Over last two years I have been actively listening to different blog posts, interviews and podcasts about minimalism and have been curious to learn more about how my life is adding value to myself and, if Minimalism can help to do anything that is required.
Although I have been listening to these stuff, I won’t say I have been very successful in applying those in my own life. I mean how can I be minimalist with a wife and 9 year old kid? My house is full of clothes, toys, knick knacks and many other stuff that i might require some day.
Since 2014, the time I came to US, I have had a variety of square feets in the four apartments that i lived in. In Greenville, SC I had a 1145 Square feet apartment down to 678 Square feet in Mt. Laurel New Jersey to 1100 Sq.feet townhouse in Charlottesville, VA and around 945 Sq. feet in another apartment in a closeby location in my second year stay there. Shifting apartment is always a pain and the more i shift, the more I realize my struggle with stuff. Stuff that I thought I might use someday, stuff that will come handy, stuff that will complement my future purchase etc.
Recently I went to India for a vacation and for different reasons, specially immigration related fear etc. for a moment i felt like I might not be able to come back again. Add to that I had this insecurity about the location of my apartment and we wanted to pack the valuables to keep in a friends safe custody. It was a touch decision as I had many valuables in house. The TV, Sound system, my DSLR Camera, two laptops and some important papers like my graduation certificates, my experience letters from previous companies, same for my wife’s etc. The choice was tough as I didn’t want to over-stuff my friend’s house who was kind enough to allow my stuff in their house for a safe keep.
Back in India, I was overwhelmed with emotions when i saw stuff that I did not see in almost 4 years. My collection of CDs, DVDs and other electronic junk like a printer which had its ink dried since last 5 years ( i thought of repairing that some day), huge pile of wires, plugs, power cables ( the items were gone, I cautiously kept the wires because I thought someday…), a broken computer chair which i refused to believe it’s broken, it’s just a screw and I would definitely find it someday. Every thing was gathering dust. My mom had an bad eye infection a year back and my dad always had dust allergy. They could not find a person who would dust those things properly. Those are attachments, huge huge attachments for me. I realized I had so many stuff for an apartment. I was on a cleaning spree. My parents got scared seeing a lot of would-be-required stuff gone in front of their eyes. For example few helmets were gone( I had a bike but that was sold). The Computer chair gathering dust or sometimes used as a dump for clothes is gone, Around 300 CD, DVDs are gone and lots of clothes which i thought are not washed out, a lot of winter garments which surely was meant for a hill station weather not a Kolkata (My Hometown) winter is gone. A lot of showpieces which I thought would complement my house when i will but a showcase are gone. We had two domestic help ( I am not a millionaire and they are not poor either, it’s just a common norm to have domestic help in India, will write about them in a separate post). The joy in their eyes were visible as they received at least a piece of my valuable junk every day. Some they will keep others they will sell. I was able to reduce at least 40% of my footprints in that apartment. I wished to throw away a lot more stuff which did not belong to me but was a gift from my grandma , a big wooden box, a lampshade, few stools ( which are necessary when you have a paint job going on in house, the workers don’t bother to bring one on their own). My mom panicked every time i opened a chest, she knew somethings will be gone. She would stand beside me and take a look what I am throwing off 🙂
I can totally understand there are a lot of stuff we need in India which are meaningless here in USA. For example every house you go, you will find a lot of water bottles filled with water taking significant amount of place. Reason being water is generally filtered by a wall mounted electro-filter and drinking waters are filled in in bottle for easier use. No matter how you wish, getting rid of them is not possible. We used to stay in an apartment of carpet area of around 980 Sq. ft in Kolkata with our parents and obviously that was way too small for five people. But I realized the space is not very less if you can get those clutter out. We have 3 Steel Chest in our house. Winter Clothes taking a lot of space although the temperature in Kolkata for last 10 years hardly would deserve more than a half and a full sweater at its best.
Back in US, I realized how I hoarded stuff because they were cheap or on offer. I purchased 3 VR sets because they were on offer or someday I would buy a VR gaming set. I have 9 pairs of shoes out of which I mostly use 3. 2 External hard disks because i thought one would crash someday to name a few. Staying in India for a month made me realize how little these things matters to me and how my parents’ presence made my day. Although I could see them via video call every now and them, sometimes you just don’t have enough to talk about but having them in next room is a blessing. Through out my stay I tried to declutter their life by removing a lot of wires which would puzzle them, giving them wireless modem and putting a lot of my stuff which they would never require in the chest that i just cleaned.
I am out of Facebook for every 3-4 months when and that gives me tremendous satisfaction. I am trying to quit every whatsapp group possible as that has almost become a replacement of social media and we tend to share every now or then or get caught up with different comments or posts. It’s not bad to know what’s going on around but often times it creates a baggage of feelings like happiness, anger, jealousness about what others are saying or doing.
Read in a recent blog: Everything people talk about when they talk about the merits of minimalism is absolutely true. We do use stuff to distract ourselves. We do dump our emotions and insecurities into stuff, and we do build up our egos and identities with stuff. So if you don’t have “stuff,” yes, it’s true that you instead build your understanding of your self and your world on “better” things.
I do encourage you to start practicing minimalism. It’s not easy to understand the benefits. So start learning why people are following this practice and how they are benefiting. Slowly there will be a sense of responsibility in you and you will find it much easier easier to adopt.
And remember, it’s not only life, you will slowly feel the effect in your work if you are a creative person. If you are not then choosing less or having the option to choose would de-clutter your life to great extent. Remember, Minimalism doesn’t mean get rid of your stuff completely, it only says use things that bring value to you. It’s not about having less things or less expensive things, it’s about bringing in life lesser valued stuff. Hope you enjoy this article. If you have a question or wish to learn more about minimalism or just get in touch with me, feel free to email me at anandarb@yahoo.com
Have a great day!
Core Intensity 