38 Signs You’re A Quintessential 20-Something Minimalist

38 Signs You’re A Quintessential 20-Something Minimalist

1. You spend more money on coffee and matcha than on your vegan groceries.

2. You wear the same black long-sleeved tee with the same pair of dark wash jeans and the same white sneakers. Every. Single. Day.

3. You drink your coffee black, and you think that anything lighter than Italian Roast isn’t real coffee. You also believe that adding cream, sugar, and milk to your coffee makes it “cluttered.”

4. You walk out the door without running a comb or brush through your hair, but you somehow manage to receive compliments about how nice your hair looks and how people wish they had your hair.

5. You have a blog that’s designed with 80% white space and that doesn’t bother you at all.

6. You have under 50 things in your closet and you can fit all of your clothes into one suitcase.

7. You own a Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal and a Moleskine journal. And you thought they were both totally worth the $20 you spent on each.

8. You’re most likely an INFJ, INTJ, or INFP.

9. You’re up at 5 AM, yet somehow that just isn’t good enough for you. You dream about the day when you can finally wake up at 4:30 AM.

10. You have two favorite types of writings: lists and personal essays.

11. If you were to take all of your personal belongings (excluding furniture) out of your house or apartment, they would all be able to fit into the trunk of a typical compact car.

12. You’re perfectly capable of not going anywhere for an entire year. Maybe even three.

13. You hate shopping at large grocery stores because they offer too many options and brands for everything. You prefer shopping at Aldi and Trader Joe’s.

14. You are conflicted with where you want to settle down. Living in a Scandinavian-styled country cottage/eco-home in the middle of the woods (out in a sparsely populated state) sounds very appealing to you, but so does a minimalist 300 sq. ft. studio apartment in Brooklyn.

15. Your go-to dish is chickpea kale salad with avocado and apple cider vinegar dressing.

16. You drink apple cider vinegar water every morning because you believe it’s the most powerful weapon against diabetes and cancer. You also believe it can make you look five to ten years younger.

17. You like 100+ photos of vegan recipes on Instagram every day.

18. You advocate fitness a lot, but you only walk outside for 30 minutes or less, four days a week. You actually hate running.

19. You’ve probably tried using baking soda to brush your teeth and never felt grossed out by it.

20. You’re a huge advocate of long naps and bubble baths.

21. You like the idea of traveling and hopping from place to place, but you’re still a homebody at heart.

22. You go through social media purges regularly. And you probably have a follower to following ratio of 30:1.

23. You’re a freelancer or at least trying to become one.

24. Your favorite classic books are Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, On the Shortness of Life by Seneca, Walden & Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, The Essays & Poems of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Tao Te Ching.

25. Your favorite type of music is acoustic folk singer-songwriter music with poetic and soothe-your-soul kind of lyrics.

26. You mostly dislike pop music and Top 40 Radio, but you probably still enjoy listening to Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Ed Sheeran.

27. You like taking photos of plants. You also collect succulents.

28. You love black-and-white photos and probably have black-and-white versions of every photo you’ve ever taken.

29. Contrary to the belief that minimalists are cheapskates, you actually own an iPhone and a Mac computer. And you think these are the smartest purchases you’ve ever made because they allow you to pursue your minimalist dreams of working from home and building your personal brand.

30. Your favorite region of Europe is Scandinavia because you’re obsessed with hygge and white space designs.

31. Your favorite country in Asia is Japan because you’re a fan of Marie Kondo, matcha, and sushi.

32. You really want to go to Iceland for vacation. And swim in Blue Lagoon.

33. You listen to podcasts on your way home.

34. In your family, you’re probably known as the Grinch because you dread holiday gatherings, the excess of festivities, and receiving too many gifts you that always end up donating to Goodwill.

35. You’re “that blogger” who constantly posts inspirational quotes about productivity and soul-searching on social media.

36. You use the words “essential” and “authentic” in every other sentence.

37. You identify as an old soul and an indigo child.

38. You first became drawn to minimalism for three main reasons: you want to heal from your past, you’re tired of trying to have it all, and you’re seeking a life full of individualistic creativity, enlightenment, and transcendence. Thought Catalog Logo Mark


About the author

Lark Morrigan

Poet, sci-fi/fantasy writer, music lover, composer, & INFP.