Living Minimally

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Growing up, I was a bit of a pack rat with messy tendencies.
As I got older, I began to value cleanliness and organization.

I’ve been taking it further lately and beginning to live more minimally than I already do. I don’t own a lot of stuff, but I’m beginning to dig deeper and remove more excess.

I journal daily (usually it’s just specific topics with bullet points) and have been documenting the effects of becoming more of a minimalist.

One of the things I have found to be the most beneficial is the extra time I’m finding in my days. It has allowed me more time to focus on prayer which has been excellent.

Has anyone explored minimalism? What has been your experience?
 
I like simplicity:) Not sure if that’s what your talking about.Each year I go through everything in the house and shed and usually if it hasn’t been of use with in a year it goes out.I don’t need a lot,and what I have I really value but I’m not terribly attached to if that makes sense.
I need to work on the organisation part though …😉
 
That’s mostly what I mean. I know that there’s a whole Minimalist community (if you want to call them that).
 
Timely thread…

I am selling my little house and the past couple weeks have been “going through” everything and being pretty brutal about what I am donating to Goodwill and just throwing away.

I have always been a minimalist but was amazed at what accumulated after six nearly seven years…
 
We always seem to have so much more than we realize, it’s crazy. I currently rent and live alone, so it has been really good having that ability to live with as much or little as I need.

I stayed with monks in Spain a month ago, so I’ve been adapting some elements to the monastic life, which has been a real blessing. This has allowed me to think more of living with what I need rather than going so far beyond. It has been a blessing.
 
I think experiences like that open your eyes up a bit 🙂 I liked out of a small suitcase years ago when I was traveling for two years,so when I came home I was amazed at everything we had .
Another really good exercise for me is yearly packing the car with vitals in case we have to evacuate with an on coming bushfire.Or when I was planning to move overseas at one stage.
 
I am always amazed at the McMansions I see around here, when I as a Paramedic I would go into some and the families were so indebted to the house there was no furniture, just empty rooms.
Some houses so big that they never spent any time in the rooms…just passed through them on their way to the actual one or two rooms they mostly occupied…what a waste, or vanity?

I have a lovely little house I am selling, 748 sq. ft…and it is more than I need…in fact the coziness has always been a huge comfort…small yard, small inside, less to heat and cool and clean…

I think some of my minimalism came from living in the Far East years ago…I find something very calming about having less yet specific items…saving space for smaller and more meaningful mementos.

My mom always told my sister that material things just did not mean much to me and she is right…now the older I get the more I realize just how much stuff is truly chaff, or junk if you will. You really cannot take it with you…

Last week my son helped me rid myself of some items I thought I would never part with…and I feel so much better now that the angst of the decision is over. It has been liberating, and exciting…I feel like I am opening the door to a new chapter in life and letting go of a lot of baggage…literally!

Reminds me of George Carlin’s bit on going on vacation and taking stuff with you…😆

Today I went car shopping…I have a tacoma and now it is really much more than I need as my hauling and woodworking days are over, and now that the house stuff is finally moved out…

Ready for Christ to open the roadmap for me!
 
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I guess it depends what you mean by “minimalism”. Some people take it to mean having a lot of bare surfaces in a monochromatic house, and others are really hardcore about it and try cut out having posessions or services most of us would consider necessities.
 
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Yes. I probably don’t fit any definitions of minimalism, but I do aim to own things that I will use, care for, and that last a long time. My house is not cluttered but I do have “stuff.”
 
😊😅 I’m a bit ignorant…I had to google tacoma as I thought it was a bit like melanoma .
My house is more of a cottage and on an an acre ,so fairly easy to manage.
 
😁

Sorry about that…stream of consciousness writing…LOL!

