There have been a lot of posts on the internet lately about minimalism. It seems to be surfacing in a lot of ways everywhere. As an organizer and Feng Shui enthusiast, I love the concept. The idea of letting go of items that aren’t necessary is simplicity in the most basic form. Eliminating unnecessary items, clutter, allows the energy (chi) to flow freely through your living spaces. Good energy flow allows for health and happiness.
Everyone I know tells me they have too much stuff. I hear that from pretty much every client that I have ever worked with. Of course if they didn’t, they probably wouldn’t need my services, but I digress. Some of us periodically do a purge to reduce the amount of our things. Many times situations in our lives will provide the opportunity, or necessity, to reduce the amount of our belongings. Situations such as moving, maybe to a smaller home, remodeling, or just because we don’t have the space to keep bringing in more stuff.
Purging has a liberating feeling. Think about a time when you did a big purge, perhaps before a move. How did it make you feel? I know it makes me feel better, lighter, happy. Then after you move into your new home with less stuff you feel like you have more space to move around, and you actually do.
Lately I’ve also been noticing that the younger generation has a different mentality about material things. They don’t want things. They would rather use their hard earned wages for experiences. Some are jumping on the latest trend of buying tiny houses. By default, they seem to be living a life of minimalism.
The idea of tangible collections for this generation is fading away. You won’t find many if at all, collections of books, dvd’s, or cd’s in their living spaces. They live in the digital age where you can find access to pretty much everything on the internet. No tangible collections mean’s little to no clutter.
Many times when their parents decide to downsize, and they ask their kids if they want things from their childhood, they respectfully decline the offer. They also don’t want furniture or household items from their parents or grandparents after they pass away. They seem to understand their happiness is not tied to material possessions. It’s not a bad thing, just a different way of thinking.
The idea I believe, behind minimalism is not to get rid of everything you own, but to remove excess or unnecessary items, keeping it simple. Excess things you don’t really need to live a happy life.
