Notes from my Minimalism Reading

Ah, Spring cleaning. Yes, my desk is much clearer, thanks for asking. And so are my virtual spaces (Inbox Zero, baby!). See, I use my iPhone’s Reminders app for my backlogs. Over the years, those lists’ve also been used to gather notes from the articles I read, podcasts I listen to, and videos I… watch some of but mostly listen to as I do the dishes. Thus, I’ve accumulated a lot of virtual stuff to shed, and what better time to do so than a quarantine?

So here are my notes on Minimalism that I’m putting away. How meta.

Much like the notes on Product that I shared earlier, these are not all fleshed out ideas, but 18 bullet points that resonated with me enough to capture, and now to share with you.

You’re welcome.


  • Minimalism defined: The intentional promotion of the things we most value (deciding what is most important in my life) and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.
    • How we spend our time, the art we display, the clothes we wear. Removing the urgent for the sake of the important.
  • A simple, minimalist home is calming
  • Rational minimalism is the type that works for me
  • Clutter: too much stuff in too small a space
  • 20% clothing worn 80% of time
  • Every piece of clothing I own is my favorite clothes
  • Is it essential?
    • If no, remove it
  • Is it vital? Does it matter?
    • No to both? Declutter from it!
  • Do you love it? Do you use it? Is it of either real or sentimental value?
    • 3 questions. Else, toss it, it is technically clutter. (Unless legally supposed to hold it.)
  • Remove every item from a space, then KEEP / MOVE / DISCARD
    • keep: high-use in front, low-use in back
  • Decorate in a minimalist style
  • Surround myself with things I love, not what I should keep
  • You don’t need to chase everything you’ve always wanted if you already have everything you need
  • Become a fan of the lasting, invisible things
    • key to not buying more after getting to less
  • We were meant to live simply, enjoying the {experiences, people, journey, not things} of life.
    • We were never meant to live life accumulating stuff.
  • Impress others with my life, not my stuff.
  • Do fewer things, better.
  • Have fewer, better things.