I no longer self-identify as a minimalist. Why? After all, minimalism is simple at its core – consume less, enjoy life more. In many ways I completely agree with that statement, and I definitely have minimalist tendencies. What I can’t agree with, however, is where the movement seems to be going.
Probably the most illustrative example that springs to mind is the “100 things challenge”. The idea of the challenge is to pare down the stuff in your life so that you’re left with 100 posessions or less. Some have even taken it a notch or two further, and decided to make it the “50 things challenge”.
The point of the challenge was to get people thinking good and hard about what they could eliminate from their lives. It’s great for that; in fact I suggest you go check out Leo’s post about it and let it get you thinking about your own situation. As Leo says in that post, “This isn’t a competition, and it’s not a way to show off. It’s just for fun, and it’ll be different for each of us.”
That’s where I think things took a wrong turn. The challenge entered the blogosphere and it became a competition, it became a way to show off, and it stopped being fun. Now there are whole groups of bloggers that list how many posessions they have in their bios. It seems to have become a badge of honor to be able to make claims like “everything I own fits in a backpack / one carry-on bag / one suitcase / etc.” Some of them even berate and belittle others that don’t subscribe to their mindset. In short, what started out as a fun exercise has rapidly become a test of orthodoxy to many in the movement.
Now….don’t get me wrong here – there’s nothing wrong with having less stuff. There is, however, a certain myopia to the whole “counting of possessions” exercise. After all, if everything you own fits into a backpack, then you don’t own a refrigerator – but you probably use one. You don’t own a stove (unless you use a propane-powered camp stove) – but I’m betting you cook your food. And unless you’ve got a really sweet seven-foot backpack, you don’t own a couch or a bed – but I’m betting you have something to sit in and sleep on.
If you use a refrigerator but make somebody else provide it (such as a landlord), you haven’t reduced your stuff to the size of a backpack. You’ve created a situation where somebody else has to own (and repair, and replace) stuff for you to use. Since one of the tenets of minimalism involves breaking the patterns of consumption, making other people buy stuff for you to use isn’t really any more minimalist than owning that stuff yourself. Society as a whole isn’t consuming any less, you’re just making somebody else do the consuming on your behalf. More importantly, everybody can’t do it. The people that do it can do so only because there are other people out there that won’t or can’t.
How is that any better?
If you’re like me and have been reading the same blogs I have, I’d like to offer some encouragement. Don’t be discouraged because you don’t measure up to the minimalist standards that others try to use on you. This means, among other things:
- At some point you’ll definitely want to consider whether the place you’re living is the place you want to be….but there’s nothing wrong with you if you like where you’re at.
- For a number of good reasons (fuel & repair cost, environmental concerns, etc.) you might want to consider whether your car/truck/SUV is the optimal way for you to get around, and how often you use it to get around….but owning and driving a vehicle doesn’t make you any better or worse than the guy down the block.
- Once you figure out what really makes you happy, you may discover that you have 241 possessions – and you can rest assured that you don’t have 141 too many; you have just the right amount for you.
That’s all okay. The core of minimalism isn’t a path, it’s a set of tools that help you find a path of your own. Most importantly, there’s no glory in having less stuff for the sake of having less stuff. Having the stuff that fulfills you, that’s another matter. And really, that’s a post for a few days from now. 🙂
Agree? Disagree? Make some noise in the comments! Thanks!