“Mimimalism” – A Documentary About What Really Matters

BY ÉLODIE May 2, 2019

“MINIMALISM” - A Netflix documentary about what really matters - blog

Introduction

This documentary on minimalism has been like a little electrical choc to expose all my bad consumption habits right in my face. After watching this documentary, hubby and I started triaging, tidying, donating … we did so well that we let go a quarter of all of our material belongings and we are now thinking twice on how we spend our money.

We didn’t know back then that this massive clean up would be a huge help when we would learn a few month later that we would have 14 days to pack up to leave Montreal and move to California.

Summary of “Minimalism”, a documentary by Matt d’Avella:

Matt d’Avella, a young director follows the Minimalists (aka Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus) on the roads through the US to lecture and promote their book about minimalism.

The documentary is intertwined with testimonials from people who decided to change their view on success and live more with less…

“MINIMALISM” - A Netflix documentary about what really matters - summary

What this documentary brought me

This 80 minutes film made me think a lot: why was I accumulating so many clothes, makeup and crafts that I didn’t really need?

What could possibly make me think that I would be happier if I bought this pair of shoes with heels that are too high for me? Would I be more fulfilled with this sprinkled eye shadow that i would never wear?

I go more into details in my post “The super duper triage” (in French !) but I realized that all this stuff were like trophies for my ego. As if they were a showcase of the person I wanted to be while never use any of it.

By letting go of the superficial, dusty objects and painful souvenirs, I was giving space for things that really sparked joy in me and was aligned with my real personality: books, watercolors, notebooks…

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t become a minimalist either ! Nope.

I still buy things that have zero use in my life except that it makes me smile.

Like this feutrine swan for instance:

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What changed though, is that before buying something, I ask myself the following questions:
“Do I really need it? Will I use it often? Does it really make me happy?”

I keep the apartment uncluttered (see pics below ↓) where i can easily let my mind wander. I can easily vacuum, dusting is super fast and I know where everything is. I feel good when I see my shelves and drawers tidy and neat. Every 6 months or so, I do a new round of triage to keep things organized.

Yet, I can’t wait to have our own house so I can have a dedicated room to turn into a “war zone” workshop where I can leave paint tubes and crayons on the floor and I can pin my inspirations on the walls … can’t wait !

Without becoming a hardcore minimalist, I lighten up my life by emptying my drawers and keeping an eye on the money I spend.

Apartment tour. Look how tidy it is !

Here is a little tour of our place. Well, I cheated a bit by dusting a bit here and there before taking the pictures but here is what our home looks like at its best … so shiny!

I still have some progress to make when I realize that we arrived only 14 months ago with 3 suitcases and now, all our drawers are full (neat and tidy but full):

The living room

Since we don’t host very often at our place, we chose to get 2 office desks instead of a dining table. When parents come to visit, we make it work with the coffee table and the kitchen counter. As long as Martha Stewart isn’t part of the party, we’re good.
My desk in the living room

The less I have mess on my desk, the more I can focus and be inspired!
The Kitchen

A true minimalist would faint when seeing our magnets on the fridge or this small pot on the stove even when turned off (but I love that color so much!)
The bedroom, closet and vanity

You will probably notice my love for feutrine.
My bookshelves

My books are kept away from the dust in that cabinet so we don’t have to buy another Ikea shelf. I also buy more and more ebooks on Kindle. More practical even if I still prefer the feel of paper from a hard copy.