So far my New Year’s “intentions” to schedule self care and be more mindful are really improving my outlook on life. I feel less stressed and more consistent with the basic healthy habits that keep my depressed and anxious side in check.

To keep myself inspired, I’ve been cruising the internet for new ideas and perspectives. So far I’ve found some real inspiration and insight, as well as noticing a deeply ironic trend.

The deeply ironic thing is that many podcasts and sites on the simple life are funded by advertising consumer goods. The host or writer will be telling me how wonderful life is without all this clutter or how good minimalism is for the environment, and then try to sell me shoes or sheets. Some people say minimalism is just another way to obsess over stuff, and these ads make me think it might be true. I’m trying hard to find this funny instead of frustrating. Luckily, my searching has mostly led to interesting ideas and stories from people trying hard to grapple with this whole consumerism thing.

One of the interesting, and kind of sad, ideas I’ve been seeing is that giving up material goods in favor of travel and experiences can turn into just another consumerist trap. If you’re eating out every night just to Instagram the food or traveling so you can “experience” more countries than your YouTube competition, you’re probably just as caught up in consumerism as people who Instagram designer hand bags and vlog about fancy cars or mansions. If you’re still obsessed with impressing people or defining yourself by how you spend your money, all that “experience” isn’t making you a better person.

It’s no crime to want share your life with people, and it’s no crime to want to impress people. The tug-of-war between fitting in and standing out is part of being human. Smart phones and social media can take this to a ridiculous level, though, where we judge every moment by how Instagrammable it is. If we let it, internet image crafting (or scrolling through other peoples’ crafted images) can pull us away from the healthy, fun, unglamorous that give live meaning.

To that end, I took Instagram and Facebook off my phone. I can still check them from my computer but now that they’re not in my pocket all day I really don’t think of them much. Instead I read books, work on my hobby projects, and actually talk to my family. I still waste time on silly things, but at least I’m not wasting time comparing myself to these carefully crafted “experiences.”

But enough about that. On to the cool practical thing I found. For a goth, my wardrobe is surprisingly moderate. Most of the fast fashion gothwear is made for people much thinner than me, so I’m kind of protected from impulse clothes shopping. Still, I’m always on a quest for the perfect wardrobe so I was googling capsule wardrobes and whatnot for the millionth time when I found this neat little guide to building a “normal sized wardrobe.” This writer suggests that instead of using a top down approach like setting a limit on your closet, you should start by asking yourself how often you want to wear the items in your closet and work upwards from there. I won’t go into details myself because she already does a great job, but this seems like an approach that would work really well for me. I can see myself adapting this idea to other things, like books and music and craft supplies. If I can be realistic about how much yarn I can really use in a year or how many beautiful glass pieces I can properly display, it will be easier to figure out the right amount of stuff for me.