I don’t own a bowl, a coffee table or a pair of heels. The walls in my home are completely bare and I don’t own any house plants. Most of the things that I own, I use on a daily basis. I am what some people would refer to as an ‘extreme minimalist’ and what others would refer to as simply, a ‘minimalist’. The question is, which one am I? What is the difference between extreme minimalism and minimalism and is extreme minimalism right for you?
What Is Extreme Minimalism?
As the name suggests, extreme minimalism is an extreme form of minimalism. But, where does minimalism end and extreme minimalism begin?
Most people agree that one of two things makes you an extreme minimalist.
A) You own somewhere between 15 and 100 items.
or
B) You’ve taken minimalism to the next level. This could be because you don’t own any furniture, wear the same thing every day, or don’t have any decor in your home.
The true difference between extreme minimalism and minimalism lies in how far you’re willing to pare down your belongings.
Extreme minimalists choose to live with the bare essentials and nothing more. In fact, in the world of extreme minimalism, even seemingly small items like pens are subject to scrutiny.
While a minimalist may own a drawer full of pens and not give it a second thought, an extreme minimalist won’t own a pen unless they genuinely need it – and they definitely won’t own more than one. In fact, they won’t own multiples of anything. This is because extreme minimalists aim to keep the number of belongings they own below a predetermined number.
How Many Items Does an Extreme Minimalist Own?
So, how many items does an extreme minimalist own?
The number of items an extreme minimalist owns can vary, but is typically between 15 and 100.
It’s important to note that when extreme minimalists count their belongings, they consider everything they own, including clothing, toiletries, kitchen items, furniture, and electronic devices. Extreme minimalists usually know exactly how many items they own at any given point, while most ‘regular’ minimalists do not.
Is Extreme Minimalism Healthy?
Counting every item you own may come across as quite extreme – and you’re right, hence the term “extreme” minimalism. But is this obsession with owning less, healthy?
To put it simply, extreme minimalism is healthy for some and unhealthy for others.
For some, living with the bare essentials is freeing and empowering. While for others, extreme minimalism can be stressful and overly restrictive.
The difference between someone who benefits from extreme minimalism and someone who finds it toxic is simple – lifestyle and personal preference.
With this being said, most extreme minimalists would agree that the lifestyle comes with some universal benefits and drawbacks.
Below are the benefits and drawbacks of extreme minimalism.
5 Benefits of Extreme Minimalism
Below are 5 benefits of extreme minimalism.
1. Financial Freedom
Most extreme minimalists would agree that buying things and getting rid of them doesn’t qualify as extreme minimalism. The goal is to practice mindful consumption. Sure, you may end up needing to buy something one day, but the hope is to curate a collection of belongings so essential and versatile that you don’t need to.
By buying less of what you don’t truly need, you’ll have more financial freedom.
2. Freedom to Live Authentically
At its core, extreme minimalism gives you the freedom to live authentically by encouraging you to redefine what success means to you. Instead of defining success based on what you own, how much money you make or how esteemed your job is, you are able to discover what truly gives you purpose in life. By letting go of societal expectations, you can live a life that brings you true happiness and fulfillment.
3. More Time and Energy
With fewer belongings to manage and maintain, you free up valuable time and energy that can be directed towards activities that bring you joy. Plus, by spending less money, you no longer trade priceless hours of your time for things that you don’t really need. This means that you can work less and spend that time doing the things you love instead.
4. Reduced Stress
When you embrace extreme minimalism, you intentionally simplify your surroundings, removing unnecessary items and visual distractions. This decluttering process creates a clean and organized space, which can reduce stress levels.
5. Better Decision Making
Decision fatigue is the idea that the more decisions you make, the worse the quality of these decisions become. Extreme minimalists have less decisions to make, which means that when they do need to make a decision, they have the mental capacity to make a good one.
Think about it – extreme minimalists don’t have to decide what to wear every morning, which coffee mug to grab, or which car to drive. The result? Enhanced clarity, reduced stress, and the ability to make better, more focused decisions that align with their values and goals.
5 Drawbacks of Extreme Minimalism
Below are five potential downsides of embracing an extremely minimalist lifestyle.
1. It Limits Personal Expression
Many people consider their style to be a reflection of their personality. By embracing extreme minimalism, there may be limited room for decorative items in your home or funky pieces in your wardrobe that reflect your unique personality. As a result, extreme minimalism can restrict personal expression and creativity.
2. It Poses Social Challenges
Living as an extreme minimalist can present social challenges in a society that often places value on material possessions. Friends and family members might find it difficult to understand or relate to your minimalist lifestyle, which can lead to conflict. They may tease you for wearing the same thing every week or become upset if you ask them not to give you material gifts for your birthday or holidays.
Although this may be difficult, it’s important to navigate these social dynamics with patience and understanding.
3. It Can be Emotionally Challenging
Extreme minimalism often requires parting ways with items that hold deep emotional value, which can be emotionally challenging. You may let go of a sentimental item and grow to regret it later. After all, our belongings can sometimes act as tokens to remember people, places and memories that we hold dear.
