Minimalism is just a form of privilege
DESCRIPTION:
Minimalism is privileged nonsense: instead, use decluttering to get rid of clutter, live a truly uncluttered life and question superfluous hypes.
Understanding clutter instead of minimalism as a form of privilege
During material abundance and constant distraction, minimalism is becoming the new social media hype. However, clutter is primarily about emotional rather than material abundance, which minimalism aims to tackle. You must be wealthy enough to have accumulated enough consumer goods for this self—optimisation mania disguised as mindfulness. The fact that the hype doesn't even recognise this shows how little it has to do with mindfulness and how little its interior therapists and minimalism coaches can help you with their tips and strategies against unnecessary burdens and for more clarity, satisfaction and a more fulfilling life.
Introduction: Clutter
Your house as a mountain of piled—up objects, overflowing shelves, old newspapers and unpaid bills on the kitchen table, endless email notifications on your smartphone. This scenario, which is at best met with compulsive hoarding, is declared a general reality by self-proclaimed minimalism gurus and is supposed to symbolise omnipresent clutter in your life, which they then help to combat for lavish fees or with “10 tips” lists.
What it's about:
· A comprehensive understanding of clutter
· external, emotional, digital and social clutter
· practical tips for getting rid of unnecessary things and fewer possessions
· more conscious decisions.
· Categories of clutter: types of clutter briefly
Emotional clutter
Emotional clutter arises from unprocessed emotions, negative self—images and stressful relationships. It therefore leads to anxiety, feelings of guilt or resentment. This type of clutter can only be cleared out if you deal with these emotions, for example through therapy or by keeping a diary to let go in a profound way.
Digital clutter
Digital clutter comes from overflowing email inboxes, randomly saved files, endless social media feeds and unused apps on your smartphone. Digital clutter is distracting and stressful to the point of being overwhelming. That's why it helps to regularly clear out digital devices, organise files, process emails and limit social media consumption. A minimalist digital environment allows for more focus and productivity by reducing superficial distractions.
Social clutter
Social clutter refers to stressful relationships, toxic friendships and social obligations that drain energy and block goals with conflict, drama, or exploitation. Overcoming this type of clutter requires distancing yourself from negative relationships, setting healthy boundaries, and focussing on relationships that support and inspire.
External clutter
Finally, external clutter includes all those possessions that you don't need, use or love. They fill wardrobes over shelves or floors, basements, and cause stress, distraction and a sense of overwhelm. Clearing out and decluttering is the first step to eliminating this clutter.
If you're struggling with decluttering, there are four types — and you might recognise yourself straight away. If not, try the mini quiz at the end of the post. The collector stacks everything. Basements, garages, and storerooms are transformed into magazines. The sentimentalist, on the other hand, holds on to objects because they carry memories — from the ticket to the first cinema showing to the ugly vase from their aunt. Letting go feels like throwing away the past. The practical person is apparently sensible: they keep things because they could be useful one day. And then there's the minimalist: everything is neat and tidy, the surfaces shine, but the order is often so strict that even a biro lying around looks like rebellion. Each type has its strengths, quirks, and pitfalls — the key is to recognise yourself with a twinkle in your eye.
Psychological mechanisms
Safeguarding
Fear of scarcity is a deep-rooted psychological mechanism that causes you to hold on to possessions that you think you might need in the future. This fear makes it difficult to free yourself from things.
Sentimental attachments
Objects carry emotional memories and feelings that are difficult to let go of. You cling to these things as symbols of the memories associated with them. However, memories also remain without a symbolic carrier.
Decision fatigue
Decision fatigue occurs when you are confronted with many decisions and feel overwhelmed. You then postpone decisions or avoid them altogether. You shy away from the effort of clearing out, where you must distinguish between what you want to keep and what is superfluous.
Overcoming
With knowledge of the psychological mechanisms of clutter, you can consciously face the underlying fears and emotions, whether in self—reflection, therapy or in dialogue with other people. Realistic goals and a strategy of small steps will help. In this way, you can break through thought patterns and make more conscious decisions.
