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The Minimalists

Posted on June 25, 2018May 26, 2022

If you follow my weekly diaries or know me well in real-life, you know that I try to possess as little stuff as possible. If I look back at the Romee from about 3 years ago my mindset has completely shifted. I was a hoarder, more stuff was better. Especially when something was offered to me and it was cheap I immediately thought I needed it. I remember one day where I walked into a store, HEMA, and I only needed one thing. I thought it would be very weird to only buy one thing and so I picked two more useless items just so that I didn’t buy just one thing. It’s insane, I know. Luckily I’m not that same person anymore. I am a minimalist now. The mindset is here and I’m always working on it. There are two people who got me into minimalist. Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus: The Minimalists.

Consumerism

Since my mindset has changed and I’m a minimalist now I look at society differently. It makes me feel like a spectator instead of a participant in our consumeristic society. I am no longer in the rat race of wanting more and therefore always buying more. And now that I am a spectator I realize how addicted we as a Dutch society are to stuff. But also I also see how this is stimulated by companies and organizations. Buying stuff is easy and cheap. But let me make this clear: I don’t blame or shame anyone. I get it, I was there once. Right now I just wat to show you that we can do things differently.

Environmental Damage

As a minimalist I think buying too much stuff is bad. I am not against buying stuff in general. I am against buying too much. So much that you have to make a storage room in your house or have to rent a storage box. Stuff you never use and are just cluttering your life. I’d plead for buying sustainable stuff which adds value to your life (because you actually use the stuff) and lasts a life-time. As I told you last week in this post, buying stuff accounts for the biggest part of the negative environmental impact of a Dutch individual. We don’t see it, but our consumerism is destroying the planet.

Mental Damage

Besides that buying a lot of stuff is bad for our planet, I think it’s also bad for yourself. Stuff costs money and so you have to work for that money. The more stuff, the more work. And so, less time for family, friends and leisure. You have to take care of that stuff, clean it and store it. That takes even more time and money. Buying too much stuff is often a way to cope with bigger problems we want to avoid. We avoid facing problems and facing ourselves. But if we do, we can live our best life. I’d also say we compare ourselves too much with others. If my neighbor has a new car, I need to get one. If my co-worker has a new phone, I need to get one. It’s such a shame.

The Minimalists

Fields Millburn & Nicodemus, I referred to them before. They call themselves The Minimalists. I feel like they’re the experts on this subject. They threw their life around years ago when they decided to become minimalists because they were unhappy. Away with the stuff and off to search for the real value in life. Minimalism became their tool to a more meaningful life because they got the excess out of the way. And since it made them so much happier they wanted to share their story with the world. They did that at first by starting a blog. But then it grew and grew and they did even more.

The Minimalists

Minimalism Documentary

The first documentary they launched is called: Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things. I saw it and it is amazing. In this documentary Fields Millburn & Nicodemus share their story with the world. Why would you become a minimalist? It really gets you to think about your life. Are you living your best life? Are you happy? I know this documentary has changed a lot of lives. Want to see it too? It’s on Netflix.

‘Love people and use things. Because the opposite never works.’

The Minimalists

Minimalism Podcast

Besides the documentary The Minimalists also make a podcast. In each episode they discuss one subject and they approach it with minimalism. Minimalism with kids, minimalism in clothes, minimalism at birthdays, etc. They also answer questions from listeners of the podcast and readers from their blog. It is very interesting!

Minimalism Books

The Minimalists have also written some books. It’s the same story and basics but then in a book. I’ve read those too. I think repetition is good. I am constantly reminding myself of the basics this way. A book is also a bit more elaborate that a documentary if you ask me. You can go more into depth. Lend those books at your local library if you can.

Minimalism has given me a lot of freedom, especially in my mind. I use it everyday. The saying less is more really is true after all.

Yours sincerely,
Romee

6 thoughts on “The Minimalists”

  1. Pingback: Weekly diary #72: decluttering and getting rid of stuff – When A Teen Goes Green
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  3. Pingback: Book about minimalism: Minimalism – When A Teen Goes Green
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ABOUT ME

 

when a teen goes green

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

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Een greep uit de vegan maaltijden die ik at in mei 2023 πŸ§†. Als ik zo terugkijk heb ik de italiaanse weer helemaal ontdekt, haha! Maar het hoogtepunt was wel echt de vegan, zero waste, kaassaus die ik maakte voor over de nachoschotel 🫘. Welke vegan ijs-, toetjes- of yoghurtproducten zijn het lekkerst? Ik zette het voor je op een rijtje in een artikel die vanaf vandaag te lezen is 🍧. Je vindt de link in mijn bio. Spoiler: deze van Hertog staat er zeker tussen! #plantaardig #vegan #blogger ✨ 4 tweedehands outfits die ik droeg in mei 2023 πŸ‘—. Ik had op iets beter weer en iets koudere outfits gehoopt, maar goed, dat schuiven we dan maar naar juni! Ik ben poepdonor πŸ’©. Ja, Γ©cht. Ik doe mee met een wetenschappelijk onderzoek waarbij mijn darmflora gebruikt wordt om mensen met een leveraandoening te genezen. Ik ben zo blij met de positieve impact die ik hiermee kan maken! En ik krijg er nog betaald voor ook. Meer weten? Lees het artikel dat ik erover schreef via de link in mijn bio. Binnenkort zal ik er ook een Youtube-video aan wijden. #donor #positieveimpact #nafldnashresearch Minimaliseren en ontspullen blijft een ongoing process πŸ“¦. Ik vind dat ik niet al te veel spullen heb, maar toch geef ik nog geregeld spullen weg aan de kringloopwinkel. In deze reel laat ik de laatste 5 items aan je zien. Plantaardiger eten hoeft niet moeilijk te zijn, je moet net even weten welke producten vegan zijn. Vandaag deel ik een makkelijke swap voor mayonaise 🍟. Het is weer mei! En dat betekent dat er weer een artikel met podcast-tips op mijn blog staat (de vijfde in de reeks inmiddels!). Vandaag lees je over 4 podcasts die ik aan bijna iedereen zou aanraden 🎧. 5 vegan maaltijden die ik at in april 2023 πŸ₯™. En ja, Γ©cht alles is vegan. Want elk gerecht is te veganizen. Vandaag verscheen er weer een kijktip op mijn blog. Ik tipte de serie Dominee of Koopman, een serie over ontwikkelingshulp. Wat ik ervan vond lees je in het artikel πŸ’°. #blog #serie #ontwikkelingshulp

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