What is minimalism anyway?

There tends to be a general misconsensus that minimalism means tiny house living, or ultra modern clean-lined, small (aka uncomfortable) furniture. This is something that interests some people, but it’s also something that turns a lot of people off. This could be minimalism, but it certainly doesn’t need to be.

It’s only one option of a million options. Or I could even say five billion options, because minimalism is as individual as there are people on this Earth.

So what is this concept then? How does it apply to each individual?

Any of these could be a minimalist living room:

Minimalism is about keeping what you love and items that serve a purpose. That’s it, that’s all. As Marie Kondo says, does this item “spark joy?” Keep it. If it doesn’t, does it serve a purpose? Yes? Keep it. But if you don’t love it, it doesn’t spark joy, it doesn’t serve a purpose, then why keep it? Let it go.