If you are a minimalist

[DawnM]

Did you become one by choice and if so, how?

 

Or have you always been that way?

 

I am kind of both.....I can get by with less, but given the choice, I don't.  I also grew up where things might be unavailable next week or month, so you stock up when you can.

 

I would love to be more of a minimalist, but I am not sure I can!  

 

Dawn

[SorrelZG]

I don't know if it's a choice if I feel compelled to get rid of extraneous things and a need to do so for my own internal peace and physical comfort. Although could only be considered a minimalist by Western standards, I think.

[Catwoman]

I'm more of a maximalist*** than a minimalist, but I'll bump your thread back to the top so actual minimalists will see it.

 

 

 

 

 

*** quite possibly not a real word, or if it is, it probably means something entirely different than the way I've used it here. :D I'm too lazy to look it up. :)

[Joshin]

I'm naturally this way. My mom, while not a hoarder, holds onto stuff. Everything has sentimental value. While she's neat and clean, and she only amasses quality goods, there was always so much stuff when I was growing up.

 

At nine, I made an inventory of every item in my room, then pared it down to just the things I enjoyed. In college, all my belongings fit into my little Toyota truck. I could move myself in one trip. I stayed that way until I was married. I was sort of a nomad, travelling and moving whenever the mood struck. DH is not a minimalist and he is the type that needs to set down roots. He saves everything. He has his office and area in the basement where he keeps all his stuff. The rest of our home is decorated in a minimalist Asian style. Very few extra things, beyond a few decorative items. Our family loosely follows the "Compact" (a buy nothing new/anti-consumerist movement), so we don't buy a lot of stuff anyway.

 

If I outlive my husband, I'll probably build myself one of those tiny home on wheels and be quite content with almost no possessions. I'll park it in a quiet little commune full of interesting people and live out my days.

[Pawz4me]

I think I've always been a minimalist.  Even when I was a teen and at least somewhat interested in having the "right" clothes, and my parents were pretty free with money, I didn't see the point of having more than a few pairs of jeans and shirts at a time.  That's the best example I can think of that likely indicates I was born with minimalist tendencies.  As far as food and household supplies -- I do like to keep an extra of most things we use regularly (i.e., an extra bottle of ketchup and mustard, extra toothpaste and deodorant, etc.).  And our pantry is relatively well stocked. It never gets anywhere near empty, or even half empty.  My minimalism mainly manifests itself as far as clothing, home decorations and things like that.

[Mommyfaithe]

I am minimalist except when it comes to books....and I have pared those down lately. I would love my home to reflect that however, I am outnumbered by the inhabitants of our home. Dh and kids are all " collectors".

[regentrude]

I am by no means a true minimalist (I still own more things than I need for bare survival), but I own far less "stuff" than anybody else I know.

 

I grew up in a society where one had to hoard, because things you could buy might not be available again, so people stocked up on all sorts of things. One saved every board, nail, screw, because you could not just go out and buy some when you needed them. Consequently, my parents' basement was quite the hoard.

 

I have no idea how I developed the mindset that less is more. When I left home, I did not have a whole lot of stuff; I moved overseas with a backpack and one suitcase for two years and did not have much stuff there either (DH did the same, somewhere else) - so I guess we have gotten used to it. I find getting rid of things and paring down possessions calming and satisfying.

[DawnM]

See, now you made me go and look it up.  I don't think that word means what you think it means.  :lol:

 

 

max·i·mal·ist

ˈmaksəməlist/

noun

 

1. 1.

   (esp. in politics) a person who holds extreme views and is not prepared to compromise.

    

adjective

 

1. 1.

   of or denoting an extreme opinion.

    

   "if we demand only maximalist ends, we will get nothing"

 

 

I'm more of a maximalist*** than a minimalist, but I'll bump your thread back to the top so actual minimalists will see it.





*** quite possibly not a real word, or if it is, it probably means something entirely different than the way I've used it here. :D I'm too lazy to look it up. :)

 

[Carrie12345]

I don't consider myself a minimalist and feel my house is very cluttered no matter how often I cull things. But when I looked up the median square footage per person for my region and multiply that by my family members, I can say our home (minus the kids' rooms, *maybe*) would seem cavernous and empty with that much space and the things we own now.

