The downsides of living a minimalist lifestyle | Honest truth

Before getting into the video, I don't want this to come off negative. Trust me, I have good intentions with this video. But I think a lot of people have a misconception that once when you become a minimalist, your life is perfect. And let's face it, nobody's life is ever perfect. There are some downsides to minimalism, which I will talk about five of them today. So the first thing is social pressure and judgment. Others might not understand your minimalist choices and could judge or criticize your lifestyle. I've been going through this for years. More when I worked a regular job, I was getting judged. Also, family members do judge every now and then. I mean, it is what it is. A minimalist lifestyle is definitely different than your typical consumerism lifestyle. And the consumerism lifestyle is far more popular than not buying unnecessary things. So that is a downside. You are going to probably deal with some judgment, some social pressure to buy things you don't need. I think for myself, I've learned throughout the years that doing what feels best for my life and my environment is the best way to go. So I used to be very influenced by others. And I remember people telling me, like, you should buy this, you should buy that. And then the things that people would tell me to buy just didn't fit me or matched my lifestyle or style in general. I'm not perfect. I was also peer pressured into buying things I didn't need. And I was also judged for picking up a minimalist lifestyle. And I mean, until this day, I get judged in the comment section. It is what it is. It's inevitable. No matter what lifestyle you technically choose, people are going to judge regardless because that's just how humans are. So it's best to just do your own thing. Focus on you and your life. Well, what do you want to accomplish in your life? Rather than what you think others want you to accomplish, if that makes any sense. Limited variety. Owning fewer items can sometimes lead to boredom or lack of variety in your day-to-day life. I've actually have been through this quite recently. It's mainly due to my wardrobe. Now, this can go for any scenario when it comes to being a minimalist. I'll do another scenario in a minute. But my wardrobe is very, very limited. And I've talked about this in the past. My finances are not the best these days. I'm trying to figure it out, though. It's not the end of the world. Everyone goes through their hard times. With that all being said, not just with finances, but also weight issues and not knowing what your style is. So, with all that being said, my wardrobe lacks variety. My wardrobe is very, very small. I only wear yoga pants these days because that's what I feel comfortable in. Yoga pants can also be used as dress-up pants. They're very discreet looking. So, I wear the same pants. I wear sweatshirts half the time. Things that make me feel comfortable. Very loungy wear. If I have a job interview, I do have two to three dress-up shirts. But there are times where we'll have a family outing with my partner or his family. Or my family will visit and I don't have anything nice to wear. Or that I feel comfortable in around people. So, that part of my minimalist lifestyle makes me feel sad sometimes. Especially when there's events and stuff to go to. I don't have much to wear. And this is something where I try to keep in mind that one day I will have an updated wardrobe. A little bit more variety than what I have. So, it's not the end of the world. It's just something that I have to deal with. And if you are living a minimalist lifestyle and you declutter all your clothes, then you totally get what I'm saying. Hopefully. Another way that the limited variety can not benefit you is the kitchen. Now, there have been so many times where we did not have enough dishes, enough utensils, when family members come over to eat. This has been an ongoing problem for years. And there was a family member that gave us some extra plates because we needed them. And I'm so grateful for that. Because we don't necessarily want to buy a whole set. We're just not financially ready for that whole high quality dish set. So, we did get some free dishes to kind of help us with having enough dishes when family members come over. We would always kind of struggle when people were coming over. And struggle with like, oh we don't have enough forks, we don't have enough spoons. Because we do live very, very minimal. And we're very cautious of what we spend our money on lately. Most of our money is going to savings for a house. And the housing market is hard. Getting a house in general is extremely, extremely hard. Especially when you're self-employed. So, you're going to need like a hefty down payment. So, with that all being said, we lack quite a few things in the kitchen. But yeah, so owning fewer items can definitely be limited when it comes to events. When it comes to just like your daily task as well. Like when it comes to cooking, I didn't have a strainer for a while. I was like, oh no I don't need a strainer, I'm good, I'm minimalist. There are some things that you do need. Especially if you cook and if you clean. Like there were times where I'm like, I don't need cleaning rags. I can just use whatever. I'm very grateful that I realized like I was limited myself. And being more attached to like, oh I need to be super, super minimal. Try to focus more on what works for you and your lifestyle and the size of your family. Rather than focusing on living less with everything. Because I guarantee you, you are going to feel limited with certain categories in your house. Inconvenience. Not having certain items on hand can be inconvenient, especially in unexpected situations. So this is kind of very similar to what I said before. But for another example, our table. Our old table was very, very inconvenient. If you've been here for a while, we used to have a glass round table. It's seated four people. But