What Minimalism Taught Me
I uprooted my life, packed what I had into a black luggage.
I used to have too many clothes. In fact, my entire room’s mess was largely due to massive amounts of clothes overflowing everywhere. New, old, and espcially those I didn’t feel confident in wearing. Clothing was not a confidence accessory but a necessity. It can be argued that many famous people wear the same set of clothes everyday — which is probably true in increasing productivity. But I argue that if one knows oneself and one’s sense of style — then choosing clothes actually becomes easier.
For example, there is a specific black halter top that I absolutely love to wear. It shows off the right features e.g my sharp collarbones. But more importantly than that, I feel confident in it. I feel edgy, beautiful. Clothing can actually be a confidence booster. Why not?
Unexpectedly, it was a recent very painful and bad incident that left me having to pack quickly. And that was when I realised — I have not felt less messier, and more focused about my clothes than now with this new change. All the clothes that I own exist and fit into one small laundry box, and a seperate bag. That’s it. Nada. And you know that — I’ve found that it’s been more than enough. This is coming from a person who owned an entire wall-length cupboard’s worth of clothes overflowing everywhere and barely wore 10% of it. Did I dare to wear my favourite dresses? No. Where’s that shirt I was looking for? Misplaced. Laundry was a drag as well, and I hated doing it. In a week I could pile up a heavy, heavy bag of laundry.
If you’re reading this you might think that this is either very normal for one person, or you might think you own less than that. Great. The point is — a messy, overflowing cupboard with too many things =/= more options. It = stress, and it affects you not only visually (having to enter a messy room everyday), but mentally (it affects how you think, how you process, your negativity and mood) and even how you see your life. Basically, an untamed pile of clothes is actually an extra, completely unecessary burden that YOU can control.
Right now, the only things here are a two black sleeved tops, two sleeveless black tops, four pants, a batik skirt, and one set of nightwear. That’s it. And it’s more than enough to rotate and mix/match throughout the week to ANY event — be it a bar drinking, or just doing errands, or even work. Laundry is actually super easy now because there’s so little to worry about or wash. It’s so easy and stress-free now! You might think you miss your old clothes. To be honest, only a few pieces come to mind. The rest I know can always be transformed, changed, bought again — and this time with a renewed vision and purpose. Not to buy any clothes you see, but something you really can wear. Blacks are obviously very practical — so that’s a good option. Personally, I think it’s a very smart idea to pair black tops with any-coloured bottoms you want.
Shoes wise, I see myself using things with more intentionality now. No more wondering what to wear or do. One pair of flip-flips can serve enough functions and serve the role of the dozens of pairs you might have had. But remember. Try to get a good quality one. It makes a difference. I now only have one pair of spors shoes. One pair of flip flops. One pair of slip-on sneakers. One pair of semi-formal black flats. And the variations it can be used for is immense.
So, in summary, if you are feeling overwhelmed by the sight of your room or life, try minimalism. I’m not saying go all Marie Kondo (although that’s fine if you want to), but really start wiping your glasses and rethink EVERY. SINGLE. THING. you own. And check how each piece of item serves you. Does it make you feel good? There’s nothing wrong to me to add more and more clothes to your wardrobe. For me I love batik skirts a lot as I feel extremely confident, graceful and beautiful in it. There was a pair of pants that if you wore felt extremely cooling in hot weather, plus, there was a cool element of a wrap-around style about those pants and it was less than $18.
But always make sure that it is really what you want, and you have the space to keep it.
