Speaker A
I've made videos about things I don't buy, worth buying, and how minimalism has directly influenced those, but I'm not sure I ever talked about how minimalism actually made me stop wanting things.
Nicholas Garofola shares eight things he stopped wanting after embracing minimalism, including busy schedules, bigger product versions, seasonal clothing, notifications, and aesthetic perfection.
Key Takeaways
- Protecting free time and avoiding overcommitment is among the most valued benefits of minimalism.
- Choosing the smaller or simpler version of a product when it is sufficient reduces excess.
- Owning fewer, multi-purpose items suited to one's actual climate and needs avoids clutter.
- Accepting wear and imperfection makes possessions more meaningful and better value over time.
What the video covers
- Minimalism applied to time and schedules revealed that a busy calendar often did not equal progress or meaningful work, so he keeps free time protected.
- He no longer wants bigger versions of products like phones, handheld consoles, and cars, preferring mini or smaller versions when they suffice.
- Living in a warm climate like South Florida, he no longer wants seasonal clothing and favors multi-purpose wardrobe pieces.
- He prefers notifications turned off on devices and going paperless to avoid being overwhelmed by non-essential alerts.
- Drawing on wabi-sabi, he has stopped pursuing aesthetic perfection and embraces the wear and imperfections of his belongings.
- A long-used stand that has become scuffed and stained illustrates how use can make objects more attractive.
- The overall theme is that minimalism reduces wanting by focusing on sufficiency, reducing commitments, and valuing use over appearance.
- The video blends practical tips with philosophical reflection, a format the creator says is typical of his channel.
- The creator's channel covers minimalism, frugal living, and tech.
- The creator frames these changes as personal preferences rather than universal rules, acknowledging different needs and hobbies.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and channel overview
- 01:05Busy schedules and protecting free time
- 03:01Rejecting bigger versions of everything
- 04:46Seasonal clothing and multi-purpose wardrobes
- 06:26Turning off notifications and going paperless
- 07:17Embracing wabi-sabi and imperfection
- 08:03Letting go of the pressure to always improve
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
So, today in this video, I'm going to go over some of the things that I stopped wanting as a minimalist.
Speaker A
And in my typical tradition, I'm going to try and keep a blend of practical as well as philosophical ideas that you could potentially put into practice for yourself.
Speaker A
But first, if you're new to my channel, thank you for stopping by.
Speaker A
Here we talk about minimalism, frugal living, tech, and things of that nature.
Speaker A
So, if that sounds good to you and you end up liking the video, be sure to like and please have the subscribe button lay siege to Helm's Deep.
Speaker A
Let's get started.
Speaker A
The first thing here is a busy schedule.
Speaker A
I had to put this first on the list because it really is just that important to me that I have some free time throughout the week and during my days.
Speaker A
When I first became a minimalist, I was pretty strictly focused on the physical things around me.
Speaker A
But when I started to apply those same minimalist philosophies to my time, commitments, and schedule, I truly started to see the benefits of minimalism.
Speaker A
I always confused having a busy schedule with some sort of progression in a field.
Speaker A
I found that I either wasn't getting as much done as I initially thought, or in some cases, even doing something I actually cared about.
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Overall, I think it's important for anyone who's looking to live more minimally to at the very least have some sort of period where you don't plan, schedule, or commit to anything you don't absolutely have to, because again, speaking for myself, a less busy schedule is one of my favorite benefits of pursuing minimalism.
Speaker A
The next thing here is bigger versions of anything.
Speaker A
This is something I'll go on a little bit of a rant on, so bear with me, because it really seems like the updated versions or newer releases of things are getting bigger and bigger, like literally physically bigger.
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Specific examples include phones that are getting bigger every single year, handheld game consoles, all the way down to the cars that we drive.
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I don't remember the exact statistic that I saw, but I've read something recently that more people actually drive SUVs and trucks than cars, at least here in the US.
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I'm not sure when this trend started, but just noticing it over time has really made me only want the mini versions of things where it's available.
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And I know we all have different preferences, hobbies, or needs, but the overall takeaway is if the smaller version of something is sufficient for me, then that's usually what I'm going with.
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In other words, not taking more than I need.
Speaker A
Seasonal clothing.
Speaker A
I should definitely preface this by saying I live somewhere where the temperature doesn't usually fluctuate too much throughout the year.
Speaker A
So, luckily, I could get away with a much more minimal wardrobe compared to those who live through several seasons, specifically snow.
Speaker A
One of the first areas of my life I started physically decluttering was my clothing.
Speaker A
And when I did that, I just had way more clothes than actually made sense for me, especially for this warm climate I live in.
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I was embarrassingly fixated on jackets I thought I looked cool in, when in reality I probably looked very stupid regardless.
Speaker A
And Josh, if you're watching, thank you for this jacket.
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And living in South Florida, you could realistically get away with just a rain jacket and maybe a sweater.
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But when I started to lean into minimalism in regards to my clothes, I wanted things that were more multi-purpose and could be worn at least throughout most of the year.
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Now, when it comes to committing to clothes, along with the other buying and spending rules I set for myself, seasonal clothes are just something that don't make sense for me to commit to, or that I even want to have anymore.
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The next thing is notifications.
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And this really isn't something that requires a lot of elaboration, but I will explain at least what it means to me.
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In the literal sense, it means I prefer to have my notifications turned off where I can.
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This obviously means my phone and any other devices, but in a more philosophical sense, it means going paperless in places that would typically send me mail, and overall becoming a little less available to be flooded with alerts, notifications, and just things that can either wait or don't need to be seen at all.
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As a result, this keeps me from ever getting overwhelmed with things I don't deem essential and keeps my time spent on places that matter.
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Aesthetic perfection.
Speaker A
A few years ago, I talked about the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which is essentially a philosophy that finds beauty in simplicity, transience, and imperfection.
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I used to put so much effort into making sure that everything I owned stayed in perfect condition.
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And I quickly learned that if I wanted to actually get my money's worth out of anything I bought, it was going to lose that perfect aesthetic, probably get damaged, and just show its age over time.
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With everything I have now, I genuinely love every imperfection.
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As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say I prefer the things I own to have a little bit of use showing on them, because good products are meant to have years of good use.
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A great example is this stand that I've had for a long time.
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I've kept TVs on here, plants, food, drinks, and after all this time, it's gotten scuffed up and stained [music] as well.
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For me, it's the definition of wabi-sabi, because I actually think it's gotten more attractive after acquiring all these small imperfections.
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Of course, this is just one example, but the overall point is that through minimalism, I've decided to fully embrace the wear and tear of everything.
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And as a result, I just no longer want aesthetic perfection.
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The pressure to always improve.
Topics:minimalismwabi-sabideclutteringfrugal livingdigital minimalismminimalist lifestylenotificationsbusy schedulecapsule wardrobeNicholas Garofola
