When people think of minimalists, they often think of extreme tree-huggers, hippies, and rugged, low maintenance people. Goths are perhaps very low on the list of immediate associations, although many goths are Pagan and believe in being touch with nature. Shortly after college, I had a 3 year stint where I was trying to live a minimalist lifestyle. I was able to achieve it because I wanted to get rid of a hideous wardrobe of boring, normal clothes I had bought for my job before. I ended up having only 150-200 clothing items, which included shoes and underclothes, and was for work and casual. I also lived in a studio in Manhattan at the time with my husband (then-boyfriend), so we did not have a lot of room, so trying to be minimalist seemed like a good idea. We also were not working at the time as we were in the job-hunting flux after college. In fact, I had to discard many of my precious books when we moved in that apartment. It was also not difficult because while I enjoy material things, I have never been overtly attached to them due to loosing loved ones early and some, tragically.
However, in time, after we moved out of the studio to a one bedroom, and I began to work, I began to feel suffocated by the limitations of minimalism. There was no place for bat necklaces and witchy shoes just for fun. Minimalism as a lifestyle is about functionality, while my black and red clothes have always been functional and uncomplicated for me, I missed the creativity of dressing and living. So, I slowy began to go away from it.
However, there were some wonderful lessons that I acquired during that time that I have forgotten a bit, such as having less stuff means less time cleaning and more time for things you truly enjoy. I have also been an mild environmentalist in terms of not eating meat (well, I cheat once in a blue), using organic products (my sensitive skin can't take chemicals anyway), and natural healing and food, so minimalism didn't cause me to do that as I was environmental before. However, my research did lead me to understand the impacts that excess has on the landfills. I did DIY fashions since I was a teen to now because I liked making things to my liking, but I did throw away clothing once in a blue. Now, I make sure I donate, even if I am not certain that they will take it. Whatever can't be sold sometimes get sent to the third world second hand market.
In any case, this long intro is to preface that I want to embark again on the challenge of getting rid of stuff I don't use. Minimalist will say get rid of all you don't need or have used in 6 months, but that is too restrictive and extreme for me. A search of the internet for minimalist blogs will show you people with 2 pairs of shoes and jeans, etc. That is too extreme in my opinion unless you are back-packing through Europe or something of the like. Attire should be both functional and fun.
One concept I came across in my research on letting things go is The 100 Thing Challenge. If you have not, it is a challenge to live on only 100 things, whereby collections, such as CDs or books count as one. So, I am also sure that many of you, like me, are inspired by the challenge, but need more than 100 things for your lifestyle and career. I know that 100 things are an arbitrary number, and there is room for warping the amount of things if you consider some a collection, such as books. I personally don't think collections should be grouped into one as I could consider my work suits or my knick knacks a collection. I do agree that shared family items should not count, though.
For those of us whose lives do not permit us to reduce or stuff to 100 things or if we simply feel that 100 things is just too limiting, I propose a new challenge. The 100 Thing Challenge to see if you can rid your life of 100 things in a week or a month. That is a good start to getting rid of some of your possessions if you don't have the space for them. If you feel ambitious, and have lots of stuff, you could even do a 100 thing challenge to get rid of 100 things every month for 3 to 6 months. I am going to start by getting rid of 100 things by the end of next week. I would like to get rid of 100 things biweekly or monthly until every single item has a proper, uncluttered place in my home. I have a little time as I am not working at the moment, though I am also busy studying for grad school. I hope to move by Fall 2012, so that gives me the incentive to start de-cluttering quickly as I don't want to spend extra money toting stuff that I don't use currently or in the near future.
Another twist on this challenge could be to have only 100 things in each category of your life, such as mentioned in this blog post.
Whichever form of the 100 thing challenge you embark on, the goal is to reduce stuff and see what you can do without. A great inspiration to begin is to think of when you are traveling, and how little you need, yet how much fun you have just experiencing life.
I think this challenge will be easy for goths in one way as our wardrobes are pretty minimalist in terms of color, but I know some of us, like myself may also have too much fun clothing and accoutrements. I will share my progress in the upcoming weeks.
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