Let's Talk About: Minimalistic/Minimalism stereotypes

Hello, readers! :) Welcome to the first "Let's Talk About" post. You might be curious about the philosophy and sometimes lifestyle known as "minimalism". People who practice this philosophy are often called "minimalists". You might already be familiar with this, but there are plenty of people out there confused by the terms, or the "requirements" to use certain labels.

As with most philosophies, minimalism has quite a lot of stereotypes. Most of the more extreme examples either confuse people or mentally turn them off towards looking into the lifestyle or even the philosophy itself. The word is uttered, yet often not fully understood, so the stereotypes are the only things that come to the minds of the readers (or hearers). An example of a stereotype that might be pictured when a stranger says "I'm a minimalist" would be somebody nomadic, with no car or TV, that only owns 100 items and/or lives out of a backpack. This, like any other stereotype, is often incorrect.

Allow me to list some of the commonly perceived stereotypes about minimalists:

Only owning 100 items (or less)
Being nomadic/traveling constantly
Purposely living out of a backpack/suitcase
Not owning a permanent home/living in hotels
Not owning a car (and often having a bike in its place)
Not owning a television
Not having kids or pets
Eating super healthy all of the time/being vegetarian/vegan
Automatically being "outdoorsy" or a "hippie"
Having a nearly empty house with little to no furniture
Being generally "cheap" or trying to get away with spending as little money as possible
Never buying new clothes/things
Simple life = boring life

Of course, some of these things apply to some people, I'm not saying any of these things are bad, but there is no automatic black and white definition of who is or isn't a minimalist. Like any lifestyle, there are extremists, (notable examples of extremists are Tammy Strobel, Leo Babauta, and Andrew Hyde), but most of us can comfortably apply minimalistic principles to our lives without going to the extremes. If you want to go to extremes, that's fine, and if you don't, that's fine too! It's completely false that in order to "be" a minimalist, you need to fall under certain stereotypes. There's no need to be an extremist, or even using the label "minimalist" in order to use some of the philosophies and live a better, more simple life. It's really about enjoying life to the fullest without being weighed down by unneeded clutter- either mental or physical. If you're trying to fit into a specific mold that isn't working for you personally, then stop! Find your happy medium that works for your life. :)

Now let me give you an example of possible real reasons for minimalism:

Living a more simple life (with less worries and stress in general)
Less "stuff" to take care of and worry about
Less clutter and tidier living space (multiple benefits on the mind too!)
More time to concentrate on things you love
Being more flexible
More time and money to devote for things you really want or love
Less money and resources wasted
Finding inner peace and being happy with what you have
Being able to enjoy the smaller things in life more

So, you see, it's not about owning only so-and-so number of things (although, personally, I'm a big fan of lists and numbers, but that isn't everybody's bag, baby) or cutting out everything you can technically live without; it's about cutting out the things you truly don't need in order to live a more streamlined, but fuller, life with the stuff you do love! :) Have what you love, and love what you have.

I will be posting more on minimalistic philosophy in the future, I hope you will stay tuned. Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

-Queen Werandra