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Anyone out there a minimalist when it comes to living ?
- Thread starter glocke12
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I think I may be one of you. I am the same age, have a decent job and way too much accumulated stuff. Simplicity is sounding better all the time. 
i wish I had less stuff... the problem is I'm constantly going back and forth from school to home and friends places, and having a lot of "stuff" means I have that much less to pack and take with me. Plus my job necessitates certain things, my school requires other things, and I'm in the awkward situation where I have 3 computers, when I only want 1 (maybe 2 if I keep the desktop)
I'm 43 and own very little. I try to purge on a regular basis to keep the clutter to a minimum. I'm of German heritage (pretty sure that's where this trait comes from), so I'm freak about neatness in my house. If I don't need or use it, it usually goes right out to the trash. I don't like keeping things around that I don't need.
I always feel good about replacing a TV, computer or car when it's near the end of it's useful life. Also, not to have so many things that they lose meaning.
I sort of did this last year. We had a yard sale at my aunt's house and she told me I could sell anything I wanted there. At first I thought I didn't have anything to sell. A week later, I decided to look around the apartment and found lot's of things I didn't need anymore. A lot of it was just old stuff that I bought for one purpose or another and then stopped using it and stored it. I ended up hauling out a lot of things and made a substantial amount of money last summer. Now my apartment seems much more spacious and refined.
I recalled a line from the movie Fight Club where Brad Pitt says "The things you own, end up owning you." I thought that was so true, especially in light of how you said the maintenance and upkeep of all your stuff adds up. I realized that last year and now I don't have as many things to pay to keep.
Like another person already said, TV holds almost no interest to me and I had canceled my Dish Network over 5 years ago and have not looked back. I get a couple of channels on the aerial and thats it. I do watch videos on occasion. But the TV I was paying over $60 per month I think and I would be lucky to turn it on at least once a week, so I figured I wasn't getting my money's worth.
I recalled a line from the movie Fight Club where Brad Pitt says "The things you own, end up owning you." I thought that was so true, especially in light of how you said the maintenance and upkeep of all your stuff adds up. I realized that last year and now I don't have as many things to pay to keep.
Like another person already said, TV holds almost no interest to me and I had canceled my Dish Network over 5 years ago and have not looked back. I get a couple of channels on the aerial and thats it. I do watch videos on occasion. But the TV I was paying over $60 per month I think and I would be lucky to turn it on at least once a week, so I figured I wasn't getting my money's worth.
My biggest issue with stuff, is that my parents grew up in the Great Depression so they hung on to everything (I understand that's common) and since I was raised with those values I have that same "problem" to an extent. We have a lot of stuff that was theirs that came with the house that we still haven't managed to do anything with after more years than I care to mention. I have a really hard time just throwing things away if I think they're still useful.
We know, we really need to have a yard sale, we keep saying we're going to, but never seem to. Maybe this year we can make that happen.
We don't have a problem donating to Goodwill, but we never seem to get around to gathering the stuff up and making a Goodwill run. Maybe this year we can also make that happen.
I don't think that we'll ever have a minimalist home but I think we'd both really like to have less stuff. One day at a time, keep moving forward, we'll get there eventually. I hope.
We know, we really need to have a yard sale, we keep saying we're going to, but never seem to. Maybe this year we can make that happen.
We don't have a problem donating to Goodwill, but we never seem to get around to gathering the stuff up and making a Goodwill run. Maybe this year we can also make that happen.
I don't think that we'll ever have a minimalist home but I think we'd both really like to have less stuff. One day at a time, keep moving forward, we'll get there eventually. I hope.
My wife is a big donator. I wasn't until I married her and now we make a spring run to Goodwill/Salvation Army and one in the fall.
You just have to set a deadline for yourself. Don't wait for someone else in the family to start gathering stuff up, just do it and others will probably join in. My wife usually starts and I jump in and we end up donating a lot. The benefit to us is writing it off on the taxes so I also use that as motivation to start.
What has helped me with keeping clutter down were a couple things:
First moving from Seattle to Philly made us throw out/donate a bunch of stuff.
