If you are new to minimalism or just want a refresher on some of the key concepts and mindsets, I put together this list of terms and definitions all around minimalism and decluttering.
These are terms I have come across over the years and are my interpretation of the way to define them.
terms related to minimalism and decluttering
Minimalism
The lifestyle of owning less than you want/need. I think there are different types of minimalists (you can read that here). Minimalism is really a mindset. It is looking at your relationship to ‘things’ and ‘stuff’ and looking for ways to feel that you are in control of your stuff rather than it controlling you.
Minimalism posts you might like
Hygge
Whenever I talk about minimalism, I like to also talk about hygge, because they have some overlap. Hygge is a Danish term for the sentiment of finding connection, contentment and coziness in your life/surroundings/relationships.
Hygge is like minimalism in that it is also a mindset of seeking contentment. However, I think hygge has a bigger focus on relationships and connection. Hygge vs Minimalism is one of my most-read posts, if you want to read more.
Declutter
The process of removing items/things that are ‘clutter’. If you declutter your home, you might be working on becoming a minimalist. Or you are just getting rid of things you don’t want/need any more.
Decluttering isn’t just about ‘stuff’ anymore.
- You can have a digital declutter (deleting things on your computer or phone, unsubscribing from emails, etc)
- You can declutter your time (say no to extra activities, give up some time-consuming commitments)
- You can declutter your brain (one of my faves! doing a brain dump and getting all the clutter in the head out onto paper)
Decluttering posts you might like
One In One Out Principle
This refers to the practice of removing an existing/old item from a space (whether it be a closet, room or the whole home) when you bring a new item. For example, if you buy a new sweater, you get rid of an old one.
Spark Joy – AKA the joy principle
This term refers to Marie Kondo’s book (The Magical Art of Tidying Up, also a good tv show), where she asks people to consider if an item SPARKS JOY when they engage with it. I think this is a fascinating question to declutter with, because it means you are making a decision not just with logic (which your brain might actually get in the way of doing a thorough declutter), but it asks this question with your whole body and intuition (which we could all use more of)
Posts where I also talk about Spark Joy
Identity Clutter
Identity clutter are things that serve the life of a version of you that you currently are not.
They can serve your past self, your aspirational self, your socially-compliant self, or a version of you that you are testing out.
I am not sure if I coined this term, but I am sure other minimalists have come across this concept in their own minimalism journey.
Identity Clutter Posts that you might like
Capsule Wardrobe
A capsule wardrobe is a smaller amount of high-quality items that work well with one another. It is like a seasonal mix-and-match wardrobe. Some people will have a ‘summer capsule wardobe’ and a ‘winter capsule wardrobe’. If you look on Pinterest, you will see examples of how you can have 10-20 pieces of clothing that you can wear in different combinations.
The items of clothing often have a similar colour palette and aesthetic.
People also like to search up ‘travel capsule wardrobe’ to help them pack less for trips, but still have outfits that work well together.
Capsule wardrobe posts you might like
30 for 30
This is a challenge called the 30for30, where you wear 30 clothing items for 30 days. Some people will also do a 10 for 10 (ten items for ten days), or a 5 for 5 (you get it).
On the surface, it is a way to practice a capsule wardrobe approach. However, I have done about eight of them, and I will tell you it is so much more.
It is an interview with your clothes, a breaking of your fashion rut, a challenge to actually get ‘dressed’ each day, and will sure show you your current relationship to clothes and shopping.
All of the 30for30 posts
Curated
When a space is curated, it has been ‘edited’ to remove the clutter and distractions. What’s left is intentional and purposeful.
Things might be curated in an aesthetic way (like a social media feed could be curated to show a certain type of colour palette and imagery).
You might have a curated closet of clothes you love the most (another version of the Capsule Wardrobe).
You could have a curated bookshelf, with a select few ornaments or books that deeply represent your values/personality or aesthetic.
Downsizing
The act of moving to a smaller space, which includes decluttering a lot of items you no longer need/want and most importantly, won’t fit into your new smaller space.
