I hear it all the time from friends and colleagues. “Brooke, I love how minimal you are, but I can’t live that way. I love my stuff too much.” I get it. Not everyone wants to live with the bare minimum and frankly, I don’t either. Like most of you, I have my favorite items that I couldn’t bear to part with, so I understand why the minimalist lifestyle doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation. 

Minimalism became more mainstream when Marie Kondo launched her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, in the early 2010s, then even further caught peoples’ intention with the release of her Netflix series in 2019. Her philosophy: If an item “sparks joy” within you, keep it. If not, thank the item for its service then responsibly dispose of it. For me though, minimalism and the volume of your possessions goes a step further than just sparking joy. Because let’s be real a plunger doesn’t necessarily spark joy, but when you need it, you need it. 

The lifestyle has also come with a bad rap making people think they have to sell all their belongings and live in a stark white home without any decor. Or that in order to embrace a capsule wardrobe, you can only have 33 items in your closet. While I am a fan of Sherwin Williams Pure White and I do love a good classic white button down with blue jeans, I like to think of your amount of possessions as having what you need but also what you love. AKA, your essentials. 

Allow me to introduce you to the new minimalist, what I call, the essentialist. The essentialist has only what he or she needs and loves and everything else is considered clutter. The best part? As an essentialist, only YOU get to decide what’s essential for YOU. Love tennis shoes and have 20 pairs? Great! If all 20 pairs serve you in a positive way (and you have the storage space for that many), by all means keep them. But if you really only love and wear 5 pairs, keep those and donate the rest! The lifestyle isn’t just about owning the bare minimum but more about being intentional, and creating more time, energy and freedom for the things that matter most to you. 

I challenge you to question what living more intentionally and what embracing the essentialist lifestyle could look like for you. The truth: Life doesn’t have to be as complicated as the world tells us it needs to be. Just focus on tactical ways to simplify life and make it easier. It’s that simple. And don’t think of this as a one and done process. This lifestyle, just like anything else worthwhile in life, requires initial work and lots of maintenance. But with a little elbow grease and some positive inspiration from yours truly, you can achieve lifetime success!

It’s your turn. Take a stab at doing one thing a little more intentional today. Maybe it’s as simple as refilling your water bottle instead of grabbing a new, unopened one. And the next time someone commends you about living more simply, you can tell them “Thanks, I’m an essentialist!”