Then our new place has a fireplace. That really helps with the junk.
However the GF's clothes keep multiplying!
First moving from Seattle to Philly made us throw out/donate a bunch of stuff.
Then our new place has a fireplace. That really helps with the junk.
However the GF's clothes keep multiplying!
Well, anyone who paid me a visit today would say "What, minimalist? What are you smoking??" But it's better now than what it was! I have the same issue about tossing things of useful/sentimental value. For example, a lot of the equipment in my kitchen came from my parents. They gave me a lot of stuff (in reality, I think that was their opportunity to purge
) that has some meaning to me. The frying pan that I used when I was 12 to cook eggs for the first time. The brown measuring cups that mom always used when I was growing up. The shirts that my late grandparents gave me. I can't bring myself to toss any of those out. On the other hand, there are plenty of things I've bought for myself, then looked at later and said "Wow, I shouldn't have bought this. What a waste of $20." Then it's a fight between "Well, you might yet use this in the future, and that'll justify the purchase!" and "Just toss it, if you ever REALLY need it, then buy another one."
As for trying to get something started, try this: Get a box or recycling bin and set it in your garage or basement, kind of like a garbage can. Whenever you run across an item that you want to get rid of, toss it in the bin. When the bin gets full, you've got your Goodwill run, or your first garage sale table. Make it a point to go through your books, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes (!), your junk drawers, and your closet. Toss whatever you can. I've almost always got such a box on the go.
At first you will part with very little because of all the sentimental value and the "but I might still use this one day". Eventually you desensitize yourself a bit, convince yourself that it truly is junk.
After I graduated college all of my possessions were able to fit in the bed of a F-150. 2 years later, the only things I have added to my possession were a tv and a nice tv stand.
If there were a TV show that was the exact opposite of "Hoarders" I'd be featured.
If there were a TV show that was the exact opposite of "Hoarders" I'd be featured.
glocke12: Reading your post is like looking into a mirror. I feel the same way about my possessions.
I've accumulated too much over the years and started to realize that, as the saying goes, "the things you own, end up owning you".
So for the past several years I've been working to get rid of a lot of it. Either by selling, or even better, by donating to charity.
The attached picture of Steve is my muse.
Is that an old Michell GyroDec turntable in the background?
glocke12 - if you are feeling artsy:
Michael Landy 'Break Down' - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1162348.stm
Cheers,
OW
I'm a minimalist in everything except tools. I've got a growing collection of hammers, drills, screwdrivers, testing equipments, and so on. Just last week I brought a multimeter and a no contact voltage detector kit to track down an electrical short in the house. It ended up be a never used switch. Wasted the better part of a weekend to track down the (*&@#$
If not for the constant repair work required around the house, I'd own very little. I only use 1 knife for all my cooking needs. My wife has a whole knife block of all kinds of knives. I only use a 6" chef's knife for cutting, carving, paring, slicing, dicing...you name it.
If not for the constant repair work required around the house, I'd own very little. I only use 1 knife for all my cooking needs. My wife has a whole knife block of all kinds of knives. I only use a 6" chef's knife for cutting, carving, paring, slicing, dicing...you name it.
Me too. When I started off I bought a lot of super-cheap tools (think dollar store, Harbor Freight... or worse!) Now that I've started buying "proper" tools I find I can give away the cheapo screwdrivers, measuring tapes, etc.
(Except that I never seem to have enough screwdrivers or measuring tapes. Seems every time I need one, I can't find it...)
I have a Lee Valley Peasant Chef's Knife that I love and use a lot. It's a carbon steel blade, so it's blackened and looks scary, but it's a great little knife.
I love minimalism - everywhere: Interiors, design, art, cars, pens.
Leo Babauta's ZenHabits.net is a great website if you're really into it.
Leo Babauta's ZenHabits.net is a great website if you're really into it.
Rather than throwing out the things I own, I'd only buy items I know I will be using more than once in the first place. I got a lot of artbooks (movies & video games) but I know I will flick through them every now and then. Or novels I know I will revisit at some point, like I do with Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" right now.