When it comes to minimalism, there are widely varying goals for the degree or type of minimalist people want to be.
Some minimalists are more concerned with things looking clean and sleek. They appreciate the appearance of streamlined beauty. They may want to achieve that minimalist aesthetic without necessarily reducing many (or any) items. To achieve that elegant look, they may actually need to purchase a bunch of stuff.
For example, with the advent of readily available home technology came a boggling array of cords and chargers. As a response to the problem of tangling and messiness, there are also many products designed to hide wires. So someone interested in creating a more minimalist appearance may purchase many different products that bundle cables together, or route them along the base of the wall, or hide them under a specially made desktop. It’s possible to design an entire “cable management system”, and there are tons of items made for that purpose. Here is a perfect example of a lot more stuff used in order to get a minimalist aesthetic.
Then there is the alternative method of reducing the need for all of those wires in the first place. If you go wireless, there’s no need to detangle or streamline something that’s no longer there.
For example, rather than having a TV, stereo, DVD player, calendar, answering machine, photo albums, camera, and radio, I just use my phone and laptop. They use only two cords instead of too many. With a laptop I also don’t need a mouse or keyboard, or the cables that may go with them.
All of the advances in technology means that a lot of the things our parents thought they needed in a home are now completely redundant items. We can easily cut down on the devices we use that get the same jobs accomplished.
I love things looking uncluttered and clean. I also love to reduce my possessions when they are redundant, or not being used or appreciated, so my space remains spacious.
If I had to choose, I’d say I’m more interested in refining my focus and reducing items (while eliminating the inherent complications and responsibilities that come with them) than in the aesthetic aspect of minimalism. However, both are valid and have their place. What about you? Do you love the minimalist aesthetic? What stuff have you bought that makes your home appear less cluttered?