Swedish Death Cleaning
This is a practice carried out in Sweden, where a person will start decluttering their possessions long before their death – in order to prevent the burden from passing onto their children.
There is a book on this topic and a tv show too. The TV series also shows people passing on heirlooms and meaningful items to their loved ones BEFORE they pass. Which makes it quite beautiful, because the story can be shared and questions can be asked between them.
Any person who has had to declutter a loved one’s possessions knows that it is an emotional, physical and time-consuming task that they would rather not have had to endure.
Terms related to Intentional Living
Intentional Living
This might not be a term directly related to minimalism and ‘owning less’, but it often accompanies minimalism.
Intentional Living is choosing your life. It is turning off the autopilot living and moving into a space where you are more proactive than reactive. You plan your time/energy/tasks rather than let them just happen.
Intentional living isn’t just about productivity though; it should feel like a life that serves you rather than visa versa
Intentional Living and Life on Purpose posts
In my view, there are a few ways to practice intentional living:
Values-Based Living
Living in line with your values. Another way to say this is to know what is important to you as a person/woman/wife/mom/whatever, and make decisions and choices that line up with that.
Slow Living
Slow living is having time for things that matter. It is a way of going about the day without a sense of being rushed or harried. It is being un-busy and finding more balance for leisure/downtime and feeling present in the moment.
I do want to acknowledge that this concept also has a side discussion of privilege and time wealth.
Posts around slow living and being un-busy
Simple Living
If slow living is being un-busy, then simple living is being un-complicated.
This is living with less of the ‘trappings of modern life’. To me, this looks like less need for stuff, being resourceful, multi-use items, and making do with what you have.
I consider it to be the way my grandparents might have lived and solved problems. One big bowl for all the household uses instead of seven big bowls. A couple of pairs of shoes instead of twelve. Using one soap for everything instead of a shelf of options.
Simple living posts
Margin
This is the ‘room’ you leave in your schedule for YOU. It is time that is ‘unscheduled’ and you can use however you need to. You can do nothing in it, you can let other activities spill over, you can reserve it for relationships and downtime,
It might also be called White Space.
I like to have margin in times of my day where we transition. For instance, margin when the kids get home from school, margin around bedtimes.
Making more margin in your life
Terms related to shopping/consumption
Consumerism
In the context of minimalism, consumerism refers the culture of constantly buying things.
It can take the form of needing a new wardrobe every season, buying ‘stuff’ more often than you need to, putting your security and value in the things you buy, buying a new thing when the existing one you have is still useful (eg a new iPhone every time they make a new one)
There is a built-in belief that we will be happier if we buy X product because it will make us more or less of ‘something’. Which, if we dig deeper, insinuates that our insecurities are marketed to, and we are told our self-worth can be attained through some form of buying it.
With consumerism, we see an over-consumption of goods, often to the detriment of our environment and exploited people.
Posts on consumption and consumerism
Mimetic Desire
This is one of the most fascinating concepts. It explains that people don’t actually pursue what they desire, they pursue what they think other people desire.
In years of working with people to help them identify their life vision and values, I can attest to this.
We aren’t aware of what we truly desire. And even if we are, it is at odds with mimetic desire – seeing what other people (usually people we perceive as higher status) are pursuing.
Posts related to knowing what you want
Mindful Consumption
This is a response to consumerism. Mindful consumption is the practice of shopping for yourself, but with intention.
It means:
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- making a list,
- having a reason (that you like) for your purchases,
- spending within your means,
- buying things for the long term (sustainable),
- and not falling prey to marketing of the latest trends.
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Posts on mindful shopping (mindful consumption)
No-Spend
A no-spend or no-buy challenge is just that, a challenge to not buy ‘extra’.
A common example of this is No Buy July, for the month of July people challenge themselves not to buy outside set parameters for the month. This could mean they are allowed to buy essentials (grocery, gas, bills) but they say no to buying things they don’t truly need (more shoes, extra toiletteries, dining out, etc).
There are also no-buy community groups that you can join, often on Facebook, where people share items to give away with the intention of sharing resources collectively, rather than individuals going out and buying more
Slow Fashion/ Fast Fashion
Slow fashion is also a response to consumerism, specifically to the trend of FAST FASHION.
