Hello and welcome to the MINIMALIST interview series, an initiative to turn the spotlight on the genuine, practising minimalists in our midst.
Aspiring minimalist @honeydue here.
Though I'm drawn to the minimalist ethos, I'm aware I've got a long way to go before I can call myself a true minimalist.
This is why I love this community. It allows me to interact with and learn from people who've embraced the minimalist lifestyle. I want to know how they got here. What drove them to minimalism, and what the challenges and rewards have been? What's the point of this platform if we can't learn from and help one another in our journeys?
Driven by a desperate curiosity of what else might be out there, aside from the bland, consumerist, traditional life path, I put down some questions I'm secretly dying to ask my favourite minimalists. And @millycf1976 has been lovely enough to allow it.
So whether you're at a crossroads in life or just curious about what else is out there, maybe you find some value in our interview series. Enjoy!
For The Minimalist Author Spotlight No. 5, we have @consciouscat , a seasoned traveller. Let's tune in to hear more about her journey towards being an authentic and practising minimalist.
Anyone who's been around the blockchain for a while will recognize @consciouscat as much for her fascinating adventures, as well as for her storytelling skill. Us, we loved chatting to her and being enchanted by her beautiful soul (which we're sure you will be, too!).
He might not be as committed to a minimalist lifestyle as me but we choose to accept each other as we are, for the most part :P
: While minimalism may appear cut and dry from the outside, we know it takes many different forms. To start things off, could you explain what minimalism means to you, specifically?
@consciouscat: To me, minimalism is a practice, a choice to continually move towards less. Less stuff, less unnecessary thinking, less noise, less of anything that is not essential to life. It's a way of living that embraces the idea that "less is more" because we know, deep within ourselves, that more isn't synonymous with better. More is just more. And more often takes up space. And the older I get the more I recognise how precious space really is.
: We love a good origin story. How did you first get started with minimalism? What were some deciding factors? Was it a gradual shift or an abrupt change? Tell us a bit about that.
@consciouscat: I was a hoarder, like my parents. They weren't excessively so but they didn't declutter regularly and did keep stuff around that they hadn't used for years. So when I went away to university an entire day's drive from home, I only took what fit in one big car. Each time I came home for the holidays I realised I hadn't missed most of the stuff that I'd been living totally fine without. In fact, I'd forgotten I even owned some of it!
So three years later, when I took a job that was about 3,000km from home and required getting on a plane, I realised I really didn't need most of the stuff I had. I filled one big backpack to take with me and saved a few big boxes at Mum's place and gave the rest away. That was the beginning of travelling light and generally buying less than most of my peers.
I travelled so much over my twenties and thirties that my total number of belongings continued to shrink. And moving home so much meant I was drawn to places where furniture and appliances were included; I've never bought a washing machine, a TV or a dining table in my life. While I did eventually settle down just a few years ago, I moved in with a man who had a house full of stuff so I still didn't need to buy anything! =)
Now the trick has been to try and keep my minimalist behaviours while living with a man who has three of everything :P
: Drastic changes bring about new wisdom. What was one thing you learned, after embracing minimalism, that perhaps surprised you?
Minimalism makes space in my mind for me to be present and notice beautiful trees such as this one.
@consciouscat: We really don't need as much stuff as we think we do. So many of us live in societies that are capitalist in nature and this comes with such a deep, pervasive background frequency of "buy, buy, buy". The subconscious messaging in the media every single time we open anything is that "buying this thing will make you happy" or "...keep you safe" or "...make you desirable". Very occasionally one of these might be true but most of the time it's not.
I don't need a bouquet of flowers, I'm already happy when I look at my garden.
I don't need additional security cameras, we already live in a pretty safe area.
I don't need another dress, I'm already beautiful just as I am.
: How has your alternative lifestyle affected your role in your community? Was it a reason for conflict, help you make new friends, etc.?
@consciouscat: I've always done weird things. And when I say weird I simply mean different than the status quo. So, yes I have and sometimes still do have bumpy conversations with people who think it's better to have "all the things". But mostly, apart from my partner and family, I don't tend to keep these people as friends. I prefer to hang out with people who have decluttering and minimalism as a way of life. They value having less stuff, less emotional baggage, being lighter generally. And when it comes to my closest loved ones, tolerance and acceptance of differences goes a long way to have harmonious relationships.
: Who inspired you? Whether it was someone you knew (online or in the “real world”) or some personality you followed online, the author you’d read, etc., who was your no. 1 (human) reason to choose minimalism?
@consciouscat: There wasn't a person who inspired me. It was life itself that gave me the experience of needing less that gave me all the reason I needed.
: Minimalism can act a bit like a rolling snowball. One minute, you’re throwing out extra placemats, the next, you’re transitioning to a completely off-grid (perhaps nomadic) lifestyle. Does that statement apply to your personal experience, and how much of it was planned? In other words, did you start downsizing to go off-grid/travelling, or did you spiral deeper into that world, the more you embraced it?
@consciouscat: We're far from going off-grid at this point (since the Mister still has decades of accumulated stuff to declutter first), but it is something he's talked about more than once and as long as I had sufficient connection to an in-person community of like-minded people, I'd be interested. I guess I went through my nomadic life phase when I was mostly single in my twenties and thirties and while I enjoyed it, I do like having a home to come home to in between adventures. I think the rabbit hole I've gone down when it comes to minimalism is actively clearing out the unhelpful, heavy beliefs about myself and others, as well as the emotional baggage I'd created through experiencing difficult things. A big part of my work and life practices are to let that stuff go when I find it. And I always feel lighter when I do.
: Some people find it a scary leap to this alt lifestyle. There’s a concern that if we ditch modern, materialistic dogma, we’ll find ourselves isolated. What was your experience with that?
Making space in my life means I can go on more adventures to fun places.
@consciouscat: I have found that any big change can be navigated well if we give ourselves permission to do so slowly. I didn't chuck out all my stuff when I was 19. I simply let go of a little bit more each time I found I hadn't used it in months. I also know that I'll never be socially isolated as long as I can find even one or two people who believe the same things as me who I get along with well. I also think it's important to realise that none of this has to be all or nothing. It doesn't have to be either/or. I believe there is room for everyone to find their own preferred place on the continuum that exists between extreme minimalism and extreme materialism. And I think if people can view it this way, it automatically feels safer, easier, less stressful. Because there's no one right way to do minimalism, there's just your way.
: Finally, a bit of a classic. What’s some practical advice you’d give someone just contemplating a minimalist/alternative lifestyle right now?
@consciouscat: Think of it as a practice rather than a destination. Sure, you might have a goal in mind for your home or life to look a particular way but there's no need to rush to make that vision a reality. Take one step at a time, and whatever rate feels good to you. Forget about trying to be perfect or emulate anyone else. Instead, you do you. And when you're finding it hard to let something go, remind yourself why you're doing this in the first place.
Thank you so much for the wonderful responses, @consciouscat. It was lovely chatting and getting to know about your minimalist journey!
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