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| Embracing Minimalism |
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By Bob Wells
February, 2011
Back in 1995, when I moved into a van for the first time, I was shocked to
discover just how small a space I was moving into. I had bought a beat-up old
contractors box van (a van nose with a box behind it). The box was 8 feet wide
and 12 feet long. Empty, it seemed like a lot of space, but when I started to move
my stuff in, it quickly became apparent that only a tiny fraction of my possessions
would fit. If I had any other choice, I would have stopped right there, but I had just
gotten a divorce that had taken so much of my monthly income, I literally could not
afford to rent an apartment. So I did the only thing I could, I started getting rid of
all the stuff I thought I could live without. When I was done with that first attempt
at minimizing, my pile of stuff went down by about half, but was still way too
much. So I got rid of even more stuff, which was increasingly difficult, and started
putting what I thought was the essentials into the van. I still had about three times
more stuff than would fit! So I had no choice, I attacked the pile again. This time
the choices were really hard, these were things I thought I just could not do
without. But they had to go, so out they went. This time, I could cram it all in, but
it left very little room for me to live. I lived with it that way for awhile, but
realized that I just had to get rid of more stuff. So I made what I thought were some
brutal choices and finally, it was a comfortable, cozy, little home. In the years that
followed, I continued to live in that van and fell so deeply in love with
vandwelling that I look back on those times as the best thing that ever happened to
me. Today, I live in even a smaller space, my current trailer is 6 foot by 10 foot.
So I own even less stuff, but I don't mind it at all. The freedom and happiness I
have found by mobile living is worth so much more than all those "things" I can't
have.
Since then I have discovered that there are popular movements to encourage
mainstream people to embrace a similar lifestyle called "Simple Living," and
"Minimalism." These grew out of the hippy/counter culture and Mother Earth
News/Back-To-The-Land movement of the 60's and 70's. Without knowing it, and
against my will, I had adopted these lifestyles as my own. I have done some
research into them in books and on the Internet, and I think I am more of a
Minimalist than a follower of Simple Living. There is no official definition of
either, and in fact they are actually whatever you say they are. My understanding
of minimalism is that each person pares down his/her life to the absolute
minimum they think they need to live happily and comfortably with. I know
many vandwellers who have much less stuff than I do, and others who have much
more. They carry things I don't consider necessary, and I carry things they don't
consider necessary, but we are all minimalists, since we each have gotten down to
what we think is our minimum amount of possessions. Believe me, it is an ongoing
experience. On a regular basis I go through my trailer and examine everything in it
to decide if it really is necessary. Every item has to justify the space and energy it
takes from me.
February, 2011
Back in 1995, when I moved into a van for the first time, I was shocked to
discover just how small a space I was moving into. I had bought a beat-up old
contractors box van (a van nose with a box behind it). The box was 8 feet wide
and 12 feet long. Empty, it seemed like a lot of space, but when I started to move
my stuff in, it quickly became apparent that only a tiny fraction of my possessions
would fit. If I had any other choice, I would have stopped right there, but I had just
gotten a divorce that had taken so much of my monthly income, I literally could not
afford to rent an apartment. So I did the only thing I could, I started getting rid of
all the stuff I thought I could live without. When I was done with that first attempt
at minimizing, my pile of stuff went down by about half, but was still way too
much. So I got rid of even more stuff, which was increasingly difficult, and started
putting what I thought was the essentials into the van. I still had about three times
more stuff than would fit! So I had no choice, I attacked the pile again. This time
the choices were really hard, these were things I thought I just could not do
without. But they had to go, so out they went. This time, I could cram it all in, but
it left very little room for me to live. I lived with it that way for awhile, but
realized that I just had to get rid of more stuff. So I made what I thought were some
brutal choices and finally, it was a comfortable, cozy, little home. In the years that
followed, I continued to live in that van and fell so deeply in love with
vandwelling that I look back on those times as the best thing that ever happened to
me. Today, I live in even a smaller space, my current trailer is 6 foot by 10 foot.
So I own even less stuff, but I don't mind it at all. The freedom and happiness I
have found by mobile living is worth so much more than all those "things" I can't
have.
