What Is Minimalism?

It is the peace mantra for todays lifestyle.

- Sudha Chandrasekaran

Sheetal can tell you exactly how many clothes she has: five pants, six kurtis, five pairs of jeans, two churidars, two saris, two pairs of chappals, two pairs of shoes – that's all. She is a comfortably middle-class lady and lives in a three-bedroom apartment with her husband, son and in-laws. Apparently, this appears to be a contradiction. Is minimalism an upper-class luxury or liberating lifestyle? In recent times minimalism has become a trend, even though it is a concept that has been around for centuries. It is all over mainstream media, and we have seen it used across various industries including fashion, design, food, technology, beauty, housing, and more. Less is more. Minimalism becomes more about who you are, instead of what you have. That's the philosophy at the core of minimalism.

Minimalism has a negative implication to several persons. They believe being a minimalist means sacrificing things. With so many distractions around us, we often find it difficult to enjoy the simple things in life, like spending time with our loved ones, exercising, being creative, cooking or just doing nothing. We are too busy being overwhelmed by physical, digital, and mental clutter that leads to increased anxiety and an overall sense of dissatisfaction. Minimalism proves to be a remedy to that state of excessiveness.

This constant desire for more is something we call “The More Virus” and to combat this we must learn to want less. This is the point at which minimalism’s power raises its head. Minimalism is that which identifies what is essential in your life and eliminates the rest. It is the process of intentionally pursuing what brings you joy. Since then, we at home, have gone on a minimalist rampage, ruthlessly analysing what we do, what we own and whom we spend our time with.