Minimalist Living – Trends and Misconceptions?

Minimalist living is currently very popular in the world and in Vietnam, welcomed by many young people. There are quite a few books written about this lifestyle and it is often labeled "Japanese minimalist lifestyle".

Currently, I have been following a minimalist lifestyle for several years, and have spent some time reading articles and viewing comments in Minimalism communities. I realize that each person comes to the minimalist lifestyle for a different reason and different concepts.

In this article, I will give opinions and questions to answer questions about minimalist living. There may also be things you are wondering about minimalist living.

Minimalist lifestyle What is Minimalism?

Minimalist living is getting rid of unnecessary or unwanted things, creating a neat living space, thereby making life simpler.

The definition is as brief as that, but when you apply it creatively in life, you will see a large area like the map of the spread of the Covid epidemic at the present time.

What is the purpose of minimalist living?

The purpose of minimalist living is to help us eliminate unnecessary things in life so we can enjoy life more.

For example, reducing unnecessary furniture will help you have an airy, less cluttered living space, not take too much time to clean the house, and can save money instead of buying unnecessary furniture. needed anymore.

Fewer clothes also help reduce the load on the wardrobe. We also don't need to think too long when standing in front of a closet full of clothes and not knowing what clothes to choose like "My lover has nothing to wear".

What I enjoy most about living a minimalist life is creating a healthy, clean and tidy living environment for myself. You already know that in psychology, the state of the surrounding environment greatly affects the brain and thinking, right?

A clean and tidy desk helps me concentrate more on work. A neat and airy room also helps me love life more. Every clean and tidy toilet also helps us... hehe.

Minimalist living is just wearing the same clothes 7 days a week?

I once read an article by a friend in the minimalist living community. When this friend shares his minimalist life and what he has gained since living minimalist with the community. The article is very light and contributes to the community.

However, there was a young person who commented on your article and felt quite harsh, like saying that living a minimalist life but still having to wear black T-shirts and gray T-shirts of different colors is not called living a minimalist life, right? Like you, wearing all black t-shirts, black pants, and even black briefs is a minimalist lifestyle...

After reading this comment, I just thought: Wtf! Why has living a minimalist life now become showing off achievements and forcing others to live like you?

I think that young person is following the "trend" of minimalist living, rather than choosing a lifestyle to help himself. And using the machine to follow bloggers or vloggers on YouTube that you want to watch. Is living a minimalist life still meaningful to help you feel more comfortable and happier? when you go to such extremes and extremes?

Each person is a different entity, with different interests, living environment, family, and place of living. So, live minimally in a way that suits you. Cut down on unnecessary things and still feel comfortable instead of applying mechanically to others.

Don't let yourself live a minimalist life just because you follow a trend and think that if you follow that trend you will be very cool... you feel like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg. The important thing is to be suitable for yourself. If you live a minimalist life because you follow the trend, then when you feel it is no longer a trend, you will leave it and follow a different lifestyle.

Previously you had a large wardrobe, but now you cut down on unnecessary items. Choosing outfits and neutral colors that can be easily coordinated with each other is more minimalist, right?

Some of the clothes I bought before had patterns or colors that were a bit difficult to coordinate, but now I still wear them until they fall apart. If you buy new clothes, most of them are black, gray, white t-shirts or one-color clothes. Now that I'm used to it, I don't like things with lots of patterns or details anymore.

I have never used accessories and jewelry such as hats, bracelets, rings, piercings, and watches, so this account is considered minimalist.

Minimalist living may be more effective when you read the article: “Living a minimalist life requires applying the divine 80-20 rule!“

Does minimalist living mean being stingy and stingy?

This is also an opinion that I find incorrect. Minimalist living is about getting rid of unnecessary things to enjoy life, not being stingy and not daring to buy anything.

On the contrary, because you don't buy unnecessary items, you have more money left over to spend on yourself and others.

Instead of buying 10 sets of cheap but rarely used clothes, you buy 3 sets of better quality clothes that can be combined easily, have a longer lifespan and don't go out of style for example.

What I succeed in living a minimalist life is minimizing my technology chart. Previously, I was quite "crazy" about technology.

Before living a minimalist life, I used:

• High configuration Desktop system with 2 23 inch screens.
• A DSLR camera from the past, bought to take photos when I was still selling shoes. Haven't used it in a long time.
• The Surface tablet has an external keyboard attached for use when going out to a cafe
• A set of microphones and recording amplifiers because I used to like singing and planned to record Podcasts
• Kindle Paperwhite book reader
• Various types of headphones from computers, phones, etc.

This mess makes my desk cramped and quite messy even though I often clean up my work corner.