Since then I have discovered that there are popular movements to encourage
mainstream people to embrace a similar lifestyle called "Simple Living," and
"Minimalism." These grew out of the hippy/counter culture and Mother Earth
News/Back-To-The-Land movement of the 60's and 70's. Without knowing it, and
against my will, I had adopted these lifestyles as my own. I have done some
research into them in books and on the Internet, and I think I am more of a
Minimalist than a follower of Simple Living. There is no official definition of
either, and in fact they are actually whatever you say they are. My understanding
of minimalism is that each person pares down his/her life to the absolute
minimum they think they need to live happily and comfortably with. I know
many vandwellers who have much less stuff than I do, and others who have much
more. They carry things I don't consider necessary, and I carry things they don't
consider necessary, but we are all minimalists, since we each have gotten down to
what we think is our minimum amount of possessions. Believe me, it is an ongoing
experience. On a regular basis I go through my trailer and examine everything in it
to decide if it really is necessary. Every item has to justify the space and energy it
takes from me.
| Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. If you have them, you have to take care of them! There is great freedom in simplicity of living. It is those who have enough but not too much who are the happiest. Peace Pilgrim |
| Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it. Robert Brault, |
Minimalism Will Make You Happier:
How can doing without things make you happier? We know it is counter-intuitive,
but hear us out. Consumerism is the real religion of modern civilization. We are
constantly bombarded by messages from the media and our peers that we need to
buy and accumulate the latest and greatest things. If we don't, we won't be happy.
Nearly everyone will say that they aren't affected by advertising, but the facts say
they are. Go to any city on any weekend and you will find many garage sales.
Browse through a few of them and one thought will go through your mind
constantly, "Why would anybody buy all this junk?" But, if you had a garage sale,
and put your excess stuff out there, I guarantee that there will be people walking
around looking at your stuff saying to themselves, "Why would anybody buy all this
junk?" One look around your home at the amazing amount of stuff in it should tell
you that you are powerfully influenced by the media. All those garage sales prove
the big lie of advertising, you bought the stuff they were hawking, but it didn't make
you happy. In fact it left you feeling emptier than before. So you went out and
bought something else to find happiness, but it didn't work either. Somewhere deep
in the back of our mind is the thought, "This thing will work, I will finally be
happy." I believe the real reason we surround ourselves with huge houses filled to
the brim with "stuff" is fear. Modern living puts us in constant fear and
apprehension for our safety and our future. So we build walls of "stuff" to keep the
enemy out and so that we can feel like our future is safer. Unfortunately, instead of
being a fortress of safety, it becomes a prison that owns and controls us. While
some of that stuff did make your life easier and safer, it came with a tremendous
price, you become its slave!
"Stuff" Steals Your Time and Money
Consider the huge impact your possessions have on your life. First, you have to
own or rent an ever increasingly large house in order to hold all that stuff. Think
about what is involved with owning/renting a larger house:
- Our monthly rent/mortgage payment goes up.
- We have to heat and cool it so the cost of utilities goes up.
- The cost of insurance goes up to cover more stuff and a larger house.
- A larger lawn needs more time to care for it.
- More space takes more time to clean and care for.
- Maintenance takes more time and money.
But there is an even worse consequence to owning so many possessions, and that is
all the time we spend at work to pay for it. Ultimately, all we have is our time, it is
the most precious thing in our lives and we squander it away by buying and
warehousing more-and-more stuff. For many married people, both spouses have to
work to pay for their home and for all the stuff they buy. Many single people have
to work overtime or even a second job to live a rich consumer lifestyle. For nearly
everybody the economic pressure put on you by the consumer lifestyle means that
you have no choice but stay at your job no matter how much you may dislike it.
You would love to tell your boss to take this job and shove it, but you can't! You
have to stay there and take his abuse because you have to warehouse your
possessions and keep buying even more!! You work at a job you hate, with
people you don't like, so you can buy things you don't even really want!
Minimalism, can free you from that vicious cycle.
