Since the blog was born, I have written quite a few articles about Minimalism, most of which highlight the positive meaning of this lifestyle. This is because I truly believe in Minimalism and its ability to change people’s lives for the better. However, like everything in life, Minimalism also has certain limitations. Although these limitations, in my opinion, are not too great, it is important to mention them to have a more multidimensional view of this lifestyle. I hope this article answers your questions in the process of learning and implementing a minimalist lifestyle.
5 Limitations of Minimalism
1. Must wash clothes often. With a small amount of clothes, frequently being rotated and worn over and over again in a short period of time, anyone who is building a minimalist wardrobe needs to consider washing more clothes each week. In the US, doing this laundry for me is not a big deal because almost everywhere there is a washing machine and a dryer .). This type of dryer has a very high capacity, allowing to dry freshly washed clothes from wet to dry like being exposed to the sun for a few days. The environment there is also quite clean and dry, so light-colored clothes can be worn outside for a few days and still don’t need to be washed. Meanwhile, this type of dryer is not very popular in Vietnam (although electronics stores have it), clothes are mainly wet washed and then hung on a drying line to dry. This leads to having to wait a few days to be able to wear freshly washed clothes, not to mention the rainy and humid days and the lack of sunshine, the waiting time can have to be longer. The living environment in big cities in Vietnam is also dustier and more polluted, making the need for laundry more.
To overcome this limitation, if there are physical and space conditions, each family or households living together/adjacent should consider buying a dryer. In addition to the above reasons, the dryer also saves a lot of time to dry and unload clothes (especially in crowded houses that lack drying space) and is very convenient for those who have small children who need to do laundry. daily. Only note that you should not overdo the washing machine – dryer, for example, you should still hand wash items that cannot be machine washed or put delicate items in a dedicated machine washing bag… If you do not have the conditions to buy a dryer. Dry, we can also reduce the frequency of washing clothes by wearing a light, dark, large-sized coat outside to prevent dust, dirty rain when going out. In addition, each time you take a shower, you can take advantage of washing and drying small items quickly.
2. No more shopping “doping”. One thing that I strongly disagree with, but can’t deny, is the instant euphoria after buying a new item. I have seen a lot of women struggling, waiting in line until 2-3 am in front of fashion stores on Black Friday in the US. A minute before they were allowed to buy, they looked miserable as if they were about to collapse, but a minute after they bought the goods, their demeanor was completely different, happily smiling and talking, walking and running just like they had just received. One dose of doping. Although this feeling of euphoria can only last for a few minutes, it is also a trap that makes people keep shopping, even seeing shopping as an elixir to relieve psychological stress when bored. By simplifying life and saying no to insatiable shopping, we also invisibly lose this dose of “doping”.
However, the positive side of this limitation is that it forces people to find better solutions to relieve their psychology. For example, instead of having a problem and then immediately turning into the clothing line or going to the supermarket, we are forced to sit back and think for a while about the cause of the problem, face our own problems, and talk frankly with those who hurt you. For me, giving up on shopping “doping” is a sign of maturity. In addition, because the items I buy are carefully considered, long-term tracking on the list, weighing between “want to buy” and “need to buy” ( see more about this comparison here ), the feeling of being Owning a new item is even more satisfying and lasts longer than buying in a rush, like before many times.
3. Hard to explain to others lifestyle . Because Minimalism is an abstract concept, a way of life that only individuals can understand through actual experience, it is difficult to explain to others what Minimalism is. . There will be no grandfather, grandmother, father, or mother who is okay when their child suddenly throws away all his belongings without spending a lot of money, nor will any child understand as soon as his parents suddenly leave. A range of family items over the years. And we don’t have the right to force others to change their lifestyle. Minimalism or non-minimalism is each person’s own perception and choice, there is no reason to impose on others ( read more about this idea here).). Therefore, sometimes living by Minimalism also means going against the habits of the majority alone. You’ll find that you have to say “no” more (to freebies, secondhand items given to you, shopping offers, etc.), while it’s hard to explain why you have to say no. . How to explain to the people of the previous generation, those who are used to living with a lot of furniture, those who do not clean … what is Minimalism and the feeling of relief, freedom, serenity when there are few things. how?
This limitation is actually also the motivation for me to write about this topic on the blog. I think the reading process will allow people to receive information more actively, readers will have time to think, reflect on this lifestyle, and consider for themselves whether it is suitable for life. his life does not. This is much more effective than directly looking for a listener to narrate or interpret in words. So, if readers feel like sharing with their loved ones about Minimalism, you can immediately share this blog and similar online information channels/books for your loved ones to think and contemplate for themselves. experience.
4. Life can still be dominated by furniture . The irony of changing lifestyles (any style) is that it’s very easy for people to go from one extreme to the other. If consumerism) makes people live heavily about shopping, hoarding things, making things escalate to dominate, suffocating their lives, then Minimalism makes many people “obsessed” with being busy every day. Had to think of getting rid of a few items. They also have a tendency to constantly count their belongings and compare themselves with others to see who is “more minimalist”. Going back to the core purpose of Minimalism is to free people from things and things that are no longer meaningful to focus their time and energy on more positive things, turning around their belongings around the clock. myself, whether to buy more or to throw away, is not effective.
Quite a few blog readers have emailed or commented that you have gradually become “obsessed” with getting rid of things and asked me how to overcome this psychological problem. Personally, I have never experienced such a feeling, so it took me some time to analyze and learn to be able to partly answer this problem. Firstly, I have noticed that people who go through this “obsessed” stage usually live in Minimalism for a short time, but when we are exposed to new things, we often get excited and become too overwhelmed. momentum. This can be gradually adjusted over time and experience. Second, I personally feel that counting things is a bit excessive ( read more of my opinion here), so you might consider stopping this if you feel “obsessed” with having to throw things away every day. Third, you can channel your energy into something else. I think the reason I don’t have this problem is because when I went through a “revolution” in my lifestyle in the summer of 2015, I entered a busy new semester. It is this busyness that helps me channel my energy into other useful things, instead of just circling my belongings. Therefore, I highly recommend that anyone who feels imbalanced can focus on study, work, sports … continuously for a while to find a better balance.
5. Don’t know how to use free time effectively. After a while applying minimalism to all aspects of your life, you will suddenly feel like you have more free time. And this can be very “problematic”. For example, before in the morning, frantically jumping out of the bathroom, diving in the pile of clothes piled up like a mountain but still “don’t know what to wear”, and trying to put on makeup, couldn’t find the right brush among the rows. dozens of damaged trees without throwing them away… took an hour and a half. Now all the above steps only take about 15-30 minutes because the bathing time has gone into the fold, what clothes to wear just a glance to know, makeup is also faster, the steps are quick and easy. simple. So what should I do with more than an extra hour? It’s only in the morning, if you apply minimalism to your work, focus on achieving the highest efficiency, you will have more time left over. Suddenly becoming “easy” will also make us confused. From there, it is easy to fall into the phone, computer, social network, play online games … leading to more time consuming and possibly becoming more and more lazy.
This is a limitation of Minimalism that I wish I had known about sooner because I used to be very awkward to make the most of my free time in the beginning. Later, when everything was stable, I built a system of habits & routines to live more actively and optimize the time I had. Readers can refer to articles on this topic in this article for more ideas on how to best use their free time. If I could go back, I would plan ahead for my free time after minimizing my life, staying away from smartphones, spending more time with myself and talking more with the people I love.
