Minimalism is not an obscure term––in fact, for most of us on the internet, minimalism has been rolling around in hashtags across all social media platforms. While minimalism is its own subculture, it can also be defined as a counter-culture, since it openly rejects the foundational supply and demand of capitalism. Minimalism rejects the need for products to gratify a desire, and urges for a “less is more” mentality. 

 

In short, minimalism is defined as intentionally living with only the things one really needs—the items that support one’s purpose. Minimalism forces one to remove the distraction of excess possessions and instead focus on something else, usually in the form of experiences or consumable goods. 

 

Moreover, minimalism allows for intentionality, only including the material possessions one truly needs and/or produces joy. It liberates from the passion to possess and accumulate. Embracing minimalism allows one to be free from the all-consuming passion to process. In hand, it also brings freedom from modern mania, slowing down life and freeing from the modern hysteria to live faster, catch the trends, and cycle through waste after waste. 

 

Within the study of this subculture, I found that there is a wide range of minimalists- from those who are aspiring minimalists to the hardcore minimalists who live off of less than 30 material possessions. While those within this minimalist subculture encourage people to join and even just adopt a few values, there are some requirements to be considered a minimalist, or even an aspiring minimalist. 

 

To be considered a part of this subculture requires a visible reduction in possession and an urge for continual reduction. The act of reducing is the key action indicator of membership in this community. A decluttering session with the intent to replace items is not considered to be minimalist behavior. In fact, expert minimalists encourage new members to start off by strictly reducing without purchasing at all. 

 

I found that the main indicator of being part of the community is by possession. Most minimalists average 80-100 possessions, which includes every article of clothing. For my design response, I decided to examine the 100 possessions of a minimalist. By the end of this project, I would ideally like to reflect and ask of myself: could I live off of just these products?