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Minimalism?

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seaurchin

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
3,960
I mean the kind of minimalism where you can still have whatever you really like or want, or things that "spark joy," as Marie Kondo says. Only cutting out what you don't want.

I have downsized houses and gotten rid of a lot of stuff too. A simplified life with a fraction of the possessions I used to have makes me feel more together and free to live in the present, rather than tied down by endless things I'm supposed to get around to. BUT if I love something, I will still get it or keep it. :)

This has been a process over a few years and many little changes. For just a few examples, I still like scented candles but now they're all in one place and I know what I have. So I only have a few extras at a time, not forgotten stashes of them gathering dust around the house.

I got rid of my old bedroom set in the move, then realized I don't want another one (besides the bed). I like keeping everything in the closet better, where I can see it all at once. I only have a few outfits now anyway.

And I've noticed that after I switch purses, I don't go back to the old ones. I guess I just kept them because I didn't want to "waste" something I had paid for. But the money is spent when something is bought; keeping things no longer used doesn't bring the money back.

I also tended to keep equipment and supplies from hobbies that had run their course, again because of not wanting to waste money that was already spent long ago.

There's so much more. My biggest indulgence these days is probably jewelry, but I have cleared out a lot that I no longer wear (and have one more round to go). Now the perfume collections I've seen on here are making me practically drool lately. But I'm starting with an assortment of miniatures and deluxe samples, to see if I'd be as happy with that as with all full-sized bottles.

How about you? Also, what do you NOT want to get rid of?
 
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Good for you @seaurchin. This is a challenging topic for me. Sorry for the long explanation to follow.

At heart I am a minimalist but I think in another life I was a Depression era baby because I want, no need, abundance. So I know those 2 concepts are at odds with each other so let me try to explain.

Our fridge is always full. I mean always. I need to make sure we have enough food for a week or more. Before Covid this was how I was and Covid hasn't changed anything that way. You will never open my refrigerator or freezer and say wow how empty. LOL no. But it is organized. I have this need to have an abundance of food. It never spoils and I only buy what I know we will eat before it spoils. That has been ingrained in me since childhood. My mom taught us wasting food is a sin. So many are hungry in this world. And that has stayed with me.

Regarding jewelry. I have a lot of it. But I don't wear a lot of jewelry at once. Rather I wear earrings and my ER and WB and that is generally all I wear at once. So perhaps less than most PSers wear but that is my comfort level. I am a minimalist at heart. And while Bubbalah has an ostentatious setting she will be reset to most likely a solitaire when I have more energy and time. Now is not the time and I do enjoy wearing her in her current setting. But at heart I am a solitaire girl.

Regarding things like clothes. I love to have more than enough of *things* like boots, clothes, etc. All in duplicates if possible. When I love something I want to make sure I don't run out of it if that makes sense. To the point of perhaps absurdity. When I love something I tend to get too many of that thing and some could view that as wasteful. Maybe even I view it as wasteful under certain circumstances but I cannot seem to stop. For example I got my Olang boots in the three colors they come in and then I had to get another pair in red. Who needs two red pairs? But I rationalize because we have two homes I can leave the extra red pair in the other home. And don't get me started on all my SW boots. I truly have too many pairs in duplicate and triplicate colors. Ridiculous. But I can always rationalize why.

I abhor clutter and love clean lines and lots of open space. Which we have in both homes. Despite my collection of things. All bring me joy however and I don't let it get in the way of my clean and open spaces.

We still have almost all our bikes (over 30 in the collection) even though we only ride one.

I have dozens of pairs of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. Who needs that many pairs? Yet I still keep buying.


Another example. I don't like the gas tank in the car to go below 3/4 full. My DH and I disagree about that but it makes me anxious if it goes to half full. Fill that baby up. IDK why I am this way but I need it to be almost full all the time. :/

One day I want to get rid of all the things we don't use. But for now I just like the comfort of knowing they are there. Normal? IDK but normal is overrated anyway IMO. I have never been "normal" lol.

