why I changed my mind about minimalism // why minimalism isn't for me and what i'm doing instead 

100% with you on this. Tired of people equating minimalism to just owning nothing. It's not just about owning less. The owning less just stems from the principle that you should own what you use/what makes you happy, and challenge your consumerist behaviour to be more mindful when bringing things into your life. It doesn't mean your life needs to be void of joy. It does not mean you need to live in an empty apartment.

I love this video! I have a moderately minimalist life. Capsule wardrobe per season (probably 2 weeks of clothes if I didn’t do laundry), but crazy collection of books, tea, tiny bowls since we mainly eat Japanese or Korean style. What I DONT hear about from minimalists is how quickly clothes wear through when reworn constantly. Nice stuff, with high quality sewing and natural materials. Line dried and washed cold. I am CONSTANTLY darning, patching, reworking seams, over dyeing stained clothes. I totally believe in high quality clothes, but I am unconvinced that a few high quality clothes will suddenly last a lifetime, unless you’re literally dry cleaning it only.

I think minimalism helped me at a time I really needed it and then I got into stoicism and that helped me with my thinking, coping and problem solving, but as with everything - I go my own way. I'm an artist, so I got heaps of art supplies. I enjoy all my books (about 80) on my shelf. There are areas in my life I did minimize and declutter, like my kitchen and linen closet. But there are areas I won't minimize, because it brings me joy. You hit the nail on the head with being content and more intentional.

I think minimalism is great for people who have one cohesive style that they always use. I dress in completely different styles depending on my mood, including makeup, so minimalism doesn't work really well for me. I am working on thinking about what I am really looking for when I find myself shopping for stuff. If it is something that I would actually use and I don't already have, I go for it. If I am shopping because I am bored and lonely (which is often the case), I try and find something fulfilling to do instead. If I am shopping for something to change my life, I have to remind myself that things don't change someone's life, new habits do, and I am already working on enough new habits right now. I think you are right that minimalism still makes the assertion that stuff is connected to happiness, or in this case, the lack of stuff. And despite the fact that if you thought about it, you would know that stuff is not (or perhaps should not be) connected to your mood, advertisement has focused so hard on connecting their product with you being happier and more satisfied that it is hard to internalize that truth.

I absolutely love this video! I've gone through so many of the same mental struggles with minimalism. When I first found out about minimalism I decluttered so much stuff. I used to listen to and read all the mainstream minimalist and at first aspired to be the same, then felt guilty both because I couldn't be and was stressing myself in the attempt... As well as for decluttering things I realised I liked and or needed. Then I went through a stage of disliking the minimalists I first found as they seemed both classist and sexist, judgemental and too rigid. I'm so glad I found you and others like you. I'm on a low buy journey this year but I accept that I love clothes, makeup etc. I will never have a perfect capsule wardrobe ... Yet I do appreciate having less stuff as it helps me mentally so much. I'm actually trying to find some of rge clothes I got rid of on Vinted now 🙈. I also put clothes I'm not sure about away in a drawer - my weight fluctuates a lot as I have all sorts of things i deal with so I now know I might want them in a few months. I'm finding my way through it all and when you go deeper into the concepts and your own personal journey, I absolutely love it. Thank you!!

I have been decluttering regularly for many years because I like organizing but it has not helped me keep my spending down. Not even tracking my spending helped me. But the low buy / no buy and project pan videos are the first videos where I am seeing changes in my behavior. For the first time I find it rewarding not to spend.

I never enjoyed minimalist content, I think in many ways overconsumption and minimalism both focus heavily on defining yourself through the things you buy. When you overconsume it's often because you're always searching for the newest trendy thing. At the same time, many minimalists seem to obsess about finding a single "perfect" item in each category. I'm totally content with owning stuff that serves me at this moment, I don't need to constantly replace things to keep up with trends, but I also don't want to obsess about minimizing every category to one "perfect" and "timeless" item (which I don't think exists for everyone in every category). Obviously, having more time for things other than shopping or cleaning/organizing your things is great, but minimalism is often intertwined with toxic hustle culture. I think minimalism can also be very wasteful and elitist, often you'll hear something like "I'm so much happier since I replaced a couple of cheaper things in the same category with one superior very expensive thing", when the inexpensive things are probably fine and could have lasted a long time with proper care as well. I only watch shelbizleee regularly, because her motivation comes from "how does the thing I want to buy impact this world, and is there a better alternative?" which is a much more reasonable approach.

I like your idea of familiarizing yourself with the stuff you already own and asking yourself how to be content with it, instead of narrowing it down to the best item in each category and getting rid of anything else. I actually think when overconsumption was a problem in your past you probably haven't spent a lot of time with each individual piece you already own and you may not even know your preferences for each category. I also think minimalism puts the people that want to engage in a new hobby in a difficult spot (like the art supplies you mentioned), because how can you know your preferences and what you'll actually use if you never tried it before? I think it's especially tough in fashion when you haven't found your personal style yet, I know you're still figuring that out as well.

