“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci
This summer, I’ve reached my three year anniversary of minimalism. It all began way back in August of 2015, when I was walking through the aisles of Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon (the world’s largest independent bookstore; a must-see for any book lover). On the shelves, I found a darling little hardcover book called — can you guess? — Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
I was enthralled. When I returned home from our family road trip, I threw away half of my worldly possessions, painted my bedroom walls white, and began scouring Pinterest for all the minimalism quotes in existence. My family never lets me clean anything anymore because I am known to “pitch” anything that doesn’t fit the simple vibe I’m going for.
Three years will change a lot — including my approach to minimalism. Looking at my life now, versus where it was when I began, highlights so many aspects of life in which I’ve grown. For this week’s post, I’ve compiled five ways that simple living has changed my everyday life.
A Simple Wardrobe
Clothes always seem like the first thing to declutter, don’t they? I think that’s because we all have a sense of what style fits us best. You know what you like. And you know what you don’t like, probably because you tried it once and then, a few months later, scrolled back through your photo feed in horror. Ah, yes. I understand. In high school, I went through an Aeropostale phase, a farm girl phase, a hipster phase, and a French chic phase, and have now settled on something more longterm (I hope): a classic style with a few floral pieces.
Simple living forces you to let go of who you aren’t so that you can become who you are now. When you buy for quality over quantity, you save money and space. You feel more comfortable in your clothes. You get rid of the guilty feeling of the sales rack items you bought and wore once. Your closet is tidy and organized and full of pieces that you love to wear. And throughout your journey, your clothes are an ever-evolving artistic expression of who you are becoming.
Books
Listen, I love books. My fifteen-year-old self was adamant that I needed to buy every book I ever read — ever — so that I could fulfill my secret dream of having a huge collection to rival the Hogwarts Great Library or the library in the Green Hollows. And so, my ever-growing library came to dominate a giant bookshelf that took up a whole wall in my bedroom.
Marie Kondo changed my mind. She suggests that a book collection would be more meaningful if it was composed entirely of books you love. “Image what it would be like to have a bookshelf filled only with books you really love,” she writes, “Isn’t that image spellbinding? For someone who loves books, what greater happiness could there be?”
It took two years after reading those words for me to convince myself to just do it. Last summer, I removed all my books from the giant shelves and went through them, one by one. In two hours, I’d “tidied” my collection down from about five hundred volumes to a reasonable one hundred and one of my all-time favorite stories. Now, instead of buying every book I want to read, I borrow it from friends or from the local library.
Finances
I like to keep my financial life as simple as possible. I keep a cash envelope system for everyday purchases and I keep track of expenses in my planner. I have a savings account and a checking account. It’s worth noting that, since I live at home, I don’t have many bills or expenses at the moment. My main financial goal is getting through college debt-free.
And what about everyday purchases? In a nutshell, I only spend money on things that matter to me — on things that will last. Now and then, I’ll buy a Starbucks coffee on my break between shifts, but I don’t spend much money. I’m saving 80% of my tips and paychecks for my study abroad program, but I am setting some money aside for a few big purchases — notably, a suitcase for my study abroad trip and a pair of sunglasses so I look more awesome and don’t have to squint so much.
Health
I went a little hardcore when it came to healthy living. Four years ago, I cut out sugar. I cut out all processed foods, counted my calorie intake, checking my weight, and made sure I was fulfilling my 45-minute-workout quota. It got a little extreme — I didn’t have an eating disorder, but I think I was dancing on the edge of one for a few months.
Simple living has transformed my mindset towards health too. I’m more interested in how I feel than the numbers behind it. It’s more important to nourish yourself with whole foods: fresh fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, whole grains, lean protein. I’m a firm believer that God made everyone a different recipe to get to ultimate health (the amount of diets out there will make your head spin), but the basics are the same. Drink a lot of water, get some fresh air and movement, eat healthy. And we all need some chocolate in our life, you know?
A Box of Memories
Getting rid of memorabilia is hard. I try to only keep one box of sentimental things, which forces me to examine every thing to decide if it’s truly important. Right now I have a collection of journals, a hard drive with all my personal photos on it, some miscellaneous postcards and letters, and a stack of polaroids.
There’s a few things I have decided are unnecessary — duplicate photos on my phone, internet search history, contacts for old people I don’t talk to anymore, negative thoughts, and all those embarrassing memories that keep you up at night. Be gentle with yourself and let all of those things go.
Minimalism is not about the numbers — it’s not about hitting one hundred possessions or only owning what fits in a suitcase. It’s about getting rid of anything that is distracting you from living your best life and giving yourself space for what makes you happy: color, laughter, flowers, the vinyl collection that makes you dance with joy around your bedroom. Most of all, it means giving yourself space to breathe.
Stay light,
<3 Olivia Grace