Modern approaches
Psychological principles of decluttering
Decluttering requires an understanding of your relationship to material possessions and your deeper emotional needs. Address these needs and fulfil them in a healthy way, and you won't have to hold on to unnecessary things. This will reduce stress and distraction, increase your concentration and give you a sense of control and well-being.
CBT: focus on the present
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on present thoughts and behaviours. Concentrate on current decisions about possessions. Then you don't have to analyse why you are hoarding certain items. Items need to be useful today and add value to your life. This will help you make more conscious decisions.
ACT: Acceptance and commitment
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasise the acceptance of difficult thoughts and feelings without suppressing or avoiding them. You can accept your emotional attachments to material possessions and still commit to parting with unnecessary items. ACT helps you identify your values and align your behaviour with those values, which means confronting your fears and moving out of your comfort zone.
Tools and habits for decluttering
Self—diagnosis
Identify your causes of clutter — the emotional reasons for holding on to material possessions. Ask questions like, “Am I holding on to this because I love it, or out of fear of needing it later?” Set priorities for clearing out and look at your consumer behaviour.
Reformulation scripts
Reformulation scripts are sentences for self—instruction on the way to changing thought patterns. An example would be: “This object carries a memory. “But it is not the memory itself.” Such scripts loosen the emotional attachment to objects and make it easier to let go. They question the subjective meaning of possessions and realise that memories are preserved even without a symbolic carrier.
Five—minute strategy and micro—units
The “five—minute strategy” is a strategy against decision fatigue. Set a timer for five minutes and clear out a small area (e.g. a drawer) during this time. The decision is simple: keep or let go. Such micro—units demystify the process of decluttering and avoid overwhelm. They strengthen your sense of control and allow you to make progress, even with limited time. Used regularly, this technique significantly reduces clutter.
Habit stacking: building on existing habits
Habit stacking is a technique in which new habits are linked to existing rituals — for example, clearing out an area of the house for five minutes after your morning coffee to have fewer possessions. Linking decluttering to a stable habit also automatically makes it more likely that the new habit will be maintained. Decluttering then becomes a natural part of the daily routine and keeps clutter at bay in the long term.
Practical guide: Step by step to your programme
1. self—assessment — an honest look
Before you start, pause and have a close look. Minimalism doesn't start with clearing out your wardrobe, but with a clear question: What is my life about — and what is just adding weight?
Take time to practise this introspection. It's not about making decisions immediately, but about recognising patterns.
· What things, habits or thoughts do you feel are weighing you down? Perhaps it's not just objects, but also digital overload, social obligations or inner beliefs (“I have to do everything perfectly”).
· Which ones give you strength, orientation or joy — regardless of whether they are practical or “useful”? A photo, a certain song, an evening walk can be more invigorating than any piece of designer furniture.
· Where do you experience narrowness, where do you experience expansiveness? Feel the differences: a cluttered room can feel constricting, while a small, clear workspace suddenly creates space.
An effective method: keep an inventory diary. Every day for a week, write down three things that weaken you and three that strengthen you. Clear lines will emerge after just a few days. You may realise that a full wardrobe creates pressure rather than security. Or that the daily phone call with a friend lifts you up, while the evening scrolling on your mobile phone leaves you empty. This contrasting image is your personal starting point — more precise than any general minimalism rule.
2. self—instruction — inner signposts
Our thoughts are louder than the contents of any cupboard. That's why it's worth formulating inner sentences that provide orientation. Not as big mantras, but as short, clear reminders that work in everyday life.
Examples:
· “Today, I consciously decide what is good for me.”
· “I let go of what only takes up space without giving joy.”
· “I am careful not to fall into compulsion.”
These sentences act like stop signs in the flow of everyday life. They help you to pause before an impulse to buy snaps, or before you fall into a hectic decluttering frenzy. Some people use post its on the mirror, others speak the sentences out loud in the morning, others save them as reminders on their mobile phone.
Important: Self—instruction is not an esoteric ritual, but a sober technique that changes the inner dialogue. It trains you to gain clarity where habit, advertising, or feelings of guilt would otherwise dictate the direction.
