> "Our idea of minimalism is hardly minimal. The most practical and applicable version of minimalism for most of us isn’t frugality or anything like it. Instead, it’s spending and consuming—within reason, but freely—on what really matters to you. About being able to spend and consume as part of the lifestyle you want. Because your lifestyle isn’t—at its core—an expensive one."
This **isn't** minimalism, no matter how you want to rebrand it.
Instead, this sounds more like good ol' intentional living—and I'd argue that's a better philosophy than minimalism to begin with. I think that minimalism is a good, yet incomplete, frame for consumer purchases. But I also don't believe that less stuff is inherently better. At least not for the life I want to live.
An example: I live in Phoenix and enjoy kayaking the local Salt River on the edge of town, especially in the hot summer months when it's harder to hit the local trails. It's an excellent way to both cool off and recreate outdoors, and flowing water in the desert is a really special thing. But getting ready for a quick trip was a huge pain. It was tough to carry my 12' kayak from the back patio around the narrow walkway to my vehicle by myself, then set up the kayak racks on the blistering hot car roof, then hoist the kayak into position and tie it down, then collect all the things I need to bring. After a long day, it can just be too much friction, so I'd only make the effort maybe 2-3 times a year.
So I decided to solve the problem with some—according to minimalism—completely unnecessary and redundant purchases. I bought a cheap 10' kayak just to use for these specific river trips. And some shelving units for the garage, permanently vacating my car to the driveway, but allowing me to store the boats there and to keep outdoor gear much more organized. And also some dedicated gear that's just used for kayaking the river, like a specific sun shirt, hat, cooler, headlamp, dry bag, etc.
In all, it was probably 25+ new items in total—all redundant purchases, and decidedly NOT minimalism.
But what felt daunting before is now super simple. I simply put down the seats and literally *slide* the boat from the shelf right into the car (it fits perfectly and takes just 5 seconds). From the shelf next to the kayak, I transfer the kayaking gear bin, my river sandals, and a towel into the vehicle, walk inside to change into my kayaking gear, and then fill up my river cooler with a couple beers, water, and snacks. In roughly four minutes, I'm driving towards the put-in. I now paddle the river ~25 times each season, and even wrote the only guidebook for paddling it. My life is decidedly better for those purchases, absolutely zero of which I needed to paddle that same river.
It's easy to get caught up in buying too much stuff, of course. And in a hyper-consumerist society, minimalism feels like an antidote for that. But I think what many of us are actually striving for is just some more focused intentionality in our purchasing decisions. Spending money to solve problems like my kayaking one, or one new experiences like travel, or even on things like a daily coffeeshop ritual isn't inherently bad, as long as it fits your considered life strategy. It's defaulting to consumerism or other societal pressures without intentionality that perhaps we should avoid.
I agree that life should be about enjoying your life, and not paying for an infrastructure that does not suit you. Token minimalism is about having a clean, tidy Instagramable interior, but ignores the freedom of having less stuff to manage. Of having enough for your needs, interests and lifestyle. Of being able to see what you have, and not spend unnecessarily. Good luck in your move.
I've been fans of both your writing for a long time. After experimenting with staying in Southeast Asia for a while, I think I'm starting to come around to the idea of living the semi-retired and semi-nomadic life in Europe. An interesting challenge for me is adapting to a country with a higher cost of living than the one I come from.
If all goes well, I hope to run into you both in Western Europe in the first half of 2024!
What a fantastic post! I realise I am living my life in a similar way to yours - going out to eat good food is largely what I spend my money on, and it makes me happy. I wonder if I should consider moving to another country with a low cost of living, too!
Hi, Rocco and Sam. Great post on the important differences between minimalism and simple living. I'm starting a decluttering project because I want to get my books out of their boxes and onto real shelves where I can enjoy reading them—and just looking at them. Bookcases filled with books are better décor in my view than any paint, paneling or wallpaper. Compared to many other forms of entertainment, they are still a bargain, too.
"We want to walk everywhere. We don’t want to own a car. We want to eventually buy an apartment with a very low or no mortgage payment. We want to be able to eat and drink out, maybe more than once per day, multiple times per week. "
There is a suburb on the opposite end of the metro area here that has remade part of it's downtown into exactly this. It's packed wth businesses, resutaurants/bars, and open space--and all of it is very walkable. It's a great place to be and a good reminder that even in Midwest suburbia this is possible. We just have to want it.
