I know this is an oxymoron. As a minimalist you are meant to buy less stuff, but let me explain…
Minimalism, for me, is the removal of things that detract from an enlightened life. It’s about purpose and intentionality on the things that really matter. People. Love. Experiences. Connection. Nature. And it’s impossible to fully focus on any of these things when you have no time or headspace. When you have a massive list of little jobs to do, things to buy, stuff to help run your house, errands to run and shops to get to, your headspace is filling up. And headspace is finite.
If you’ve ever had to run to the shop for toilet roll, take a detour on the way home to buy washing powder, use your lunch hour to buy deodorant or use up any of your precious time to just run your life, then your time is being taken up by stuff.
Simplicity takes a bit of planning.
Creating time and space for the things that matter means removing the things that don’t.
That’s how I became a bulk buying minimalist.
By stockpiling a load of things that we need, I no longer need to worry about them. I know we have toilet roll, washing powder and deodorant to last about a year. That headspace is free to play, to write, to think and to love.
Do I see enlightenment in the aisles of Costco? Not exactly, but we do need some stuff to live a modern life, and by stockpiling some of it our family is a little bit less hectic.
