Would you be able for this?
Every once in a while, a lifestyle trend will swoop in and promise to somehow improve our lives.
Last autumn, we had the cuddly ‘Hygge’ from Denmark, which promoted a cosier existence.
Now just in time for spring cleaning we’ve come across another trend that makes the KonMari method, which recommends only keeping things that ‘spark joy’ in you, seem like a doddle.
Danshari, a take on minimalism, has blown up across Japan in the past few years.
It’s made up of three separate words, Dan-Sha-Ri, which literally translate as ‘refuse – dispose – separate’ and represents an extreme form of minimalism where you strip back your possessions to the absolute bare minimum.
The method encourages people to 1. refuse to bring unnecessary new possessions into their lives; 2. dispose of existing clutter in their living spaces; and 3. separate from a desire for material possessions.
In short, it means breaking up with your stuff to the point where you have only what you really, really need – and saying no to tempting Penneys homewares, the wonky fridge magnets from your trip to Thailand and even excess clothes and food, no matter how much joy they spark in you.
Modern Danshari relates to traditional Zen Buddhism and has prompted followers of the trend to post snaps of their hardcore decluttering on social media.
This one has us torn – we’re firm believers in the ‘tidy house, tidy mind’ mentality, but saying goodbye to our favourite knick knacks? Hardly.
