S/O Minimalist Living - what kinds of things do you keep?

[Hedgehog]

I've been reading one or two threads about minimalist living, and also skimmed a bit of the zenhabits.net site that Peela (?) mentioned. I NEED to do this!!

 

But I have a question. If you are a minimalist (or a wannabe!), do you keep anything more than what you are currently using? What about photographs? Letters from special people? Things your children have made for you?

 

See, what I'm thinking, is that I could really use to minimise the stuff and clutter in our lives, but I don't know what to keep and what to ditch.

 

Help! Advice appreciated!

[MrsMe]

Me too. I have odd things that are simply handy, but not used alot. Some things handy only for company which we have once a year or every 2 (that's even too much. I like to call it an invasion, not company, as we're broke, tired and on clean up duty when they're gone. Done w/rant). Like a convection/toaster oven and cart (handy for those extras), a barstool chair that is in the way, bench seat for table, extra pillows/towels, blankets. I need a guide.:tongue_smilie:

[Peela]

But I have a question. If you are a minimalist (or a wannabe!), do you keep anything more than what you are currently using? What about photographs? Letters from special people? Things your children have made for you?

 

See, what I'm thinking, is that I could really use to minimise the stuff and clutter in our lives, but I don't know what to keep and what to ditch.

 

 

Well I guess thats the Great Question, isnt it? What to ditch and what to keep! How to decide. What if you need it again.

 

I tend to do it in layers. I will go through my bookshelves and cull a layer of books i know I wont read or refer to again and that I dont value highly. I will go through my wardrobe and cull anything I didnt wear last season and am not likely to next- go through the kitchen container cupboard and throw all the containers that dont have lids anymore, or an excess of a certain type. So, thats one layer.

Next time through, I might apply a different criteria. One of the criteria I have heard of and sometimes used is "if you don't love it AND/OR you haven't used it in the last year, get rid of it.". So I will go through my clothes and look at my clothes with a different eye- do I love it? Does it make me happy to wear it? Is it my style this season? Even if I wore it last season and loved it...and I ready to let it go now? Am I over that colour? Or, as for my clothes, I might decide that I only want to keep 5 pairs of jeans and 5 shirts, 5 tshirts....some sort of limit on my wardrobe, so then I have to discern what I love enough to keep. I literally got rid of 3/4 of my wardrobe a few months back...and I havent missed anything. I find it much easier to decide what to wear, and there is space in there- even though I have bought more clothes since then.

 

In the kitchen, we had way too many pots and pans and vases. I got rid of anything that wasnt in good condition, then found a spot to put some that I dont use often, that was out of the way.

 

The real minimalists might work from teh other way up. They might take away absolutely everything...and then add back in only the essentials. There are hundreds of peopel out there culling their possessions back to 100 or 50 personal possessions (not counting communal household stuff). So many different ways to discern what to keep.

 

You just have to make up some criteria. If you havent decluttered before, it can be scary, but if you do it right, you really never miss what you throw away- you never even notice it is gone and never think of it again! When it comes to papers, sometimes its better to put them all in a box very neatly somewhere and come back to them at a time when you can sort through them for what you really want to keep- and then have a criteria that you will keep 5 artpieces from each year or something. Maybe practice in other areas first before you attack the really sentimental stuff. Decluttering is addictive- I get a high from it. I get a high from letting the stuff go, and from having empty space there instead. I literally get giddy from it. So I am a bit ruthless. I understand not eeryone is like that..for my dh is is so painful he cant do it. I suspect it is a personality type.

 

When it comes to photos, some people scan them all and put them on discs. Same with CDs...I have one friend who live sin a very small space and has a large music collection- she is slowly putting it all on her computer and then backing that up. That way....with photos and music..they don't take up physical space.

 

In answer to your question (sorry for my waffle) yes I definitely keep certain things like letters, and definitely more than what I am currently using. We have a plastic Christmas tree- it only gets used once a year. If you actually use it...ever..it might be worth keeping. Most of us have stuff we literally never use.

I think the point is to start where you are comfortable. It can get addictive further along....then the feeling of letting go of a bunch of letters can be good, evne though a few months ago you woldnt have dreamed of letting them go...or excessive artwork from kids....or too much linen that is barely used.

[Soror]

I do keep some mementos, that are personal. I dont' generally keep just plain cards that are signed without any kind of note. Most of my pics are on the computer.

 

Like Peela say most people do it in layers, that personal layer would be one of the final things, I think most people tackle. I would look at the basic stuff. First for those things you hardly use I would examine how often you do actually use it and is there something else that could do double duty.

[Tarreymere]

We downsized from a large house to a mobile home so in a way it was a lot easier to pick and choose what to keep and what to get rid of. There was only so much space inside our new place for 'stuff'.

Our photos are on computer, we kept very few personal papers, and the only books I have are the homeschool ones we are using and even with only those books we have so many it makes me crazy sometimes. I decided that we can use the library or start downloading books. We have a ton of music but it is all on computer too.

The only clothes we keep are the ones we wear regularly and really like. DH has like seven pairs of work pants and two pairs of jeans. I have three pairs of jeans and a couple denim skirts. We don't even bother with being in style. In our leisure time we both wear plain t-shirts, denim, and sneakers. When we moved I did have to ditch a bag of DH's socks and underwear, just because he had so much of them. I got rid of a lot of my clothes that I hardly ever wore, a lot of the kid's clothes that were just plain redundant, and a lot of shoes, too.

I don't wear jewelry other than my wedding ring. I had also accumulated a ton of personal care products like lotions and makeup, so I did have to go through all of that stuff and keep what I felt I was likely to use and ditch the rest. The kids don't have a ton of toys, but what they do have they have learned to take care of.

I have only enough pots, plate, and pans for one meal, same with cutlery and cups. We don't have overnight guests that I haven't given birth to, so they know what they are in for if they want to stay.

My big problem areas are my yarn stash and my fabric stash. I also have too many school supplies like construction paper and crafty stuff. All in all, it has worked out. I do have periods of time when I go through and toss things still, but there isn't so much to go through anymore, the house is a lot smaller but so much less cluttered! We also replaced the carpet with vinyl flooring, so it is easier to sweep and keep clean, especially with the wood stove in the living room.