To answer your question what I don't want to get rid of. I don't want to get rid of anything right now. Eventually I do want to get rid of most of our bikes. And clean out my closet (yet again) of all the clothes I have not worn for more than a decade. I have so many closets and I keep too much. Soon it will be time to purge the closets of clothes and shoes I no longer wear.

In life all I need truly is my DH and our cats and shelter and food. And I know it. But for better or worse this is how I am.
 
I am an unapologetic maximalist, always have been; always will be. I don't know too much about other areas but home decor took a hard turn toward minimalism during the big recession. The depressing gray/greige trend that steered away from color also began then but that's another story. Finally, the trend is reversing and I am pretty happy about it. I try very hard to stick with my own style regardless but it is nice to feel fashionable again lol!
 
I am the opposite of a minimalist in every way.I lile to collect lovely things, what ever they are. I find minimalist houses lacking the cozy,homely look I crave in my own home. I have too much of everything really but I still find myself acquiring more=)2
 
I err minimalist. I hate having large amounts of stuff, sitting unused. My husband is a low key hoarder. For my own stuff/ stuff my husband doesn’t care about, I’ll purge maybe 1-2x/ year. We used to primarily donate to a homeless shelter but we’ve since moved so the stuff I’d usually donate has been sitting until I head back in that direction.

For example - we have boxes that were unpacked from our move over a year ago. In it was my small collection of Le Creuset bakeware. I never used it - I prefer the Pyrex because I don’t feel like I have to be careful with it. So I sold it all. I got rid of the majority of my old clothing when I lost weight. I used to bake all the time but don’t care to anymore, so I sold the kitchen aid mixer too. I purge my orchid collection regularly... There aren’t many things I love enough not to get rid of.

On the flip side we have a ton of books and dvds because my husband wants them (even though he never uses them). We always have to have tons of food in the house (this started before the pandemic). My husband just wants us to have a lot on hand. We had enough that we were able to share with our old neighbors and everyone had 2-3 weeks of food at the end. My husband wanted to go out and buy more to stock us up again. He has a ton of clothing. He has so much clothes - we needed a large dresser. He has lots of sunglasses, hats, and two pairs of wireless earbuds (plus he uses my pair and he has a ton of wired earbuds).

Forgot to mention - if something is a good deal and I know I’ll use it, I’ll buy a lot of it. My pets usually have all their supplies stockpiled. I do hoard for them.
 
missy said:
My mom taught us wasting food is a sin.
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My mom used to say this all the time!
And now I say it too. I will not throw food away.
If produce starts to go south, I plan a meal to use it up.

I am not a minimalist, nor a hoarder, but somewhere inbetween.
I cannot have enough jewelry, and that is my downfall.
Furniture, clothes, shoes---eh, I have enough of that. I only shop for that stuff if it is really necessary.
 
5.5 years ago, I had a fire in my apartment. I was lucky that the fire was contained in the bedroom, but between the fire, water, and smoke damage, I actually only took about 30% of the possessions I had had with me to my new apartment. Initially, it was a huge shock. I mourned the loss of many items. Things I had fond memories of, family mementos, my long-curated cashmere sweater collection! But eventually, I started to see that fire as an opportunity. It had taken the work of divesting myself of the burden of all of those possessions out of my hands. It was brutal, painful, but eventually I made peace with the loss.

The very next year, I met my now-husband. He grew up in an unstable immigrant family, and he has a really complicated relationship with "stuff". His mother was a hoarder toward the end of her life, and he definitely has those tendencies. When I moved in with him, I had to get rid of another 50% of my possessions, as our apartment is fairly small, and he already had a lot of stuff he refused to part with. And as we have lived together, I have given away more and more, and continue to accumulate less. It's not that I have nothing, I just have... less.

I knit, so I still have a stash of yarn, just less. I still have a collection of summer sundresses (still too many, in fact), but as I have lost weight over the last 2 years, I have not replaced those which became too big and I gave away. I still love shoes, but I have become more realistic about what I actually wear, so I no longer have a shoe museum. I still have more handbags than I need, but now it's 10 in various shapes and sizes, rather than 50.

