Our Foreign Corespondent David and I were recently discussing the minimalist lifestyle trend that has been gathering steam in recent years.
The concept is to live with as few material possessions as possible.
A Netflix documentary on the subject can be found HERE.
As I mentioned to David, my wife and I came face to face with this issue when we decided to leave the United States and live in Europe. Hardly the packrats or hoarders, we had nevertheless accumulated a substantial quantity of possessions during our married life.
We had also inherited furniture, silver, linens, dinnerware, jewelry, books, and rugs from 3 generations of ancestors on my side of the family and 3 generations on hers. And that doesn’t include 4 decades of carefully curated clothing, shoes, and accessories we bought ourselves.
When you’re streamlining your life down from a spacious home in the states to a comfortable (but comparatively cozy) apartment in Paris, well, you can imagine the hard choices.
So, as spartan as we thought our lives had been, things had stacked up. Inevitably, we had become attached to our ‘stuff’.
While I think of the minimalist lifestyle as a 2nd cousin to the Old Money lifestyle, I would never the less like to hear your thoughts on the subject.
How alike are these two philosophies? What is minimalism missing? Is it too extreme? Or does America need a harsh, austere alternative to the consumerism we’re all fighting each day?
So enjoy the Netflix documentary if you wish, and let us know your thoughts when you can.
Thanks.
- BGT