It’s really easy to confuse minimalism with an inflated lifestyle or a struggling one. It’s also really easy to associate it with a complete disregard for sustainability
One of the things I really struggled with was getting rid of all the clothes I had accumulated throughout the years. They all held some sort of value to me – especially the t shirts I got from random events I attended like races or sponsorship events. The blank shirts were easy enough to get rid of, but anything that seemed to have a memory attached was nearly impossible for me to part with.
I started with my closets and drawers, and eventually wound my way to linens and other “spare” use things that live in storage. Throughout my journey, I realized that not only am I really not prepared for an emergency, but all of my “emergency” things are worn down or broken. They serve as a temporary fix until I can get something new. With everything we need just a click away, why keep half-assed spares?
Re-homing the Second Stringers
Thankfully, rather than just throw away all of my clothes, especially the sentimental ones, I was, in most cases, able to find new homes for them. I played it creatively and managed to give my dad all of my reusable grocery bags, and replaced mine with bags made from old shirts. Two birds, one stone.
The rest of my clothes I found a lot more difficult to re-home. There were obvious choices, like clothes that were just plain too small or large or weird fitting to actually wear, but then there were the clothes that I had loved, or I did love, but for some odd reason, I never found myself wearing them.
They were like the second string team that really only gets called on when first string gets in trouble. And first string, at least in my closet, does not get in trouble. In fact, first string is actually of high enough quality and comfort that I think they might last forever.
So if I have a handful of really amazing clothes that I can definitively say I will scratch someone’s eyes out if they tried to take them from me, and a rather large pile of clothes that I can collectively refer to as “meh,” shouldn’t I focus on that first handful of clothes? The same ones that go in and out of the wash every week?
The Slow Road to a Minimalist Closet
Well the obvious answer is yes, but the frugal side of me thinks, if my first string pile really gets used that often, shouldn’t they break down faster? Wouldn’t it be smart to keep some backup clothing for when that day inevitably comes?
My frugal self recognizes the need for space and breathing room, but the desire to live a more minimal lifestyle still wants to supercede that. So, how do I appease both my frugal side and my minimal ambitions?
Well, being the analyst I am, I came up with a super simple solution for building a minimal wardrobe, while retaining frugality, and BONUS! appeasing the shopping addict in me.
I came up with a super simple minimalist formula.
For every item that goes into the closet, I must part with TWO items of clothing. This encourages me to buy less, but higher quality clothing while also recognizing the need to clean out my closet. I also tend to get a little overwhelmed when throwing out large piles of clothing, so this helps me make decisions proactively about what will make up my wardrobe. If I see something that is really that great, it will go automatically into first string clothing and take the place of two dull second stringers. Absolutely no exceptions.
What’s fun (or tedious, depending how much you like organization) about this is that you can also rearrange your closet in order of your favorites to your least favorites. Adding onto the one-in-two-out rule, consider making it imperative that if you are going to add additional clothing to your wardrobe, it has to, without question, take the spot at the top of your closet as your new favorite item. At that point, the two items on the other side of your closet get kicked to the donation pile.
This method obviously takes much more time than a complete, immediate closet overhaul, but it also creates a set plan for keeping a closet minimal, and makes any donation decisions super easy. It also might make you realize you really do love a few items in your second string wardrobe, and that one thing you love will never make up for them. And that’s okay, we’re all different kinds of minimalists.
Net Outflows
My rule started with an overfull closet, but I found it can be applied pretty much anywhere. Buy a bag? Get rid of two. Buy shoes? Get rid of two (pairs, but I won’t tell if you’re cheating). DVDs, books, craft supplies.
If you’re not going to use it in a year and find yourself buying another, you have to seriously reconsider what things are really meaningful to you.
The concept that I try to stick with is having a net outflow of things. As long as I am taking in fewer things than I am giving away, I will eventually end up with only the necessities. Since I love shopping so much, this rule allows me to pick up one or two things as I go, while helping me learn how to be more cognizant and hesitant of my purchases.
I really don’t think there’s an easy way to become a minimalist. It’s a mindset that happens overtime. One day, I clicked and realized that I really don’t want any more stuff. I never want to stress again about moving, or about having something without real purpose.
But that doesn’t mean that the extra things I have in my life are not useful. An extra set of bed sheets is useful. Definitely. Except I wash all of my bed sheets at once, and I make sure to keep my extra set hidden so I don’t get lazy and leave my clothes in the laundry. So what’s the point of the extra bed sheets? My extra bed sheets are useful, but they would be much more useful in a shelter that is scrambling to take care of people in need, let alone make them comfortable.
Making an Environment That Fits You
I had to change my priorities and start paying attention to my own habits. Rather than trying to change the way I use my stuff or how I interact with my environment, I paid attention to my natural habits and began fitting my environment into my own actions.
So many things are fine to have, but with our ability to source almost anything we need with a few clicks of a computer mouse, it doesn’t make sense anymore to keep large stock piles of things that we could get when we actually need them. A lot of things that I keep as spares will never get used, so rather than hang onto them for the sake of a mythical emergency, I have purged them and gotten comfortable with the extra spaces in my environment.
I was able to rearrange my closets and shelves and give everything a proper place. Although most of my life is a work in progress, I can confidently say that by getting rid of 50% of my stuff, I am able to focus more on only the things that really make me happy and that I find useful in everyday life. I also found plenty of projects to keep myself occupied rather than going out and buying more stuff.
And even better, I was able to turn a profit on two bookshelves I had kept filled with old stuff that I would never use. I turned old t shirts into dog toys for the shelter, and gifted my old school supplies to underprivileged children in the Philadelphia area. Not only did I made my life better – but I made others’ lives better too.
Passive Minimalism
So what does any of this have to do with minimalism? Well, everything, and nothing. Giving everything away doesn’t make you a minimalist, but the thought process of making your environment fit your lifestyle does.
Take a good audit of yourself, what you use, and how you use it. Revisit old projects and find new ways to use old things. Recognize what doesn’t work for you and don’t try to fit anyone else’s standards. Use the 2-for-1 method of cleaning out old things and replacing them with new.