[J-rap]

I would consider myself kind of a minimalist -- :)  That is, "things" are not important to me.  During our first almost 8 years of marriage, my husband was in school and we lived on a student's income and were quite poor.  It didn't bother me in the least, and in fact I loved living in our charming but old, crumbly apartments with furniture we found in back alleys.  Three children were born during those years.  Now we live in a home that we've owned for 20 years so we've definitely gathered things over the years, but I believe I could walk out tomorrow not taking a thing except my computer and photo albums (okay, and maybe some books) and not be bothered at all.  I don't like "collections" (for myself) because they seem pointless to me.  I think these views have only been confirmed in recent years.  When did they begin?  Hard to say...  I'm from a traditional family growing up, father working and mother staying at home, not a lot of money but on the other hand we had everything we needed and I never felt like I was in want of anything.  I traveled for a year after my first two years of college, and realized that I could be very happy with just the things I was carrying on my back, and it felt very freeing.  I also read tons of historical biographies and was always so impressed by people who had very little in the way of things but did so much with their lives.  Not that those two things are even connected, of course, but it did make an impression on me.

[elegantlion]

I'm a minimalist wanna be. Now that it's just me and ds and the dog and the cat, I've pared down. I am more the keeper of things than dh was, but there is just less now. Books are my downfall. After this school semester is over, I plan on going through more stuff. I'm trying to be intentional about what I keep and make it serve a purpose, not just serve to collect dust. 

 

I'm also a sentimental keeper of things, and I have hoarders in my family, so it runs in my genes somewhere. I'm constantly on guard. My house is about 1100 sf and I probably won't ever have a bigger home. Once ds really moves out I could downsize further and be okay. 

 

I'm really trying to find the "best" for each area of my home, not just the "it'll work for now". Unfortunately I'm still more at the latter than the former. 

[SailorMom]

I think I could be considered one.  Moving has helped, but what really did it was realizing how much easier it was to keep things clean and organized when I didn't have as much crud all over.  I do have boxes of pictures I have to go through still (going to scan them all) and two or three boxes of kids' stuff from over the years.  But - if you walk into our house it can almost look a little bare. 

Paint would help - everything is white right now as we're in a rental - but I just can't get myself to do more painting after getting our house painted to rent it.

[Katy]

I don't think I was born that way.  My family moved a lot when I was a kid so my mom was constantly throwing stuff out rather than packing things we no longer used, and before that our house burned down.  Also. my mother tends to be one of those people who chooses very trendy decor items, and redecorates completely every 5 years or so.  As a result of those things I've let go of a lot of sentimental attachment to things. 

 

 

ETA: I do think it is a luxury to be a minimalist.  You're making a lot of assumptions about replacements being readily availible and being able to afford them whenever you need. 

[Baseball mom]

Sadly no I am not one :sad:  I would love to get rid of everything we don't use but every time I start going through stuff I start thinking "what if I need this"  or something similar.

[kewb]

I am a minimalist wannabe.  I find it very easy to purge my families stuff.  I can be pretty ruthless with most of my belongings but I do have attachment to some things. My family, however, is a bunch of hoarders and i spend my time battling the tides of stuff. 

[Pawz4me]

ETA: I do think it is a luxury to be a minimalist.  You're making a lot of assumptions about replacements being readily availible and being able to afford them whenever you need. 

 

Hmmm . . . not sure I agree with that.  I suppose it's how you (generic) view a minimalist lifestyle, and how you enter that lifestyle.

 

Certainly it's a luxury if you envision someone who has tons of "stuff" deciding to adopt a minimalist lifestyle and going through clearing out their house and donating/selling/throwing away lots of things.  But for someone who entered adulthood already a minimalist, there's rarely anything of significance to donate/throw away because those people are very careful about the "stuff" they bring into their homes and lives to begin with.  Typically they only acquire things that serve a purpose and are needed.  So no luxury there.  If anything it's the opposite, in that people who entered adulthood as minimalists haven't spent much money over the years on stuff they didn't need.

[elegantlion]

Hmmm . . . not sure I agree with that.  I suppose it's how you (generic) view a minimalist lifestyle, and how you enter that lifestyle.

 

Certainly it's a luxury if you envision someone who has tons of "stuff" deciding to adopt a minimalist lifestyle and going through clearing out their house and donating/selling/throwing away lots of things.  But for someone who entered adulthood already a minimalist, there's rarely anything of significance to donate/throw away because those people are very careful about the "stuff" they bring into their homes and lives to begin with.  Typically they only acquire things that serve a purpose and are needed.  So no luxury there.  If anything it's the opposite, in that people who entered adulthood as minimalists haven't spent much money over the years on stuff they didn't need.