to eat and be comfortable, it was technically three people. Because it was so small. So we ended up getting like a free table. It was a wood table that fit four people very comfortable. That wood table ended up breaking. It broke the day we had people coming over. I think we had like eight family members coming over for lunch. And we were trying so hard to figure out what are we going to do with everybody. Like how are we going to sit everybody. And we ended up just buying like an outside table. And that's our indoor table. For now. Again, it's not forever. It was pretty inconvenient every time someone came over. And they had to like eat while sitting on the couch. Or eat at my partner's workspace. Which is like just a desk. It was very, very inconvenient. So now we have a table that seats everybody. The table we have, I believe it seats like six or eight. Depending on the size of chairs. Depending on the meal as well. There's a lot of sides. Just to make sure there's enough room on the table. But it's a pretty long table. I realized over the years that it was very inconvenient. Not just for when we had guests. But also for my personal life. There were times too where I was like. Oh, I'm going to need an actual desk to work on. Because the table is just too small. And now that the table is larger. I don't need a desk. It just works out great. Yeah, there's times that you're going to deal with inconveniences. With your minimalist lifestyle. And it's inevitable. So you just have to like pivot. And figure out what is going to work best for you. Emotional detachment. Letting go of sentimental items can be difficult. Leading to feeling of loss or emotional detachment. This took me a very, very long time to get rid of certain sentimental items. It's normal. We are attached to things. Just recently I got rid of a couple pictures that were duplicates. I just felt so bad getting rid of duplicate pictures too. I feel like growing up as a kid. We always had this thing from our parents. Always keep duplicates of pictures. Because if one picture is lost. You have the other one. I used to be attached. Emotionally attached to having duplicates of family pictures. And now I'm not. I'm trying my best to detach myself from physical items. Because at the end of the day. They're just physical or material items. However you want to put it. What really holds value is the memory of that item. So I think down the line. What I would do is maybe make a journal. And have a picture of that item. I know this is not for everybody. But hear me out. Have a picture of that certain item. Especially if it's a large item. Have a picture of it. And then write on the side what that item means to you. Why it means that much to you. Things like that. The history of it. It's kind of like having a piece of that item. Without having that item with you all the time. Also as we get older. We tend to not remember things as we used to. So it's nice to look back and read. Like that little part that we wrote about that item. Again I know it's not for everybody. Not everything has to have sentimental value. And that was something that I struggled with for a while. Especially when I started this minimalist journey 8 years ago. I remember like when I used to live with my mom. And having my little small bedroom. Every little thing that I owned. I saved my captain gown from high school. The little tassel. My prom dress. All of those things I never wanted to get rid of. Because they held something sentimental to me. And then throughout the years. It didn't feel as sentimental as I thought. It was just something that I was like. Oh well everyone keeps these things. Because of memories. I should keep them. So it was more of like a false sentimental attachment. At least for myself. So I got rid of quite a few things that were from my past. And till this day I'm very very very happy. That I don't have those items that were causing unnecessary clutter in my closet. And the last thing is finding balance. Striking the right balance between minimalism and having what you need. Can be challenging. Especially at the beginning. So at the beginning. I wanted to quickly get into this lifestyle. And save money. My biggest thing was like. Oh once when I become a minimalist. I'm going to be rich. That is not how it goes. It's definitely a learning curve too. With finding balance. You don't want to just rush into decluttering. You don't want to rush into like. Getting rid of everything. Or telling everybody that you're picking up this new lifestyle. You don't want to rush into any of that. Try your best to find balance. Between minimalism and also like the things that you truly truly need. I made so many mistakes. Even recent mistakes. Even last year I made mistakes. It is what it is. Like we live and we learn. So don't beat yourself up over that. Just try to find balance. Take your time. There's no rush. At the end of the day. It is your life. So no one should be rushing you. Especially when it comes to the beginning of this lifestyle. Because it can be overwhelming. You see a lot of videos online where. You know. Get rid of this in 5 minutes. Like declutter your entire room in 20 minutes or less. Do not rush this lifestyle. And so many lessons to learn. And I'm still learning. Like I said. I've been a minimalist for 8 years. And counting. And I'm still learning something new every year. Which is a blessing in disguise. And I did write something down here. For a little bit more motivation. And end this video on a positive note. Which is in the end. While minimalism does come with it's challenges. It's all about finding what truly adds value to your life. But focusing on what matters most. You can create a life that's simpler. More intentional. And ultimately more fulfilling. So with that being said. I hope you got something out of this video. And if you are starting a minimalist journey. I'm wishing you the best of luck. And remember to please take your time with adapting a minimalist lifestyle.