To liberal, soft and squishy, I can do what ever I WANT!!!

Hello from Downtown Hobart and yours truly James Miller.  We are heading into the winter season in Tasmania and it’s about to get cold and wet.  This can be a wallet draining time of the year for many and minimising expenses can be very helpful when battling the winter months and associated bills.  Firstly though, I want to have another look at defining minimalism, lets chat quickly about the dangers of having a definition that is too liberal. After that lets have a look at some real money saving ideas for the winter period.

To liberal, soft and squishy, I can do whatever I want..... If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything.  There you have it, in a nutshell,  sorta....  To put it simply, we need some definitive boundaries for minimalism to work.  Without some definition of what minimalism really is you have no real direction and it can be difficult to begin the process.  The definition can and will be different from person to person but it is still very important to have one.  This helps to keep us focused on the end goal; it gives us the tools to evaluate our current modus operandi and make changes / improvements and provides us with a framework for explaining our current minimalistic practises to others.  Being able to cite a definition allows fellow minimalists to know what your goals are and how you implement them.  It also allows us to critically look at the way goals are being achieved and make slight changes to the way things are done in attempt to simplify and improve our methods and protocols.  Your definition is like the computer program that runs a big industrial machine (us).  Having a definition not only begins the process and gives it direction but also, via goal evaluation, allows us to see where things are not working and require a little tweak (I love that word).  A definition that is too liberal runs the risk of becoming both everything and nothing.... Explanation required....  Stay tuned for more on defining minimalism and some winter saving tips.

JM