 

Thankfully, my son is this way. He know what he wants, buys only that, keeps a minimal wardrobe and other items. If my parents would quit giving him stuff they think he needs his room would be very minimal. 

 

For me, I have more sentimental attachment to some of my stuff. Today, however, my house is a better reflection of who I am, not quite minimal yet. 

 

I don't think it's a luxury because I've pared down what I feel is necessary to own. I keep what I use. I come from an opposite mindset growing up. I bought what would work, hoping to buy the one great thing, then if you go the great thing, you'd find room for the "what worked" item. That creates clutter. My wardrobe was a huge issue in that respect. My books are an issue now. 

 

I think in order to embrace minimalism in your home, you have to start embracing the mindset. I'm in the midst of that and find it quite freeing actually. 

[SailorMom]

 

ETA: I do think it is a luxury to be a minimalist.  You're making a lot of assumptions about replacements being readily availible and being able to afford them whenever you need. 

 

 

I disagree.  It's not about throwing out useful items - that are actually needed and used.  It's about realizing when something is no longer needed or useful to you and donating it, selling it, etc.  It is also about not collecting a bunch of dust-collecting items that just sit on shelves, getting rid of clothes that are unworn or worn out, not having massive bins and boxes of seasonal decorations all over the attic, etc. 

Keep what is important, what you love, what is useful.  The rest is baggage.

[alef]

I've moved so many times over the course of my life that holding on to lots of just just isn't practical.

[Arcadia]

For me its probably both generic and by choice.  Clutter close me in.  I need the white space.  I also shared a bedroom with my younger brother until I moved out at 31.  So whatever I buy have to have some practical, immediate need purpose (other than soft toys). 

When I stayed at the university hostel, I like things in sight because I loathe hunting for stuff when I need it.  If I have something that I no longer need, I ask around to see which hostel mate would like to have it for free.  However I do think having the money to buy again does make a difference.  It is easier to give away something that I no longer need if I can buy again in 2-3 years time when I might need it again.  For example, I had a guinea pig cage and all the accessories that I gave away when my guinea pig died which in hostel.  I would have held on just in case if I did not think I could afford to buy again in the future.

I had always stayed in densely populated area.  Accessibility to basic needs and luxuries are not an issue. My parents had always pay for all my needs regardless of price tag so I never had to hold on to anything other than for sentimental reasons.  That helps in being able to be a minimalist.

 

Hubby is more of a pack rat.  He is eyeing upgrading to a townhome with a garage so that his stuff can be hoard neatly :lol:

[fraidycat]

I am a wannabe minimalist.

 

What it boils down to is I don't like responsibility (A.K.A. I'm lazy). So, to that end I want a small space to clean, less items of clothing to take care of, less dishes to was, etc.

 

We recently did downsize enough that our family of four moved from a 4 bedroom, 2 car garage (that only one car fit in) house into a 2 bedroom, barely one car garage (that we can/must fit our car in due to parking restrictions). I'm not done decluttering yet, but it's been a definite improvement, and keeping up with housework, while still not my strong suit, is soooo much easier and when I don't, it doesn't show as much (ie: we don't look like we belong on an episode of hoarders because we don't have enough stuff to make the piles look like mountain ranges unless EVERY item we own is pulled out of every closet at the same time.)

 

It is by choice, but also somewhat by nature. I can't concentrate in clutter. I feel claustrophobic, so I HAVE to keep the junk level down for the sake of my sanity.

[Jerico]

I am a wannabe minimalist.

 

What it boils down to is I don't like responsibility (A.K.A. I'm lazy). So, to that end I want a small space to clean, less items of clothing to take care of, less dishes to was, etc.

 

We recently did downsize enough that our family of four moved from a 4 bedroom, 2 car garage (that only one car fit in) house into a 2 bedroom, barely one car garage (that we can/must fit our car in due to parking restrictions). I'm not done decluttering yet, but it's been a definite improvement, and keeping up with housework, while still not my strong suit, is soooo much easier and when I don't, it doesn't show as much (ie: we don't look like we belong on an episode of hoarders because we don't have enough stuff to make the piles look like mountain ranges unless EVERY item we own is pulled out of every closet at the same time.)

 

It is by choice, but also somewhat by nature. I can't concentrate in clutter. I feel claustrophobic, so I HAVE to keep the junk level down for the sake of my sanity.

