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A review by babetoven
Make Space: A Minimalist's Guide to the Good and the Extraordinary by Regina Wong
2.0
*Note: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I had a hard time seeing this book as practical advice. The first few chapters focus in on more about decluttering and organizing than living minimally. I mean, the concept of practicing minimalism is there and the steps toward achieving a minimalistic lifestyle were communicated effectively, I just felt like I personally do not live minimally, yet am a (sometimes pretentiously) organized person and these are concepts I have used for myself. When cleaning a space that I know has not been of use in x amount of time and is beginning to become more about storage than practicality, my number one priority is to cut it’s inventory by at least 50%. That is, to literally discard at least 50% of the items that clearly aren’t necessary or needed any longer, or else I’d have been using them.
This book teaches minimalism as if it were simply about decluttering and organizing. I agree with it’s methods because they are sensible, but part of me, and maybe a very uneducated part of me, considers the fact that I have naturally been adhering to these methods for years and am still one of the biggest victims of materialism that I know. Maybe it comes down to me interpreting minimalistic living as a cure for materialism and that in and of itself is the error. That isn’t to say that this isn’t an insightful bit of writing. I, particularly, enjoyed the highlights about how, evolutionarily speaking, we tend to naturally hoard things in a survivalist way. I would have liked to have read more about the scientific-psyche side of why we seem to head for materialism over minimalism, as it seems we’d better tackle the problem and all it’s limbs if we got to its head, first.
Another thing I wanted to add that kind of bugged me was a fantastical sense of “If you didn’t put this away in a safe place, it mustn’t be important, so just get rid of it.” This concept relies on the assumption that every adult is responsible and organized. The example I have to offer is the author’s take on deleting your entire email’s inbox in hopes of feeling more “free” once you’ve cleaned it out. Starting from scratch, for me, does not equate embracing or embarking on minimalism. In fact, if there is an email that was lost, unflagged and then deleted for a sense of feeling liberated, that goes against the ideal that is being taught here by saying “keep the things that are valuable to your happiness”. Maybe it’s just me and my non-minimalistic perspective but I found this to be irresponsible advice and not serving of the purpose of minimalism at all. I agree that neatness and necessity should carry over to the digital world but I do not think that in order for you to jumpstart your feelings of freedom requires you to be reckless.
I appreciated, genuinely, the portions on social media. I have reserved my own Facebook account for serious-friendships only and have had my friend count at a solid 9 individuals for as long as I can remember. These are 9 people I care about and talk to regularly and on intimate, personal levels. I think more people need to do this. The purpose of Facebook is realized and appreciated much more when you’re not feeling pressure to “perform” for old classmates and distant relatives. …Again, I am hugely materialistic and picked up this book in hopes to gain some insight as to why I suffer from it to such a degree in the first place. I’m having trouble understanding how stripping ourselves of clutter (physical, digital, etc.) equates to living minimally. i.e: I have been practicing these same techniques for years on my own and I still want to go out and buy a new diamond ring because I think it will make me happy.
Throughout this book there seemed to be an echo of “Live freely for yourself!”, and I can totally get behind that. But advising people to quit their jobs to pursue their dreams is just not practical and it’s much easier said than done, especially for those who have families and little ones to support. I had hoped this read would unveil something eye-opening and motivating on how to “say no to consumption” but instead I feel like I was told to replace one irresponsibility with another.
Things I agreed with, enjoyed and embraced from this book:
- Stopping the glorification of being busy.
- Feeling as though life and happiness only truly happen 2/7 days a week. (Weekends)
- Finding your own rhythm.
- The 80/20 Rule
- Living with intention.
- Citing of many other great reads that could all be of value to the reading audience.
- Daily affirmations.
- VOIDS!
- (The whole bit on enhancing your emotional well-being in general.)
- The entire finance portion: “Mindful Consumption” !
Overall, I would recommend it as a quick and insightful read, but it wouldn't be my first choice for someone who is desperately hoping to ignite change within themselves. This is much more an "in addition to" rather than a bible to adhere to and follow.
