Minimalism, and the minimalist lifestyle

[Mistr]

On 9/30/2016 at 2:33 PM, Raincloak said:

Tidying before move >>>>> tidying after move.  Moving is a gigantic hassle already, why would you bother moving stuff you're about to get rid of?  Still, it's a handy exercise to see which items stay in the boxes.  If you don't unpack them after a few months, that's a clue you don't need those items and you can dispose of them.

 

In spite of my best intentions, I ran out of time when I was moving and ended up just moving boxes of random stuff. Sorting and making trips to the thrift store take time.

 

This weekend we cleaned up the garage and reorganized the stacks of boxes that are still sitting there four years after the move. I discovered a bunch of stuff I can get rid of.

 

I also went through my closet and tried on a bunch of shirts. All but one no longer fit. More for the thrift store pile. Plus I got my partner to commit to helping me sort clothes this weekend. I expect that a lot of things will be heading out.

[Raincloak]

It's been storming the last couple days and the biggest one is due to hit tomorrow.  I've got all my blankets, flashlight, etc. lined up.  It occurred to me, looking around, that very little of the stuff in my apartment will actually come in handy if the power goes out.  I mean, much of it is stuff I don't use anyway, but in the dark, it would additionally pose a tripping hazard if I'm blundering around trying to find stuff I do want to use.

 

yeah, probably time for another round of discards.

[TMedina]

On 10/14/2016 at 8:19 PM, Raincloak said:

It's been storming the last couple days and the biggest one is due to hit tomorrow.  I've got all my blankets, flashlight, etc. lined up.  It occurred to me, looking around, that very little of the stuff in my apartment will actually come in handy if the power goes out.  I mean, much of it is stuff I don't use anyway, but in the dark, it would additionally pose a tripping hazard if I'm blundering around trying to find stuff I do want to use.

 

yeah, probably time for another round of discards.

 

Hope everything went well for you!

[Raincloak]

That moment when you're decluttering and you think, "But what kind of person do I want to BE now??  Should I be the kind of person who wears/owns this?  Who am I?  Halp."

 

I have a lot of those moments.  Especially with clothes.  Fashion is hard.  (Let's do math instead...)

 

[Trixie Falsae]

19 hours ago, Raincloak said:

That moment when you're decluttering and you think, "But what kind of person do I want to BE now??  Should I be the kind of person who wears/owns this?  Who am I?  Halp."

 

I have a lot of those moments.  Especially with clothes.  Fashion is hard.  (Let's do math instead...)

 

There have been several times in my life I have to reset my wardrobe and assign myself a "uniform" until I can sort things out. I will go through and get rid of anything I don't absolutely love. My "uniform" has consisted of jeans and white button down shirt, once it was long skirts with button down shirts, once I wore soft cotton dresses I could just pull on. It was usually something I already owned and could supplement a few pieces from a thrift store. It was easy enough to throw together without much thought but looked "put together" enough that I felt good wearing it. Once I got used to my simple outfits and had time to sort some mental clutter regarding my clothes, I would expand my clothing choices.

 

Right now I am trying to brutally declutter my entire life. Its hard but the end result will be worth it. I so tired of drowning in stuff and debt. I am looking forward to when I can feel organized because I'm not shuffling stuff around in an attempt to find a home for it. It actually wasn't too difficult getting the three older kids on board. They even recognize they aren't using their toys and its just another mess they have to keep clean.

[Heidi]

12 minutes ago, Trixie Falsae said:

There have been several times in my life I have to reset my wardrobe and assign myself a "uniform" until I can sort things out. I will go through and get rid of anything I don't absolutely love. My "uniform" has consisted of jeans and white button down shirt, once it was long skirts with button down shirts, once I wore soft cotton dresses I could just pull on. It was usually something I already owned and could supplement a few pieces from a thrift store. It was easy enough to throw together without much thought but looked "put together" enough that I felt good wearing it. Once I got used to my simple outfits and had time to sort some mental clutter regarding my clothes, I would expand my clothing choices.