I love perfumes, but I try to enjoy via the smallest size available. If that's a rollerball, even better! I love candles, but limit myself to how many I can have on-hand at any given time.
 
stracci2000 said:
My mom used to say this all the time!
And now I say it too. I will not throw food away.
If produce starts to go south, I plan a meal to use it up.

I am not a minimalist, nor a hoarder, but somewhere inbetween.
I cannot have enough jewelry, and that is my downfall.
Furniture, clothes, shoes---eh, I have enough of that. I only shop for that stuff if it is really necessary.
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We are about the same age. Our parents taught us the value of food on the table and shelter above our heads. To be grateful for everything we have and never to take things for granted. We grew up with those core values.

My (mom’s dad) grandfather grew up with nothing. He ran away at age 14 from an abusive step mom after his mom died. He was on his own and made a good life from nothing through hard work and hardships. He was a difficult man but looking at his background one understands. Now of course. When I was younger I didn’t realize. But nevertheless he was a good man. A strong man. And my parents raised us to be thankful for it all and to be kind and generous.

I had a privileged childhood.We were not rich. Solidly middle class. One income household. But we were rich in love and acceptance for who we were. I am grateful and realize how fortunate we were/are. I try giving back as much as I can. It matters. Sorry for the tangent. Just musing out loud. And all these are the reasons I don’t waste food.
 
I’ve come a long way from where I was with my relationship with things. Back about ten years ago I belonged to Freecycle and acquired lots of things, my downfall was kids clothes. I literally had bags and bags of clothes because I wanted to make sure if anything happened to me our son would be taken care of. Of course it was totally irrational, DH wouldn’t let him go without and neither would his family. Eventually he told me that the house would never be uncluttered if I didn’t stop.

Now everything has a place and I do try not to keep things I’m not using. DH and I each have a cabinet we keep our collections in. I have gone through this before to get rid of some stuff and I will probably again. Jewelry, I have four jewelry boxes full and it all brings joy =)2

47528849-C19A-4ECC-9D24-4B7C4B4CAD64.jpeg
 
I have the same tendencies as @missy to a T.

I've become "better" about rehoming clothes. I had very nice things , but before I moved I put everything that didn't fit my body OR lifestyle on clothes racks , got fancy bags and let my girlfriends "shop". They quite liked it (the women's shelters in my area didn't take clothes at that time).

Kid's stuff is a struggle though. A lot of energy goes into tidying, cleaning and organizing that.... I guess I have no choice for a few years though. I am trying to not be crazy regarding shopping for toys and clothes. I try to find timeless and long lasting items (but have learned the hard way that expensive doesn't necessarily mean long lasting...).

DH is a Minimalist and would prefer an all white environment without furniture besides a couch... No "stuff"...



ETA : wasting food IS a sin. For all the reasons that were already listed and environmental reasons.
It does happen (box opened already without me realizing it etc). But it must be an absolute exception.
 
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kipari said:
I have the same tendencies as @missy to a T.

I've become "better" about rehoming clothes. I had very nice things , but before I moved I put everything that didn't fit my body OR lifestyle on clothes racks , got fancy bags and let my girlfriends "shop". They quite liked it (the women's shelters in my area didn't take clothes at that time).

Kid's stuff is a struggle though. A lot of energy goes into tidying, cleaning and organizing that.... I guess I have no choice for a few years though. I am trying to not be crazy regarding shopping for toys and clothes. I try to find timeless and long lasting items (but have learned the hard way that expensive doesn't necessarily mean long lasting...).

DH is a Minimalist and would prefer an all white environment without furniture besides a couch... No "stuff"...
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I love all white furniture with big wide open spaces. I got that finally with the updated living room at our beach house. It was a struggle as my dh likes color and warmth. So in that way I’m more like your DH @kipari :)
 
missy said:
I love all white furniture with big wide open spaces. I got that finally with the updated living room at our beach house. It was a struggle as my dh likes color and warmth. So in that way I’m more like your DH @kipari :)
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I actually dream of it too... But with so many kids a white sofa is a no no...


