It was about a year ago when I first read about a movement of people calling themselves "Minimalists". The basic idea is: Live with less stuff - because most likely you won't need much of it. I quickly became fascinated by the idea and would call myself a Minimalist today.
I've never been someone to own a lot of stuff. But still, when I gathered through my belongings I could find a whole lot of things I haven't used in ages. I kept far too much stuff, just because "I might need it some day". A small example might illustrate this: I had a 10 meter audio cable. I used it back when I was a kid to connect my PC with my hi-fi system. I haven't used it for more than 10 years. I've carried it around through several different flats. I had the thought in the back of my mind that "this cable wasn't that cheap". I did a quick check: A similar cable costs around 4 Euro, shipping included. If I ever needed one again I could easily get it. Now a single cable isn't relevant. But I had two boxes full of electronics that I got rid of. I was baffled how much stuff I just could get rid of without missing it at all.
This may all sound very banal, but it has very practical advantages. After all, you have to store your stuff somewhere - basically you're paying rent for it. It makes moving more difficult. It makes cleaning your home more difficult. But beside that, I feel another advantage, one that I've more problems to describe. It's a feeling of freedom. Somehow I felt responsible for "my stuff". There's all this stuff and I basically have no overview what's in it. There may be things that cause me trouble. Not that I had anything specific in mind or that I could name the kind of "trouble" I was thinking of. It was just a vague feeling. It just feels better to think "I basically know my stuff". I couldn't name every single piece, but as of today I'm pretty sure that there's nothing in it that would surprise me.
There's a whole bunch of webpages and blogs around Minimalism on the web. If you're curious, a good starting point might be
theminimalists.com by two guys named Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.
