How minimalism is a consumerist menace

There is a problem with minimalism. It is most dramatically and publicly illustrated by Marie Kondo—top tidier—selling things on her web site. How does something as self-aware as minimalism; something as interested in eliminating excess, stuff, clutter, from our lives; something as interested in respect for things (central to Marie Kondo) become a tool for excess consumption? 

Packing for a trip always makes me feel the need to buy something. How does trying to choose just what I need for a weekend have the power to make me think that I don’t have enough stuff? And why does it seem that the further the trip, the more I need to bring? That might some sense for some trips—when you need to bring crucial or important items that are not available or are extremely expensive or hard to find at your destination. But I’m not logical about it.

A weekend in a city with virtually all of the stores and products I usually have available nevertheless fills me with the realization that  nothing I own is worth packing, or that I don’t have quite the right black sweater, despite having three. I fight an atypical urge to shop for clothes. 

It is impossible to choose exactly the right things for an unknown future, whether a weekend trip or the rest of my life. Which is fine, as long as the minimization doesn’t lead to unnecessary consumption, either in the form of panicked last-minute black sweater purchases or replacing perfectly useful and reasonably pleasing items because they don’t feel completely perfect all of the time.