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Is Minimalism Just Pop Culture Hype?
Or can you really have too much stuff?
Glancing around the room, I wonder, have I got too much stuff? Questions like, am I too materialistic? And are my plentiful belongings signs I just can’t let go of baggage (of any kind)?
At the same time, I note some humble-brag about their minimalist lifestyle, as though it signifies spiritual maturity. Of course, if they were more enlightened than hoarders, they would be too advanced to suggest it’s so.
The idea we (as in, most of us) own too many things began some time ago. It became popular to reduce and recycle, and TV shows promoting minimalism and discarding excess household items shot up like weeds.
Suddenly, people wondered if they were hoarders and joined in with the de-cluttering trend. But does having lots of belongings matter? And if so, how much stuff is too much? I’ve studied the idea it’s possible to become engulfed by your belongings (mentally and physically) and find what I always suspected but begrudgingly must concede to is true.
Mental and physical clutter could be related
Psychotherapist Linda Esposito, LCSW, suggests we “love people, not things” and says, “physical clutter begets mental clutter.” While it’s apparent (to me) the affection I…