This is exactly me.

The kids aren't bad but my husband is the worst. He will not part with books, loves shoes, and has jobs/hobbies that come with so much stuff.

I was not this way for a long time but we've moved a lot in our marriage and honestly I'm tired of moving some of this stuff across the country so I have to love it or really need it to move it.

[PrairieSong]

My mom kept So. Much. Stuff. My SIL are still cleaning it out of my dad's house. Her main hobby was shopping. I don't want my kids to have to do that when I'm gone, so I'm trying to pare down. We do have loads of books though, and I have my share of yarn and fabric. So no, I'm not a total minimalist but I want to strike a happy balance.

[Catwoman]

See, now you made me go and look it up.  I don't think that word means what you think it means.  :lol:

 

 

max·i·mal·ist

 

ˈmaksəməlist/

 

noun

 

 

•  

  1.

   

  (esp. in politics) a person who holds extreme views and is not prepared to compromise.

   

adjective

 

•  

  1.

   

  of or denoting an extreme opinion.

   

  "if we demand only maximalist ends, we will get nothing"

Well, bummer. :glare:

 

I figured it probably didn't mean what I was hoping it meant.

 

I was secretly sort of wishing I'd invented a new word.

 

Epic fail on both counts. :D

[Joyofsixreboot]

I am a minimalist. Unfortunately my dh is not.

[kwickimom]

I never used to be and I am now. I am probably not a true minimalist but I am trying to be one. 

 

I HATE clutter. I hate stuff. I am not emotionally attached to any items. I feel like I can't rest or breathe with stuff around or out of place and  frequently just feel the need to toss or give away stuff. 

 

I married a hoarder  :ohmy:

 

 

 

[*Lulu*]

I hope to one day be a minimalist. I find myself paring down more each year.

 

Still, as long as my DH remains stubbornly attached to his odd bits of wire, coaxial cable, and computer parts, I will never achieve the level of maximalist minimalism.

[ChiMomNP]

Moving in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009 (twice), 2011 and in 2014 (across country and back, two or three times, I lose track).... has caused me to become a minimalist. I hate packing. I don't mind the moves, but I do mind packing. So I have the bare minimum. I need to know this household can be packed up and moved inside a week or so. The upside is our house is easy to keep clean, very little to cause clutter. 

[mathnerd]

I am a minimalist. Because I have no attachment to material things - at all. But, I married a hoarder who has a hoarder father - both of them save everything from old paint cans to rusted nails.

 

I am a minimalist by nature because I grew up with a minimalist mother - her house has only 2 dinner plates and 2 glasses (visitors need to call ahead so that she can get more plates and cups from storage - I am not kidding). Her house is spartan almost bare looking - she does not decorate because decorations collect dust. I moved overseas with 2 suitcases and the amount of stuff stayed the same for almost 10 years. I still have only less than a dozen items of clothing (including work clothes). And I want and need very less.

 

But, my DH and DS have an ocean of stuff. I am drowning in their stuff most of the time. Clutter makes me uncomfortable and I always wish there was less stuff around me.

[LucyStoner]

I grew up poor to the point of not always having housing and food so I am tightfisted with with money. That's step one.

 

My mother was all but a hoarder and I grew up around a lot of mess which I really disliked. That's step two.

 

I went to hippie dippie high school and learned "green" before it was called that. "Stuff", be that labels or consuming lots of things, was neither cool nor the norm. That's step three.

 

And there in three simple factors you have why I am definitely in the range of "minimalist" and also why I don't call myself that (it's too bobo in paradise-y for my roots and too uncool for the preferred aesthetic in my high school).

 

I suppose given the same steps one and two, I could have become a near hoarder who buys stuff I don't need because it makes me feel un-poor and keeps stuff I don't want because I worry about having to buy it again later but that spot in the family got taken by my younger brother so minimalist tightwad was all that was left for me. :p

[DawnM]

I hope you know I was only teasing you.  I thought it was a great word, but wanted to look it up.

 

 

Well, bummer. :glare:

I figured it probably didn't mean what I was hoping it meant.

I was secretly sort of wishing I'd invented a new word.

Epic fail on both counts. :D

 

[Joshin]

I don't see minimalism as a luxury at all. In fact, the ultimate luxury is living in a time and place where even those with less financial means can amass a crazy amount of stuff. A true minimalist isn't constantly buying and purging the same items. In fact, many minimalist rarely buy anything so we don't need the luxury of a constant supply of new stuff being manufactured and made available.

