“Look around. All that clutter used to be money.”
—The Minimalists
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Upgraded Downsizing
From 2600 sq ft of house to a 589 sq ft condominium
By Dann Alexander
In June 2012 my spouse and I purchased a large side-split house outside of Halifax. It was perfect at the time. It was a great neighborhood with lush scenery, peace and quiet, and amazing people. When we entered the house market a few years ago it was with minimalism front of mind. There was so much to contemplate. We knew if the opportunity presented itself we would be able to downsize significantly. We were not going to settle for something by the time we needed to vacate our home. If nothing suited us for the market we were prepared to rent.
The idea of condominium living was always appealing to us. We were used to putting in lots of work in our large house. A series of events combined with the embrace of minimalism changed our outlook for the better. Buying a big house on a large piece of land gave us lots of space. The trouble is we filled that space up with more with things we did not need. We did not realize at the time that what we were looking for was contentment. Having to cut and haul firewood daily, mowing a lawn for two hours on a weekend did not bring us contentment. It left us with minimal time when we wanted more minutes.
Larger spaces are not a minimalist answer for maximum contentment.
Through great timing, we were fortunate to check out a 589 sq ft condo as the first place we would look at. Never did we expect to like the first place we would check out or even want to put an offer in on it. Through our agent we did our background checks on the building and evaluated what we might need to do within the first year. We viewed it as an opportunity to increase our contentment. We could sell, donate, and get rid of so many things in order to fit our lives into this smaller space.
After an exchange of offers and counter-offers we were set to move in early March. We donated several carloads worth of quality things to a local thrift store that raises funds for animal rescue. Even after being in the place for a month, we may have more carloads to go. Our contentment levels have grown by leaps and bounds just within the first month of our occupancy in this space.
Embracing minimalism can be achieved through what most perceive as “downsizing”. It should be viewed as an upgrade into the comfortable embrace of further contentment.
Advertising for Grown-Ups
Grappling with cartoons, logos, and labels
By Bernice Go
I’ve always marveled at how kids could be so affected by the simplest advertising.
My nieces and nephew were enthralled with plastic eggs, juice cartons, and even water bottles which were perfectly ordinary except they had special cartoons on the packaging. The kids would pester me until they got their Frozen apple juice, or whichever cartoon they liked at the time. I was both amazed at the brilliance of the advertisers, and slightly impatient, waiting for my nieces and nephew to realize they were getting the same water and juice even if they got the cheaper versions without the special packaging.
Fast forward to Spring 2020: Stuck at home in social quarantine, I decided it was a perfect time to start decluttering. I sorted through my room, shelf by shelf and drawer by drawer. But as I did, I found myself hesitating to throw away certain items. I’d think “it's a branded pen” or “it’s a special purse.”
That was when I realized that I was struggling with the same problem as my nieces and nephews. They were told that their water bottles and juice cartons had extra value because of the presence of certain images on the packaging. Was I not similarly being told that my possessions had extra value because of the presence of certain logos on them?
I instantly heard myself saying to the kids, “Look, it's the same water and juice—having a cartoon on the front doesn't change it.”
Well, dear self, “This is just a notebook, just a purse, just a pen. It functions just like any other notebook, purse, and pen. Having a special name or logo (or lack thereof) doesn’t change it.”
And so, with the immortal words uttered by that same Frozen princess on the juice carton, I say, “Let it go…”
A Little More of Less
A few other articles we think you might enjoy…
Living Room Conversations S3 by The Minimalists
Becoming Essential by Joshua Becker
Minimalism, Marketing, and Digital Sales by Carl MH Barenbrug
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