Elgin, D., & Mitchell, A. (1977). Voluntary simplicity. CoEvolution Quarterly, 3, 2 Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313754669_Voluntary_Simplicity_in_Co-Evolution_Quarterly_1977. Roster, C. A., Ferrari, J. R., & Jurkat, M. P. (2016). The dark side of home: Assessing possession “clutter” on subjective well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 46, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.03.003. I don't want to poke my nose in his business too much, sure I'm his girlfriend but he's a grown adult, knows what's best for him and we can have very different takes on things like these and to be fair, this isn't of much consequence either.

La Barbera, P. A., & Gürhan, Z. (1997). The role of materialism, religiosity, and demographics in subjective well-being. Psychology and Marketing, 14(1), 71–97. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199701)14:1<71::AID-MAR5>3.0.CO;2-L. Almost all participants conveyed the belief that what is happening in one’s physical space (the external world) is reflected in one’s mental space (the internal world) and vice versa. For example, a cluttered, chaotic home was the cause and result of a cluttered, chaotic mind. Participants reported that minimalism provided the means to ‘create space’ in both one’s external and internal world. Feeling effective in one’s environment, or competence, was a key theme that arose from the study. Sub-themes within competence included a sense of control over one’s environment, and reduced anxiety and stress.I think by becoming a minimalist you become more aware of what really expresses you or what you really value…And I think by having this awareness, you kind of become more authentic. (P4).

So the other day I got this urge to abandon my "policy" and get rid of anyone on Facebook whose posts didn't make my day better. I deleted the following groups of people: The way I Facebooked wasn't making me happy, it made me feel like I was missing out when everyone else was doing things. This was especially hard when I was unemployed and felt bad about it, and saw everyone else achieving things. Then there are the over-sharing high school acquaintances that I haven't talked to in 10 years, I felt weird knowing way too much about their lives but realizing I would avoid their gaze if I saw them in a grocery store. Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park: Sage Publications. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. The word ‘purge’ was used by a number of participants to describe decluttering or reducing possessions in one’s physical space, which suggested a feeling of relief. Another participant described feeling renewed when reducing their possessions.The findings of the current study align with the limited research examining low-consumption lifestyles and behaviours which have generally found that people who engage in such actions have higher levels of personal wellbeing (Boujbel and D’Astous 2012; Brown and Kasser 2005; Kasser 2009, 2011; Rich et al. 2017a). While previous studies explored elements of hedonic wellbeing such as self-reported happiness and life satisfaction, the current study has provided additional insight into how minimalism may enhance eudaimonic wellbeing, a more multidimensional representation of wellbeing (Ryan and Deci 2001). Fournier, S., & Richins, M. L. (1991). Some theoretical and popular notions concerning materialism. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(6), 403–414. Huneke, M. E. (2005). The face of the un-consumer: An empirical examination of the practice of voluntary simplicity in the United States. Psychology and Marketing, 22(7), 527–550. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20072. The grounded theory approach necessitates that data collection, analysis, and theorising occur simultaneously and continually from the outset of the research. This process, known as the constant comparative method, enables the systematic development of theory as data collection becomes increasingly focused (Glaser and Stauss 1967). Constant interaction with the data and immediate, continuous analysis allowed for emerging theory to influence later data collection through revising questions and theoretical sampling, whereby pertinent data was actively pursued to fully comprehend the participants’ experiences of minimalism (Glaser and Stauss 1967). The researcher aimed to transcribe and code each interview before the subsequent interview. On occasions when this was not possible, for example when interviews occurred within a short period of time, the researcher listened to the recorded interview and made notes on emerging topics. Due to time constraints, interviews were transcribed using an automated transcription program. To ensure accuracy of the transcription, the researcher reviewed each transcript by listening to the interview audio and editing the transcript as necessary. Each section of the transcript was reviewed several times, which meant the researcher became deeply familiar with the content of the interviews. Wood, A. M., Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Baliousis, M., & Joseph, S. (2008). The authentic personality: A theoretical and empirical conceptualization and the development of the authenticity scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55(3), 385–399. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.55.3.385.

Binder, M., & Blankenberg, A. K. (2017). Green lifestyles and subjective well-being: More about self-image than actual behavior? Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 137, 304–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.03.009. Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. The American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5. Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090197.

The current research required people to self-identify as minimalists, which could be a limitation as there is no set definition of minimalism. While some view minimalism as an anti-consumerist lifestyle that encourages finding meaning in life beyond the material (Dopierała 2017) or simply valuing fewer possessions (Alexander and Ussher 2012), others view minimalism as voluntary simplicity’s ‘second-wave’ or use the terms interchangeably (Kasperek, 2014, as cited in Dopierała 2017). In contrast, some argue that a set definition is conflicting with the lifestyle, as becoming a minimalist requires “building and sustaining one’s own self-definition” (Dopierała 2017, p. 69). Variance between participants as to their motivation towards minimalism, the extent of their minimalism, and the length of time they had been engaged in the lifestyle could play a factor in their reported wellbeing (McDonald et al. 2006). This heterogeneity has been problematic in studies of voluntary simplifiers, and researchers have attempted to reconcile this by testing for differences between groups based on characteristics from the literature, or by using a measure of voluntary simplicity values (Boujbel and D’Astous 2012; Brown and Kasser 2005). However, no such measure exists for minimalism, and it could be premature to identify characteristics of minimalists beyond ‘has made a conscious decision to live with fewer possessions.’ More research regarding minimalism and the characteristics of minimalists specifically is required before sample selection by self-identification is obsolete. Brown, K. W., & Kasser, T. (2005). Are psychological and ecological well-being compatible? The role of values, mindfulness, and lifestyle. Social Indicators Research, 74(2), 349–368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-004-8207-8.