In terms of items I have owned, I have always been limiting the amount that I own. For e.g., 5 pieces of work clothes (Shirt and Pants), 5 sets of exercises clothes, etc.. It got me thinking isn’t being a minimalist by owning less basically keeping only the essential items that you need and require? So how does it differ from an essentialist? And also does anyone have difficulty not doing retail therapy? I find buying new things to replace old or broken items, a great thing to do, but watching every review to find out the best item for your buck seems like a very time consuming activity.
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Minimalism is about owning as few possessions as possible and only having what you need to survive and be happy. So, for instance, owning items for your hobby is not needed for basic survival but they are needed to be happy and have a life and not just exist.
Essentialism is internal and means only doing the basic tasks to survive and be happy.
So I guess you could say an essentialist would naturally be a minimalist but you can do minimalism without essentialism. So essentialism is a more extreme sub-section of minimalism.
That's my understanding of it. Maybe I'm wrong.
From my understanding, essentialism is more about personal fulfillment, rather than survival. It’s more so about making trade offs of where to spend your time and energy, even if it means accumulating more. A minimalist that finds joy in puzzles may have 1 puzzle box in their home at a time to reduce the physical amount owned. If an essentialist finds joy in puzzles, they may own a 10 puzzles-but these puzzles hold sentimental value because they were purchased while on their travels; however this essentialist won’t have board games or toys because they personally don’t see the value in it. This can apply to tasks too.
Essentialism doesn’t have a scarcity, survival mindset. You can have more of something if it’s essential to you. And as a result, you’ll naturally reduce the amount of your overall possessions for things that actually bring you joy.
I think this describes it well.
Essentialism is prioritizing what is essential in your life whilst still bringing you fulfillment and joy.
Minimalism is removing things out of your life that is not in use anymore, that does not serve a purpose. And only keeping things that are required.
For e.g. Keeping all the medals from marathon races on the wall even though they don’t serve any purpose is considered Essentialism, the joy comes not from the clean wall but from the clutter of achievements even if you rarely view them daily.
Am I right to say this?
That makes it clearer for me. I obviously didn't fully understand it, until now.