Do you love the feeling of a fresh start? Whether it’s a new year, month, week, or a new day? And when you have that feeling, do you get inspired to get things in order?
Maybe it’s that closet or dresser that has stuff back in the back that you know you haven’t touched or worn in forever. You know good and well, just like I do, that you probably won’t ever wear it again.
There are many social media accounts, books, and TV shows that offer tips, tricks, and strategies aimed at helping us get organized, but most of these approaches aren't sustainable. So like clockwork...that closet or dresser gradually fills back up with stuff, and you wonder why you keep buying stuff that you never wear or use.
Christine Platt’s book, the Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less, may offer a refreshing approach to decluttering that may help you get things in order.
In this episode, I share six takeaways from the book and a few personal stories about my journey into Afrominimalism.
Get the FREE journal prompts for this episode HERE.
Click HERE to join the email list and receive your FREE Expanding Your Vision guide
TaReon Jael: Welcome to the Black Woman in Bloom Podcast, a semi-monthly podcast designed to uplift, encourage and empower Black Women by exploring wellness topics that promote self-care and mindfulness. I’m your host, TaReon Jael, a Certified Health Educator and Medical Lab Scientist. For more information, please visit blackwomaninbloom.com. While I hope you enjoy listening to and learning from the podcast, please remember that it is not a substitute for a relationship with a licensed healthcare provider.
Hello and welcome to episode 21 six lessons from the Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less by Christine Platt.
Most of us love the feeling of a fresh start whether it’s a new year, month, week, or simply a new day, and with that feeling of a fresh start sometimes comes to a desire to get things in order maybe that closet or dresser that has stuff way back in the back that you know you haven’t touched or worn in forever and you know good and well just like I do that you probably won’t ever wear it again. There are plenty of social media accounts, books, and TV shows that offer tips, tricks, and strategies aimed at helping us get organized. If you’re anything like me, you’ve tried most of them. Be honest, how many times in the last few years have you asked yourself if something you own “sparks joy”? This is interesting considering that Marie Kondo recently said she’s sort of given up on being so tidy. But let’s be honest, those tips, tricks, and strategies probably worked at first, but over time you probably found they weren’t sustainable. And that closet or dresser drawer gradually filled back up with stuff and you wondered why you keep buying stuff that you never wear or use.
During my season of transition as a new Mom, I’ve had to do some decluttering and organizing in order to make room for ALL the baby stuff. Btw, this is going to be the last time I talk about being a new Mom I promise. There were and, still are, some areas in the house that I had to tackle. But during that time of decluttering, I came across the idea of Afromininalism while listening to one of my favorite podcasts.
The thing that immediately captured my attention was the word Afrominimalism. You’ve probably heard of minimalism many times. And I bet the mention of the word brings images of all white, pristine spaces to mind. So the idea of “Afro” combined with the word minimalism intrigued me.
Well the term afrominimalism was coined by Christine Platt. She’s an advocate, storyteller, and author of the book titled The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less.
The thing that I especially love about Afrominimalism is that Christine defines it as a minimalist life influenced by the African diaspora. Take one look at her website and Instagram account, and you’ll see that she doesn’t subscribe to the often commercialized minimalist aesthetic. Christine wears clothing in vibrant colors and playful prints, and her 630-square-foot condo incorporates earthy textures, warm tones, and lush houseplants. She emphasizes that the practice of Afrominimalism looks different for each person.
Christine has a three-part approach to curating an Afrominimalist space that is authentic to you. I want to share some key takeaways that stuck out to me.
The first takeaway is understanding why we have more than we need.
This requires us to do some inner work. Before beginning the process, she recommends taking the time to understand where/when our relationship with material things began. Platt encourages readers to think about how experiences in childhood may have influenced our spending and saving behaviors.
I want to share a story about a moment in my childhood that has influenced my current spending habits.
