Moving made me a minimalist.
Chasing low rent was the most compelling cause for minimalism. Unscrupulous landlords would gouge, and I would be unable, or unwilling to pay the increases. Even with co-habitation rent did not reflect value, and I was forced to move under similar circumstances every few months. I unpacked some clothes and other day to day needs but most of my belongings remained sealed anticipating the next move.
When I finally had the time I began sorting the boxes. They had become accidental time capsules, re-telling my moving adventures. It seemed that when I would occupy a space, I would acquire things. When the time came to jettison myself, there was frequently no time to pack neatly, and I would put everything on the floor into a box, and seal it. This happened several times in so many months.
Most of it was saved because it held assumed value, a reminder of a place, a birthday card, something funny that spawned an inside joke. Out of context these things were merely junk, and these boxes that I dragged around the city, up flights of stairs and jammed into cars produced nothing of any real value at all. Keeping these things really didn't seem like it was worth finding a place to store them. So I started to throw things out.
When I was finished, I found that I could not stop. after having annihilated so many stored goods, I could not liberate my critical eye. Suddenly everything that I saw prompted a review of its value. Clothes that didn't fit or were damaged, kitchen gadgets, objects d'art, and broken furniture were among the first to go. After that, there were records, and books and video cassettes that could no longer justify the space they consumed. When the smoke cleared I had an epiphany,
"I don't need any of this stuff."
It was true. The contents of a closet, under the bed, and a lot of basement space, cleared, and I didn't need any of it. There was some remorse. I had labored hard moving these things about from place to place, and I could have easily have left them behind. Feeling pretty stupid, vows were made and I began my life as a minimalist.
Making minimalism into a discipline was a lot harder than opening a few boxes, and in the coming posts I'll be adding a better description of the Way of Minimalism.
