One of my goals for 2018
is to reduce my consumption and pay off my smallish-but-nagging unsecured debt
by April. I’m on track
to be debt-free after selling several scarves on eBay. Vestiges of an old life,
I originally bought them as much for their covert display of prestige as for
their beauty and craftsmanship. They’re devoid of logos but signified my taste
to the Right People.
The relationship between consumption and status-seeking seems obvious. But over the weekend I came across this article in the New York Times by Jacoba Urst. She mentions simplicity as a “form of cultural capital" and cites Joel Stillerman, who coined the term “post-materialist values”:
…But minimalism is also meant to project taste, refinement and aesthetic knowledge. “‘These people,” he said, “are making the statement that ‘I can afford to have less. I appreciate books and travel and good meals.’”
As someone who grew up in a household that could only afford to have less (without the travel or good meals), this resonates with me. Choosing minimalism is a privilege. Something to think about as I move towards “less”: what’s motivating my purchases? Because I don’t want socks-sponges-hand cream to be the new scarves.
*For all 3-4 of my readers: “Minimal Monday”
will now be a thing.
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