We have a very open floor plan and white walls , though.... Nothing on thé walls, all white kitchen....no rugs, hardwood floors... Good compromise between aspirations and necessity
 
kipari said:
1608134083570.png


That's his dream room. Well that room with that view minus the "clutter" on thé table and minus the rug...
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I love it!❤️
 
@kipari this is our compromise

177D627D-9C32-4ADD-B19A-943A1C944275.png

Right now our rugs are packed away. I sort of enjoy the bare floor look but we will be putting our white shag rugs back in January probably. White shag. Another compromise by Greg:lol:
 
I’m in between. @winnietucker your description of a low key hoarder made me laugh because that’s my husband! He’ll fill up every horizontal surface he can with crap he collects. Drives me nuts. We have what feels like 900 bookcases for his books (he’s constantly buying them) and other treasures.

I like a homey house but am trying to get rid of stuff. My husband doesn’t like it when I get rid of stuff, even though he doesn’t know what we have, so I do it a little at a time. I actually look forward to some times where I am at home and he’s at work so that I can just get rid of stuff and he’ll never know. I don’t dare touch his collections, but house stuff? Sure.

I’ve sold or am selling much of my jewelry. I like to look at it, but it just sits there. Like someone else said, you already spent the money when you bought it. I do try to recoup some of my costs there, but clothes and shoes and house stuff, I just give it away. I’ve tried to sell and it just sits there while on Facebook marketplace which defeats the point. If someone can use it, I’d rather just give it to them.

like @missy, if I find clothes or shoes I really like, I’ll buy multiples of them. I don’t see that as hoarding, or being a maximalist, I see that it’s just making sure you have stuff that’s comfortable when the first version wears out.

so I guess I’m neither but working on having less stuff, although I’ll always have stuff. The picture of that minimalist house is depressing to me, honestly it seems so cold and uninviting.
 
It's weird for me. I am a neat freak so I hate clutter. My house is always neat and clean. I start to feel claustrophobic in a room in which my husband has added an extra item. I will need to remove it. But......I have the pack rat gene that I inherited from my mother as well. Mom had special shelves and cupboards built in the basement to hoard food items and a huge chest freezer filled with food that would become freezer burned and unusable long before it was needed to eat.


I think that is why jewelry has become my hoarding niche. my jewelry hoard fits in one dresser. My duvet cover hoard gets thinned out every spring, with unwanted items given away.

I think the pat rat gene may be the whole ancestral "hunter/gatherer" gene. The searching, stalking and acquisition of an item tends to be the most fun part. It fills a need in me.
 
missy said:
@kipari this is our compromise

177D627D-9C32-4ADD-B19A-943A1C944275.png

Right now our rugs are packed away. I sort of enjoy the bare floor look but we will be putting our white shag rugs back in January probably. White shag. Another compromise by Greg:lol:
Click to expand...

So gorgeous!!!!

And cozy! If that's what a compromise looks like, I want one toi!!
 
I don’t like clutter. I try to be mindful in my purchases so that I don’t end up with things I can’t / won’t use, but I don’t think I’m really a minimalist - I love pretty things. I think of myself as a collector, but I won’t collect things I don’t use.
 
Interesting responses so far.

I like extra food and household supplies too. I no longer have a freezer but keep extra nonperishables in a closet, organized so I can see what I have. It's nice for convenience and also just makes me feel extra secure for some reason.

Also ditto on buying extra pairs of the same shoe or etc. for the future. I don't often find something I love that much but when I do, no point letting it get away. :)

Not sure on the husband dream room photo earlier in the thread. I think it has a very serene, calm feeling. But then I also agree that a home with more items and more color looks cozy and welcoming. My rooms are spare but not bare. Ooh, that rhymed. :)
 
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My dream room is exactly as you've shown @kipari Also minus books and rugs. Just bare walls, bare floor, easy to keep clean and nothing to dust. Not sure where I'll put my gaming stuff though, plus those things have a rat's mess of cables and connections.
 
