3347: The Man Who Dies With the Most Stuff by Kristin Glenn with The Minimalists on Minimalism

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily, The Man Who Dies With the Most Stuff by Kristin Glenn with TheMinimalist.com

[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Justin Malik. We're going to jump right into today's minimalist Monday post as we optimize your life.

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_00]: The Man Who Dies With the Most Stuff by Kristin Glenn with TheMinimalist.com

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: If I know anything about being an American, it's that the Man Who Dies With the Most Stuff wins.

[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_00]: At 13 I was well on my way to winning. Somehow I had developed a love for bargains.

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Off-season prom dresses, after Christmas sweater sales, drifted jeans for a few bucks.

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_00]: I could buy more, four less than anyone I knew.

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And I took pride in all that cheap stuff I accumulated as a middle-class, middle-American, middle-schooler.

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00]: This ability to bargain, I thought, would win me coolness and popularity.

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Surely I would have far more clothes than my friends. But I didn't.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Their closets were overflowing too. Shoes, bags, jeans.

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I kept buying more and more cheap clothing in an effort to keep up.

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Each season our closets collectively spat out old trends as we shoveled in new ones.

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: In a race to die with the most stuff, everyone wants to look good.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: So I too race with shopping bags in hand through high school and college.

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_00]: By 23 I was much cooler than my 13-year-old self.

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to travel, live abroad, and experience life outside my hometown and my dorm.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: I still love to bargain more than anything.

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_00]: But it wasn't financially feasible to schlep a crate of high heels around the world, so I bought a backpack.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_00]: I carefully chose a few garments for the next several months and nervously stepped onto the plane.

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Things look different on the other side of the planet, especially on the winding, rural roads of countries like Laos and Cambodia.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_00]: With my nose pressed against dirty bus windows, I observed.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Life is far less shiny and new in that part of the world.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: There's more dirt and grass, both indoors and out.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Only one word came to mind when I thought about my life back home.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Lavish.

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: With eyes wide, I realized my selfishness for wanting and wanting and wanting

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: and never ever thinking about the impact that my want had on the rest of the world.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Generally, people turn to a minimalist lifestyle to make their day-to-day existence easier.

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: To save money, to save time, to focus on what's truly important.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_00]: These reasons are admirable. They allow us to find meaning beyond our genes and gadgets.

[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_00]: But my travels abroad turned me onto minimalism for a different reason.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I slowly saw the impact of my consumption taking a toll on the environment and on others.

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_00]: It became a personal thing. And I realized that minimalism isn't just a lifestyle decision,

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: but a chance to save humanity.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That's a pretty bold statement. Minimalism will save humanity.

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: But over the following year, I became more convinced of the power that lifestyle choices have on changing the world.

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: My time abroad changed my perspective. Not only on what it means to live with less, but to live.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_00]: To live is to make choices day in and day out.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And for a long time, I chose a good bargain retail therapy and new trends

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_00]: over the chance to reduce pollution, carbon emissions, and landfill waste.

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_00]: It's time to start asking questions of myself and of the companies I supported for many years.

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_00]: In a few months, I'll turn 26.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: The past year of my life has been devoted to learning about fabrics, fashion, and consumption.

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: And starting an ultra-versatile eco-clothing line with my close friend Shannon.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Inspired by our backpacks and appalled by our former shopaholic selves,

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: we began learning about how our shopping habits affect the rest of the world.

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_00]: We came across disturbing statistics.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Americans, while making up only 5% of the world's population, consume 25% of the world's resources.

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00]: In 2007, the average American was purchasing one piece of clothing every 5.4 days

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: and discarding 78 pounds of textiles every year.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_00]: That's an absurd rate of consumption.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_00]: What's even more unsettling is how these clothes are constructed.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Many of our garments are made with petroleum-based synthetics

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_00]: chemically sprayed for anti-wrinkle benefits

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_00]: and printed using inks with known carcinogens.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: The byproducts in waste end up in ecosystems on the other side of the world

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: that look much different from the enticing point of purchase.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Progressive research points to the idea that, in order to change the world truly,

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: we must look towards a more minimal way of life.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_00]: The earth simply can't support a world full of overflowing walk-in closets

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: and new trends for every season.

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Looking back, I pondered the social pressures behind my consumption.

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_00]: My friends and I wholeheartedly believed that life would somehow be better

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_00]: if only we had the trendiest garb.

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to be the woman who died with the most stuff

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_00]: without realizing that if one dies with everything,

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: the rest are left with nothing.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Minimalism, for me, is not just an individual experience that makes my own life richer.

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_00]: It's a collective experience that improves the world as a whole.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps it's time to reconsider our consumption mantra.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps it could go something like this.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: If I know anything about being a world citizen,

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_00]: it's that the man who dies with the smallest footprint does the greatest good.

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_00]: You just listened to the post titled,

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: The Man Who Dies With The Most Stuff by Kristin Glenn with TheMinimalist.com

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: and I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:07:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you to Kristin, a guest writer on The Minimalist site.

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: This article was written way back, I think in 2011?

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And so many years later, it's still just as relevant as before.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not sure if America is still 5% of the world's population and using 25% of its resources,

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_00]: but it would not be surprising.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Fast fashion is a problem, it takes its toll.

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And even if we consider donating old clothes, they're still way too much

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_00]: and can have an impact on economies where those clothes are being donated.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_00]: It's complicated.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's just clothing, not including electronics, processed food, so many other categories.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_00]: It's easy to buy something just because it's on sale or because it seems like a good deal.

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_00]: And we might not actually think about how often we'll use it

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: or if it's just going to sit there collecting dust.

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_00]: It might sound dramatic to say minimalism is a way to save humanity,

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_00]: but I think it does have merit.

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Every little choice we make, everything we buy or don't buy, it all adds up.

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_00]: So a good one to think about today for Minimalist Monday.

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for supporting me by listening to this show every day

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_00]: and sharing it with someone means a lot.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Have a great start to your week and I'll see you tomorrow

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_00]: where your optimal life awaits.