A Bit of an Introduction

Minimalism has become incredibly popular, though perhaps its peak has already passed. As we dive deeper into the world of virtual pleasures, tangible treasures become more valuable.

The easier it becomes to purchase things, the more popular the idea that things aren’t necessary.

Why Simply Getting Rid of Things Won’t Help

There’s a wonderful book by Erich Fromm titled Иметь или быть. It’s not as simple as the title might suggest. It’s not just about not owning things. We strive to possess emotions, guarantees, options, status…
I won’t even get into how much a person might want to possess another person—in every sense.

It even gets to the point where we don’t just experience a problem; we possess it. We say, “I have a problem” as if we’ve just added it to our collection on the shelf.

If we focus solely on getting rid of things, it’s like forbidding a child from watching cartoons without offering anything in return—there will be an explosion. If we deprive ourselves of the ability to own things, the desire to “possess” will spread to other areas of our lives.

A Not-So-Bright Conclusion

So, as always, there are no simple paths. Minimalism is a much deeper and more interesting concept. Reducing the number of things is not the goal itself but a consequence of minimalism.

A Bit of Philosophy

The very thought that something is wrong with the number of things—is that 50, maybe 60 percent of the work done toward success? Although, perhaps every hoarder (my autocorrect officially approved this word) knows that they have slightly more things than they need?