LESS IS MORE
Minimalist movement advocates clearing out stuff to let in what really matters
Having it all — the big house, fancy car, fat salary, lots of stuff — has been part of the mystique of the American Dream for decades.
The term derives from the 1931 book “The Epic of America” by historian James Truslow Adams, who wrote, “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”
That’s the path a couple of late twentysomethings were on a few years ago when life stepped in with some rude surprises, and as a result they became “The Minimalists.”
Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus are the authors of three books: “Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life,” “Everything That Remains” and “Essays by the Minimalists.” They also have a blog, a podcast and produced a film, “Minimalism: A Documentary about the Important Things.”
So what is minimalism? Milburn and Nicodemus say part of it is about “Eliminating. Jettisoning. Extracting. Detaching. Decluttering. Paring down. Letting go.” The point of all that, they say, is to make room for more: “More time, more passion, more experiences, more growth, more contribution, more contentment. More freedom. Clearing the clutter from life’s path helps us make that room.”
Milburn’s fast-track lifestyle began to change in late 2009 after his mother died and
his marriage ended. Soon after, his longtime friend Nicodemus was laid off from a six-figure-income job. The two men shifted to a simple lifestyle and began writing about what they learned from the experience.
Since 2011, through extensive media coverage and book tours across the country, the idea has caught on. It has spawned Meetup groups in cities throughout the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
‘Big vision’
Miriam Ortiz y Pino met Milburn and Nicodemus when they visited Albuquerque on a nationwide book tour and now leads Minimalist.org: Albuquerque Local Meetup group. The group meets over dinner and a drink at 5:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the Ponderosa Brewing Company, 1761 Bellamah NW, in the Sawmill District.
“It’s a place to discuss topics about minimalism; about getting rid of stuff and the big vision of what does that allow you to do, what are you really interested in,” she said.
Ortiz y Pino is a certified professional organizer and longtime adherent to the principles of “Voluntary Simplicity,” a 1981 book by Duane
Elgin, which advanced concepts similar to Minimalism.
Ortiz y Pino’s recipe for simplicity, after years of corporate work in the San Francisco area, was to return to Albuquerque and channel her organizing skills into an occupation where she could work from home.
Although minimalism appears to be gaining in popularity, she said, it can draw criticism because it runs contrary to messages from advertisers and the media.
“The American Dream is to have bigger, better, faster,” Ortiz y Pino said.
Local followers
Mary Ann Reilly was one of about a dozen people who showed up at the June Albuquerque Minimalist Meetup gathering.
Reilly, a freelance writer and editor, has been attending the meetup for about a year and appreciates the opportunity to talk with like-minded people.
“It’s nice to interact with people who approach what it means to live in this country, in this time, in a more simple way. It is a sharing of ideas. It’s a supportive environment for talking about topics of mutual interest that may not be of interest to others,” Reilly said.
Gary Anderson, who works in an IT field, said he’d been inspired to start simplifying his life after seeing the Minimalist documentary. Ortiz y Pino arranged a screening of the film in Albuquerque last year.
“It really makes you think,” Anderson said. “You start thinking about what adds value to your life. If the answer is no, you don’t need it. Having less is liberating. It means less to worry about.”
First-timer Melissa Barela, a business consultant, said minimalism began to appeal to her in recent years because she made multiple moves.
“I felt like I had things I didn’t love and was moving them around the country,”
said Barela. Nowadays, she prioritizes spending on things that are most important to her, like travel.
Meetup regular Shari Johnson said she thinks about what she buys, asking herself questions like: will I need this for the next 30 years? Does it have multiple uses?
A couple of the meetup regulars have taken up a “game” the Minimalists propose in their blog. The 30-day challenge is to get rid of an increasing number of things each day; one thing the first day, two things the second day and so on. They’ve been posting photos of the items each day on the group’s Facebook page.
However, Ortiz y Pino cautions that minimalism isn’t just about getting rid of stuff, or about whittling your possessions down to a target number.
“The hardest thing for people to do in pursuing minimalism is understanding that it’s not about a number and that it is a process,” she said. “Bottom line, it comes down to knowing what you personally deep down want out of life.”