Minimalism for Millennials: Spending Less, Living More
It has become impossible to remain ignorant to the phenomenon of minimalism. With Netflix documentaries, tiny house TV series, and Youtube evangelists, it has become a famous trend and minority community. And it’s a community that is overwhelmingly made up by millennials.
Many millennials are turning to minimalism as a reaction to their upbringing and current economic circumstances. Whereas their baby-boomer parents valued putting down roots and accumulating status symbols in the bustling economy of the 80s, Millennials are coming of age in much more modest economic times, and in a climate of excessive consumerism and disillusionment. While the global marketplace makes “stuff” more accessible and cheaper than ever, it is also lower quality than ever before, and many millennials don’t have the financial stability to buy the homes and yards required to store the endless amount of stuff they are being advertised. The result is a group of individuals who are disillusioned with capitalist, materialist society, and who are seeking a simpler, more peaceful lifestyle.
If you’re looking to simplify and minimize your belongings, or if you’re simply curious about how people could possibly live with one pair of jeans, here is a quick minimalist guide for millennials who are looking to spend less and live more.
Minimalism for Millennials: The Konmari method
Japanese consultant Mari Kondo is famous for her viral book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. In this book, Kondo lays out an all inclusive, radical strategy for decluttering your home and your life. Some of her trademark practices include rolling your clothes instead of hanging or folding them and getting rid of any items in your home that “don’t bring you joy”. This book is celebrated amongst striving minimalists for being a no-nonsense and extremely successful way to simplify and reduce stress in your home.
Minimalism for Millennials : Clear surfaces, clear mind
One thing that many people tend to avoid in their homes is having too much empty space. However, minimalists embrace the idea of bare walls, bare floors, and most importantly- bare surfaces. Countertops, side tables, and desks are some of the most chaotic places in our homes and its surprising just how much clutter you can eliminate by making an intention to keep those spaces empty. If you need a quick minimalistic fix for a decluttered space, try taking everything off of your kitchen counters and storing them in drawers. This means blenders, coffee makers, and kitchen utensils–absolutely everything you keep on your countertops except for your microwave. After a week, you can take out the things that you actually went in the drawers and pulled out everyday. But if it’s not an everyday item, keep it hidden away for added space and order.
Minimalism for Millennials: Become a Marketing Master
One of the easiest ways to stop buying so much stuff is to understand the psychology behind why you purchase things in the first place. We live in a time where we are bombarded with advertisements everywhere and all the time. If you aren’t consciousness and careful, this can lead you into buying things you don’t really want or need. The best way to reduce your spending is to learn the strategies and tactics marketers use to get you to buy. After studying the basic principles of inbound marketing and calls to action, you should be able to understand the motive and “hidden sell” behind almost every piece of online content you see. When you do get to this point, it is extremely liberating, and helps you to see just how much of what we consume is created specifically to get us to buy, buy, buy.
Minimalism for Millennials: Find out where your stuff comes from
Another way to minimize your spending and feel better about what you decide to buy is to trace the products and services you purchase back to the source. Buying a t-shirt for $3 feels a lot less enticing when you learn that the cheap price is a result of the company employing child labor or sweatshops to create the clothing. Similarly, you may feel empowered and happy buying fair trade products, knowing that you are simultaneously filling your need for coffee and donating to a good cause at the same time. So much of minimalism is cutting through the noise in order to make informed, empowered choices, and this is only possible when you have all the information about the products you use.
Minimalism for Millennials: Splurge when needed
As discussed above, cheaper doesn’t always mean better. Sometimes, as a minimalist, you will actually find that you spend more up front as a way to reap long term benefits. You may decide to pay a higher price for high quality sandals, knowing that you will be wearing them almost every day and hoping they last for years instead of months. Buying one quality item ends up costing less than buying 10 poor quality items, it’s better for the environment, and it will cause less clutter at home. Minimalism doesn’t mean you never spend money, it just means spending money more wisely and less frequently on things that improve your life.
Minimalism for Millennials: Eat smarter
A lot of our waste and clutter comes from our possessions, but it can also come from our food. Overfilled fridges with items that end up being thrown away is enough to create a chaotic home, or at least a chaotic kitchen. Likewise, constantly going out to eat can leave you feeling drained (and can literally drain your bank account). This is why it is also a popular trend to be a minimalist with your food. Keeping your food choices natural, consistent, and simplified is a great way to help the environment and your body operate at their best.
Saffron Road prides itself on being a brand that minimalists turn to for filling, simple, ethical food that is good for you and for the planet. Try our ethically packaged simmer sauces or our all-in-one easy meal options and find out why millennials and minimalists love SR.
Minimalism for Millennials: Savor Experiences- A common theme amongst millennial minimalists is that when asked, they responded that they would prefer to spend money on an experience than on a material good. This might explain why so many minimalists are choosing to build tiny, mortgage free, portable homes so that they can stay rootless and free– both physically and financially. Many people don’t realize that your stuff doesn’t just cause stress by cluttering up your home, it also requires a lot of time and money to maintain and insure. Being a minimalist is ultimately about ridding your life of stuff so that you can spend time focused on what really matters– friends, family, learning, growth, and gratitude.
Do you live the minimalist life? Or are you a proud maximalist? We want to hear from you! Get in touch with us in the comments, or reach out on social media at @SaffronRoadFood!