Sometime in middle school my stepdad was laid off from his job and so we were entirely dependent on my mom's income. I want to make it clear that we had everything that we needed. All of our needs were met, but we didn’t have disposable income. So of course this meant we had to cut back on non-essential items. One of the non-essentials was back-to-school clothes. Somehow my mom was able to get some hand-me-down clothes from someone. I actually don’t know who. I know Mom listens to the podcast, so as a sidenote Mom who did you get those clothes from? Anyway back to the story so these clothes were in good condition but they were outdated. I went to middle school in the late 90s and these clothes were from the late 80s. And of all these items I remember a couple of pairs of jeans. I googled jean styles from the late 80s to find a picture of these jeans. You know the ones with the pleated waist or the pleated front. If I remember I’ll post a pic to my IG stories, so that you can see what I’m talking about. But when I wore them it was pretty clear that they were not in style. But they were perfectly good clothes, so I wore most of them and I tried my best to downplay some of the elements of the clothes that were outdated with baggy shirts as best I could but it was clear they were not the current style. Now no one teased me about what I was wearing but I did get some funny looks fairly regularly. And you know how it is in middle school. That's the age when you start to really care about what people think and care about your appearance so for me I was embarrassed. During that time I told myself once I'm making my own money I will buy clothes that are in style. That has been a struggle for me in terms of my shopping and spending habits. I don’t necessarily go out and buy the latest trends, but I try to buy stuff that looks nice and is of good quality. But the problem is I don’t need those things and I don’t need to be spending the money in the first place.
Christine writes that acknowledging and accepting which aspects of our childhood have contributed to our owning more then we need is an important first step in our pursuit to live with less.
The second takeaway is understanding the different forms of consumption that we engage in.
One big form of consumption is called conspicuous consumption. This is defined as the act of purchasing luxury items and wearing or displaying them in an attempt to enhance or give the appearance of prestige.
Now I’ll be the first to admit that I struggle with worrying about what others think of me, especially as it relates to my appearance. The story I just shared makes that pretty clear. The thought of pairing things down in a way that may affect my appearance (i.e. my clothing, shoes, handbags, and makeup) gives me pause… and this, my friend, causes the struggle with conspicuous consumption to enter the chat.
And this is a sticky topic for a lot of us, especially in the Black community and other communities of color. We often deal with the pressure and cultural expectation to show up looking a certain way. This includes the way we’re dressed, to our shoe and bag game, and the car we’re pulling up in, the way our edges are laid, to the way our feet and toes look in our sandals, how our nails and lashes look, the perfect face “beat”, if our skin is properly moisturized. I mean, you name it. We look at and consider every detail when we step out. As writer Chelsea Bonner states “... for many of us as black people, owning physical possessions [and looking a certain way] is considered a tool to gain more social capital and belonging, get access to spaces we might otherwise be excluded from, or even to celebrate our hard work and success.”
One approach to overcoming this is to stop seeking validation and self-worth through the things we own and the way we look.
The third takeaway is understanding why it’s so hard to let go.
During the decluttering process, you possibly came across things that you, for various reasons, could not let go of. In your mind, you know you last used or wore that item months ago. And if you’re completely honest, you forgot you still had that item in your closet or drawer. But something tugged at you, and you just couldn’t let it go. So you either hung it back in the closet or put it back in that drawer. And, after keeping that item, you felt a slight sense of relief knowing that item was still in your possession.
In her book, Platt explains why we experience this sort of scenario. She explains in great detail the psychology of ownership. It involves the feeling that something is ours, which can come from the belief that something belongs to us or that it’s a part of or is an extension of us. No matter where the feeling comes from, the end result is the same. We develop strong emotional attachments to our belongings, even those things we don’t need or use, which is why we have difficulty letting certain things go.
This concept was like an “aha” moment for me. And that’s the thing. The concept of ownership can be another sticky point for us in the black community. I mean, think about it, most of our ancestors were considered to be nothing more than pieces of property. And this ties back into the conspicuous consumption that many of us struggle with.
The cultural expectation to own certain things can be hard to navigate, because the pressure we feel often comes from the people and communities that we love.
But Platt states, “In order to identify and begin dismantling cultural expectations that are impacting your spending, you may need to have some difficult, honest conversations and set boundaries with family and friends.”
