I have some news - I wrote and published a book about whimsical minimalism which talks about how creative people can benefit from functional minimalism while embracing all the color and print and detail they wish. The book is a total of 134 pages, and contains photographs. It is available in Kindle e-book and soon also as a paperback and hardcover. Here is first chapter for you :)
What is whimsical minimalist style
The Story Book Runaways
If you are anything like me, you often feel like you are on one hand very drawn to minimalism and on the other hand you feel like a fraud - you not only have a bit too much stuff, you are a bit too much. Too enthusiastic, too imaginative, too loud, too talkative, too colorful, too all over the place! Just a bit strange.
You look at all the minimalist sites and YouTube channels and all you see is these very self-composed people, the men in their black T-shirts and black jeans and the women in their beige clothes and beige decor. You have tried to be like that too, but it’s just not you. These minimalism advocates tell you it’s okay to love color, but it’s nowhere to be seen.
I have absolutely nothing against the typical ”zen” minimalist style and neutral colors and the simple, even austere style, but if you browse the internet you easily get the impression that minimalists are supposed to look like this and that’s it. You may start thinking that minimalism is not for you, even though in actuality it may be of great benefit. Or you may feel like a fraud if you talk about your desire for minimalism, because you just do not fit the mould.
If you want to replace this ubiquitous stark minimalist idea with something else, just think about a travelling gypsy caravan, a nomad tribe in their yurts, or a circus performer living in her trailer! All of these would be bursting with color and detail, yet contain very little stuff in actual numbers, as they are small spaces that need to be mobile. They are visually interesting, yet there is no extra stuff. What is there, is loved and used and taken care of.
Perhaps the strangest way I have been described by another person was this: ”I suspect Vappu is not real at all. I think she ran away from a story book.” If you, too, are a story book runaway, who at the same time craves simplicity, read on!
Breaking the bust and boom cycle of acquiring and decluttering
If you are convinced that you want to become more minimalist, you may buy into it so much that you go out and replace all your clothes with beige and grey or black and white, or you feel almost guilty for having art on your walls and decorative items that serve no other purpose beyond being visually pleasing to you.
But this is confusing a minimalist aesthetic with minimalist lifestyle. Minimalist aesthetic takes the look and style to extreme simplicity. Minimalist lifestyle aims to eliminate all that distracts you from your core values and goals in life or just complicates your everyday existence, and to remove anything that is excess to your essential needs and most life affirming habits. There is the struggle of creatives and their arts and crafts materials and tools we all know, and it is easy to conclude that minimalism is just not for you, because you are a creative person. Whimsy, creativity and artistry seem to be directly opposed to minimalism in most cases. Creative minimalists usually seem to be writers, who only need their laptop and a rug to sit on, if that. Or they go to a cool nearby café to write, needing no special place to practice their craft.
The truth is, minimalism is just the tool to bring sense and serenity and peace to your life, so that your creativity can flourish and you don’t get overwhelmed and paralysed. You can have an interesting style and a home with personality, without owning a lot of stuff. If you have neurodiversity, like ADHD, or any illness that causes fatigue, minimalism is definitely for you. Each and every thing in our lives vies for our attention. Every time our eye sees an item, even if we have almost become blind to it, it subconsciously demands attention. You know that all the stuff needs work, taking care of, moving around, maneuvering about, cleaning, and at some point perhaps moving or disposing of, even if you are not actively doing anything about it right now. It is like a permanent visual to-do -list coming at you from every nook and corner. Since many creative people also have some sort of neurodiversity or are at least hyper sensitive, they can gain a lot of benefit from decluttering and minimizing their possessions and simplifying their lives.
Yet creatives are often the very people who need all kinds of supplies, who love to look at and touch beautiful things, who create many new things. It seems like an impossibility to live a fulfilling, exciting, abundant, beautiful, creative, yet minimalist and simple life! I know, I have lived with the struggle all my life.
If you feel like you are trapped in a cycle of minimising and decluttering and then starting to re-buy and re-clutter again after a while, only to get overwhelmed and sick of the excess stuff again, I suspect you are trying to ”do” minimalism in a way that is not natural to you. You are drawn to the idea of a very simple life, unencumbered by possessions, and you do love it. The problem is, you also love your hobbies and you love to entertain, you want to show appreciation for your children’s creations, you want your home to feel comfortable and inviting. You think colors are magical and you just can not live without color. You have an appreciation for curious, intriguing objects. You may live in a small space, which is much harder to make look minimalist, because the same amount of stuff just fills the space much sooner. You may feel like looking at a photograph of the sweater your mom knit is not the same as holding the sweater, and you would be right. It is not the same. Your mom’s hands touched the sweater’s every stitch, but she didn’t touch a single pixel on your screen. You are not only visual, but sensory as well. You love different fabric textures, wool and velvet, sheepskin and bare wood darkened by time. The patina of a lived life is beautiful to you and you much prefer it to shiny newness.
It is easy to fall in love with an idea, and jump right in. All or nothing is easier than moderation. So we go back and forth between a bit too little and a bit too much to the detriment of our well being, our finances and the earth’s resources.
There is an emotional aspect to all of this. Stuff is not just stuff, no matter how we try to convince ourselves of it. We have inherent likes and dislikes, preferences for colors, textures and shapes. We have ideals and dreams. Our clothes immediately tell a story to everyone we meet, and our home should be the place where we can feel most like our selves, rest and be creative. The things we own should be a natural extension of ourselves, and a best we don’t have to think about them much at all and can focus on other things. They let life flow through with ease instead of being a blockade and insurmountable burden.
Essentially, each thing has two aspects of sustainability: First there are the item’s inherent qualities that determine it’s longevity and sustainability, the materials used and workmanship and so on. Then there is you. Or more accurately, your relationship with the thing. In order for an item to have longevity in your life, it needs to align with your personal tastes and preferences for the long term. And for this alignment to happen, you need to know yourself, otherwise it is just hit-and-miss.
If you are a minimalist at heart, but not a fan of a stark minimalist aesthetic, read on! Let’s explore what it means to live a minimalist lifestyle as a creative person who loves beautiful things, has a whimsical sense of style, and a home (and closet) to prove it.
When you really sit down, think about who you are, what you like, what you value, what matters to you, what brings you joy, and on the flip side what causes you overwhelm and anxiety, and you decide which of these things you want to embrace, and which you don’t like about yourself and want to change, you can start a journey towards sustainable, creative life of enough, of just right, of whimsical minimalism. It is not only practical, but also beautiful.
We will get to the practical tips later, but first of all, I want you to write down your story with stuff. You can use bullet points with single sentences, or a timeline, or write it into a story. How did you end up here? What triggers your desire for less, or for more? When have you been the happiest and most content in your life and why? What kind of spaces and aesthetics do you admire and where do you feel most comfortable? What kinds of everyday things do you gravitate to? What do you imagine doing, after your home is decluttered, simple enough so that is a breeze to take care of, and beautiful so that you feel a sense of joy and serenity there?
