to realize that I needed to maintain my lifestyle habits in order to simply survive in this new environment.

If there was one thing I knew I couldn’t let go of, it was the Scandinavian version of minimalism I’d grown to treasure. Not for the sake of the style, but for the deeper aspect of it.

When it’s natural

I’ve talked about the three words I’d use to explain this lifestyle before; nature, ordinary, and wholeness. The full article can be found here.

Living in Scandinavia, it felt very natural.

I didn’t make a conscious effort to live a life reflecting this form of minimalism, it was who I was. Plain and easy. There was no label to it, and there wasn’t much buzz around it. I didn’t even think of it as a lifestyle.

Aside from the trendy and also more superficial fashion aspect of Scandinavian minimalism, the lifestyle simply was ingrained in me.

It was also reflected in those I was surrounded by.

People led normal, ordinary lives. Most spent endless amounts of time in nature, and even their home decor reflected a love for the earth. Wholeness was seen in conversations; people had time for true, authentic talks.

Maybe boring for some, but it was real and raw.

In the United States, this way of living isn’t mainstream.

The underdog

Moving to a new country with a different culture confirmed to me that Norway, where I’m from, is truly a tiny place on the globe. Add Sweden and Denmark to it and you get Scandinavia, but it is still fairly small.

Scandinavia is kind of an underdog, globally.

Do they have the answer to anything, really?

The United States has a real impact on the world. Whether this is a good thing or not can be debated, but the truth is this country has a lot of influential power. For a brief moment after settling down in my new city bubble, I questioned how I was raised, wondering if what is being marketed as the American dream was really what made people happy. If the more, the better was the way to go.

Growing up, we had one car. My siblings and I would share bedrooms. There was only one TV in the house. Plenty of books, though. We were only allowed sweets on Saturdays, and spent a lot more time outside running around in the forest than on the couch, watching TV.

It didn’t take me long to come to the conclusion to stick to my roots, for several reasons:

More than a trend

Being geographically distanced from my homeland, I realized that Scandinavian minimalism was more than a lifestyle or a trend, often wow-ed as a very trendy one by people I met in the United States.

It is who I am. Simple as that.

I’d often hear comments from new, American friends asking me what I do to keep it so tidy all the time, how I choose my purchases, how cool the combination of Scandinavia and minimalism is, how relevant and sustainable, it all is.

Scandinavian minimalism celebrates open spaces and functionality because it makes lives for ordinary people easier.

It is not about white walls or having a carefully selected collection of modern things. Rather, it is about loving what you do have and being intentional about it. When there’s less to clean and take care of, the more time to do what makes you happy.

Yes, Scandinavian minimalism makes sense and is very nice and sustainable on paper, but for me, it is more about that deeper and personal connection to the lifestyle. I don’t know any other way, nor do I want to try any other way of going through life.

I am content.

What it looks like

When it comes down to practical aspects of daily life, from work to parenting and groceries, here are some examples, tiny glimpses, into how the lifestyle looks like for me these days:

• I buy groceries once a week. If we run out of something, say, eggs, we can manage a day or two without it. It’s not worth it for me, mentally or time-wise, to run to the store several times per week to have a filled fridge at all times.
• We don’t overcommit to sports. As a parent, I am all for my kids getting involved in sports as long as it doesn’t take over our lives. One sport per semester is more than enough for our household, and the kids agree. Our oldest said after his season finished and I asked him if he wanted to play anything during the winter: “Nope, I need a break. I want to play again in the spring.” I told him I liked that idea. Kids and adults need breaks now and then.
• I take a walk on the days I work from home. Scandinavian minimalism, as mentioned before, is not just about what you can see. By walking, I am always able to clear my head and I feel whole after being in nature, taking in the fresh air. As backed up by science time after time, outdoor exercise is good for us.
• I don’t do extravagant. From furnishing the house to traveling, cars, clothing or accessories, I love all things ordinary. Flashy stuff has never attracted me. I’ve always had the idea that by not focusing on the stuff, you have more room for the things that really matter. Relationships, for example.

A growth industry

It took moving to a new place, away from everything I knew, to realize that the values and habits I learned in Scandinavia may not be the answer to everything, but it’s something I’m choosing to treasure and live by. In wonderful days as well as miserable days.

Companies in the United States are good at labeling things.

In the past decade, they’ve done a significant effort to label minimalism and monetize it for all it’s worth. A quick Google search or a trip to Barnes & Noble will confirm that.

A relevant BBC article speaks to how minimalism is also a growth industry, because most people constantly tend to get more stuff: The average household in the United States owns 300,000 (!) items, and additional storage space is real estate’s most active growth area.

No wonder we want to declutter now and then.

The obvious to me though, growing up with it not as a label or an industry, is to make the lifestyle first and foremost about who you are and less about how to get there. Less about what to keep and what to ditch.

Your heart has to be in it, and instead of some life goal or a new year’s resolution, you choose it because you truly want to.

Ending with a quote from Nicholas Burroughs that captures it well:

Minimalism is not a lack of something. It’s simply the perfect amount of something.

— Nicholas Burroughs

The perfect amount of space to be.