Fast Fashion is the consumption of clothing and apparel that has a high turnover of cheap clothing being produced, bought and discarded.
Fast Fashion has a few hallmarks:
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- a fast turnover on trends (with the constant marketing to have the latest trend),
- a cheaply made item (which someone pays for, often the underpaid worker or the environmental impact of using cheap fabrics (friends, let’s say no to polyesters!) and items),
- and a ‘disposable’ product (because it is cheaply made, it often ends up worn and spewing contaminants ( into a landfill).
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Slow fashion is buying things that are ethically made, quality items (no polyester, thank you!), and can last longer than a year.
Some posts about wearing what you love vs the latest trends
Zero Waste
Living ‘zero-waste’ is the goal of not generating garbage that ends up in a landfill. Some communities aim to go zero or low-waste, especially if landfill space is an issue.
When you practice zero-waste, you might do things like buy plastic-free items (for example a wooden toothbrush instead of a plastic one), use food containers instead of disposable plastic bags, buy from a refill store (where bulk items are dispensed into reusable containers vs plastic packaging). Where possible items are recycled, upcycled and composted.
Terms related to the psychology and cognitive biases that make minimalism difficult
The Diderot Effect
When I first learned about the Diderot Effect, I thought it meant the situation where we buy something then need to buy the ‘stuff’ to support that thing (eg bought a pool, now we need to buy the chlorinators, the test kit, the pool vacuum, the filters, etc). However, the Diderot Effect refers to a more subtle cycle of consumption, where we feel the drive to upgrade our possessions upon buying something new. For example, if I bought a nice new couch I might feel like I needed to upgrade the coffee table… the lamp…. the drapes… and so on.
Some newer names for this are Lifestyle Creep or Lifestyle Inflation (which I talk about in this episode about doing life with less)
Hedonic Treadmill
I added this definition with minimalist terms because it impacts our enjoyment of ‘things’.
The Hedonic Treadmill (or Hedonic Adaptation) is the situation where our happiness always returns to a baseline, after a positive or negative event occurs.
Another way to say it is, we can’t buy our way to long term happiness. Those purchases we bring home will give us some dopamine, then it wears off and we are back at the same level of happiness we normally are. (A reason why it is hard to enjoy the simple pleasures of life)
While we are on the topic of pursuing happiness
Loss Aversion
This is a cognitive bias we have where we think there is greater pain in letting something go, then there is pleasure in acquiring it. And because one of the jobs of our brain is to AVOID PAIN, we tend to not entertain a lot of notions around letting things go.
(that is, until we do the work of decluttering and letting our brain imprint it as a pleasurable experience)
However, there will still be items where loss aversion creeps in, We might find it hard to let go of a box of old binders, or the bike in the garage, or the old a stack of picture frames we never seem to find a use for.
Also mentioned in this post: ‘decluttering the ‘what if I need this one day?’ items
Endowment Affect
AKA why my dad has small appliances from every decade stored in his shed.
This is our tendency to OVER-value our things. I think this is one of the biggest reasons we struggle to declutter. We think ‘that is worth money’ and then we have intentions to sell it online or have a big garage sale. Instead we just become a glorified storage unit for items that might not really be worth as much as we think.
Also mentioned in “What if I need this one day?” (how this decluttering question keeps you stuck, and what to ask instead)
Sunk Cost Fallacy
This is an economic term, but we minimalists use it to describe the situation where we keep something only because we put invested money/time/effort into it. This item may no longer be useful for us, but we can’t let it go because of the sunk cost.
This can also apply to all areas of life.
Such as the sunk cost of schooling and staying at a job we hate.
Or sticking with relationships because of the years already put in.
Or keeping that big ole piece of furniture that actually doesn’t work in the space you have because it costs a lot of money years ago.
I think a lot of us might also have a closet full of sunk cost clothes!
WANT MORE?
If you are interested in any of these topics and would like me to expand on it with another blog post, please put a note in the comments about what topic and questions you might have on it.