Minimalism. It means something different to each and every person who says the word. It might be a literal interruption, meaning they live with only what they need to survive. For others, the word evolved into a more relaxed definition. This might mean having limited furniture but keeping photo albums full of picture. Or it might mean having enough plates in the kitchen for eight people but having a bookshelf full of books. It is not all or nothing as most people think. It all depends on a personal survey of your life, feelings, emotions, and choices that will bring you to your idea of minimalism.

My personal definition of minimalism is taking the steps to live with only the things I truly need or truly love. This is a more recent thought pattern as I used to view being a minimalist or living minimally as having nothing or living without the things we need. It has taken several turning points in my life to realize that it is not just giving up everything you have and living with absolutely nothing. I have come to realize that I can be a minimalist and still have the books I love and keep those things that mean something to me. It is simply getting rid of unnecessary items that bring nothing but stress to my life.

The first time I thought about being a minimalist was moving into a college dorm room. I started packing and oh my, the stress it created. What do I take, what do I leave, what do I really need in my dorm?! I did not sleep for days while I packed. It literally kept me up at night, thinking of the pure massive amount of stuff I was planning on packing and taking with me. Those packing lists on Pinterest helped me tremendously with sorting some things out and moving forward in packing. But I still took way too much stuff. Unpacking was just as bad, if not worse as I now had to find a home for all the things I had brought with me.

Packing it all back up to bring home just months later was another moment in my life that I thought, “Man, I don’t need all this junk.” I left some of the plates and such with my roommate. I donated most of the notebooks I hadn’t used to students who did not have supplies or could not afford supplies. But when I packed my car to head home, I could barely fit it all and my car has a good amount of space in the back. This full car load did not include the several boxes and bags I had taken home on weekends previously. Unpacking when I got home was a flood of emotions and stress I did not want to jump into. Unpacking consisted of me standing in my room and wondering what to do with all the stuff. I might have cried a few times as I felt completely overwhelmed.

Surprisingly, my parents decided to move and yet again I was looking at all the things I owned and felt overwhelmed. My closet was packed with clothes and various stacks of other items. Box after box after box after box after yet another box. It's like stuff seems to multiply while your packing. There is always one more pile to get. There is always that one item that does not fit properly in the box and you're trying to figure out how to move it. Thankfully, we only moved about 10 minutes away so I took several loads of items over in my car. It took about five car trips to carry everything that was not going in the moving truck. Granted, some of that was my son's stuff but still! That didn't even count most of my clothes or any of my furniture. It was just junk and random stuff I had gotten over the years. I purged as I packed and then purged as I unpacked and yet still, there was too much stuff. Moving is already stressful enough but knowing that there is all this stuff you really do not have to take with you adds a whole new level of stress to the situation.

And here we are today. No particular one thing happened recently that made me reevaluate my life. Not anything I can really put my finger on anyway. I just woke up one day and said “I am stressed and a contributing factor is the amount of stuff I look at every day that I do not need.”I decided that it was time I take control of my life and reduce the stress on me. Thus began my journey into living a minimalistic lifestyle. I started in my bathroom, throwing away old mostly empty beauty products and broken makeup.The first day, I threw away three bags of old or broken items, donated three bags of clothing that simply did not fit, and donated multiple items in my house that I did not want. I have since donated 4 more bags of clothes and shoes. I recently spent a few hours creating a capsule wardrobe that consists of thirty-three items; including jackets, shoes, accessories, and all clothing items. My closet has never been more organized and I breathe a little easier when I get dressed in the morning.

I realized that minimalism is not for everyone. But I do encourage everyone to take a step back and look at their stuff with a new perspective. We do not always need that new technology, new car, that big house, or those clothes we have not worn in years. It is such a freeing feeling to just get rid of something you do not need. All those clothes, I do not miss them. I did not wear them anyway. but I clung to them as a security. My thought was always "well I might wear it next season or next year" but I never did. Again, it is not for everyone. But I do encourage you to think about the possibility that it could be for you.