The goal of extreme minimalism is to find alternative ways to honor these things that don’t require physical mementos. However, this is often easier said than done.
While the intention of extreme minimalism is to reduce attachment to material possessions, it’s essential to approach the process of decluttering (especially when it comes to sentimental items) with sensitivity and give yourself permission to keep the items that you know you’ll deeply regret letting go of.
4. It’s Not Always Practical
The goal of extreme minimalism is to let go of any ‘what if’ or ‘just in case’ items and only hold onto things that you truly need and use. This approach isn’t always practical, especially when it comes to emergencies.
Owning only the bare essentials may mean that you don’t have certain items on hand when you need them, like an extra blanket if you get cold or certain medication if you fall ill. While borrowing or renting the things that you need can help, it may not always be feasible or convenient.
5. It Requires Ongoing Effort
It’s difficult to own less in a world that encourages consumption and it can often be exhausting to fight the social pressure to own more. Being an extreme minimalist means staying committed to the lifestyle even when temptation strikes, which is an ongoing effort.
With these potential benefits and drawbacks in mind, is extreme minimalism right for you?
Is Extreme Minimalism Right for You?
Extreme minimalism is not for everyone, but, is it right for you?
You may not love the answer to this question, but it’s the only honest one – you’ll need to experiment to find out.
You may think that owning 15 belongings will be freeing, but in reality, it’s stressful and unsustainable. On the flip side, maybe the idea of owning so few items sounds ridiculous but it’s actually liberating and makes you feel free and untethered.
The only way to find out which experience you’ll have is to try the lifestyle out. Luckily, you don’t have to throw away most of your belongings to see if extreme minimalism is right for you. You can sample extreme minimalism instead!
10 Ways to Sample Extreme Minimalism
Below are 10 ways to sample an extreme minimalist lifestyle before you commit. Think of this experimentation as a trial run. Choose one item off this list, and notice how it makes you feel.
1. Try One-Dish Dining
Take a look inside your kitchen pantry. How many dishes do you have? If you own enough to set a table for a 20 person dinner party (even though you only ever cook for yourself), challenge yourself to use just one bowl, one plate, one cup, one fork, one knife and one spoon for all of your meals throughout the week. Your friends and family may think it’s weird that you ask them to bring their own plate or bowl when they come over for dinner, but trust me, they’ll get used to it. Most likely, they won’t say anything – they’ll just be happy to be invited for dinner!
2. Commit to a Work Uniform
If you scoff at the thought of repeating outfits, you’ll need to change that mindset ASAP. Outfit repeating is an important aspect to having an extreme minimalist wardrobe.
When I think of an extreme minimalist, I like to picture the cartoon character from my favorite animated TV show. They have an ‘everyday’ outfit they wear for most of the episode, a ‘party’ outfit, a pair of pajamas, etc. They have one go to outfit for every scenario they find themselves in.
As an extreme minimalist, you’ll need to think of yourself as a cartoon character (as silly as that may sound).
With this being said, it may be intimidating to pair down all of your wardrobe choices at once, Luckily, you don’t have to!
Start by committing to just a work uniform. Maybe you already have a work uniform, perfect! But if you don’t, look through your wardrobe and ask yourself – what outfit have I worn to work that makes me the most comfortable? What outfit is simple enough to wear on repeat?
Start by mixing and matching just 3 tops and 2 bottoms all week long. Then, take it a step further and pick out just 2 tops and 2 bottoms. Or if you’re like me, you’ll realize that a dress or jumpsuit means you get a whole outfit in just 1 piece and you’ll opt for that.
The goal here is to see if your job (and mindset) allows for such limited options. If your job is messy, pairing down your wardrobe in this way may not work. But, if you have an office job, this may work great for you!
Looking for more ways to sample a minimalist wardrobe? Click here for 10 additional ways to sample a minimalist capsule wardrobe (before you commit)
3. Go on a Backpacking Trip
Backpacking is a great way to try out extreme minimalism.
When you hit the trails, you’re experiencing extreme minimalism in its purest form. You’re spending long days out in nature, with zero distractions and just the bare essentials strapped to your back. It’s essentially a crash course in extreme minimalism that will redefine your understanding of what it means to live with less.
If backpacking is a liberating experience for you, it may be a sign that extreme minimalism is a good fit. However, if just a few days without your regular conveniences feels stressful, perhaps a less extreme form of minimalism would suit you better.
Backpacking has been an incredibly influential part of my minimalism journey. Click here to discover 10 life-changing lessons about minimalism that I learned from backpacking.
4. Try Furniture-Free Living
Many extreme minimalists choose to live furniture-free. Want to give it a try? Experiment with furniture-free living by imposing a “ban” on some of your furniture pieces.
For a week, (or however long you choose), refrain from using these furniture pieces. See how it feels to use your dining table as a work desk or place your cup of coffee on the ground instead of on a coffee table.