Yes…my Toyota Tacoma…it’s a small truck…but I feel as if it is too much…had a big ol’ Ford full size before this one…so I am going in the right direction…

Son just bought a new Prius two weeks ago, a hybrid…thinking of something smaller like that…thought it kind of goes with the minimalist thread…

Also, minimalism to me means stuff, not minimalist like Danish furniture 😜
 
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I’m intrigued and attracted to minimalism, but I have some collections I’m not ready to part with yet 🙂
 
DeniseNY said:
I guess it depends what you mean by “minimalism”. Some people take it to mean having a lot of bare surfaces in a monochromatic house, and others are really hardcore about it and try cut out having posessions or services most of us would consider necessities.
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That’s a great point. I think minimalism can be subjective. For instance, I live by myself, I’m not married yet and don’t have kids. I can go further in terms of reducing my materials than a married man with 6 kids, though even he can adapt minimalism into his life – but it certainly won’t look the same.

And even if we compared two single guys living alone, their lifestyles may be a bit more different – careers, hobbies, etc. For instance, I enjoy cooking. I only have the necessary utensils, but for another guy, he might be more content to eat more raw items or maybe he eats out more and doesn’t need the cookware.

Decluttering and minimizing are also two different subjects. It can vary for so many different people.

You’re also right that some people see minimalism as more of a strict aesthetic with monochromes and flat surfaces. It CAN lead to that, which is nice, but that’s not the default definition so to speak. Most minimalists wouldn’t claim it to be so either. And even owning a collection of something, like books, doesn’t mean it has to be given up. It’s pretty layered.
 
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BlueMaxx said:
I am donating to Goodwill and just throwing away.
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I too am “downsizing”. Really don’t need much of the stuff I have. Trying to live more simply.
As an aside, Goodwill is a nice organization, although I understand the owner makes approximately $700,000.00 oer year. I think it is from the Goodwill stores. On the other hand, St. Vincent DePaul is all volunteer with the proceeds from their stores going to the various parishes in the area for distribution to those in need. Might think about it.

Edited to add. Was a little uncertain re: the compensation statement here. Went to Wiki and looked up Goodwill Industries. They have been investigated on the west coast. The head of Goodwill in Oregon was compensated over $830,000.00 on year. Upon investigation that exec agreed to a 24% pay cut. The largest compensation was to a formed exec in So. Cal who received compensation of just short of $1.2million. Compared to the overall dollars generated by Goodwill, (somewhere areound 5.4 billion$) it is small in comparison. But I am not of fan of those running charities making 20 to 50 times the income of those donating to their Charity. Just my opinion. Oh and by the way, that unit of blood you donate to the Red Cross. I think the CEO of Red Cross makes about 1.3million a year. Just sayin………
 
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That is just sad, especially when you see the folks in need coming in to try and find good things for their homes…makes me kind of irate.
On the other hand, at least “stuff” can go somewhere first before the landfill…trying to find a silver lining here. Although when I dropped off some of my really nice stuff, it looks like some folks basically piled heaps of what I would consider trash outside…😒
 
I’ve begun with books (mentioned in another thread). For a couple of years, all new books are electronic except for gifts.

Also with clothes, I am down to a very minimal, basic wardrobe and I use cosmetics/accessories to add flare or color. Very, very freeing!
 
Ah books…my Achilles heel…I did purge a LOT of books when I returned to the Church, a lot of books.
However, there are some I just cannot get rid of…and for me the e-reader is just not the same as a tangible paper book…
 
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Books were a huge deal for me too. I quit teaching after 9 years and had to be rid of so many good books that simply did not fit in my house full of kids. That ripped the minimalism bandaid off. I’ve been trying to use the public library or give books away after I read them. I’m not faring so well with ebooks. I have an ebook about minimalism by one of my favorite podcasters that I keep not reading because its not a physical book. :confused:

Not Of This World: A Catholic Guide to Minimalism Not Of This World: A Catholic Guide to Minimalism: Jaquith, Sterling: 9781946076045: Amazon.com: Books
 
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I like my car,I just don’t like the high price of fuel here at the moment 😩 …I hope the price drops again soon.
 
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