Is living a slow life minimalist?

Minimalism is a way of life that rejects having more things than you need. When things get in your way or owning something stresses you out, you should pare down.

But I don’t think it’s a bad thing to own more things than exactly what you need.

Slow life is more about contemplating what you have and what you can use and what means a lot to you.

It also looks back at what was useful and meant a lot to previous people in the world. Nostalgia and old things are valuable. I don’t think they should be thrown away. They show us the way people used to live and we can learn from that. Why throw away old chairs for new plastic ones? Because the internet showed you a beautiful house with new furniture? If old stuff works, let’s keep using it. It may take up more space or be heavier but it’s still has value.

Slow is not about owning a lot, but only what you want to have. It is definitely not about buying new things to maintain your minimalist life.

Minimalism can feel like you have to reject all your material things. But it also makes your life smaller. It can mess with your brain and make you think you must live a small life, to take up less space.

But slow life is about expanding and taking up space and not caring about how the world perceives you and not following the status quo.

Slow is about spending time the way you want. It’s about not being productive. It’s about resting fully.

Sometimes minimalism feels like you should only own exactly what you need: one blanket and one pillow, nothing more. But if you being fully comfortable means you want a lot of pillows and blankets and and eye mask and sound machine, then you should own those things to help you rest.

Slow life is about expansion, minimalism can feel like contraction.

You can live a slow minimalist life, but you get to choose the meaning. You can sell your things you don’t want at a garage sale or on a used online site (marketplace, poshmark, etc). For things you need, you can buy used or local items instead of buying online.

The internet will take minimalism and make it one of those things that is being marketed to you as “the right way to live” but no one gets to decide that except for you.