Building community through decluttering

We moved. From a huge house, to a tiny hole-in-the-wall condo. While job and business opportunities is the standard, acceptable answer we give people who ask, the truth is, as a family, we were fed up of caring for a house we all loved but none of us used to its full capacity. With kids growing up, moving out, a lot of the rooms and the yard were rendered unrequired. It was becoming a waste of good space.

There, I said it. Waste of good space. Why do we humans love to accumulate stuff, be it tangible or intangible, and allow it to sit there, unused, using up valuable space? Be it knickknacks that look cute but are hard to keep dust-free, or friends who we think make us look good and popular, but whose expectations are hard to keep up with, isn’t it just a waste of good space?

Do I live like a hermit now?

No! I am an extremely social person, and I like to… strike that, need to be around people, ALL. THE. TIME! I cannot even sleep in complete silence or pitch dark! This minimalism of mine, has finally resulted in me getting to be around people I vibe better with, and own things that have value for me. The move was a good opportunity to step back and re-evaluate, all over again, all that I own. And that was when I realized I had too much, of everything. The modern-day crisis! Excess clothes, check; jewelry, check, cooking gear, check, electronic devices, check; healthcare stuff, check; furniture, check; emotional baggage, check, physical baggage, check; fitness equipment, check. You name it, I had more than enough to supply to at least one other household. So what did I do? After much deliberation, and countless hours of slow but steady cutting through each closet, we ended up donating. A lot.

Did I accidentally give up something that I thought I didn’t need but inevitably required just a few days after donating?

You bet! It is the law of nature, is it not? The moment you give up something, you need it. Guess what, there is another law of nature, necessity is the mother of invention. In this case, improvisation. Now, we are all so in love with the age-old concept of multi-purposing stuff, that we no more rush to the store to buy something randomly. Our purchases have now become more intentional, more meaningful. Guess what it has resulted in? A sense of community! Human beings love to be needed. When you ask a neighbor if they have a complex bit to attach to a screwdriver, they love to say yes. It gives everyone a purpose to talk, to communicate, to bond! and when you carry a baked thank you to them, it builds a reason to commune, thus forging a community that helps each other. The neighbor’s niece visited them for a week, and when she left, she took home with her beautiful memories and stories of not one, but two aunties, because guess whose cake she enjoyed eating, and guess whose home she visited because she wanted to learn how to make the no-bake cheesecake?

What about peer-pressure?

Peer-pressure exists. Sometimes you succumb to it, sometimes you don’t. So what? Why guilt yourself for an occasional splurge? Minimalism is about letting go the guilt, not piling it on. Everyone has a particular brand of a fancy cup. You see it everywhere you go. You give in, and you buy it. Look up, the sky is still where it was. It hasn’t fallen just because you gave in to something. Like my high-schooler students would say, “It ain’t so big a deal! Chill bruh!”