I had a hard time seeing this book as practical advice. The first few chapters focus in on more about decluttering and organizing than living minimally. I mean, the concept of practicing minimalism is there and the steps toward achieving a minimalistic lifestyle were communicated effectively, I just felt like I personally do not live minimally, yet am a (sometimes pretentiously) organized person and these are concepts I have used for myself. When cleaning a space that I know has not been of use in x amount of time and is beginning to become more about storage than practicality, my number one priority is to cut it’s inventory by at least 50%. That is, to literally discard at least 50% of the items that clearly aren’t necessary or needed any longer, or else I’d have been using them.
This book teaches minimalism as if it were simply about decluttering and organizing. I agree with it’s methods because they are sensible, but part of me, and maybe a very uneducated part of me, considers the fact that I have naturally been adhering to these methods for years and am still one of the biggest victims of materialism that I know. Maybe it comes down to me interpreting minimalistic living as a cure for materialism and that in and of itself is the error. That isn’t to say that this isn’t an insightful bit of writing. I, particularly, enjoyed the highlights about how, evolutionarily speaking, we tend to naturally hoard things in a survivalist way. I would have liked to have read more about the scientific-psyche side of why we seem to head for materialism over minimalism, as it seems we’d better tackle the problem and all it’s limbs if we got to its head, first.
Another thing I wanted to add that kind of bugged me was a fantastical sense of “If you didn’t put this away in a safe place, it mustn’t be important, so just get rid of it.” This concept relies on the assumption that every adult is responsible and organized. The example I have to offer is the author’s take on deleting your entire email’s inbox in hopes of feeling more “free” once you’ve cleaned it out. Starting from scratch, for me, does not equate embracing or embarking on minimalism. In fact, if there is an email that was lost, unflagged and then deleted for a sense of feeling liberated, that goes against the ideal that is being taught here by saying “keep the things that are valuable to your happiness”. Maybe it’s just me and my non-minimalistic perspective but I found this to be irresponsible advice and not serving of the purpose of minimalism at all. I agree that neatness and necessity should carry over to the digital world but I do not think that in order for you to jumpstart your feelings of freedom requires you to be reckless.
I appreciated, genuinely, the portions on social media. I have reserved my own Facebook account for serious-friendships only and have had my friend count at a solid 9 individuals for as long as I can remember. These are 9 people I care about and talk to regularly and on intimate, personal levels. I think more people need to do this. The purpose of Facebook is realized and appreciated much more when you’re not feeling pressure to “perform” for old classmates and distant relatives. …Again, I am hugely materialistic and picked up this book in hopes to gain some insight as to why I suffer from it to such a degree in the first place. I’m having trouble understanding how stripping ourselves of clutter (physical, digital, etc.) equates to living minimally. i.e: I have been practicing these same techniques for years on my own and I still want to go out and buy a new diamond ring because I think it will make me happy.
Throughout this book there seemed to be an echo of “Live freely for yourself!”, and I can totally get behind that. But advising people to quit their jobs to pursue their dreams is just not practical and it’s much easier said than done, especially for those who have families and little ones to support. I had hoped this read would unveil something eye-opening and motivating on how to “say no to consumption” but instead I feel like I was told to replace one irresponsibility with another.
Things I agreed with, enjoyed and embraced from this book:
- Stopping the glorification of being busy.
- Feeling as though life and happiness only truly happen 2/7 days a week. (Weekends)
- Finding your own rhythm.
- The 80/20 Rule
- Living with intention.
- Citing of many other great reads that could all be of value to the reading audience.
- Daily affirmations.
- VOIDS!
- (The whole bit on enhancing your emotional well-being in general.)
- The entire finance portion: “Mindful Consumption” !
Overall, I would recommend it as a quick and insightful read, but it wouldn't be my first choice for someone who is desperately hoping to ignite change within themselves. This is much more an "in addition to" rather than a bible to adhere to and follow.