While on my purging binge over the last week or so, I searched for podcasts, blogs, forums and books on simple living, living with less, downsizing, minimalistic lifestyles etc. When I get “into something” I like to dive into the subject to learn about others’ experiences, practices and suggestions.
When I first embraced minimalism, back in 2008, there were at least a dozen blogs I found helpful. They were all written by millennials who had chosen a smaller, simpler life. Some were digital nomads living out of backpacks. Some live carefree. Others chose to live in tiny houses. Many were more focused on reaching financial independence. All had rejected the consumerist lifestyle and were living unconventional lives. More than a few were aspiring writers, which is not surprising since at the time, blogs were popular and many people were deluded into believing they could make a living as a blogger.
I looked up those people to see where they were today. The ones who are still actively blogging are all hawking their life coaching services and/or online mindfulness courses. Their blogs have become businesses focused on introducing newcomers to minimalism.
A few got married or divorced. The tiny house people all moved into traditional homes or apartments. Most of the digital nomads settled down as well. It appears that most did not attain early financial independence, relying on parents, spouses and regular jobs to support themselves. I suspect this isn’t so much a reflection of “failing” at minimalism, but more a reflection that in 2008, they were young millennials at the age when travel, adventure, gap years and exploration are more common. Now, 16 years later, they have bills to pay and lifestyles to maintain.
My search for content from people like me, who are further down the road of embracing a minimalist lifestyle was fairly fruitless. There are many sources of information on decluttering, downsizing, making small changes, organizing and decorating (think Dave Ramsey, Marie Kondo and Better Homes and Gardens).
There were very few places I found anything written by people like me, who are interested in an almost spiritual experience of living with less.
This makes sense. There’s not a lot out there because people who live like I do because we don’t talk about living this way, we just do it. We’re busy doing what matters to us, whether that’s making art, living off grid, helping others, writing, or putzing around. Our minimalism isn’t an end to itself. It’s become integrated as part of our core.
I’ve tried to talk to my friends and mother about the profound (to me) feelings and thoughts I’ve had with my recent purges. I can almost hear them yawning through the phone. They have no interest in it. They listen politely, but have nothing to contribute because they don’t live this way.
And so I’ll keep writing about it for now. Eventually, my enthusiasm will settle back down to baseline and I’ll find another project to focus on as this new level of minimalism simply becomes what I do.
For now though, it’s been quite enlightening.