What I Learned From My Grandmother About Being Minimalist

If you are reading the word "minimalism" for the first time, chances are you think it means living with only the life essentials. Alas, "minimalism" does not mean that. Not for everyone.

For us, as it is for most middle class Americans, minimalism means living simply and with less stuff that clutters our lives. Yes we still have "stuff" but we have less clutter and little junky things that we don't need.

Was it a process to get to this point? Yes. Are we where we want to be? No! There is always an opportunity to rid ourselves of something. Think of all the old books and magazines, junk emails you receive, mugs you don't use, half-used bags of fertilizer in the garage. There is always somewhere you can minimize your life.

My grandmother passed when I was 14. At the time, the only thing I thought of was how much I missed her. As time passed I realized what I missed specifically - her cooking, her delicious fudge, the holiday parties that were hosted at my grandparents' home. Then as more time passed and I had my own child, I realized how simply she lived her life.

When my grandfather moved out of the home that they once shared, there was of course things that were sold but there wasn't much "junk". Things that were accumulated over the 50 years they lived in the home were obviously there, but so much was useful or mementos of travels of years past.

Remembering how she always hosted us at Thanksgiving and Christmas, or how much fun simple crafts were with her made me realize that they didn't have it all. My grandmother never tried to keep up with the Jones.

In today's world advertisements scream "BUY THIS!" or "No, buy THIS!". Ads say that we should always have the biggest and best thing. We are constantly bombarded with ads on TV, radio, and billboards. There is so much stuff the world says that we need, that in reality we don't need at all.

My grandmother lived in a time that was before the flood gates were opened on technology and advertising. I'm almost envious. With fewer distractions (technology - iPad, phone, laptop, TV, etc) she was able to focus on what matters most.

To her, it was her family and her community. I loved that our family was always together at her house. The feeling of love was evident every time she hosted us. She always took us to the library when we stayed for a few days at a time. The library used to be the heart of their community (sadly, it has since declined). She believed that everyone should have the opportunity to read and learn without buying a single book.

If she kept up the the Jones, I would've had a completely different, battery-filled toy childhood. My mother did a fantastic job of keeping things minimal but we always had some of the latest toys.

The biggest part of minimalism is being happy with what you have. The lust for new things can never make you truly happy.

How do you stop the "want" or "drive" to buy new things?

The action that made the biggest impact on our family and our want to buy new was that we limited our consumption. This would be our consumption of technology, screen time, TV time, social media... you name it. We also limited our consumption of food (snacking) and ended up losing weight too!

Without the influence of tech and social media, we didn't feel the pressure to buy anything that was advertised and we didn't waste our time. That time was instead spent with our son and creating memories with him.

My grandmother has been such an inspiration in the recent years. She was happy with what she had. The question of "Can we watch TV?" didn't exist with her. Crafts and reading were more than enough to keep us grandkids entertained and engaged.

Being exposed to her kind spirit and "just use what you have" mentality has shaped my adulthood for the better.