Six Types of Minimalists

Earlier this week I found an article on the Apartment Therapy website titled These Are The 6 Types of Minimalists. Which One Are You? The six types they discuss are: aesthetic, essential, experiential, sustainable, thrifty, and mindful. The article itself is actually pretty funny, particularly the part where it refers to sustainable minimalists as the type of people who create their own clothing hangars from wood and wire they sourced off of their own property. However even with all the jokes, this article still got me thinking – What kind of minimalist am I?

Through this article I discovered that I’m definitely NOT an aesthetic minimalist. I don’t like super modern, sparse home decor. I don’t like clutter either, but I do like my house to be a bit home-y. I think this is true in a lot of other areas of my life too, like the classroom or how I dress. I like color and patterns, which seems like it may be at odds with a simple aesthetic. Essential minimalism is another one that I don’t identify with a ton. The author describes it as being more focused on quality and quantity, as opposed to waste. I do prefer high quality items, but I feel like I am more focused on reducing waste, and quantity is something I have to overdo because of where we live.

As for the other types of minimalists, I feel like I relate to all of them on some level. Experimental minimalists collect experiences, which is something that I am constantly trying to do. I mean, you don’t move to rural Alaska for the great restaurants and happening social scene, right? Sustainable minimalists are very environmentally driven and may own more in order to live more simply (example – homesteading equipment in order to raise your own food). Sustainable minimalism is Cody and I’s big, long-term goal. We’d love to raise our baby on a little homestead, so this one was probably the most goal-oriented for me. Thrifty minimalists focus on spending less rather than owning less. Finally, mindful minimalism focuses on a mix of all of these, but it also focuses on the mental aspect of minimalism.

I found this article really interesting, but it also reminded me that in minimalism one size does not fit all. To every person and every family, minimalism and simple living looks different. Also, just like everything in life, it is a movement that invites judgment. We get judgement from our non-minimalistic friends/family for being “weird” or “depriving ourselves.” We get judgment from other minimalists for “not living simply enough.” However, any effort to reduce waste, spend less, or be less consumeristic should absolutely be celebrated.

With all of that said, what type of minimalist are you?


5 Responses to Six Types of Minimalists

  1. Mindful? Though I’m not sure we are truly minimalist. Just trying to live a less cluttered life, spend less time cleaning, and create more comfort and cozyness in our home. I agree on the judgment, though! Have you looked at The Little Book of Hygge? I kind of think of us as Hygge Minimalists.

    • Meg! I miss you!

      I haven’t looked heard of The Little Book of Hygge, but I just googled it and it looks super interesting. I also just recently discovered what that word means and I find it super intriguing.

  2. How quaint, to find this peculiar and lovely site on the Internet (whilst I was searching for something else entirely haha). You seem to have been keeping up pretty well with this site and thats just something that makes me smile :).

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