What Does Eco Minimalism Mean?

‘Eco minimalism’ was coined by Howard Liddell (an architect) and Nick Grant (an energy consultant) and, at first, was applied only to buildings designed to have minimal environmental impact.

However, in recent years, the concept has been adopted by the union of minimalistic and environmental movements.

Minimalists live by decluttering their lives from whatever they consider excessive and focus on mindful consumption and buying only what they need and when they need it. Everyone perceives minimalism differently, so what for some might be minimalistic for others may seem excessive.

Environmentalists try to reduce their environmental footprint as much as they can. So, they would use lots of reusable swaps, reduce packaging, and buy only what they need, thinking about the whole production and delivery process, which, in regard to some products, isn’t sustainable (i.e. How far did the product travel to get to you? Can you buy something produced locally?).

Both movements are strong advocates of reusing items, upcycling whenever possible, and making conscious decisions that affect consumers’ lifestyles, Earth’s sustainability, or the debt they carry.

Eco-minimalism is a combination of both movements. In short, it fosters a less cluttered, more mindful, more sustainable life. Eco-minimalism doesn’t mean that you should become a monk and live off a strip of land for the rest of your life. For me, eco-minimalism has empowered me to set my own boundaries that include the following elements:

• Defining what clutter means to me/you personally? If you are decluttering your space, you don’t have to get rid of everything you own. Keeping the items that you use and the items that make you happy is vital. Currently, I’m decluttering my inbox. I’ve been subscribed to so many newsletters which I never read. On average, I would receive 20-30 newsletters a day. So now, when I open my email and have no new messages, that makes me smile. I’m only keeping my email for the important stuff. My next task is to declutter my life from emotional vampires.
• When I think about clutter, I usually focus on the things around me that bother me. I have a lot of photo frames scattered around the living room, and I’m more than certain that many minimalists would see this as clutter. However, it gives me so much pleasure and happiness to look at the photos of my kids at different ages that I’m sure I won’t get rid of them. For each of us, clutter means something different. Try to coin your own definition of clutter and refocus your life on clearing it, rather than trying to copy others who may perceive minimalism and clutter in completely different ways.
• Knowing why you want to follow the path of eco-minimalism is essential – having a strong WHY will stop you from going crazy and spending hundreds of ££’s on hair accessories or other stuff that you will never, ever use. My strong WHY keeping me on the path of sustainability and financial independence are my children. I want to leave as little environmental footprint as possible and set an example they can carry into their own lives once they become independent adults.
• Choosing to build your path is essential. So, if books are important in your life, getting rid of them isn’t going to make you happy. But if you don’t care about the car and prefer to use public transport and/or a bike, …
• Always choose what is good for you at the current stage of life. I believe you should base all your eco-minimalist decisions on what works for you at this moment. Your eco-minimalism will change and grow together with you. If you try to implement too many changes too fast, the odds of slipping back into old ways are high. Small but consistent change is my motto.
• Don’t look at or compare yourself to others. You are where you are. You are doing your best to change YOUR life for the better, and it takes time and courage.
• Eco-minimalists try to leave as little a footprint as possible. Their choices are minimalist because they don’t need excessive stuff to be happy, or they use many reusable, sustainable items that don’t need replacing often. Putting sustainable choices, being kind to the environment, and thinking long-term is the backbone of the whole movement.
• An eco-minimalist lifestyle is also good for the pocket, with less spending on nonessential things and more opportunities to save and invest. Once you invest in reusable swaps, you won’t need to replace certain items for a long time.
• Always remember: reuse, upcycle, and make friends with secondhand items before you purchase anything new.
• A zero-waste lifestyle is different to eco-minimalism, but there are a lot of similarities. However, personally, where I am now, I know I wouldn’t be able to commit fully to the zero-waste lifestyle. Small steps, right?

In my opinion, eco-minimalism is more manageable than a Zero-Waste Lifestyle and more workable over a long time, especially for people waking up to the realisation that we are drowning in a pool of rubbish while constantly adding more to the pile.