Minimalism - My Take
I wrote the post below in October 2018 on my previous blog. Reading through it again, it’s 3 years on and not much has changed.
I’ve added some additional things that I have added to my minimalist lifestyle in the last paragraph.
It's almost two years since my Husband and I moved to Abu Dhabi from Nairobi, we uprooted our lives in 3-4 suitcases and had to start afresh. As we did, along the way i decided to fulfill my minimalist dreams some part due to the lack of permanence as a new expat and some part because I do not want to be tied down by things.
Reusing old leggings as a Headwrap.
In all honesty, part of the reason that I wanted to downsize my possessions was financial. Leaving Nairobi meant losing my full time job and relying on my husband for most things. My disposable income was not as open-ended as it used to be. The boy was also going to be born in a few months. I needed to make sure we had all the things ready for his arrival.
We have managed to minimally furnish our house ( slowly making it a home as we are moving soon), have smaller but more efficient wardrobes, keep our baby clothed and entertained and live happily. Most importantly we are content!
My journey to trying out minimalism started off by watching two documentaries on Netflix; Minimalism: A Documentary about the Important Things and The True Cost.
This has led me to defining my own sense of minimalism as buying only what I truly need and learning to make more deliberate decisions on spending money.
Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.
Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
My minimalism manifests in the following super simple ways;
I have a smaller wardrobe with pieces that I love and work for my day to day life. As I spend most of my time at home working, I do not need such an extensive wardrobe and my wardrobe is mainly jeans, tees and comfy dresses, This works for the husband as well who has 5 suits, a number of mix and match tees, chinos and shorts which work for his Smart Casual office environment. The boy's wardrobe is pretty similar and since the growth spurts have slowed down, we are only buying clothes every 3 months.
I used to be a huge product junkie especially as a natural hair blogger, I have pared down my products to 2 bottles of conditioner, ! bottle of shampoo, 1 curling product, 1 gel, 1 hair oil and some edge control. This is honestly keeping my hair super healthy and its growing like a weed.
Every 3-4 months, I take on some decluttering and donate old clothes to charity.
My make up bag is super pared down with a one foundation, concealer, mascara, highlighter, powder. Lip products are my crack though and I struggle not buying all the Fenty Lipsticks .
2021
Our family has grown and a recent move gave us an opportunity to declutter and further pare down our things. My minimalism is not aesthetic ( think Kanye and Kim’s neutral horror house) but more about having what is Enough for us and is practical to our lifestyle.
Below are some bits i’ve added to our minimal lifestyle;
I have stopped the overwhelming urge to buy the kids more and more toys or books and would rather repurpose old toys, use our library card or spend more time outdoors because the world is our playground,
I also resonate with Shiro Gaitho’s 7 rules to Maximal Minimalism and I am more conscious and take time to plan my purchases. Every month I list down what I am going to purchase and sometimes it’s replacing something I have used up or just buying something that my heart desires.
In 2021, Sustainable Living and the impact of overall waste on earth is a big contributing factor to my minimalism decisions. I am almost going over board with the climate guilt and really question every purchase I make. Not wanting to add more junk to landfill and thinking of the entire production cycle of an item.
What influences your purchasing decisions? I would love to know in the comments