 

Judging from the average wedding registry, most people have in their homes a set of 8 "everyday" place settings and 12 "fancy" place settings. That's pricey to purchase and requires more space to store. I have a nice set of Corelle I picked up at a thrift store years ago. It has four place settings and works well for daily use. I picked up four more plates in the same pattern a couple of years ago from a different thrift store (not the bowls or salad plates, just the dinner plates) for when we have guests for dinner. My kids are getting older and have yet to break one (touch wood!), so at this rate it's highly unlikely I will ever need another set of dishes again. I don't need a huge full set of dishes when the neighbors are invited over for pizza and cards, so I don't purchase it. If we were to throw a bigger or fancier get-together, we'd borrow settings from family, neighbors or friends, not buy them.

 

Another example. I craft a lot. I make a a dozen holiday cards each year to send to friends and family. The average person might buy a Cricut or other fancy item to make cards. Someone on the misguided minimalist path may buy a Cricut or other fancy device, use it to make their holiday cards, then forget about it until August, when they decide to purge it and sell it. Then, in December, they rush out to buy a replacement Cricut to make this year's cards. As a minimalist, I skip the fancy extra stuff, and make my cards the old fashioned way with scissors, a bone folder and an exacto knife -- small items that take up little room, rarely require replacement, and serve more than one purpose in crafting and everyday life. Now, if I did a lot of scrapbooking, a Cricut may be a good item even in a minimalist household, but I don't so it's not.

 

I never buy one-use items (except toilet paper, lol!) or items I only need once every few years. These are borrowed or bartered for, or I find a creative solution using what I already have. I only purchase items I will use regularly, or at the very least annually for a decade or more. Although I purchase used, I only purchase quality items that will hopefully last a lifetime. In practice this means there is very little plastic in my home, and most designs are classic and simple so they don't go out of style. I often prefer older items if they have moving parts, because those are usually simple to repair and don't contain any demon plastic (which is difficult to impossible to repair).

[OH_Homeschooler]

Add me to the list of those trying to be more minimalist. I've made so many donation trips to Goodwill this year, as my kids grow older and I know I am done having more. A lot of the things I donated were gifts the kids have outgrown, but there was so much of it. How many cheap plastic toys do kids need? And there were things I purchased because I thought they were must-haves, but turns out, they rarely were. 

 

Anyway, after my millionth trip to donate stuff it finally clicked...if I don't want to keep getting rid of stuff, I have to stop bringing stuff in. I love to shop though! So now, I'm learning to love to browse instead. And one of the first places I like to visit when I go shopping now is Goodwill. I've found some really neat things there for a good price! But I am usually quite conservative when I buy something. I want to clean or wash anything I buy there before I use or wear it, and I guess that gets at immediate gratification. If it's something really worth having, I'll be happy to put in that effort to make it valuable to me. If it's not, well then I probably don't need it. Starting at Goodwill also changes my mindset. It reminds me of how much stuff I've donated there, so that is salient when I consider an impulse purchase. It also changes my mindset for what is an acceptable cost for something, because items are so inexpensive there. 

 

That's where I'm at with minimalism right now, mostly trying not to buy more stuff! But I'm pleased with how far I've come in the past year and look forward to continuing to adopt a more minimalist lifestyle. 

 

Another example. I craft a lot. I make a a dozen holiday cards each year to send to friends and family. The average person might buy a Cricut or other fancy item to make cards. Someone on the misguided minimalist path may buy a Cricut or other fancy device, use it to make their holiday cards, then forget about it until August, when they decide to purge it and sell it. Then, in December, they rush out to buy a replacement Cricut to make this year's cards. As a minimalist, I skip the fancy extra stuff, and make my cards the old fashioned way with scissors, a bone folder and an exacto knife -- small items that take up little room, rarely require replacement, and serve more than one purpose in crafting and everyday life. Now, if I did a lot of scrapbooking, a Cricut may be a good item even in a minimalist household, but I don't so it's not.

 

 

Wow, this is a perfect description of why I have a lot of junk I'm trying to get rid of. For me a lot of the problem is stuff like kitchen gadgets, or basically anything where I think if I had it I would cook more, or save money somehow in the long run. But in the end the gadgets just get to be annoying to get out and use and I just use whatever old-fashioned tool can accomplish the job (like a knife). I'm learning.