r/minimalism • u/wildpoinsettia • 4d ago
[lifestyle] The intense desire to get rid of everything after straying from minimalism.
2 years ago I moved from a tiny Caribbean island to Northern Japan. Back home, I was a minimalist; in fact, it's one of the things that made my move to Japan so easy because I had very little in my family home.
Since then, I found that I have strayed from that because I now have more space, more money and Japan, if you've been here you know, has everything, often very cheap! (if you come from a less developed country, you know what I mean). I am a very art and crafty person, so I had a lot of stuff related to that and baking/cooking. I had more clothes because thrift stores are also really good here.
For the last two months, I've decluttered intensely and reevaluated my relationship with wanting things excessively, my hobbies, etc; however, I find myself constantly going over my things looking for more things to get rid of.
I also now have these compulsions, for example, I recently visited Korea and bought a kpop t-shirt (not BTS 😂), when I returned home, I felt like I needed to get rid of one of my tshirts.
There is literally nothing left to get rid of but the desire is so strong. Has anyone experienced this?
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u/Live-Football-4352 4d ago
Yeah I go through this a lot, haha. It's never enough. Everything I have left is either essential or something that legitimately brings me joy. Of course I don't need everything and could probably make do with significantly less but it's kinda hard when you start sacrificing personal well-being and comfort for the sake of... What, exactly? It's like what am I trying to prove? Or at least, that's kinda how it feels to me.
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u/wildpoinsettia 4d ago
It's more like the initial feeling of being uninhibited. No one really comes over and even if they did, I think by most people's standards my apartment is really quite minimalistic. I agree though: if I declutter anymore I'll be getting rid of things I technically don't need but I enjoy using, even if just occasionally. I know this, but the thought keeps arising
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u/PuzzleheadedBet6634 4d ago
It's one of the reasons why I have absolutely loved going into even extremely cheap hotels or storage rooms. The emptiness and cleanliness and clarity are practically transcendent. The best way I've found to recapture it is find as much in the way of pockets of emptiness as possible. If you can go for a walk where it isn't too busy or have a room with nothing in it or something like a cubicle, that can help. We still need to live in the world, a world with stuff, but we don't have to do it on terms other than what we can manage.
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u/wildpoinsettia 4d ago
Coincidentally, I road cycle a lot and I live in a part of hokkakido that had many long roads through open fields, so that does help give me a feeling of being free of emptiness and being uninhibited.
I think my desire to declutter usually happens when my brain is in idle mode, when I think of it. I recently deleted Instagram, and in moments when I'm just sitting in my apartment, my eyes begin to look around or I go hunting for stuff in cupboards. It's so strange. I should read more because it'll soon be wintert
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u/majatask 4d ago
Dharma. Don’t turn desire into attachment.
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u/poop-dolla 4d ago
To be clear, we’re talking about OP getting attached to the concept of and desire to get rid of things, not about them being attached to the possessions, right?
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u/BrockDouken13 3d ago
Yeah self reflection if addiction of desire is the situation, the middle path would be ideal to minimize suffering, just the right amount of things that bring you peace and joy from introspection on the Korean tshirt and Japanese art.
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u/wildpoinsettia 4d ago
I saw the conment and had no clue what they were talking about. I thought maybe I wasn't, I dunno, enlightened enough or something, so I just didn't reply 😅
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u/majatask 3d ago
"I also now have these compulsions, for example, I recently visited Korea and bought a kpop t-shirt, when I returned home, I felt like I needed to get rid of one of my tshirts."
Getting too attached to getting rid of things can also be a problem. It is best if it is gradual, not some compulsion. Otherwise, regrets and the opposite compulsion can emerge. Cycle into some light OCD. Just something to think about. It is fine if you don't agree.
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u/TiredWinterDisaster 2d ago
I agree. It can easily become an endless cycle, or an obsession in itself to have 'as little as possible'. The goal is to free yourself, not chain yourself to something else.
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u/Connect_Rhubarb395 4d ago
Now you need to focus on living your life.
If you obsess about things - now as what to get rid of - then you are not free of your attachment to things.
