Defining minimalism

What is minimalism..?

To me, a minimalist lifestyle means freedom from burdens like clutter, negative relationships and media overload. It´s to choose what´s important in life and focus on that, like picking the most delicious truffles on the all you can eat dessert buffet and leave the rest (well kind of) 

As a budding minimalist I´m getting much more selective with what blogs and news sites I choose to follow and I rarely buy anything mindlessly. And yes... I´m starting to choose raw chocolate bars over those high-fructose corn syrup frankencandies (new word, write it up!) that gives me bellyache.

When it comes to relationships I´ve hade to take some tough decisions and end some friendships that was no longer supportive or positive. I cherish the good memories that was made and bow to the fact that everything is everchanging, and that sometimes people grow apart. All that energy spent on feeling frustrated over dysfuntional relations can instead be spent on making new beautiful friendships! Clearing space to make room for new energies to flow.
 
And the food? To me it makes all sense in the world that a minimalistic lifestyle is a vegan lifestyle. I´m against hurting someone else for the sake of my own cosumption, and hey, when I freed myself from animal products my health skyrocked, my skin got clearer, and my energy increased! Those benefits I would never want to be without. 

This cherry tree didn´t go shopping for it´s beauty

I don´t believe in magic numbers. In my opinion it doesn´t matter if we´ve got 30 things or 300 things, as long as all the things we decide to keep serve a purpose. Our belongings should benefit us in some way and not weigh us down. It´s all about keeping things we use and love, no more than necessary, and most important of all - not to buy more than we need (and to shop organic when possible).

All in all, I don´t want to be owned by my junk or spend my time cleaning and organizing it.

Minimalism means saving time.

Minimalism means long walks, new experiences, liberty from trends, hours playing chess with your loved one, learning how to make sushi, sketching a whole evening or perhaps a spontaneus trip.

Minimalism is a empty canvas that can be painted with what really matters.