The minimalist movement: owning less to live more

A home without television, internet and cooling may sound like a punishment. But in a growing Western movement, more people are voluntarily refusing traditional household items to save time and money.

Minimalism is a lifestyle that Australians are adopting as a reaction to the materialism that drains the earth’s finite resources.

The basic of premise of the movement is to live without excess possessions in order have more meaningful and thoughtful experiences.

Joshua Fields Millburn is the co-creator of The Minimalists; a United States-based website that promotes minimalist ideals and practices.

Fields Millburn discovered minimalism in 2009 during a month in which his mother died and his marriage ended. He refers to this discovery as “a beacon in the darkest of nights”.

Since then, Fields Millburn has voluntarily lived without a TV and the internet at home for the past three years. 

“I don’t miss it one bit,” he says. 

Charli Moore and her partner Ben are best known online as the ‘Wanderlusters’, having sold 90 per cent of their possessions in 2011 to travel the world as permanent house-sitters.

“We actually made a conscious decision to live without a permanent address,” Moore says.

Travelling with just their carry-on luggage, the Moores own just one camera, two laptops, two phones and scuba-diving equipment between them, along with seven outfits each.

The couple arrange house-sitting assignments all around the world, so they can live like a local while overseas.

“Instead of checking into a hotel with other travellers and tourists, we meet local residents, we have neighbours and inherit the owner’s friends, who take us under their wing during our stay,” Ms Moore says.

“It is our opinion that travel offers an education, the kind you can’t find in a textbook and, as such, benefits all those who choose to explore the world.”

Though the couple recognise travel as not being overly environmentally friendly, they consciously oppose “stuff” to keep their carbon footprint to a minimum.

“At present we’re not contributing to the consumerism that is slowly killing our earth, because if we can’t carry it in our backpacks we can’t buy it,” Ms Moore says.

Locally, there are numerous website and blogs dedicated to minimalism and the impact this has had on the lives of individual Australians.

Journalist and author Sarah Wilson is popularly known for her “simple home experiment” which she regularly documents on her website.

Wilson’s experiment emphasises a life that’s free of excess waste and costs, rather than gadgets and purchasing “green” items that are often associated with minimalism. 

“Generally green-home features and rants suggest more buying and more stuff – it’s consumerism dressed up in hemp clothing,” Wilson says.

“Simple is minimalist, green, decluttered, low-waste, practical, economical and all the rest of that good stuff rolled into one.”

In line with this philosophy, Wilson does not own many items most Australians would consider essential to their everyday lives, such as toaster, microwave, electric kettle, airconditioning and newspapers.

In fact, despite being the former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, Wilson reveals she has never bought a magazine in her life.

Wilson’s simple ideals also extend to her wardrobe – she doesn’t own more than one pair of running shorts, two pairs of socks, and three bras.

“I save angst not deliberating whether I should buy something,” Wilson says. “I either really need it or I just don’t.”

Brooke McAlary is the founder of Slow Your Home, a website she operates from her Blue Mountains home.

Five years ago, McAlary and her husband began adopting a minimalist lifestyle by eliminating all excess “stuff” in their home.

“Over a period of 12 months we decluttered and removed over 20,000 items from our home: clothes, sentimental items, duplicates, decor and furniture,” she says.

Though the lifestyle was initially limited to McAlary’s house, it has since become an all-encompassing part of her family’s life.

“It has given us time and energy and finances to do things we otherwise wouldn’t have done,” McAlary says.

“Our relationships are stronger, we’re healthier, we have down time and we travel more.”

Maria Hannaford, founder of The Society Co, chose to adopt a minimalist lifestyle, or what she refers to as  “voluntarily simplicity”, two years ago.

“The moment I broke free from that consumer mindset, I felt free, lighter and much happier. I haven’t looked back since.”

Hannaford has ditched all packaged or processed food, and uses homemade household cleaners and skincare products.

“Minimalism isn’t an end, it’s a means to an end – the end being a life filled with relationships and experiences that make you feel like the sun’s shining on both your face and your back,” Hannaford says.

“We can’t save the world by buying stuff, we have to change the way we consume.”

Tamara DiMattina is the co-creator of The New Joneses – a pop-up, fully functional house showcasing smart, stylish, sustainable living.

In February, The New Joneses created the world’s first carbon-positive prefab in Melbourne’s City Square, where eco-warrior Wayne Slattery lived in full public view for a week, sourcing all his possessions second-hand. 

“He cut his energy use, switched to a renewable energy retailer, tested collaborative consumption, eliminated food waste, sourced food from independent farmers and producers, drove an electric car and composted,” DiMattina says

DiMattina’s passion for minimalism and sustainability extends to her personal life: she doesn’t buy any new clothes, furniture or homewares.

“There is nothing wrong with second-hand. If you sleep in a luxury hotel, you’re sleeping in sheets someone else has slept in, and in the best restaurant in town, you’re eating from a fork that’s been in someone else’s mouth,” she says. 

The New Joneses aims to promote the environmental impact of our daily decisions.

“Fact: we live on a planet with finite resources, yet we are consuming infinitely like there is a never-ending supply,” DiMattina says. “This has to change.”

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