Minimalism vs Consumerism
I can’t say exactly when I started to watch minimalism content on YouTube. It was perhaps 3-4 years ago, when I heard about “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”, by Marie Kondo (and watched the Netflix show), and discovered this thing called minimalism (by watching Matt D’Avella’s YouTube videos). Since I started, I haven’t been able to stop consuming this kind of online content, from Netflix’s shows on organization, to YouTube videos on minimalism, decluttering, cleaning, and organizing. I find them strangely soothing. A promise of a better life. They are a refuge for when the world around me becomes too hard to handle, when my mind is in turmoil. I have changed and discovered some things about me, since I started watching these videos. It has become easier for me to discard some items I no longer need, and I found out that I really like to organize things (but I am still not fond of cleaning).
However, I am quite certain I will never become a “true” minimalist. You see, while I have tried to reduce the number of things I own, and I do try not to buy new things, I am also a huge fan of unboxing and hauling videos! Thus, I constantly feed my inner desire of getting new things (mainly new stationery and craft related things) and fuel the fight between the consumerist and the minimalist in me! Perhaps everyone has this constant struggle inside them. I guess I have had it most of my life, although then I wouldn’t call it minimalism. I just didn’t have money and had to make careful choices between what I needed and what I wanted. I learned to be patient. But I also learned to trick myself into believing what I wanted was something I really needed.
Recently, I started to take more and more notice of this dichotomy within me. It started when I decided I wanted to start pen paling. I was engulfed in the wonderful world of stationery, washi tapes, stamps, and stickers! I wanted (and still want) it all! But crafting and writing letters is not my main profession, and I it will never be. So how do I justify these types of purchases? How can I turn these wants into needs? I stood my ground, for most of the times, and purchased most of my things from local shops (supporting local business) or second-hand shops. But the yearning doesn’t stop. It has become interesting for me to look at all these amazing creators that I so admire, and that, on one hand do say that one does not need to own anything, except some paper and pens to start Pen Paling. Which is true. But on the other hand, they themselves have this huge and beautiful assortment of items that fills their desks, walls, and, sometimes, rooms! It is their collection, and as any other collection, it is not meant to be used or spent. It is meant to live forever and grow! And, although part of me wishes I had such a collection myself, I know that I would feel the clutter around me and I would probably not enjoy it at all.
So, how do I deal with this? I am not sure, to be honest. I will still watch minimalism content, I will still try to adapt some of its teachings to my day-to-day life. However, I will also hold on to that bread maker my sister gave me some years ago, and that I probably have used about 10 times! I will still watch unboxing and haul videos, and feel the desire to own all those things as well! Well, all I can aspire to do is to understand that I will make mistakes. I will make impulse purchases occasionally, and I will trick myself into believing that I really need that one item. And afterwards, I hope to not be too harsh on myself, and learn from my mistakes. In any case, if I ever find something that works for me, to better balance these two sides of me, I will be sure to write about it!
/C.