I discovered minimalism during a time in life when I felt I was drowning in clutter. As a stay-at-home mom of two boys, I simply could not keep up with daily life. Yet the more I learned about minimalism, the more I realized I was no stranger to it.
I was born into a life of poverty. My mom is a Cuban immigrant who worked as a receptionist, and my father was a Native American Choctaw Indian who took odd jobs here and there. I have a younger brother and sister. We moved from apartment to apartment every 2 years, and our moves only took two car loads. I believe when we were teenagers, our family of 5 took three car loads to move.
I recall going to friends’ homes in middle school and seeing all their “stuff”. Back home, I had a dish tub with all my clothes and slept on a pool float. All we had in the living room was an old tv on a milk crate. I knew this was not the way to live, and it was painfully embarrassing.
Then I found myself being educated in the hallowed halls at Harvard University. Of the many things I learned there, one was that a good job would give me the freedom to buy “stuff”. And certain “stuff” gives you status and helps you fit in – something I truly never had before. So I began to purchase “stuff”.
After many years of accumulating “stuff”, I have simply out-grown the desire to manage, organize, store, and maintain all of it. I yearn for the simplicity of my childhood, but on my own terms.
Time For Minimalism 