Think about how much better your life would be if you could get rid of so much
stuff you could move into a van or RV:
- You wouldn't have a monthly rent or mortgage payment!
- You wouldn't have monthly utility bills!
- You wouldn't have to pay insurance or property tax!
- You wouldn't have to mow lawns, or shovel snow!
- You would be free of a Landlord, making you the lord of your life!!
When I moved into my van, I had kids I had to support so I couldn't quit my job.
But the very first thing I did after moving into it was to tell my boss I only wanted
to work 32 hours a week instead of 40 hours a week. So every week became a 3-
day-holiday! And, I still had more disposable income even though I was working
fewer hours. Today, I work six months a year as a campground host in the National
Forest and take six months a year off, not working at all. Minimalism gives me that
kind of freedom! Plus, my home is so small that I literally have to stop buying more
stuff. There is nowhere to put it! When something new cames into the trailer,
something else has to go out. So now I am down to the bare-essentials and I am
forced to buy stuff very thoughtfully. Before I buy something, I have to ask myself
these questions:
- Do I really need it?
- Do I want to have to work more to pay for it?
- Is their any way to do without it?
- And most importantly, where will it go in the van?
Now, I won't kid you, by living in a van as a minimalist there are many modern
conveniences that I have to do without. But to me they are a minor sacrifice that
pale in comparison to how much happier I am and how much more freedom I
have.
"Stuff" Damages Your Soul
There is another way that minimalism will drastically improve your life. I firmly
believe that all this stuff that we surround ourselves with, and the many walls we
need to warehouse it, do damage to us mentally, emotionally and spiritually. First,
spending all our time in buildings at work and home separates us from nature.
Humans evolved along with nature, it is an integral part of who we are. To be
separated from it is as damaging to our soul as being separated from the air we
breathe is damaging to our body. Our stuff numbs us to the deep loss we feel
because of natures absence in our life. Let me make a prediction: When you
pare down your stuff, you will start to become antsy, you will feel
restless and discontent because you have lost your security blanket!
That's because our possessions satisfy us at a very surface level that distracts us
from the deeper, more real, feelings that lie below the surface. Without that
distraction our true feelings surface and we become miserable. The most likely
scenario is that you will fall right back into collecting "stuff." But, if you will take
the extra time and money that minimalism will bring you, and reconnect with
nature, that void will be filled. The antsy feeling will disappear and joy will take
its place.
Minimalism Is Great For The Earth
When you embrace minimalism and stop buying excess stuff, you will be doing a
wonderful thing for the environment and the earth. Consumerism is a curse to the
earth. Think about how bad the production and shipping of the things people buy is
for the earth:
- All the raw materials for the production and packaging of those items have to
be removed from the earth by mining or oil drilling. - The raw materials for it must be transported to the parts manufacturer,
consuming fuel. The equipment for extraction and transportation had to be
manufactured and shipped, duplicating this process many times over. - The parts for it must be manufactured, consuming more fossil fuel and
producing large amounts of toxic pollution. The manufacturing plant had to be
built, heated and cooled. - The parts must be transported to final assembly, consuming more fossil fuel
for transport. - The final product of the item is created, consuming more fuel and creating
more toxic pollution. - The entire above process is duplicated to create the packaging for those items.
- The item is transported (often very great distances) to a warehouse,
consuming more fuel for transport. The warehouse has to be built, heated and
cooled to hold the thing. - The item is transported to a retail location whether a local store or online-
warehouse, consuming more fuel and requiring the building, heating and
cooling of another building. - The consumer drives to the store (or orders it online) using more fossil fuel
for transportation. - After buying the product, the packaging is discarded. Probably it will be
driven (using fuel for transport) to the dump where more fuel will be used to
move it around and where it will remain for a very long time (maybe for
centuries!) steadily polluting the earth. - After a period of time (sometimes a very short period of time in our throw-
away-culture) the thing will break, and be thrown away. Probably it will be
driven (using fuel for transport) to the dump where more fuel will be used to
move it around and where it will remain for a very long time (maybe for
centuries!) steadily polluting the earth. - The item then needs to be replaced and so the process starts all over again.
