Minimalism Broke My Heart: Why My Pursuit of Less Left Me Feeling Empty
Why is minimalism not always the right choice? The truth about forced simplicity
I was the girl who had 6 types of candles and a supply of festive pajamas in her drawer at home. Now I have a notebook and a curtain instead of a blanket; why is minimalism not always the right choice?
Why did this happen, and does it make me happy?
Many people chant down on consumerism! But I am a wild shopaholic, only without ten credit cards like in the movie of the same name. When I worked, I bought myself things that made me happy. It wasn’t something cheap or of poor quality that breaks in a week, no.
I had a large wardrobe, a large shoe collection. Well, in terms of the ratio of my salary to the number of shoes, of course, I won’t catch up with Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, but still.
I bought things for the comfort of home: candles, diffusers, blankets, beautiful containers for organizing storage, cute dishes, and my special pride is the autumn collection of glasses with raccoons, the Easter collection with rabbits, the New Year’s collection with deer, beautiful bed linen, and paper books. Also on the shopping list were kitchen tools (a variety of gadgets that could help with cooking).
For Christmas, I was given themed pajamas from the Oysho brand. I simply adored them. It’s a pity they have switched only to sports goods. They had wonderful collections with Snoopy, with bears, penguins, checkered home pants, and fluffy, cozy, warm robes. It’s everything you need in the cold winter.
Some will call all this pampering, but one mug is enough for the whole year. But this is not about me. I don’t understand this. I like to bring warmth and a good mood into the house.
Forced minimalism
And then I moved far away. The temporary new place was supposed to be for half a year, but it dragged on for several years.
I don’t have that coziness now. I live in a tiny rented room. I cover myself with a curtain, yes, a coverlet made of the same fabric as the curtains in the room, literally.
Now I only have: a toothbrush, shampoo, face cream, decorative cosmetics, a bag, and a backpack. One pair of jeans, 4 T-shirts, two pairs of shoes (winter and summer), a jacket, a hoodie, a warm sweater, two sweaters, two hair ties.
The plastic dishes, disposable, as well as cutlery. There is a cutting board. There is no kitchen here.
There is my old iPhone, which is broken, but I don’t dare to throw it away. It reminds me of the time when I could buy a lot, even with a small salary.
I also have two external chargers, a manicure set, a first aid kit, a notebook, and two pens (I like to write by hand).
The room is too old and it’s not cozy. So I bought a garland, the only island of coziness.
I do not understand people who strive for such a lifestyle, in the style of — down with consumption, use only 100 things… Or I lived the whole year with 20 things and became more enlightened.
I really miss all this home comfort: the smell of freshly baked waffles for breakfast, decorated with whipped cream and so on.
Life is not only about eating and sleeping. It should be a place where you want to return, and feel at home, it is warm and smells delicious.
There is no coziness without things, at least for me. While I’m still looking for a job that would allow me to arrange a new place, I’m blogging. Sometimes, it gives me nothing but stress. But I will continue to hope that everything will work out for me… Otherwise, I can go crazy…
So, I didn’t become closer to myself without material things, my third eye didn’t open, and I didn’t develop a different view of consumerism. I just became further from home.
While I dream of a cozy home, I create small things that can make yours a little brighter. If you're looking for something beautiful or useful to add that missing spark of warmth — take a look at my shop! 🦝
And what do you choose? Reasonable consumption or refusal to consume at all?
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