Once we’ve taken the time to do the challenging inner work, we’re then ready to get on to the decluttering process. Platt has a four-step process for managing this process. The first step is to acknowledge you have too much. The second step is to forgive yourself. The third is to let go, and then finally pay it forward.
This leads me to the fourth takeaway, which is forgiveness.
This step was a big one for me. During my decluttering sessions, I always felt a sense of shame. It’s usually that little voice nagging me, asking, “What could I have done with all that money instead of spending it on things?”
And this takeaway from Platt is the one that resonated with me the most. She states we must accept the humbling truth and acknowledge that we are solely responsible for our behaviors and actions and “commit to making different choices going forward.” But in order to do so, [we have] to forgive [ourselves.] and then extend that forgiveness to our loved ones and our community.
Need, Use, Love
The fifth takeaway is to apply Christine’s “Need, Use, Love” philosophy to the things we’re considering letting go of. Applying this to my decluttering sessions and shopping habits has helped me reframe my thinking. The thing that makes this philosophy helpful is that it is all-encompassing. I’ve found that it has helped me assess my belongings (and purchases) with more clarity and objectivity. The item under consideration has to meet all three criteria: it must be something I need, use, and love or… I let it go or better yet, don’t purchase it.
The sixth and final takeaway is committing to continue your journey in Afrominimalism, or at least as a more conscious consumer, by being authentic and intentional about what you accept and allow to remain in your life.
These words, authenticity and intention, we often hear in the health and wellness space. So you know I’m going to first start by defining them.
Authenticity means something is “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.”
So once we approach our relationship to material things and, by extension, how we spend our money from the “need, use, or love” perspective, we’ll find ourselves surrounded by things that feel authentic to us.
And we define intention as what one intends to do or bring about
In order to maintain authenticity, to show up authentically in our lives, we must live our lives with intention.
Living with more intention and authenticity means being aware of our actions and thoughts, and making sure they come from a place of truth. We have to be conscious of how we’re treating ourselves and others in order to make sure that we’re living in alignment with our values and beliefs. It means taking the time to reflect on the decisions we make, and how they will impact those around us. As it relates to living a lifestyle that is influenced by Afrominimalism, we must intentionally choose how we spend our money and allocate our funds. We must choose what we allow into our lives and what we release.
Platt writes that one tangible way to do this “begins with first knowing what you want to achieve and then making a plan that includes ways to avoid going off course and how to course correct if you do.”
Platt suggests finding personal mantras for the times when we know we’ll be tempted to throw our financial goals out the window.
One such mantra is “It’s not a deal if you don’t need it.”
This mantra came in handy for me a few weeks ago. An ad to an online store that I like popped up one day as I was reading something on my phone. I saw this pair of jeans that I had been eyeing was on super sale. You know those sales. This was one of those final sales. Where once you buy it, it’s yours, because there are absolutely no returns, no exchanges. So of course I clicked on the ad. Next thing I know I have the jeans in my online shopping cart. And just as I was about to make the purchase. The soft-spoken voice of the author, Christine Platt, whispers in my head, “It’s not a deal if you don’t need it.” And I paused for a moment and said to myself, “awe man dang I really want these, and it’s such a deal, *sigh* but I really don’t need them.”
And so, my friends, I did not purchase the jeans. It was a small step in my journey of being intentional with my finances, but for me, that was progress.
And with that, those are the key takeaways from Christine Platt’s book, the Afromininalist’s Guide to Living with Less. Those are the gems that resonated with me the most. I highly recommend you purchase the book either hard copy or audio book. If you get the audio book version, I think you’ll find that Christine’s voice is quite soothing. And follow Christine on IG and visit her website. I will include links to her platforms in the show notes.
And lastly I have journal prompts to accompany the episode. You can find the link to those prompts in the show notes. If you’re already on my email list, then I will email those to you directly.
Thank you so much for listening to the episode.
Head to blackwomaninbloom.com/episodes/21 to read the show notes. The links to the references and resources I mentioned in the episode will be there.
If you’re not already, follow the podcast @blackwomaninbloom and me @tareonjael.