After thinking carefully, in fact, I could barely use the full capabilities of that high-configuration device when I opened a few dozen chrome tabs, used PTS in all kinds of ways and the heatsink didn't even bother to spin. And at that time, it was no longer necessary to work on 2 screens. Working on 2 screens made me even more distracted because I often thought I could multitask. On the other hand, this system also consumes a lot of electricity and takes up a lot of space.

Canon cameras are DSLRs so they're quite big and heavy. The old model also doesn't suit some of my current needs, so I just put it in a corner and...borrowed it.

The previous Surface Tablet I bought mainly because I used Windows, it was thin and light so I could take it to test VPS to run Forex robots or light office applications.

I thought I bought the microphone system to make a Podcast. To sing, if I like to record, I bought a good set, a bit more than what I needed and also put it in a corner. I can count the frequency of use on the fingers of one hand.

Finally, I sold all: Desktop system, Camera, Surface, Mic - Amplifier system.

Then buy:

• A Thinkpad laptop. After using it for a few months, I'm very satisfied with this decision because I can sit and work anywhere without having to think about going to a cafe. I only do light work like writing articles, and the rest are applications. too heavy to go home and do more...
• A True wireless headset that can use bluetooth for both laptops, phones or Kindle, more neat and tidy without the need for messy wires. I can also take it to listen to audiobooks while going to the gym.
• A smaller, more compact Canon mirrorless camera with enough features so I can record Vlogs to provide more content to everyone and also to train myself to speak better.

After selling and buying other things, I still "profited" about more than 10 million more, which is more suitable for my needs. You only need a small backpack to carry this mobile work combo everywhere.

Is minimalist living more economical?

I think yes, because you will train yourself to buy things scientifically according to your needs instead of buying things on a whim or just because you see a sale.

We will get into something more substantive. Like instead of eating too many dishes, in one meal we only need 2-3 nutritious dishes, vegetables, meat, fish,... 2-3 dishes to enjoy each meal is great, we don't need a tray full of food. Eating and then harming your own health, right?

Obviously these things are beneficial for both yourself and your wallet, so why not do them, right? When you live a minimalist life, you will have less shopping because you only buy what is necessary, and think more carefully before buying an item instead of going to Tiki or Shopee to order a whole bunch of things.

You can read more articles: Minimalist living and financial freedom If you are interested in personal financial management!

Minimalism is about cutting down on furniture, right?

True but not enough. Living a minimalist life, I think we should not limit it only to material things but also to anything related to life such as spirituality, relationships, work, social networks,...

You can cut out unnecessary elements that are detrimental to your spirit such as game shows, junk news, political news, shock news, etc.

Unfriend or unfollow people who post negative things that affect us or who have nothing to do with our lives anymore...

Or simply delete social networking apps or less-used apps on your phone to free up memory and last longer battery life, for example.

You can see that my blog's interface is currently relatively minimalist. I have redone the interface to be less colorful and have many details and toolbars to switch back to a minimalist, easy-to-see, more focused interface. on content instead of form.

If this is the first time you come to my blog, I am also a freelance trader and investor, and my Price Action trading method is also a minimalist method.

This trading method will analyze the market based only on candlesticks to analyze market trends instead of adding dozens of complicated and confusing indicators on the chart. And I really like it, without needing to rely on tools and clearly understanding the true nature of the market,...

Minimalism is also used when creating a Youtube channel to share about Price Action trading with short videos that remove all unnecessary things, focusing only on important knowledge that brings high efficiency.

I just give this example to show everyone that minimalist living can be applied to all the chaos in our lives, you just need to be creative in the solution.

Is minimalist living a trend that blooms and dies?

In the past, I think many people lived a minimalist lifestyle, but it was not widely known as a separate lifestyle like it is now thanks to the explosion of media information.

Perhaps there will also be some people who live minimalist lives because they follow the trend, and may abandon it when the "trend" ends. But those who have truly seen the value of minimalist living will always keep this lifestyle. What brings real value, I think, will last forever.

I have also followed a minimalist lifestyle for several years, and currently have no intention of changing this, because it is bringing positive things to my life.

Is living a minimalist life deceiving yourself into accepting reality so you don't try?

I see a lot of people who don't fully understand minimalist living often make comments like that. Even on a famous speaker's channel, I've heard them say similar things.

This is an incorrect concept. Minimalist living helps me reduce my dependence on material things, which doesn't mean I don't try, but the opposite. I clearly understand that the value of life does not depend entirely on money or material things, but also on how you live, how you achieve your goals, and how you enjoy life.

Getting rid of material things also helps us have more free time because we don't have to think about what to eat, what to wear, clean the house, etc. A clear mindset and environment also help us work more effectively.

Those are questions that I think many of you will wonder when following a minimalist lifestyle. Living a minimalist lifestyle brings positive benefits to you. Every day I am trying to improve myself and think more creatively to simplify my own life.