Real Life Minimalists: Elisabeth

Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.

This week we have a wonderful story from Elisabeth, a 25-year-old from Austria. She tells us how studying abroad inspired her to pare down her possessions and embrace the minimalist values with which she grew up.

Elisabeth writes:

I remember when I was a kid and I wanted some fancy snack wrapped up in too much plastic and heavily advertised, my mother would say: “We don’t have money for that.” Because of that, I always thought that we were poor or at least that money was tight. But quite the opposite was the case. My mother, working at a bank, perfectly knew how to save up money and then invest it in something meaningful with longevity like our house or quality furniture from the carpenter. Additionally, my parents never spent money on meaningless knick-knacks or followed fast fashion despite a high quality of life is important to them. Our Christmas and Easter decoration has been the same since I was born and I love to rediscover it each year. I always was proud of this kind of frugality and I am still today. So minimalism is already part of my family history, even without knowing.

Only one thing I had to learn for myself and that was getting rid of things. Despite not having shopping as a major hobby, things started to accumulate over the years. I remember keeping all the papers, knick-knacks and birthday and Christmas presents in my room, like sacred items. After finishing school, staying one year abroad and finally starting my studies in another town, besides living already on my own, I always kept all my old belongings in the room at my parent’s house.

About two years ago I spent half a year in Guatemala, traveling and doing some research for my bachelor thesis in Geography. During this time I started to get the feeling that many of my belongings were superfluous and a burden which weighted me down despite the fact that I only brought a small part of my belongings with me.

I started to get rid of things and donated them to a church. I pared down the books I brought to only one, which I always exchanged for another in a café or hostel after reading. And then I left most of my luggage at a friend’s place and started to travel through whole Central America for a whole month with only a 26-liter backpack. It was so freeing and practical! Not to worry about what to wear and fuss around with superfluous stuff. My inspirations I got from missminimalist.com, zenhabits.net, theminimalists.com and some German websites.

This half year abroad was a real starting point for my minimalist life because when I finally went back home, I couldn’t wait to pare down my belongings, especially at my parent´s place. I felt such a rush of excitement during the process, I knew I was on the right track and despite some difficulties and the non-approval of especially my father, I managed to get rid of so many old things: clothes, papers, school supply, books, electronics, CDs….. the list goes on and on. I remember my dad being very concerned and saying that I am throwing away my childhood when he drove my belongings to charity but I knew I was doing the right thing, with the help of minimalist blogs and listening to my own feelings. It was such a freeing and transforming experience! I still love coming home to my old room and enjoying all the free space. Living minimalistic also makes my student life in a small room in a dormitory so much easier.

Finally I can wear happily and without guilt the same clothes day after day until they nearly fall apart with the back-up of minimalist approval. Also I don’t own a Smartphone or a tablet, my laptop and my old phone are enough for me. I like to be old-fashioned and stay away from digital clutter as much as possible. After my last camera broke I didn’t invest in a new one, I rather soak up a beautiful moment like a sunset by being fully present in the moment than frenetically taking pictures to upload them later online to prove to my “friends” how great my life is. With the money I save I travel or take part in courses or seminars which interest me.

But not only has a minimalistic approach to stuff helped me enormously. The next step I am currently working on is finding my true passions and making time for them. I used to be a very dogmatic person with very high expectations to myself and others, but after a serious operation and over one year of recovery I could finally let go of my high moral standards and start to trust my intuition. In the process I don’t follow anymore my inner rules of “the right behavior” or “what should be done,” rather I discover what I really want from a fresh point of view.

I love how versatile the concept of minimalism is and how it can be applied without dogma to all kind of lifestyles. I don´t know what the future holds for me, but I am certain that the toolbox of minimalism will always be by my side and help me making my life easier in each stage of life.

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{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or joining my email list.}