Hello from Spain (Europe), living in Madrid. Many people live in this city and we normally rent a room or small apartment and I have had to move 8 times in 7.5 years and I will move soon to another region. I have been watching minimalism videos for years, in Spanish, because I am forced to have less due to the situation. In the end, having more things is a problem for me now. In terms of clothes, last month I gave away clothes that I like, that fit me well and are in good condition. And now I regret of several things I have given away. Therefore, if I had a fixed house and not a very small one, I could feel more at peace with the number of things I have. I have never been a consumerist and I have always bought few things (but there are the presents...) but I informed myself about minimalism due to moving and scarce space. In USA many people have big houses and it doesn't make sense to reduce what you like to a minimum, but rather to stop buying.

I’m so glad you made this video. Honestly needed to hear, I’ve been buying so much on Amazon to organize and declutter but i feel the pressure on the new minimalist trend and feeling like complete crap about having too much stuff when just years ago it was a thing so it’s so hard to throw the stuff you spent ur hard earned money on. Very relatable thank you

I love this video. Though I’m inspired by minimalist but I will never become one because I really enjoy a bit of variety. I’m happy with my medium-sized collection of stuff as long as I keep enjoying. Also, with my frugal mindset, I can never bring myself to declutter unless I use it enough to feel I got my money’s worth.

Bravo 👏 ❤best video about problems with minimalism and I am done with fixation on stuff too and regret every single item I gave away or sold.

This is such a smart and authentic take on this and I can totally relate. I always watch you when I want to see a video on this topic and I’m always glad I do!

Shawna, get out of my head 😫 haha but for real, almost all of the videos you have been making lately have been aligning my inner thoughts. I have been thinking about minimalism and how that should not be my goal any more. But more so intentionalism. I want to own less but have it be a mix of useful things, and things that being me happiness. Currently, I’m trying to project pan some skin care/hair care/makeup/etc to work through a lot of items. So I’m on a no buy to repurpose as much as possibe. I think I am leaning more towards eco-intentionalism. I very well could have mentioned all of this in another comment so I may sound like a broken record. Haha. One skill I really want to learn is sewing. I think that could help with wanting to own less and be more careful about what I bring into my life. I have 3 old pairs of jeans with tears in the knees and a shirt I’ve never worn that I ordered online that I ended up hating. I want to make a Jean bag with all those materials. I’m a Teacher so bags are always helpful. Anyways, That’s my goal 😁 None of my friends have a mindset similar to me, they are more so still in the consumerism mindset. Which is totally ok, it’s just not for me. And with that difference in mindset…they can’t relate to my thoughts with wanting to own less. So, it’s wonderful watching your videos! It’s like chatting with a friend

I am totaly ok with you ; Enjoy life with things that make you happy, be moderate in spending.Minimalism is not a cult or a religion , dont let someone shame you whith stupids rules or numbers.

I had never heard of minimalism until maybe 2014. I was surprised to see people trying to live the way I have lived since I was young. I’m in my mid 60s now and living without a lot of possessions isn’t something I decide to do because of a RU-vid video. When I learned that minimalism was popular, I had a sense that it would have a certain shelf life. I’m not trying to say that people can’t experiment, but I think that some people simply have an innate desire to live with less things around them and others discover “the minimalists” who convince them that they should live with less. Nobody has to convince you or teach you how to live with less. lol. You just live that way. Thank you for letting me post my view.

I don’t like being surrounded by stuff so it works for me!

I think these were incredibly insightful points and I completely agree!

I know that I could never be a minimalist, our family are probably maximilists. We like stuff. We love stuff. Our stuff fills our home with memories and comfort. But I've found it interesting to watch your journey and reflect it upon myself. I still like/love my stuff (and like you mentioned with your dress, keeping stuff for a sentimental or memory reason) but I've also been working on donating to charity things that I don't need an extra of, and then don't have any memory connection. I've been practicing that with regard to our kitchen items and passing on those extra sets of coffee cups or glasses or plateware that we don't need and I don't have a 'joy' in using them. Like yourself as well, I've also been working towards being more thoughtful towards purchases which I think has helped as well to prevent bringing in 'stuff/things' that won't get used/have that memory connection/spark joy attachment to.

Hi darling Shawna. The concept of minimalism was an eye opener for me. I really needed it at the time as through buying less (unwanted/ needed) stuff, I managed to shine a light to other parts of my life. I learned my lessons and have moved on. You and your partner are so smart. I wish I had asked the people in my life to not buy me birthday presents. I eventually did but for many years I either ended up with stuff that I didn’t want or felt cheap if I was made to confess what I wanted as a present for my birthday….not to mention the rest of 365 days in the year felt sad/ unimportant/ left out.

