I had lunch with a colleague recently. We don’t know each other well and during our conversation she just casually said “well you’re a minimalist so..” and I’m like “I am?!?!” This came up while we were talking about my latest trip where I worked from my parent’s house on the east coast. I had left straight from the work summer party and someone had asked where my luggage was. I pointed to my regular backpack and explained that I can just borrow my Mom’s clothing because we’re the same size. This colleague considered me a minimalist because I didn’t have a lot of luggage. I explained that I just don’t like to carry a lot of things. I’m not a minimalist, I’m lazy.
I don’t consider myself a minimalist because I still have a lot of shit – including shit I don’t need. I have plans to give a lot of it away this year and obviously before I retire, but right now I look around and don’t see a “minimalist lifestyle.” Sure I have less stuff than some people and have traveled enough that I know how to be pretty efficient for speed and as I mentioned laziness…but does that warrant this label?
My partner coined a new term that he thinks more accurately describes us: Functionalists. He thinks minimalism has evolved into a contest of who can have the smallest amount of things and this idea of “functionalists” encompasses people who like to plan their life around function and having what you need instead of intentionally trying to have little for the sake of having little. I think it’s a fair point. Functionalists for the win!
I really like that term – functionalists. It makes so much more sense than minimalists. I think it’s just about a more pragmatic approach to life and the things we need in it. Of course, I don’t want to strip my life down to the bare essentials – that’s not practical. But keeping a functional inventory of items that I use with regular frequency is practical.
I think we need to start the functionalist movement!
So glad like you it! The movement has begun!!!