3. establishing habits — small steps, big impact
Minimalism is less a one—off major action than a rhythm that creeps in. The “big decluttering day” often works like a crash diet: liberating in the short term, sobering in the long term. What really works are small habits:
· The two—minute rule: tidy your desk, bedside table or mobile phone screen for two minutes every evening. Small, but regular — and therefore powerful.
· One item in, one item out: For every new book, item of clothing or device, an old one leaves the home. This creates balance without the need to do without.
· Weekly check—in: schedule ten minutes in your diary to ask yourself: “Do my possessions still fit in with my goals — or are they distracting me?”
This transforms minimalism from a compulsory exercise into a quiet attitude. Everyday life is not radically different, but slightly shifted — but it is precisely these small shifts that add up.
4. food for thought — questions that keep you awake
Awareness thrives on questions. So regularly ask yourself questions like:
· “Am I buying this product because I really need it — or because I want to fulfil an image of myself?”
· “What story am I telling myself about this item?” (e.g. “Without this book, I look uneducated.”)
· “Would I really be unhappy with less — or would I be happier with something else?”
These questions are not a form of control, but hold a mirror up to you: Where do you decide freely — and where are you chasing after other people's ideals?
Write down your answers in a journal. Even if they are contradictory, this is the key: they show that minimalism is not a straightforward path, but a personal experiment. It is precisely this reflection that prevents minimalism from becoming a stage for perfectionism or aesthetic pressure.
Result: These four steps result in a programme that reduces possessions and creates attitude. It is customisable, realistic and protects against dogmatism. Minimalism does not become a pose, but a liveable tool for clarity and self-determination.
Minimalism demystified: between lifestyle illusion and real change
Privileges disguised as “mindfulness”
Minimalism sounds like clarity, freedom and a more conscious life — but for many people in precarious situations, it sounds like a mockery. Those who constantly must calculate whether their salary will last until the end of the month experience the idea of doing without as an additional burden rather than a spiritual cleansing. For people who can just about manage their rent, electricity and food, “having less” simply means “even more deprivation”.
This reveals a paradoxical truth: minimalism initially presupposes abundance. Only those who have enough can decide to “let go” of things without reaching into the void. This makes it an exclusive practice that tends to benefit a wealthy middle class that can afford to do without. For them, reduction becomes a lifestyle — for others, it remains a bitter reality. The discourse of minimalism thus conceals the social fault lines that it claims to overcome. It presents itself as egalitarian but remains a privilege.
When letting go becomes a compulsion
Minimalism is often praised as a liberation from. But liberation quickly turns into compulsion when reduction itself becomes the norm. Anyone who sees everything as a potential obstacle will eventually lose the ability to enjoy what they have. A cookery book that has been sitting unused on a shelf for years can suddenly seem unnecessary at one moment — and yet, it evokes memories, perhaps inspires a new recipe at some point, symbolically carries a piece of identity.
If the movement only evaluates every object according to functionality, there is no longer any room for ambivalence, memories or spontaneous pleasure. Mindfulness, which should promote diversity and openness, turns into the opposite: letting go becomes an end, decluttering becomes a ritual that must be constantly repeated. The minimalism turns into a silent dictatorship of “less and less”. The real question is therefore not “How little do I need?”, but rather: “How much is enough to live freely without renunciation becoming a shackle in itself?”
The neoliberal trap: doing without as a commodity
Modern minimalism likes to present itself as an alternative to overconsumption — and yet, it ends up in the centre of the consumer machinery. Reduction is becoming a market segment. Online courses, apps, influencer coaching and perfectly staged “declutter challenges” invite people to critically scrutinise their consumption — albeit for a fee. This is accompanied by a new product range: minimalist furniture series, “capsule wardrobes” with few but expensive basics, designer objects in muted colours.
The message is not: “Stop consuming”, but rather: “Buy the right things — and you will be free.” Minimalism thus transforms a social critique into a business model that has a profound impact on our decisions. Instead of exposing insecurities, status anxieties and the constant pressure of advertising, a new identity is created: the “conscious consumer”. But they also consume — just in different packaging. Minimalism as a lifestyle therefore reinforces the very thing it aims to liberate us from: dependence on the market.