Gussie said:
It's so funny how people have different taste. I'm afraid my southern style would be a source of anxiety for a lot of you! 20201216_131156.jpg
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I appreciate your style and think it is very pretty for someone else because you are right. It would make me anxious to live in a room like this. But I do appreciate it.
 
Made in London said:
I am the opposite of a minimalist in every way.I lile to collect lovely things, what ever they are. I find minimalist houses lacking the cozy,homely look I crave in my own home. I have too much of everything really but I still find myself acquiring more=)2
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Me too
Its not for me
We lived in a 45m2 flat for 19 years together, him, me and a kitty - its surprising how much stuff a kitty accumulates...
I could not have hardly anything and we were still bursting at the seams
i would hate to be a baby boomer and be downsizing, but lucky we moved into a 4 bedroom home and finally got to spread out

and as for those colours dear @Gussie . talks about (by the way loooove that green) it was like the Wellington central bussiness district but all over house for 14 years i mixed up the most boring paint colours, im sooooooio over grey

what's great about living in Wanganui, we have a lot of older and heritage housng stock and any colour goes - even on your front fence !

Im going to paint our interiors in jewel tones
Our outside is going to be a refresh of very bright lemon with green windowsills, doors and roof, with white trim and porch - just have to wait for 'my house painter's' eyes to get better
 
I’m generally a minimalist. My family and I moved to the US from China in the 1980s and definitely were lower SES for the first few years. Never absent of food but definitely budgeted for meals and snacks, so if I drank all the milk by Wednesday, then tough luck I’d have to wait until next Monday for more. Spam over rice was my favorite lunch. I would insist on going on every grocery trip I could just to try to negotiate ice cream into the budget haha. I’ve never had a babysitter, never could afford one, I spent a lot of time in the library after school.

We lived in a small rented upstairs space in a row home, we didn’t really have the room to horde things. I never grew up feeling I was missing anything though.

As an adult I still don’t really care to have too many things. I often get asked if I recently moved in because in 10 years I have not hung anything on my walls. I don’t decorate my office. I don’t buy anything that isn’t functional unless it’s a souvenir/memento from my travels. I still buy my clothes at thrift stores and clearance racks, and don’t really like clothes or shoes. I only have a purse in the summer on days I’m not wearing pockets.

Now bling is another matter. I wear most pieces at some point but definitely have more than I need. I try to sell things I don’t love or wear frequently but I get a bit lazy and hoardy haha.

Going to try to motivate myself to sell off things I don’t wear since I got bit bad by the pearl bug and seem to only wear those pieces these days.
 
I’ve never had Facebook nor do I post on ig—I only got it to follow my DD when she left for college. This Is my only online forum. So I guess I’m a minimalist when it comes to social media.
 
kipari said:
1608134083570.png


That's his dream room. Well that room with that view minus the "clutter" on thé table and minus the rug...
Click to expand...

My dream room also.
 
Yes, I would describe myself as a minimalist, although I would not say my house feels cold or sterile in any way. To me it feels calm. I think of myself as a minimalist because I have fewer clothes, bags, shoes, etc. than any of my friends. I try to buy less to order to save money and be less wasteful. When I get a new purse the old one gets donated. When I get a new bathing suit I get rid of the old one. I do not want to have trouble storing everything. I would just rather have less. I loved living with my husband in a 600 square foot apartment, and could have stayed there forever. When we were living in that apartment I asked family members to only give us Christmas presents that we could use up (soap) or eat. It worked well! We learned some really good habits in that apartment regarding things and space.

Second part of your question: what do you not want to get rid of. For me that is picture albums, bakeware, and art.
 
I'm a hybrid. I grew up in an extended family who adored chachkies and collected stuff by the truckload. When I was young, I did the same. I still love stuff. Throughout the years, I grew tired of moving the stuff, dusting it, trying to keep it safe from breakage from kids and animals, but mostly just got lazier over time.

I like cozy comfort but have mostly pared down art and collectables to minimum number and maximum impact. If I could give up my habit of buying kitchen gadgets that I use once or never, all would be perfect.
 
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