Why Minimize?

Posted March 12th, 2010 by Chris Gurney

There reached a point last year when I realized just how much extra, non-essential baggage I had in my life.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was born. I vowed to minimize: To sell, donate, or otherwise get rid of as much of the extraneous “stuff” in my life as I could.

I started with my storage locker: A collection of boxes and blue bins, together in a cage, mixed in with remnants of my past.

Not knowing exactly what was in that locker really was the first sign that I didn’t need all that stuff — it was just taking up space, both physically, and psychologically. As I opened each container I rediscovered movies, books, photos, kitchen supplies, Nintendo games, and other odds and ends that I no longer had a place for.

Over January and February I donated, or otherwise gave away several large servings of DVDs and books, and transplanted other things that I found another home for. I decided to set aside my favorite movies.

As I proceeded, I told the world about what I was doing. It was about this point when my friends thought I was crazy… which only convinced me that I was doing the right thing.

Back up in my condo, I started to look around me. What else didn’t I need? What stuff was distracting me from the things I wanted to do? I started to think bigger.

I had cancelled cable years ago, and over the past year barely played video games. My TV was basically just a stereo, at that point. So I got rid of it. My Xbox, Wii, Apple TV, and DVD player followed.

I reconsidered the movies I had kept. Did I really need them around, taking up space? How often was I really going to watch them? Off they went.

Every time I got rid of something, I felt a great weight lift. Right now it feels almost… addictive. And I’m not done yet.

The great thing is that minimization isn’t just a psychological relief, it can also be an environmental one. Getting rid of things responsibly (such as donating things to the library), and considering the thought process behind acquiring stuff, minimally, also has impacts.

Speaking of acquiring stuff, other questions arose: What’s a need, versus a want? How can one resist the urge to buy something? And then, what constitutes a smart purchase? How can one politely suggest alternatives to others who insist on buying you things?

Minimizing has become rather interesting to me, so stay tuned for more on the topic.

Consider how you feel when you walk by a space in your home that’s filled with “stuff”, be it your basement, a closet, or just a shelf. What are you going to do about it?

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