Is Minimalism Dead?

So you may have heard a rumor that Minimalism is dead. But, is it actually dead? Hmmmm, that’s an interesting question. Let’s talk about that. 

So here’s what I think happened. It’s bandwagon syndrome. We all got the notice in March of 2020 that we were going to be home for a little while, and along came the declutter bandwagon. And a whole lot of people hopped on. And I was sort of one of them. Maybe you were too?

And of course now, that everyone can leave their house more, and life is starting to feel a little back to normal. Which means we may not be spending all this illusive extra time we had on decluttering. And maybe that time has been spent shopping or doing things outside of our homes. Or maybe we are starting to get a little depressed that things don’t feel normal and so we don’t have the physical or emotional energy to declutter. Or maybe we have a scarcity mindset because some things are super expensive and others aren’t available at all. 

This has been a very stressful almost two years for almost everyone. It just has. And although we can easily see the benefits of decluttering……it may not be enough to overcome those barriers to continue decluttering or actually adopt a minimalist lifestyle. Because that’s the trick here to this whole minimalism being dead thing. 

There’s some confusion there between decluttering and minimalism. You can get rid of stuff and not be a minimalist. Minimalism isn’t a way to get organized, it’s not a way to make your space cleaner, it’s not a way to teach your family to put their things away. It’s just not. Those are some of the products of minimalism. 

Think about it this way….before Fixer Upper what did the farmhouse style look like? I can tell you that it didn’t look like that. We actually have a 1920’s farmhouse that’s been in our family for well….a 100 years and it has never looked like chip and Joanna have been within a 100 mile radius of that house. 

Minimalism isn’t about white walls and macramé and plants, and natural light. It’s also not about tiny homes and being able to pack your whole life into a backpack or voluntarily living out of your car. Yes…there are people who actually do that. I can tell you this family of 5…there is no car big enough for all that. 

For me, minimalism is more about systematically taking things off the throne of my heart (side whisper “that’s called an idol”) and returning it to its proper place. It’s about removing things from my home that do not allow me to be fruitful in my faith and make disciples. 
Minimalism isn’t for everyone. It’s just not. And if you don’t actually want to be a minimalist it’s okay, you don’t have to be. We can still hangout and talk simplifying and faith and family and all those things. But if you do want to take this journey to minimalism….I’m here for it. Let’s do this! 

You can find more about Family Minimalism over on our YouTube channel, I’ll see ya over there!