Love People, Use Things: How Might Your Life be Better with Less?

“I grew up minimalist—it was called being poor.” If I had a tchotchke for every time I heard someone parrot this hackneyed line, I’d have a storage locker full of useless junk. I don’t know whether these naysayers are bad-faith cynics or they’re simply confusing poverty with minimalism, but either way, I find this line of thinking odd, especially since these same critics often claim that minimalism is only for wealthy people, or that it solves only First World problems, and so it’s not applicable to people who live below the poverty line. I’m not sure what to do with this kind of bipolar reasoning, so let’s address it from both sides to clear up any confusion.

We’ve already established that minimalism, at its core, involves using our limited resources intentionally. Who wouldn’t benefit from that? I, too, grew up poor, and so did Ryan, and we certainly weren’t minimalists, but we definitely would have benefited from being more deliberate with our (very) limited resources. In fact, my poor childhood self would have benefited even more than my supposedly rich adult self who stumbled into minimalism at twenty-eight. Ditto for Ryan.

But let’s set that aside for a moment. Let me pretend we don’t get frequent emails and letters and tweets from aspiring minimalists, from Kalamazoo to Kenya, who have next to nothing but who still struggle with desire and the ceaseless tug of consumerism. Let’s pretend that minimalism hasn’t helped those people like they say it has. And let’s pretend that minimalism solves only First World problems.

Okay.

Anyone who feels hollowed out by the endless pursuit of more can find a better life with less.

What’s wrong with that? Are the problems of the First World not worth solving? Are people with money not allowed to question their stuff? Are we supposed to alienate and divide people based on their income?

Look, minimalism isn’t for everyone—it’s for anyone who’s discontented by the status quo. It seems to me that 50 percent of the Western world isn’t bothered by consumerism and the excesses of modernity, and it’s not my place to convince them to jettison their stuff. But the remaining half of the population has a vast opportunity in front of them. Whether rich or poor, young or old, Black or white, man or woman, anyone who feels hollowed out by the endless pursuit of more can find a better life with less.

Final Thoughts on Money

Money isn’t everything, but it’s also not nothing. As a minimalist, I’m not opposed to having money—I’m opposed to having money problems. I won’t tell you how to live your life, but I exposed my...

Keep reading on Quick and Dirty Tips