I think being fourteen just screams hyper stuff consumer right from the start. The opposite of a minimalist teenager. I was surrounded by lots of stuff that I never used. I had no peace, and no joy.
What is it Going to be Like?
At first I thought that being a minimalist teenager in today’s society would be really, really, hard. Everyone around me was always telling me what I need. And that I’m somehow not cool if I don’t have it. (Excuse me, But last time you said that – I got it. And nobody treated me any differently.)
So when my Mom said that we were going to try minimalism, I wasn’t very optimistic. Society had a hold on me. It was telling me what I needed. So when Mom told me to give this a try I thought about it. A lot. After thinking I realized some things: What is society doing telling me what I need? How can they possibly know what I need if they aren’t me – and I didn’t tell them?
Let’s see, what more can I get rid of? Hmmmmm…….
Where Do I Start?
After thinking about this, it got me thinking some more. I thought that maybe I should try to get rid of all of the things that society has told me that I need, and start fresh. I was going to do this by only keeping the things that I need. Also by thinking about a purchase before I buy it. Before I buy anything, I ask myself these questions: “Do I actually need this, or have I been deceived?” “What if I didn’t buy this?” and “Does this add value to my life?”
By asking myself these questions, and answering them truthfully to myself, I have cut my buying rate in half. – if not more. I also have a lot more time to spend using the things that bring me joy instead of going out and buying useless rubbish that I don’t need and won’t use. So far, becoming a minimalist teenager was working.
What’s The Next Step?
Now I have one teeny tiny problem: getting rid of all of the stuff that I don’t need that I already have.
I’m all for getting rid of rubbish that’s broken or has already been replaced and hasn’t been used in forever. It’s that I don’t like getting rid of “perfectly good stuff”. So the question that I had to ask myself now was this: “What consists of ‘perfectly good stuff’?” Is what I think is perfectly good actually rubbish, and I just think it’s good because I have a sentimental attachment to it?
Now that I have gotten rid of major time consumers in my life, I have more time to spend enjoying life with the people I love.
I decided that if I have sentimental attachment to an item that I should leave it until the end. Until I have developed the right attitude about getting rid of stuff. In the meantime, I get rid of the things that are meaningless to me. And to find out about the meaning of a certain item I ask similar questions to myself as if I were going to buy something. The questions are: “Do I still need this or have I already replaced it with something else?” “When was the last time I used this?” and “Does this add value to my life?” (For the second question if the answer is over six months then you should get rid of it. Because if you haven’t used it in six months, you’re not going to use it within another six months.)
The Results
Now that I am on the road to minimalism I have found that I am much happier and that I have more time to do what I love. And I have more stuff to get rid of! And that means that I have more time to spend of things other than cleaning the house! Nothing, (Not even my peers) are going to take that away from me.
We’ve headed on a Big Adventure. Have you seen it yet?
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