This week we made a little editorial change to our site. Instead of publishing just one journal per week, we have started publishing two. We appreciate you might not regularly visit our site to read journal stories, so we’re bringing them to your inbox too, as a simple recap of the week. Remember, you’re always welcome get involved in the journal at any time.
We’d also like to invite you to subscribe to our Inside Minimalism series, which offers exclusive essays on living simply.
You Don’t Need Much to Be Happy
How a minimalist lifestyle can help you take back control of your life
By Ivaylo Durmonski
Once you waste the first twenty years of your life focusing on useless things like going to clubs, social media fame, what to buy, and what to wear, you might eventually become more careful about what type of activities you let in your everyday life. That’s what happened to me. I was living irresponsibly until the age of twenty-two when I finally realized that something was wrong. I knew I had to act or I would wake up one day, old and wrinkled, regretting everything I did during my life.
Fortunately, I found a way to lessen the never-ending desire to look good in the eyes of others and finally focus on what was essential for me. The concept of minimalism helped me understand that you don’t need much to be happy. It helped me realize that life can be simplified and streamlined without sacrificing quality.
Unfortunately, this idea is not something we can easily see. In our everyday life, we are bombarded by messages and endorsements telling us that our lives are not good enough unless we get that new, shiny product. There’s that new car, t-shirt, sofa, pair of pajamas, or that innovative mattress simulating cryosleep, which is now the “new thing.” And since everyone is chasing these products, we start wholeheartedly believing that more things equal happiness.
You and I both know that this belief is far from the truth. Even if you’re persuaded by the ads on social media and you buy that new product, you realize after a few days that this new thing won’t actually change your life. After the initial excitement, the new product becomes part of the pile. At some point, the mountain of things that was supposed to make your life better begins to suffocate you.
There is a better way to spend your time and your life in general. This is the minimalist lifestyle: the way of less stuff and more meaning. It’s a lifestyle that will help you take back control of your life.
To begin, you need to get really comfortable with the idea that more does not equal better.
Once you realize the potential in this simple idea, you’ll understand that you don’t need much to be happy. You’ll see that happiness is not about owning things—it is about doing more impactful things.
“If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”
—Vicki Robin
Curating a Natural Home
When what remains speaks volumes
By Chelsea Jarred
As we become more mindful of our possessions and reduce what we have, a natural change occurs within us. The mind becomes still and we begin to reflect. We live with an enhanced sense of purpose.
In the fifteenth century Leonardo Da Vinci famously stated ‘simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.’ This perspective lends itself well to the concept of a simple home. The beauty of Da Vinci’s words is found in the realization that we already have the resources we need. Perfection is the result of less, but done well.
Why not remove till only quality remains? Consider a room with less furniture and clean walls, giving the eyes a chance to rest. All a bedroom really needs is a bed, perhaps a side table, a reading lamp, and a maybe a couple of stems in a vase. These items define the sole purpose of the room; to relax, and by extension, to sleep.
I also think that reducing man-made items helps in creating a cosy home. Natural fibers like cotton, linen, and wool work to define our comfort in quiet neutral tones of beige, bone, grey, whites, and pale blue. Many an austere bathroom has been transformed by matching linen bath sheets, a simple hand towel, and a bunch of flowers.
This theory extends to the larger features of the home as well. Paired back wood, stone, leather, and natural fabrics tell the story of usage over time, becoming more beautiful with age. If in doubt, turn to nature.
I have found that natural materials are especially pertinent in smaller homes, where choosing wooden scrubbing brushes and brooms over their plastic counterparts means that each possession is beautiful enough to be left out on display when storage is limited.
Over time, getting back to the basics of living begins to influence other areas of our lives. We begin to eat whole foods from farmers markets and buy our pantry staples in glass jars at the bulk store. We turn to natural beauty products. Almond oil for the skin. Epsom salts to bathe and prepare for a restful night’s sleep. Essential oils for all manner of ailments.
‘Less, but better’ can equally be applied to one’s work. We can focus on the more meaningful projects that are available to us. The ones with the greatest effect, and that bring the greatest pleasure.
To live a life with less is to live with more stillness, purpose, and in my experience, it is to live closer to nature.
Who knew that simply living with fewer things in the home would enable such an existence?
A Little More of Less
A few other articles we think you might enjoy…
Controlling the Floodgates by Jacob Matto
5 Decluttering Tips by The Minimalists
The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do To Simplify Your Summer by Elissa Joy Watts
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