One Thing Minimalism Gave Me

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Practicing Minimalism, which is essentially getting and keeping your life free of things that don’t add value to you, has helped me gain so much: clarity, empowerment, peace, freedom, time, and more.

(Plus, it makes moving a LOT easier. 🙂 )

While it seems like every Minimalist has their own definition, I like what The Minimalists have come up with: “Minimalism is a lifestyle that helps people question what things add value to their lives. By clearing the clutter from life’s path, we can all make room for the most important aspects of life: health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.”

I want to share an anecdote of a time when I saw the positive effect of Minimalism in my life very clearly. It was maybe two years ago, when I had first started practicing Minimalism, and a good friend from high school gave me two trash bags full of hand-me-downs, as my friends would do for me periodically.

I was so excited about this, because this friend was always undeniably fashionable and beautiful, and she also bought high-end clothes. I remember moments during high school where I wished so deeply that I could dress as well as she did.

When I looked through the bags, many of the items were, in fact, items I had envied in the past. There was one dress specifically that I remembered feeling jealous of, even though I didn’t 100% love the way it looked, because I knew how expensive it was and I always felt a pang of poorness at its sight. I couldn’t wait to try everything on and add some items to my wardrobe.

But as I went through each item of clothing, trying many of them on, I realized that they were all items I didn’t need or really even want. I realized that my friend barely got any use of out these clothes either, and she had been carrying around this excess for years. I saw how useless, and even damaging, this excess could be. And most importantly, I saw about how misguided my jealousy had always been. I had spent years feeling less-than compared to my loving friend because of nothing more than stuff.

I ended up taking a few pieces that I believed would be valuable to me, and putting of few of my own clothes into the bags to donate. When I was finished, I felt lighter than air.