How Minimalist Are You?
A common misconception about minimalism is that it in order to be one, you have to own very few possessions. That is only true for extreme minimalists who like to count their stuff (and anyone else whose life circumstances prevents them from owning much). However, minimalists all over the internet, especially ones with families, would argue that “it’s not about the numbers”. Hmmm, at least not the number of physical items in one’s possession.
A minimalist lifestyle is actually 100% about the numbers: the numbers on the calendar.
Let’s take two extreme examples. First, there’s the minimalist who carries all her worldly possessions in her globetrotting backpack. She uses 100% of her things, 100% of the time, and probably within a weeks’ time. We assume this person feels very “light”.
The second person is a hoarder who has a shopping problem. She has possessions that haven’t seen the light of day in decades. She uses maybe 5% of all of her possessions within two weeks’ time and 90% of her possessions within 20 years. We assume that there are possessions she never had the chance to use and that she probably feels the “heavy” weight of her clutter.
So, let’s determine where you are on the scale of possessions and their use.
2. What percentage of your possessions do you actually use within a week, a month, a quarter, a year, or longer?
How did you do? Are you a minimalist yet? You can get there, my friend.
Time For Minimalism 