A review by thisreadingcorner
The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less by Christine Platt

informative inspiring

4.0

I have followed Christine Platt, formerly The Afrominimalist, for several years now. Like Christine, I hit a plateau in my curiosity about minimalism after skipping past self-reflection straight to Pinterest boards of aesthetically pleasing homes and wardrobes dominated by wealthy people whose lives looked nothing like mine. Her Instagram page and reflections were aspirational, but much closer to my version of reality (and my love of pattern and texture). 

I sat on this book for a wild amount of time but I think that was the right thing to do. I wasn't ready to call myself out for the way my spending habits were impacting my present and future self. 

Now that some time has passed and I'm no longer in survival mode, I came to this book with an open mind. After reading this I know a few things: 

•  My habits are absolutely an adult me making up for what a younger me couldn't have.
•  Minimalism is a weighted term. My definition isn't going to look like everyone else's and it won't happen overnight.
•  If there is going to be meaningful change in the way we think, live, and shop, we have to tackle the root causes and not just the surface level seasonal declutters are cute but only the beginning).

As someone with more familiarity on the topic, I found the first section of the book more helpful than the latter ones - the discussion questions and stories on the formation of attitudes around money and consumption but I appreciate the thoughtful range of contributors who's stories are shared as well as Christine's transparency in sharing her own path to living with less.
 
Recommend for anyone curious about tackling their own overspending/hoarding tendencies, overwhelmed by stuff and not just a lack of space, or looking for permission to do minimalism outside of beige Scandinavian aesthetics (even though I'm sick of people trash talking the beige lovers because personal style is personal).