 

Right now I am trying to brutally declutter my entire life. Its hard but the end result will be worth it. I so tired of drowning in stuff and debt. I am looking forward to when I can feel organized because I'm not shuffling stuff around in an attempt to find a home for it. It actually wasn't too difficult getting the three older kids on board. They even recognize they aren't using their toys and its just another mess they have to keep clean.

I swear by the whole "uniform" approach and have put it to great use for myself and for my children. Bonus: It saved me tons of money! I have what I consider to be a greatly expanded work wardrobe, but that other people, especially women, are shocked by: four blazers, three cardigans, three blouses, three short sleeve or sleeveless sweaters, three turtlenecks, three long sleeve sweaters, five skirts and five trousers, two sweater dresses (one long sleeved and one short) and three sleeveless black dresses. Let's be honest -- I could go a month without doing professional laundry if i needed to, and it all fits in 3 feet of hanging space (not hyperbole -- I measured).

 

For workouts, I own two performance tank tops and performance skorts which both double as my swim suit, and two performance pants / leggings that I use in the colder months. I have a performance-style jacket that I wear when the weather calls for it, and five pairs of socks. Not Much in the way of clothes at all, and I'm really into that.

[Raincloak]

I went through and shredded a box of emotional paper yesterday (one down, about 10 more to go...)  Also spent way too much time browsing interior decor magazines and minimalism blogs, but I found this tidbit from Becoming Minimalist reassuring:

"It will get worse before it gets better."

[Raincloak]

This weekend I did two loads of laundry, sorted and put away a couple baskets of clean things that have been sitting around for umafewweeks  and discovered I have more t-shirts and socks than I thought.  (Okay, not heaps and loads, like about 10 shirts and 15 pairs of socks.)  I normally wear my socks until they get holes in them, but thinking it might be time to donate these and upgrade, as I haven't had new socks in a few years and these ones are looking a bit beige.  If I can find a new brand that I like, always a challenge...

 

... same problem with the shirts.  As soon as I find one I like, they stop making 'em.  My current stash doesn't exactly spark joy, but I can't ditch them all or I'll have nothing to cover my skin.  Which is a problem when the weather is hovering around 40 degrees and rainy, to say nothing of social norms... hmmm.  Maybe I can just toss the ones I like least.

[Trixie Falsae]

I donated seven large trashbags full of clothes, toys, and a few kitchen items. I also passed on four boxes of outgrown clothes to my nephew. Its awesome being able to see the closet floors.

[Raincloak]

Yesterday I started house sitting for my parents, who are taking a vacation in Hawaii.  Hanging around this house tends to make me feel more anxious and depressed.  I had a declutter buzz going from my place, so I started digging through my parents' junk drawers in the kitchen.  From two drawers I pulled out, count 'em, 129 pens and pencils, and the drawers are still pretty full.  This place is fairly cluttered now that I think about it, but I'm trying to not be distracted by it and focus on my own place first.  It's not my stuff.  KonMari claims that when you tidy your own space, the tidying urge tends to spread to family members.  I'm hoping she's right.

 

(My folks aren't serious hoarders, thank god.  They just have a big home they've occupied for 30 years, and stuff accumulates despite periodic purges.  All the surfaces have piles on them.  Gee, I wonder where my packrat habits came from... Mom swears she isn't responsible, but I know a lot of the stuff in this house is hers.)

[TMedina]

Ruh roh - good luck!  It's always easier to de-clutter someone else's stuff, which makes resisting the temptation that much harder.

[Raincloak]

oh yeah.  My strategy for this week is to spend as much time as possible out of the house.  There's wi-fi, TV and kitties here, which makes it tempting to hang around, but I know that path leads to the dark side.

