What does it mean to trim down your belongings until you only possess the essential? What is "essential", in this instance, really? I became a minimalist accidentally, after reading a book on Feng Shui in 2009. I had gotten the book out of curiosity, but part of me wanted to call its bluff. I was fairly new-agey, but I felt like Feng Shui was something that rich people did out of boredom-- a reason to hire another interior designer or a ploy to get on the cover of Architectural Digest. A skeptic I was, but I was still a student. I did everything that the book suggested-- strategically placed mirrors, rearranged furniture, what have you. What really got me, though, was the part about decluttering. The book mentioned that if you haven't used something on 6 months, it goes, out the door and to the nearest Goodwill or charity. I did as instructed, and was surprised at what I found-- I felt better. Better yet, I was having fun! After I made my final touches on my newly feng-shui-ed apartment, I felt lighter somehow. It was different than just cleaning your house and redecorating--I felt like I had cleaned my soul. Ever since then, I've been a dedicated minimalist and Feng Shui believer. Since my initial introduction to Feng Shui, I have gone through various stages of minimalism, from living in a 250-square foot apartment with only 50 or so possessions to now, living in a 750-square foot house with my partner(M.) and our cat (T.) with a larger collection of stuff, but still fairly minimal. What I have found is that it's not about reducing everything in your house to a single chair and bare table with meditating pillows on the floor, but to getting to a spot where you feel freer and are living more simply. This is where that word comes in--essential. The way to know if something is essential is to ask these four questions:
How many times have I used this item in the past 6 months? What about in the past year?
Does this item truly enrich my life and help me to reach my goals?
Is it in line with my values and ideals?
Does it have a negative impact on my life in any way?
What you will discover after asking these questions is not only whether the item is essential or not. but that we often don't even know why we buy things. We are bombarded with advertisements all of our lives, all day long, and we are tricked into believing that we need things-- and when the new things come out to replace the old things, we need more things. And so it goes. So now, as I go on this new and exciting journey of lowering my consumption even more and making more environmentally-conscious and socially-conscious choices, I am ready to find out, at this point in my life, what "essential" means for me.
“Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.”
-Roger J. Corless, Vision of Buddhism: The Space Under the Tree