Minimalism : It Started in the Bathroom

One day a few weeks ago I peeked under my bathroom sink. I am not sure now if I was looking for something but as I began to rummage around I found that were tons of things that I was not using or that I was never going to use. Perfumes, lotions, hair gunk, the list goes on. "How much of that crap do I need"?, I asked myself. Hardly any of it. So I started tearing out the stuff I did not need and reorganizing what I was going to use in the next few months. It felt good...really good. It was kind of like a high, like I was making room for newer and more important things in my life.

Then this escapade moved into operation "weed shit out of my life". Our culture is so fixated on stuff. I am too young for that. I don't have a lot of stuff but I feel like I could have a lot less. I do not hoard stuff really. I just save it for later. It is that thrifty efficiency that is buried deep within my genetics. So I save yogurt containers, twist-ties, jars, plastic bags, the last little bits out of lotion bottles all in order to save a few cents and because I might need it for later.

Not to say I am giving up on that mentality. But there are things I can get rid of. Cloths and shoes I never wear,worn out office supplies, trinkets that were gifts and have never made it outside the box unread books. The list goes on.

So in the spirit of my downsizing I decided to look up the guy who founded the 100 Things project. As I looked through his blog I stumbled upon others all built around this one simple idea, minimalism.

It is in a sense both an old and new idea but it has been shown to be quite powerful. By living simply many individuals feel that their lives are more rewarding and better in general. There is no stress about the latest gadget or car. By living simply you spend less overall. Your life takes on new meaning because you look more toward experiences and realtionships rather than "stuff" to create your happiness.

I like that a lot. Given that I feel I need clarity in my life right now I believe that I will venture a ways down the road of minimalism. Now, I might not get to the extreme point that a few of my fellow bloggers will. But I think the essence of it with remain the same. Get less, give more.

Happy Friday.
-C