 

I snuck back to my own apartment this evening to take care of some chores, fork over my monthly tribute to the capitalist overlords, and remove a few bags I'd set aside for donation last week.  I'd say my place is halfway to completion of the decluttering process, which cheers me up a bit.

[Raincloak]

My feels kicked in and I moved a bunch of stuff into piles (step 1 of the Kondo method: get all the similar items in one place). 

The folks came back and I proudly displayed the heaps of junk before them.  Unfortunately they were too tired to be impressed, but I'm still hoping it will sink in and they'll start winnowing.  (I've done all the helping I intend to do... Mom wouldn't let me donate stuff, but she'll get tired of looking at the piles pretty soon.  She dislikes messes. If I can just get her to let extras go, instead of storing them away...)

 Meanwhile, I returned to my little apt with heartfelt relief.  I don't think the clutter is the sole reason that house upsets me, but I sure missed my own pad, tidy or not.  Also cleaned part of a closet from my childhood bedroom, as long as I was over there, and found some stuff to ditch and some long lost art for my walls.

[Raincloak]

Went and did some more closet cleaning at parents' place.  This time they were suitably impressed, but now MY place is full of clutter again, and a bunch of the new clutter is emotion inducing childhood stuff that is hard to get rid of. This may have been a bad idea.

[TMedina]

On 12/18/2016 at 11:42 PM, Raincloak said:

Went and did some more closet cleaning at parents' place.  This time they were suitably impressed, but now MY place is full of clutter again, and a bunch of the new clutter is emotion inducing childhood stuff that is hard to get rid of. This may have been a bad idea.

 

Think of it as a side quest - I have every confidence you'll be fine.

[Raincloak]

Well, the walls look a lot prettier and I evicted some trash, but there's definitely still an overcrowded feel around here.  More work to do, sigh.  And the spaces that were previously neat decayed into mess again.  Evidently I haven't decluttered to Konmari's "click" point. 

 

Or maybe I'm just habitually messy.

I do have a bad habit of putting things on whatever surface is convenient, including the floor.  (In fact when I was about four years old, I once got in trouble for drawing circles on the floor of my bedroom, carefully labeling them, and using them to arrange papers and books I wanted to keep. I thought it was a great system.  I did not understand why my parents got mad and made me scrub the floor.)

[TMedina]

Actually, that's fairly brilliant.  And it reminds me of this desktop wallpaper from PhD comics:

 

[Trixie Falsae]

10 hours ago, TMedina said:

Actually, that's fairly brilliant.  And it reminds me of this desktop wallpaper from PhD comics:

 

 

I actually just recently deleted programs I used for school projects then never touched again. A year ago I painfully parted with my textbooks. I have never touched them since I used them and they are already out of date, but for some reason it was hard to let go. It's not like them taking up space validated my degree, and all reference material is provided online and considered more current. I was able to get some money back and buy some other books, which I am now thinking of culling as well. Hoarding books hardly makes me more intellectual. 

 

It doesn't help that I watched a documentary on minimalism today. It makes me want to get rid of so much more stuff. My hang up is a couple boxes of memorabilia from elementary through high school. I don't need it, but it is one of the few things I am sentimental about. My wedding dress was dropped off at goodwill a few months after we were married as I have next to no sentimental attachment to things. I actually do look through it every now and again and my daughter is fascinated by it. It also contains a sketch my late grandfather made of me before he passed away from polio. I really want to frame it and hang it. The rest I doubt I would miss much else once its gone.

 

The other thing that I wonder about it decorations. I love seasonal decorations. There isn't a whole lot. We have two tubs of Christmas stuff and one box for all other seasons. I like them, the family likes them. It doesn't seem like a chore to rotate. Can decorations be part of a truly minimalist life? I feel like they help ground me with the changing of the seasons and holiday events. I like my home looking "homey" with curtains and pictures on the walls. I see it as useful since it creates a pleasant atmosphere and I don't like blinds so it adds privacy as well.