Aesthetic pressure in a frenzy of images
Social media plays a central role. Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok have elevated minimalism to a global aesthetic. Whitewashed lofts with a single wooden table, shelves with exactly three designer vases, immaculately folded clothes in a wardrobe with five perfectly coordinated outfits — these images create a standard that hardly anyone can live up to.
The reality for most people is different: a sagging couch, a pile of papers, children's drawings on the fridge, a messy shelf full of memories. But the flood of “perfect” images creates a subtle pressure: anyone who doesn't live a minimalist life appears chaotic, incapable, careless. This turns the idea of liberation into a showcase in which the right measure is dictated not from within, but from without. Individuality is suppressed — and many feel guilty because they do not fulfil the “aesthetics of tidiness”.
A sustainable middle way
However, minimalism does not have to degenerate into a pose. A sustainable approach does not sacrifice joie de vivre or an eye for social realities. It is less about the number of objects and more about the question: which things contribute to making my life richer, easier or more meaningful — and which ones are a burden?
This approach opens space for differentiation: perhaps the old teacup stays because it carries memories of a loved one. Perhaps the tenth T-shirt will be discarded because it is unnecessary. Minimalism in this sense does not mean —as little as possible—, but “as much as is good for me”. It is not an ascetic exercise, but a tool with which people can visualise their needs and values.
Minimalism of this kind is not about perfection, but rather about fit. It is less a style than an attitude: mindful of one's own life, critical of social norms of consumption, and at the same time generous in preserving what brings joy. Only then does a form of mindfulness emerge that is free of dogma and coercion — and has the potential to facilitate change.
Key messages and insights
Clutter takes different forms and is psychologically conditioned. Minimalism is a fashionable ideology that offers no effective strategies for getting rid of clutter. Instead, it harbours dangers such as aesthetic pressure and social exclusion, which often appear superficial. A balanced approach that considers your individual needs and values is what is important to you. In this way, you can free yourself from anything that prevents you from leading a fulfilled life. Your mindset is the linchpin for this.
Next steps
Regain control of your life by making conscious decisions. Examine your values and develop a personal decluttering plan. Exchange ideas with others and be encouraged by inspiring role models. Take small steps and don't be discouraged by setbacks.
Final question: What space do you want to create with your changes?
The final question is: What space would you like to create in your life by freeing yourself from clutter? Would you like more time for the things that are close to your heart? Would you like to develop your creativity, deepen your relationships, or simply find more peace and clarity in your everyday life? The answers to these questions will break old patterns and show you a new path.
Conclusion
Minimalism is just a trend. But it's about making more conscious decisions and freeing yourself from baggage, about more clarity, satisfaction, and freedom and about what really matters. The psychological mechanisms behind your consumer behaviour will tell you which practical strategies will help you. Reflecting on the ethical and social aspects of minimalism shows you one way to create a world in which less is more, and in which the things you own are useful and bring you joy.
Quiz: Which clutter personality are you?
Question 1: What does your attic or cellar look like?
A: Full of treasures that I'm sure I'll need one day, but maybe it's time to get rid of material possessions.
B: Boxes of letters, photos, and memorabilia that weigh me down emotionally and prevent me from making decisions.
C: Tidy, but with “just in case” boxes.
D: I've hardly kept anything, I regularly downsize.
Question 2: How do you feel when you are decluttering?
A: Anxious — what if I need it later? These thoughts can be a hindrance when you're trying to make decisions.
B: Wistful — every item tells a story.
C: Sober — I check whether it remains practical.
D: lightens my load.
Question 3: Which motto suits you best?
A: “You never know when you'll need it.”
B: “Memories deserve a place.”
C: “Better to keep it in case it's needed.”
D: “Less is more.”
Question 4: How do you react to a gift that you don't like?
A: I keep it—it could become important.
B: I keep it out of respect or guilt.
C: I think about whether it could come in handy at some point.
D: I pass it on or donate it.
Evaluation
For the most part, it is important to concentrate on what is important. A = The collector: They hoard out of a sense of security and fear of scarcity.
Predominantly B = The sentimentalist: You hold on to memories and feelings.
Predominantly C = The Pragmatist: You keep things out of considerations of usefulness.
Predominantly D = The minimalist: You feel most comfortable when everything is tidy and reduced.
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