I recommend starting this ban with the furniture pieces that are mostly decorative anyway – like that beautiful, but uncomfortable chair you barely sit in. Then, stop using your coffee table or desk. Save the couch or bed for last.
By the end of the experiment you’ll know if furniture-free living is right for you.
5. Give Up the Fancy Kitchen Gadgets
Extreme minimalists forego the fancy kitchen gadgets and gizmos that promise quick and convenient cooking. Give it a shot by simplifying your kitchen tools and utensils, keeping only the ones you use daily. This means embracing a more traditional style of cooking. You may find yourself needing to cook rice in a pot on the stove instead of relying on a rice cooker or roasting your veggies in the oven instead of using an air fryer. This may slow down the cooking process, but it’ll also invite more presence and intention.
6. Travel-Light
Packing for a weekend getaway with only a small backpack is a great way to see if extreme minimalism is right for you. It’s a chance to play around with the idea of needing less without going all-in on. You’re giving yourself the opportunity to see how it feels to rely on the basics and keep the extra baggage – both literally and figuratively – at home.
7. Share or Rent Instead of Buy
Do you own something that you only use once a year or once every several months? If so, have a conversation with your friends, neighbors or family members and ask if they have that item for you to borrow so that you don’t need to hold onto it.
For instance, let’s say you own a weed wacker but you only use it during the summertime and only a few times. Talk to your neighbor and see if they’ve got one you can borrow. If they do, ask to borrow it and in exchange, you can give their weeds a good wacking too – it’s a win-win!
Or, the next time you need something you don’t have, rent it out instead of buying it. For instance, rent your books at the library instead of buying them new. Or, if you’re planning an outdoor adventure but don’t have the gear for it, rent it out at your local outdoor store or REI. I’ve rented snowshoes and trekking poles in the past for this very reason.
Getting comfortable with sharing and renting is an essential part of being an extreme minimalist. After all, if you only own 15 items, you’ll inevitably need something at some point that you don’t have.
8. Let Go of Home Decor
Picture this: no wall decor, no decorative pillows, no rugs. Just a space stripped down to its functional essence. This is what an extreme minimalist’s home looks like.
Curious to see how this bare-bones approach might resonate with you? Give it a shot by stashing away all of your decorative pieces for a few weeks. Then, ask yourself, how did looking at white walls make you feel? Dis letting go of the trinkets and decorations make you feel calm and at peace, or did it make your space feel sterile and inhospitable?
This little experiment will give you a glimpse into the world of living decor-free.
9. Set Gift Giving Boundaries
Gift giving is practically woven into the fabric of our culture. For some, it’s their go-to way of expressing affection – a means of showing love to those dear to them. That’s why one of the trickiest aspects of embracing extreme minimalism is learning to turn down material gifts. By setting some gift-giving boundaries, you can see what it’s like to be an extreme minimalist.
When the next holiday or birthday rolls around, kindly ask your friends and family to skip the gifts. Alternatively, have a heart-to-heart with your loved ones about your preference for experiential presents over material ones. Let them know you’d rather share a nice dinner or a fun night out rather than a new gadget or clothing item.
Remember, setting these boundaries will become a vital part of your journey as an extreme minimalist. After all, if your endgame involves owning fewer than a hundred items, you definitely wouldn’t want to be weighed down by stuff you could do without!
10. Start a No Shopping Challenge
Extreme minimalists don’t buy things unless they’re absolutely essential. This approach to shopping means they’ll go months without buying anything new.
If you’re up for a little experiment, consider taking on a no shopping challenge. For the next 30 days, don’t buy anything unless you truly need it. This will mean saying no to new trinkets, clothing items and even unnecessary home items like paper towels. By taking on this challenge, you’ll learn how to talk yourself out of making those impulsive purchases – a crucial skill for any extreme minimalist.
Related Articles:
7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making a Purchase
How to Stop Shopping Impulsively in 2022: 22 Frugal Tips!
How to Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need
In Conclusion
To wrap things up, let’s revisit the initial question I asked: if I don’t own a single bowl, a coffee table or a pair of heels and the walls in my home are completely bare, am I an extreme minimalist? The answer lies in your interpretation of extreme minimalism.
Some people believe that extreme minimalists should own less than a certain number of items – usually this number is between 15 and 100 items. Others believe that extreme minimalist simply take the concept of minimalism to the next level. This could be because they don’t own furniture, wear the same thing every day or don’t have decor in their homes. Regardless of which definition of extreme minimalism you subscribe to, most can agree that the lifestyle is not easy. Being an extreme minimalist requires a good deal of sacrifice, but for those who call themselves extreme minimalists, this sacrifice is worth it.
With all of this being said, it’s important to acknowledge that being an extreme minimalist by choice is a privilege. Many people do not get to choose whether or not they want to live with these types of limitations.
Now, I’m curious – are you an extreme minimalist? Let me know in the comments below!
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