Wow. It has been almost a year since I first made a pledge to "go minimal," clean out my closet, drastically limit my consumerism, and asked you all to join me.
Let's just say, it has easily been one of the best decisions of my life.
I didn't realize how effective transitioning to a minimal wardrobe would be in completely transforming my relationship to clothing, consumerism, and simplicity.
Here are 4 important things I've learned along the way.
1. How to sever dependence on material goods for happiness | retail therapy is real. --well, real in that it exists and is a serious problem and byproduct from capitalist societies--not that it is a justified habit. It's immoral. It's unhealthy. Cleansing your wardrobe and keeping it minimal (in size, not style!) really is liberating. You learn to not use "treating yourself" as an excuse to buy something physical (travel solo instead!). You learn that you can release stress in ways that does not further the exploitation of marginalized garment workers. You learn, quite simply, that emotions can be expressed and felt in ways that do not rely on consuming material goods. (Let me tell you--it's a good feeling!)
2. How to be creative with space, color, and shape | now that I have a lot less in my closet, I feel challenged to think more creatively when it comes to putting everything together. How many uses can a single shirt have? Answer: more than you think!
3. How to want less | when you have less, you want less. When first starting the minimal wardrobe project, I thought it would be a constant struggle to stop online shopping and was thinking up so many schemes to minimize and control my consumerism. I didn't realize it would actually be so easy and come naturally. Contrary to what you might think, keeping your wardrobe small encourages you to also buy less, rather than the opposite.
4. How to minimize (& maximize!) in other areas of life | more and more I've started realizing that the feeling of mental cleanse and emotional liberation I've gained since starting the minimal wardrobe project has bled over to other areas of my life: I just want less "things" in general. I've been devoting all of time I've used to spend navigating rack after rack of clothing or scrolling through home decor sites to more productive things: music, writing,studying, reading, traveling.
Let's just say, it has easily been one of the best decisions of my life.
I didn't realize how effective transitioning to a minimal wardrobe would be in completely transforming my relationship to clothing, consumerism, and simplicity.
Here are 4 important things I've learned along the way.
1. How to sever dependence on material goods for happiness | retail therapy is real. --well, real in that it exists and is a serious problem and byproduct from capitalist societies--not that it is a justified habit. It's immoral. It's unhealthy. Cleansing your wardrobe and keeping it minimal (in size, not style!) really is liberating. You learn to not use "treating yourself" as an excuse to buy something physical (travel solo instead!). You learn that you can release stress in ways that does not further the exploitation of marginalized garment workers. You learn, quite simply, that emotions can be expressed and felt in ways that do not rely on consuming material goods. (Let me tell you--it's a good feeling!)
2. How to be creative with space, color, and shape | now that I have a lot less in my closet, I feel challenged to think more creatively when it comes to putting everything together. How many uses can a single shirt have? Answer: more than you think!
3. How to want less | when you have less, you want less. When first starting the minimal wardrobe project, I thought it would be a constant struggle to stop online shopping and was thinking up so many schemes to minimize and control my consumerism. I didn't realize it would actually be so easy and come naturally. Contrary to what you might think, keeping your wardrobe small encourages you to also buy less, rather than the opposite.
4. How to minimize (& maximize!) in other areas of life | more and more I've started realizing that the feeling of mental cleanse and emotional liberation I've gained since starting the minimal wardrobe project has bled over to other areas of my life: I just want less "things" in general. I've been devoting all of time I've used to spend navigating rack after rack of clothing or scrolling through home decor sites to more productive things: music, writing,
Have any of you noticed any changes in your life since you've made the transition?
This post is part 6 of a series encouraging the transition to a minimal wardrobe--as a wardrobe that is physically minimal (not the style) in order to limit our consumption, detach ourselves from material possessions, and live more socially-conscious lives.
For the entire series: { minimal wardrobe series }
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