LESS IS MORE THIS CHRISTMAS

Less is More This Christmas Some people live with less than 15 material possessions

Laura may not be that extreme as others. However, if I gave her 30 minutes, she could write down everything her and her family own. She describes herself as never really becoming a minimalist but instead being born a minimalist.

“I remember sitting in front of the Christmas tree and I felt like crying. I was really, really overwhelmed with everything that I got and I told my parents as well. I didn’t need

anything apart from the shoes.”

Obviously, Laura was delighted that she had received her yellow Adidas running shoes but she didn’t expect all of the other gifts. Even then she hated clutter but didn’t know the word ‘minimalism.’ We leave a substantial amount of waste behind. We buy bananas wrapped in unnecessary packaging and clothes

Photograph by Thomas Hall ‘Some live their life with little possesions’

‘‘The average child has 450 toys but only plays with 12’’

we never wear, but people living a zero-waste and minimalist lifestyle are editing out excess materialism and waste.

Using a reusable water bottle and cycling to work is a small help but not quite the same as throwing out almost every possession, unless it’s a necessity. Necessity is something that Laura values now but she used to feel societal pressure to accumulate things. When Laura was in university, she showed the financial success she thought she should have had, through her material posessions.

“I bought stuff just to display. Just to please other people.” Three women shared the bathroom when she was a university student and all Laura had was soap and shampoo. Laura bought toiletries in Boots that she never used, just to display to the other bathroom users. “Just because I don’t display things doesn’t mean I’m unhappy.” This is quite the opposite, as many minimalists reveal feelings of wholeness and decreased anxiety after switching to a zero-waste life change.

Scientists have researched how much happiness we recieve from financial wealth. Financial success may improve your mood shortterm, however, you’ll eventually return to your normal mood before you become rich.

There is an interesting link between low self-esteem and materialism. Spending money on other people can have more of a positive impact on your mood than buying something for yourself. With the rise of professional organising and decluttering, Japan’s Marie Kondo is taking the world by storm. Although, this is not minimalism.

“You can keep everything if it sparks joy in your life,” Vera Keohane reassured me. Vera is a Konmari Consultant; thats the name given to individuals who have been personally trained by Marie Kondo, known for her best-selling book and current Netflix series.

Based in Kinsale, County Cork, although operating country-wide, Vera is the person you call when you know you have to do something about the chaos in your home and you know you need help to do it. Vera was always the person called on by family members and friends when their hoarding got too much. She had decades of decluttering experience before undertaking training in New York with Marie Kondo.

37 “The average child has 450 toys but only plays with 12.” It seems like an unbelievable statement but in a consumeristic society (especially leading up to Christmas), we may think showering children with more toys brings happiness but it only brings more clutter which leads to stress.

You might ask, if you’re a natural at de-cluttering, why would you train in this method? It is different it requires a shift in your mind-set, it’s a process rather than a once-off task, and above all, the Konmari method produces results that last. Whatever sparks joy in you is what you hold onto and things that don’t get thrown away.

Vera guarantees that it’s not about living in a pristine environment as she has parties and her children’s friends come over to play but it’s manageable to tidy up afterward. The children in families she has helped usually tidy up without being asked when introduced to the KonMari method. Vera believes that tidying up helps you lead a joyful, meaningful life.