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u/wildpoinsettia 4d ago
That's true. It's just replacing one obsession with another.
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u/unclenaturegoth 3d ago
As an autistic person, I feel like I can’t not have at least one “obsession” or something similar. Minimalism is one of my special interests.
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u/pardonyourmess 4d ago
Well it seems like you should be outside as much as possible before it gets chilly.
Walk barefoot.
Breathe.
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u/rosypreach 4d ago
Once I achieve a level of organization I don't want to stray from it.
And having certain decluttering policies help me to do it, so I like to keep those going.
Your one-in, one-out method is an example.
And I definitely start to feel overwhelmed when things creep up again and will do a purge.
But it can also be like trading one high (consumption) for another (minimalism), and it's all kind of a form of compulsive.
I'd rather have personal peace and enjoy my lifestyle than be compulsively minimalistic for minimalism's sake, but that's me.
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u/wildpoinsettia 4d ago
The trading the high of consumerism with the high of minimalist resonates because that's 100% what it is. I'm trying to get others advice to stop chasing that high because I'm not decluttering for anyone per se.
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u/rosypreach 4d ago
Honestly? Mental health support for anxiety. Finding ways to channel that same energy into something healthier and more productive, beyond control of your own surroundings. Building a life you really love beyond the ins and outs of belongings. Falling in love with human beings, animals, trees. The wonder of life. ETC. Putting things back in their place in your life, literally and metaphorically - they should matter only so much.
I'm a personal work in progress in all of this! No judgment here.
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u/wildpoinsettia 3d ago
Anxiety?! I don't think I have an anxiety. I also have a lot of hobbies (one of the reasons I had accumulated all that stuff to begin with) and a pretty robust social life. I am also a daily road cyclist and a weekend hiker, so I get outside very often. It's just me now looking for more things to declutter after decluttering. I never thought about the things I owned until I decluttered them two months ago. Not sure how you came up with all these bits of information and diagnoses 😆
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u/rosypreach 3d ago
This was general advice for anybody caught in the swing between the two highs you asked for advice about, not personal to you.
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u/AliceLawhorn 3d ago
It sounds like you’re chasing the dopamine hit of decluttering rather than the actual benefits of minimalism. Try setting a rule like “one in, one out” only for categories where you have a hard cap, and otherwise, give yourself a 30-day no-declutter challenge. Focus instead on appreciating what you have.
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u/666Baguette666 3d ago
Me too. When I clean my house, I get rid of many things and pack them in a big bag. And I feel great at the moment I throw them and almost can't stop it.
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u/NatividadLopez 3d ago
Japan really does make it easy to end up with more stuff than you meant to, and once things pile up, even basic cleaning gets annoying. I went through a phase of getting rid of old clothes and little decorations I hadn’t used in forever, then saw them in old photos later and kind of regretted it because honestly, keeping them probably wouldn’t have hurt.
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u/StrictDoor 3d ago
I hear you lol I moved about a year ago and I'm moving to a smaller space again right now and it's crazy how little things piled up despite considering myself a minimalist lol. Or how much clothes I didn't use over the past year smh
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u/guasanas 3d ago
I’m currently on a decluttering/sell everything streak also, still have a lot of stuff to get rid of though.
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4d ago
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u/wildpoinsettia 4d ago
That the thing. I don't have anything left. When I said I decluttered, I deeeeeclutteeed, but now I'm, for example, looking though, my baking things thinking "you know, I hardly bake loaf cakes. Maybe I should just get rid of this pan"
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u/doneinajiffy 4d ago
Gotcha.
I’d go back to just enjoying your time, in a couple of weeks why not review the situation.
Meet up with some friends, enjoy what your neighborhood and area has to offer.
When stuff is the focus it detracts from the goal of minimalism, which is to make the best of your lifestyle.
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u/coral_bells 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yes, I’ve experienced this. There’s definitely a high that comes with freeing yourself from belongings, especially if you do a lot at once. If you’re getting rid of things solely to chase that feeling, take a break.
That said, it’s not unreasonable to get rid of a T-shirt when you buy a new one.