> "Our idea of minimalism is hardly minimal. The most practical and applicable version of minimalism for most of us isn’t frugality or anything like it. Instead, it’s spending and consuming—within reason, but freely—on what really matters to you. About being able to spend and consume as part of the lifestyle you want. Because your lifestyle isn’t—at its core—an expensive one."
This **isn't** minimalism, no matter how you want to rebrand it.
Instead, this sounds more like good ol' intentional living—and I'd argue that's a better philosophy than minimalism to begin with. I think that minimalism is a good, yet incomplete, frame for consumer purchases. But I also don't believe that less stuff is inherently better. At least not for the life I want to live.
An example: I live in Phoenix and enjoy kayaking the local Salt River on the edge of town, especially in the hot summer months when it's harder to hit the local trails. It's an excellent way to both cool off and recreate outdoors, and flowing water in the desert is a really special thing. But getting ready for a quick trip was a huge pain. It was tough to carry my 12' kayak from the back patio around the narrow walkway to my vehicle by myself, then set up the kayak racks on the blistering hot car roof, then hoist the kayak into position and tie it down, then collect all the things I need to bring. After a long day, it can just be too much friction, so I'd only make the effort maybe 2-3 times a year.
So I decided to solve the problem with some—according to minimalism—completely unnecessary and redundant purchases. I bought a cheap 10' kayak just to use for these specific river trips. And some shelving units for the garage, permanently vacating my car to the driveway, but allowing me to store the boats there and to keep outdoor gear much more organized. And also some dedicated gear that's just used for kayaking the river, like a specific sun shirt, hat, cooler, headlamp, dry bag, etc.
In all, it was probably 25+ new items in total—all redundant purchases, and decidedly NOT minimalism.
But what felt daunting before is now super simple. I simply put down the seats and literally *slide* the boat from the shelf right into the car (it fits perfectly and takes just 5 seconds). From the shelf next to the kayak, I transfer the kayaking gear bin, my river sandals, and a towel into the vehicle, walk inside to change into my kayaking gear, and then fill up my river cooler with a couple beers, water, and snacks. In roughly four minutes, I'm driving towards the put-in. I now paddle the river ~25 times each season, and even wrote the only guidebook for paddling it. My life is decidedly better for those purchases, absolutely zero of which I needed to paddle that same river.
It's easy to get caught up in buying too much stuff, of course. And in a hyper-consumerist society, minimalism feels like an antidote for that. But I think what many of us are actually striving for is just some more focused intentionality in our purchasing decisions. Spending money to solve problems like my kayaking one, or one new experiences like travel, or even on things like a daily coffeeshop ritual isn't inherently bad, as long as it fits your considered life strategy. It's defaulting to consumerism or other societal pressures without intentionality that perhaps we should avoid.
I agree that life should be about enjoying your life, and not paying for an infrastructure that does not suit you. Token minimalism is about having a clean, tidy Instagramable interior, but ignores the freedom of having less stuff to manage. Of having enough for your needs, interests and lifestyle. Of being able to see what you have, and not spend unnecessarily. Good luck in your move.
I've been fans of both your writing for a long time. After experimenting with staying in Southeast Asia for a while, I think I'm starting to come around to the idea of living the semi-retired and semi-nomadic life in Europe. An interesting challenge for me is adapting to a country with a higher cost of living than the one I come from.
If all goes well, I hope to run into you both in Western Europe in the first half of 2024!
What a fantastic post! I realise I am living my life in a similar way to yours - going out to eat good food is largely what I spend my money on, and it makes me happy. I wonder if I should consider moving to another country with a low cost of living, too!
Hi, Rocco and Sam. Great post on the important differences between minimalism and simple living. I'm starting a decluttering project because I want to get my books out of their boxes and onto real shelves where I can enjoy reading them—and just looking at them. Bookcases filled with books are better décor in my view than any paint, paneling or wallpaper. Compared to many other forms of entertainment, they are still a bargain, too.
"We want to walk everywhere. We don’t want to own a car. We want to eventually buy an apartment with a very low or no mortgage payment. We want to be able to eat and drink out, maybe more than once per day, multiple times per week. "
There is a suburb on the opposite end of the metro area here that has remade part of it's downtown into exactly this. It's packed wth businesses, resutaurants/bars, and open space--and all of it is very walkable. It's a great place to be and a good reminder that even in Midwest suburbia this is possible. We just have to want it.
Yes. Yes. Yes.