In Support of Minimalist Culture

It’s confession time: one of my favorite things to do is to spend hours online watching videos about how people get ready in the morning,  or tutorials about how people organize their planner or  clean their bathroom. I look up organization ideas on Pinterest. I love it, I love it all.

There was a time that I was a huge fan of listicle articles, like, “The 5 things you should do right when you wake up in the morning.” I’ve since stopped reading them. Even though I still enjoy a good “get ready with me” video, or a tutorial about how to clean your bathroom, I had to change the content I was viewing.

The truth is, a lot of those things don’t work for me — and they will never work for me as a person with a disability. I simply don’t have the energy to clean my bathroom with eight different products, taking three trips to do so. Some days I can’t make breakfast, and I didn’t do more than microwave dinner the night before (and you should not feel bad about that). Somedays, all you can do to get through the day is the minimal amount of what is on your plate.

All of this content is great stuff, but adopting a minimalist lifestyle and consuming that content has been great for me. Minimalist culture is about doing more with less — that, in my opinion, is every person with a disability’s dream. I love knowing that someone else just slips their shoes on and walks out the door because they’re late sometimes.

Go minimalist for an easier life

I love knowing that someone else would prefer finding the perfect smartphone apps to manage their day over customizing a planner any day. I take great comfort in knowing that organizational bins and small purses live in someone else’s home. I like knowing that some people only use two products to wash their face at night and leave their home with nothing more than a wallet and a cell phone.

For me, being a minimalist is about finding a system that works well for me and being loyal to it. I have a list of favorite apps I could not get through my day without, I have a drawer of favorite clothes and I may wear the same pair of pants three times a week. (Don’t worry, I washed them.) No one should feel bad about this. We live in such a fast-paced, material “give me more” and “I want and need more” world. The reality is that many people with disabilities just aren’t able to live up to these standards.

It isn’t about money or time — it’s about energy. Embracing a minimalist lifestyle simply saves you energy.

My hope is that I can use this piece as an introduction to a minimalist series, so that we can all stop feeling bad about not checking off that 5th thing we were supposed to do before we got out of bed in the morning. Let me know what you think in the comments below! What small thing has helped you save time?

Note: Cerebral Palsy News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Cerebral Palsy News Today, or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to cerebral palsy.