Warning: Liisa is in her philosophical-mode
I’m on the bus to Copenhagen as we speak. Heading home to Estonia to finally see my family again after a year. I’m really excited, as we’re soon getting a new family member to our little Klan and of course to see my grandparents again.
This time I’m travelling with a twist though. 2 weeks with max 8 kg of stuff, as this year I’m starting my Project Minimalism aka get rid of shit I actually don’t need. If it works and I can survive on the 8 kg, then the rest of my stuff back home will slowly be gone. This is actually just a starting point to something bigger I’ve planned. It goes down to finding real value in life.
The amazing part was that when I actually packed the few things in my bag, I had such an euphoric feeling. Is this my life now? This easy and free? It hit me that this might give more attention to things around me, because my mind will not be cluttered with materialism. Attention to people, to gain knowledge, passions and to travel/live more easily.
I already know one thing though (because I’ve actually had a couple of years now to cut down on my things and on shopping), and that is the second positive aspect with minimalism; it saves money. People keep asking me how I can travel as often as I do, but I save money on not buying things I actually don’t need. I’m not in search for brands, I shop basic/second hand clothes few times a year and the only beauty products I use are mascara, powder and coconut oil (for everything).
It’s weird how we’re affected by the “normality” of our society and we don’t question it. I totally sound like a hypocrit when I say I’ve never really been about materialism and consumerism, but I did along the way get affected by it and I suddenly sat there in my own clutter. But deep inside I’ve always known that things don’t give you anything of value. I’m just glad I woke up and I’m now fully going back to basics. Totally excited.
Liisa Mänd 