For me, I feel that minimalism is more about avoiding duplicates in my collection. One thing I really love is my baggy, grey knitted sweater, and frequently when I'm shopping i see something very similar and want it. I have to remind myself that I already have something I love, so I ended up buying an almost black thicker sweater to have more options. I couldn't be happier with my decision to be "minimalism" about a type of item I love. Another thing I've stumbled upon on RU-vid, is the container method. If you decide that a given container is how much room you're willing to give your art supplies, then you can buy more as long as everything fits appropriately into that container. I did this with my nail polish; it's all standing up nicely inside a plastic bin. The bin is full so until I use some up or declutter older ones once they are goopy and unusable, I can't buy more. I could in theory buy a bigger container, but for some reason I haven't. This idea of setting reasonable space limits keeps things from getting out of control. My last thoughts are regarding how much stuff I have. HLP on RU-vid always talks about her "makeup mind palace" and if you can't actively remember all the things you have, maybe you have too much. I've definitely benefited from having makeup inventory pictures on my phone to realize I have similar items already and don't need to buy the new shiny product. Dawn from The Minimal Mom on RU-vid talks about managing inventory which is similar. If you own so much of something that it's difficult to manage mentally or physically, then you may have too much for you. These things have helped me see that I can have a bit more in certain areas, but keep others more controlled. Knowing how much of a thing I have and how much I can manage has kept me from buying on several occasions even in the past month. In terms of those dresses you regret getting rid of, could you print of photos of those outfits and tape them to the inside of your closet door to have that bold outfit reminder?

I had a flatmate in grad school who thought I was CRAZY for having more than 1 shirt for every day of the week. 😵‍💫

Have you ever thought about creating a podcast? Or if that's too much to take on, even uploading the audio of these types of videos to a podcast platform? Your conversations about intentional consumption/contentment, especially being in the 25-45 minute range, is exactly the kind of content I'm looking to listen to on my walks or commute to work, and I would love to be able to take you with me on the go!

These small Capsule Wardrobe collections are so not my thing.. Every time I see that on YT... I just think how I would be very frustrated and bored and uncomfortable if I only had a few drab clothes in bleh colours. They suck they joy out of clothes for me. I like all kinds of colours and patterns and cuts.

I did that re: watercolors because you can mix your own. Listen, a big part of being an adult with money is being smart about using it to make things easier for yourself. I would rather have a few extra paints and be guaranteed I'll paint than stop before I start because I am not up to mixing every color I need. I saw this idea on the Financial Diet's YT channel and it's stuck with me.

I think instead of minimalism, a better way is intentionilism. I don't know if that is a word. I like painting and drawing so I have stuff for that and I like books. So I have a collection of art suplies and books. But I am a minimlist in a lot of other stuff. Like clothing for example. I only wear my favorite clothes, so I only buy something when I really like it. Otherwise I know that I'm not going to wear it. I do think we should be aware of the things we spend our money on. Minimalism is not the end goal, and minimal stuff neither. I consider myself a minimalist, but I don't live in a empty house.

I liked the idea of minimalism, but I enjoy a variety in my life... so to just get rid of everything doesnt seem logical to me... So what I have been doing is going through my things slowly and giving them a chance and if after a while I havent bothered with them I get rid of them.... I still bring new things in but I am more choosey in what I bring in and have stopped buying things I dont need and more of what I know I will use... I have not gotten rid of everything that I dont touch its a very slow process I am just taking baby steps with decluttering and more conscious of what I am bringing in

👋 Happy Sunday

I think what you're saying is fair, however, I wonder if you've ever had so much stuff you couldnt put everything away? If not, let me tell you from experience, reducing the amount of things I owned allowed me to keep my space clean and organized. The ability to keep my space clean and organized has brought me so much peace. I do think its true that our space reflects how we are doing. It does for me. I don't know if that's because my space being a mess makes me feel like a mess or me internally feeling a mess makes me messy, but either way minimizing the amount of stuff I own had helped. That said, I definitely would qualify as a hard core minimalist but applying minimalist philosophy to my life has improved my life. I do declutter carefully though. Often before getting rid of something I'll set it aside for a while and think it through. 9 times out of 10, I'm happier having more space than i would be with keeping the extra item(s).

Great video, agree with everything! I also dislike the "donate everything" idea that you so often see. Charity shops want things they can resell for money. Not bags full of random junk. I try to sell or give away most things I don't need any more and yes it IS hard and takes a lot of effort. I am also not keen on the Law of Ikea Furniture. They must have gone out and bought those things specially otherwise they would have a random assortment from junk shops and dead people. Wouldn't they? Just me? 😁 I don't mean people should not get to have their house the way they want but just that it is the very opposite of the anti consumerism that is being touted and it jars.