Growing up in the 90s in a low-income, 2-bed home, Robin Greenfield and his three siblings made the most of their modest Christmas with their single mum.
However, for the last 15 years Robin has tried to escape Christmas – even going to Mexico with his friends and creating a new festive tradition – seeing how long they could go before realising it’s Christmas Day.
‘Growing up, we celebrated Christmas, had the tree and all the presents. But now I have a bit of an aversion because it’s a consumer-driven holiday. It’s not living up to the values that it’s espoused,’ Robin, now 39 tells Metro.
So, this year on the 25th, there will be no stocking in his home, nor guests, decorations or Christmas tree and – most importantly – zero gifts.
That is because Robin is an extreme minimalist who has given away all of his possessions.
It’s a stark contrast to his life in 2010, when he was living a typical American lifestyle in North Wisconsin, ‘focused on material possessions, financial wealth and how society perceived me’, running a marketing company and on the path of reaching his goal of being a millionaire by the age of 30.
‘I was happy, healthy and loving my life. But I realised that nearly everything I was doing – the food I was eating, the car I was driving, the stuff I was buying, the trash I was creating, even the water I was drinking – was causing extreme destruction,’ says Robin.
So he embarked on a radical experiment to give away nearly all his possessions and by 2020, he owned just 44 things, including a towel, his passport, computer and one book. And this year, he decided to take it even further, and very publicly give away everything – including his shoes and clothes – as he walked from Canada to LA, where he sat naked in a park until someone leant him a blanket. For four months he owned absolutely nothing.
‘What I learned from that was how little I needed in order to be happy and healthy, and that it is just as important to be able to be a contributing member of society.
‘Some people, when they see someone who owns very little, they just assume that they’re a mooch. But part of my practice is seeing can I own very little but still be a deeply contributing member of society? Absolutely I can. Because our presence is one of the most important gifts that we have.
‘My words can inspire others, I can educate others, and it doesn’t require me to own anything in order to reach thousands of millions of people with knowledge and skills.’
Robin’s minimalist lifestyle isn’t limited to possessions – it extends to how he eats, washes, and even communicates. Over the years, the environmental activist has carried out a number of experiments in his lifetime, including not showering for 1,000 days and wearing every piece of litter he created in a month.
But for his latest project, consuming only food and medicine he has foraged, he’s had to acquire more stuff, including tools, preserving equipment and lots and lots of jars.
Robin, who hasn’t owned a phone for nearly a decade, now lives in a sauna house in rural Wisconsin on a friend’s land, which he has to clear out of every second Sunday so it can be used for its original purpose.
‘I have some possessions, because foraging requires items to store all of the food,’ he explains. ‘So most everything I own right now, the vast majority is for food – jars and food processing and foraging equipment. I have a minimal amount of stuff.’
He doesn’t even own loo roll, using instead the softest leaves he can grow that will decompose naturally in a composting toilet.
Speaking to Metro over Zoom from a laptop so old it’s camera no longer works, Robin isn’t visible, but his message is clear: We just don’t need so much stuff.
‘Not having a phone can be tough, but it is also worth it, because one of the greatest challenges of most of my peers is the constant connection and the inability to have time, to really rejuvenate inside and to really care for our bodies and minds.
‘For me being offline is so utterly important for focus, clarity, balance, health and happiness. It’s worth the inconvenience that I experience.’
And this year, Robin will not be celebrating – or even acknowledging – Christmas Day.
‘It will not be any different from any other day. There will be no Christmas meal or gifts. There will be nothing of any sort.’
His dinner will be the same as what he has eaten every day for months. ‘Wild rice and either venison or fish with mushrooms, stinging nettle, salt that I’ve harvested from the ocean, some herbs, probably some apple or pear sauce, and some black walnuts.’
Robin argues that we have more than we’ve ever had, yet are no happier than our ancestors – in fact, we may be worse off. His blog, Downsize your life, lists a number of benefits to simplifying your existence, including saving money, breaking free from societal constraints and reducing environmental impact.
‘Extreme consumerism isn’t even giving us what we thought, which is happiness and health and meaning and purpose,’ he adds. ‘We’re at an all time high for depression, anxiety, loneliness and overwhelm. So clearly, this excess is not working.’