What makes this process much worse is that most of it is done in foreign countries
that have no environmental laws. It is all done at the lowest possible cost which
generally means no effort is made to decrease pollution or destruction to the earth.
There are places where the pollution is too horrible for us to even begin to
understand, but because it is so far away, we aren't that concerned.
As a minimalist, you break this entire cycle. Every time you put something back on
the shelf and don't buy it, the earth is tremendously improved. So the next time you
are debating a purchase, visualize the process described above. Imagine cities in
China that are so polluted that the street-lights never go off because the light from
the sun is blocked by the think, black layer of deadly pollution blanketing it. Then
think about how happy you will be to not have to work to buy that item or pay to
warehouse it. When you put that item back on the shelf, or delete it from your
online cart, everyone wins! Once you embrace minimalism, you will find you have
quite a bit more extra money. You can take that money and start buying things made
locally, even though they cost more. That will greatly reduce the damage done to
the environment by transporting the item over huge distances. Also, it will be made
in America, where we have much stronger environmental laws. As a bonus, your
friends and neighbors will get a job!
Bear in mind, that no matter how minimally you try to live, you are still going to
buy things. You have to eat, you have to get around, there are certain things you
simply can't do without. Don't feel bad about that! That isn't our point at all.
Instead, rejoice in your newfound ability to not buy any more than you need to live.
You are doing the minimum damage to the earth. Finding a place of contentment
and freedom in life, is worth every small cost!!
Happiness consists, not in
possessing much, but in being
content with what we possess.
He who wants little always has
enough. Zimmermann
possessing much, but in being
content with what we possess.
He who wants little always has
enough. Zimmermann
Man's heart away from
nature becomes hard.
Standing Bear
nature becomes hard.
Standing Bear
Our life is frittered away by detail...
Simplify, simplify, simplify!
Simplicity of life and elevation of
purpose. Henry Thoreau
Simplify, simplify, simplify!
Simplicity of life and elevation of
purpose. Henry Thoreau
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It is preoccupation with
possessions, more than
anything else, that prevents
us from living freely and
nobly. Bertrand Russell
possessions, more than
anything else, that prevents
us from living freely and
nobly. Bertrand Russell
In our rich consumers'
civilization we spin cocoons
around ourselves and get
possessed by our possessions.
Max Lerner
civilization we spin cocoons
around ourselves and get
possessed by our possessions.
Max Lerner
Frugality is one of the most
beautiful and joyful words in
the English language, and yet
one that we are culturally cut
off from understanding and
enjoying.
The consumption society has
made us feel that happiness
lies in having things, and has
failed to teach us the
happiness of not having
things. Elise Boulding
beautiful and joyful words in
the English language, and yet
one that we are culturally cut
off from understanding and
enjoying.
The consumption society has
made us feel that happiness
lies in having things, and has
failed to teach us the
happiness of not having
things. Elise Boulding
The ability to simplify means
to eliminate the unnecessary
so that the necessary may
speak. Hans Hofmann
to eliminate the unnecessary
so that the necessary may
speak. Hans Hofmann
Money never made a man
happy yet, nor will it. There is
nothing in its nature to
produce happiness. The more
a man has, the more he wants.
Instead of its filling a vacuum,
it makes one. If it satisfies one
want, it doubles and trebles
that want another way.
Benjamin Frankin
happy yet, nor will it. There is
nothing in its nature to
produce happiness. The more
a man has, the more he wants.
Instead of its filling a vacuum,
it makes one. If it satisfies one
want, it doubles and trebles
that want another way.
Benjamin Frankin
To find the universal elements enough;
to find the air and the water
exhilarating;
to be refreshed by a morning walk or
an evening saunter;
to be thrilled by the stars at night;
to be elated over a bird's nest or a
wildflower in spring
these are some of the rewards of the
simple life. John Burroughs
to find the air and the water
exhilarating;
to be refreshed by a morning walk or
an evening saunter;
to be thrilled by the stars at night;
to be elated over a bird's nest or a
wildflower in spring
these are some of the rewards of the
simple life. John Burroughs
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