The Minimalist Approach: Purpose, Practice, and Perspectives
A 60-minute session (14 July 2024) on owning less, and on everything that makes it harder than it looks: gifts we didn't want, drawers kept just in case, a loved one's cupboard, a child's pile of toys, twenty thousand photos, a full calendar, and a shared family home. Is owning less a kind of freedom, or a luxury that only looks simple? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
What's one thing you own that you would never throw away, even though you never actually use it?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
Minimalism And Money
Your friend proudly owns only fifty things. Your grandmother keeps every jar, every bag and every spare screw. Both say they're being sensible.
- 2
Passing On Unwanted Gifts
A box of sweets arrives at Diwali. Nobody in your house will eat it. So you wrap it up again and give it to someone else.
- 3
Same Clothes Every Day
You find a few shirts you really like. You stop buying anything else. You wear them every week. Then someone at work notices.
- 4
Keeping A Loved One's Things
Someone you love has died. Their clothes are still in the cupboard. Their glasses sit by the bed. People say it's time to clear it out.
- 5
How Many Toys A Child Needs
The birthday party is over. Now there are forty new toys in the house. A week later, the child is happily playing with a cardboard box.
- 6
Thousands Of Phone Photos
Your phone says storage is full. You have twenty thousand photos. Ten of them are the same sunset.
- 7
Saying No To Plans
Your cousin invites you to a get-together. Your friends want to meet on Saturday. You're tired, and you just want to stay home.
- 8
Keeping Things Just In Case
There's a drawer full of plastic bags. A shelf of old containers with no lids. Five spare packets of salt, just in case.
- 9
Homes That Look Like Instagram
You scroll past a perfect home online. White walls, one plant, nothing on the table. Then you look up at your own living room.
- 10
Owning Less In A Joint Family
You want to clear out the storeroom. But it isn't only yours. It holds your grandmother's trunk, your uncle's files and your cousin's old cricket bat.
- 11
Feeling Proud Of Owning Less
A friend tells you they own only a hundred things now. They mention it a lot. You look at your full cupboard and feel a little judged.
- 12
Why A Messy Home Is Fine
Your table is covered in papers, chargers and a half-read book. Friends come over and nobody minds.
The line to leave with
Of all the things you're holding on to, which ones are you keeping because you love them, and which ones because you're afraid of what letting go would say about you?
More boards,more ways in.
Every discussion we have run has a board behind it. Browse them by topic.