Goodbye, Minimalism Maybe it was the long fall and winter here
in Sweden when everything was so gray and dull. Maybe it’s realizing that the reason
I feel so happy in spring and summer isn’t only because of the warmth and the light,
but because of the colors too. The greens, yellows, purples, blues. And maybe it was
some of the events life brought me this year that made me question every single aspect
of life itself, and how I’m living mine. For these past few years that I’ve been
on this minimalist journey, my philosophy has been “Remove everything from your life
that you don’t need, and that you don’t have space to appreciate and love.”, and
consequently, “Don’t bring into your life any more than you need, and that you don’t
have space to appreciate and love, not just for now, but for a long time.”. And that
goes for everything from my home to my relationships. It’s been an interesting experience: Learning
about what matters to me and what doesn’t; not having to deal with messes of things I
don’t even care about; getting dressed in no time because all the clothes I own match
with each other so I barely need to give it any thought which has been hell of a time
and stress saver; being able to clean quickly and easily because there isn’t very many
things to clean and to move around; reducing my carbon footprint by shopping far less,
and when I do, trying to do it sustainably, which has also saved me money. The list of
benefits that minimalism has brought to my life is quite long.
Oh and let’s not forget about the fun! Because curating my home, closet, and my life in a
way that aligns with my idea of minimalism has been quite enjoyable… until it wasn’t
anymore. For years now, living with less has made me
feel light and free. But I’ve started to realize that I might’ve taken it too far,
because I’m now depriving myself of things I do actually need and love.
In my kitchen, you’ll find exactly two big plates, two small ones, two bowls and two
cups. You’ll also only find two dining chairs. Why? Because getting any more than that has
felt like excess consumption and clutter. This becomes a problem quite often, considering
I like having people over for food and coffee, and we’ll sometimes be 4-5 people in total.
Want some tea after brunch? Sorry mate, I only got two cups. And someone will have to
sit on the couch and eat, because there aren’t enough chairs for everyone. Oh and you want
some oatmeal for breakfast? Well, there are only two bowls so someone will have to get
a sandwich instead. Do I even need to explain how inconvenient it’s been?
When I moved into my apartment, I was questioning the necessity of quite literally everything
as an attempt to reduce my possessions to as few as possible. Do I really need scissors?
Can’t I just get by with my small eyebrow scissor? Do I actually need a toolbox, or
is it just going to take up unnecessary space? Spoiler alert: not having a toolbox has caused
me tons of stress. Oh and what’s the argument for having art up on my walls? What’s actually
the point of having a bedside table? Do I even need any lamps when I have the flashlight
on my phone? Ok I’m kidding about that last one.
My clothes mostly consist of greys, whites, blacks and beiges, and all the pieces, more
or less, go together. And yes, you’ve seen me wear color on multiple occasions, but the
majority of that is either borrowed or gifted. For years, this was my dream closet, both
aesthetically and practically, where not having to spend time or brainpower deciding what
to wear was the aim, and where I could feel good, from an environmental perspective, knowing
that the pieces were timeless, and would be worn for years to come.
But now... I sometimes wish I had to give some more thought into what to wear and how
to mix and match; and I sometimes wish I had a few colorful dresses for special occasions
that make me feel beautiful and feminine, instead of only the boxy, white stuff.
Now, I’m glad that I’ve chosen to be so intentional with the things I bring into my
life, but it’s gotten to a point where I feel like my life is a tightly curated space
that I need to preserve at all costs; a perfect canvas that needs to remain untouched. And
it goes beyond just my home and my closet; I believe it’s extended to other areas of
my life as well, specifically my work, in the way that I sometimes feel afraid to experiment
and to express myself. I’m too comfortable. But I’m slowly stepping out of that comfort
zone, and it’s brought me nothing but joy, excitement and relief so far.
Some things that I’ve wanted to get that I only recently got or still haven’t gotten
My colored sheets. I recently got one blue, one brown, one purple and one floral and I
absolutely adore them, especially the floral one. I can’t see myself going back to all
white everything. I never knew how much life some colored duvets could bring to a space.
Bedside table. This one was not even $40. I got it a couple months ago and it’s been
very useful. I now have a space next to me to put my kindle, my journal and a little
lamp. Making a cup of tea on a Saturday morning, crawling back into bed and pulling my journal
out is such a treat. And now I have somewhere to place my cup!
Speaking of cups - crockery in different colors is something I’d like to get. You probably
don’t know this but I love beautiful crockery. Whenever I go out to eat, it’s always the
first thing I comment on and I personally think it adds to the food experience. I no
longer want to deprive myself of something that is so small, cheap and easy to get.
Stickers! I’ve wanted to get custom-made ones with the word “Ro” which is the name
of our newsletter, for the longest time, to put on my laptop and my phone. But it’s
gone against my idea of keeping things simple and clean. Screw that! I’m getting ‘em.
Colorful jewelry. There’s some I wear all the time, and I love every piece I own. But
I have none in colors, and I’d love to have some with mixed color pearls, and I’m sure
I’d really enjoy making them myself! I just haven’t yet because I’ve thought “well
what if I get tired of them after a while? Then that will have been a waste.” But where
do we draw the line between thinking long term and sustainably vs prioritizing the now,
our current needs and wants? Now, the point here is not that I want to
start buying more things. But rather, it’s to give myself permission to be expressive
without fear of stepping out of the minimalist box that I’ve created for myself. It’s
about not feeling guilty for keeping knick-knacks and collecting souvenirs from my travels.
It’s about not feeling the urge to digitalize everything, such as photo albums, as an attempt
to clear up space. Physical photographs are the closest thing we have to touching memories.
It’s about daring more, in life and in my work. I don’t want my things to own me,
but I also don’t want to feel like minimalism owns me either.
So, I will continue to live by the principles of minimalism, because I believe in it and
it has truly brought a lot of positives into my life. But this is goodbye to minimalism
as I’ve known it. Oh and by the way, I do have a toolbox now.
Skillshare integration Now, I personally think it’s really interesting
learning about how other people interpret different lifestyles and to see what I may
learn from them. For instance, I just finished a class about minimalism on Skillshare, who
is sponsoring us today. The class is called Everyday Minimalism: Find Calm & Creativity
in Living Simply and it's held by Erin Boyle. Obviously that title was very attractive to
me; calm, creativity and living simply are some of my favorite words, and it was really
interesting learning about what minimalism means to someone and how it influences their
life. The whole class was just very calming and enjoyable.
Now, whether you’re interested in minimalism or photography or video editing or any other
topic, chances are, there’s a class about it on Skillshare, which is an online community
with thousands of classes on a variety of topics. I’ve found so much value out of
the classes that I’ve taken on there during these past two years or so that I’ve had
my membership. I just love going on there, typically before bed, if I’m not on my kindle,
chances are, I’m taking a class on Skillshare. I feel like it gives me much more value than
just scrolling through my phone.
Now, I have an offer for those of you who would like to try it out: the first 1000 people
to click the link in the description box will get a free trial of skillshare premium membership
and after that it's only around 10 dollars a month.
Alright, thank you all for showing up here today. Please share your experience and your
thoughts on minimalism, or any other lifestyle or aesthetic that you’re into or that you
have incorporated into your life. Has your thoughts on it changed over time? And if so,
how? Let’s chat about it in the comment section, and as always, I will see you there.