I think the hardest challenge I’m facing while trying to follow minimalism principles is not doing things. For instance: not buying stuff.
Every now and then I visit a bookstore and stumble upon a book on minimalism. Generally I’m attracted to such books because I find the vision of having less and feeling more appealing and each book presents this vision in a different way, refreshing the sensasion. But having one more book, regardless of the subject, means having more stuff. Minimalism is not about having more books about minimalism.
So I always refrain from buying such books, which is not always easy. I just re-read Leo Babauta’s book based on his blog and get on with the urge to get something new.
Another thing is buying clothes. I’ve got enough of them - so why buy more? Yet I do get ideas about shopping and getting more stuff, just like I do with books. But while having more books is fine, having more clothes is materialistic. So I always avoid buying clothes as much as I can. I have also come up with the idea that the next time I need a new T-shirt or book, I’ll buy used one. This is exactly the approach I’ve taken recently when looking for Edward de Bono’s book on lateral thinking.
Getting rid of stuff I don’t use is even harder…
This work by Piotr Mieszkowski is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0