[Raincloak]

Sure, if you like seasonal decorations you can have them.  By all means.  And do keep a few mementos, if it's just those two boxes.  Minimalism is different for everyone.  I can happily live without holiday themed decor, for instance (I have other ways of homemaking), but I get sad if my residence doesn't have a big shelf crammed with interesting books.

 

And Leo Babauta knows many things, but imo is totally full of it when he advocates bare walls.  Maybe if you live in a nice building where the walls are made of something cool or the color is pleasing to look at, but yours truly doesn't care for landlord beige and would way rather look at something pretty on the wall.  And the floor.  Every time I see a minimalist interior in a magazine, I think "That place really needs a nice rug!"

[TMedina]

46 minutes ago, Raincloak said:

Sure, if you like seasonal decorations you can have them.  By all means.  And do keep a few mementos, if it's just those two boxes.  Minimalism is different for everyone.  I can happily live without holiday themed decor, for instance (I have other ways of homemaking), but I get sad if my residence doesn't have a big shelf crammed with interesting books.

 

And Leo Babauta knows many things, but imo is totally full of it when he advocates bare walls.  Maybe if you live in a nice building where the walls are made of something cool or the color is pleasing to look at, but yours truly doesn't care for landlord beige and would way rather look at something pretty on the wall.  And the floor.  Every time I see a minimalist interior in a magazine, I think "That place really needs a nice rug!"

 

Emphasis mine.  ^That.  A thousand times, that.  There are no minimalism police, and nobody is going to whack you on the hand with a ruler and say you're doing it wrong.

 

Minimalism is meant to enhance your life by discarding the needless clutter that negatively impacts your life.  But you have to be happy where you live - everything else being equal, you need to be comfortable and content in your home.  If you throw out everything you don't strictly need to sustain your life, you might be adhering to the letter of minimalism, but you are ignoring the spirit of the philosophy.  So rock the holiday ornaments!

 

As Raincloak said, if bare walls are your thing, great!  If you appreciate the joy and beauty that art brings into your life, great!  I've seen photos of some "minimalist" rooms - I've seen sterile chambers with more personality.  Personally, that would drive me up one of those bare walls.

[fitnessgurl]

I haven't posted on here much; but decluttering is happening. I'm moving in a few months & there's nothing like a move to motivate me to declutter. All kinds of things have been boxed up & donated. Dishes, clothes & craft stuff, oh my!

[mightstone2k]

I got rid of a garbage bag full of clothes and shoes I don't wear last week. My next task should be to attack my book collection, but I have issues with culling the library.

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[Jonesy]

4 hours ago, mightstone2k said:

My next task should be to attack my book collection, but I have issues with culling the library.

 

I have this problem and my temporary solution is to read all my books again. Lol. I'm still working on this. 

 

Once I read it I ask myself if I want to read it again and must have or can I get it from the library. I also ask myself if I'm keeping this book because I love the book or if I have it because it looks good that I have it. Those 2nd books are must go books. Then I get rid of the book ASAP. 

[mightstone2k]

 

I have this problem and my temporary solution is to read all my books again. Lol. I'm still working on this. 

 

Once I read it I ask myself if I want to read it again and must have or can I get it from the library. I also ask myself if I'm keeping this book because I love the book or if I have it because it looks good that I have it. Those 2nd books are must go books. Then I get rid of the book ASAP. 

A lot of the ones I have trouble getting rid of are ones I haven't read, but tell myself I want to (C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton), or gifts (the ENTIRE Aubrey/Maturin series). Ugh ugh ugh.

Maybe I'll sit down and do a proper purge once work slows down and I can approach it mindfully.

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[Raincloak]

If it helps you deal with those books, be aware most "classics" (books more than a century old) are available for free on e-readers, eg nook, kindle, smartphone/tablet app of choice.

 

As for gifts, once the present is given, its job of conveying the giver's feelings for you is done.  Don't bother keeping the item unless you actually like it or it gives you a warm fuzzy sensation.