I definitely didn't mean to cause controversy or imply that anyone should justify themselves to others.
I think bandicoot had it exactly right when she said that everyone is on their own path and that someone's else's vision of "perfect" may not be yours.
I have a hard time understanding the obsession with minimalism. Living simply and uncluttered makes life easier but limiting oneself to a certain number of items for no particular reason? Why? I can't see the advantage to living out of a
backpack.
My bed, recliner, air conditioning, movies on my TV all make my life comfortable. I've worked hard to get my home functional and decluttered. Limiting how many plates or forks would be a pain when I have company. It's good to have what I use and need.
Am I missing something here?
Sky, I think you're right on track. I can see your point. You have what you use and need, and you do sound very content with what you have.
I still have a dream of being a nomadic photographer, but even if I was, I'd still want to have a home to return to. A peaceful, warm, secure place where I could park my suitcase/backpack and stay a while by choice; a place I have created and nurtured, with people and my dog and my hobbies.
i am very much enjoying this discussion!
i think a bit of my !!!! posting was a response building up after some months of reading a few blogs out there.
patch, i now TOTALLY get what you are heading towards , and thank you for outlining your parameters here.
please don't consider it having to explain yourself or rationalising....it is simply a conversation.
we each need to find out for ourselves what makes life an interesting worthwhile journey for each of us....and i do like to hear other people's viewpoints.
i think i just had an overload of the live-out-of-a-backpack-cos-it's-the-only-way-to-go viewpoint lately and i felt like i had to get my own life-vision off my chest.
everyone, this is such an interesting thread.
I'll never be really minimalist because I'm a homebody and am just aiming for uncluttering.
However this discussion crops up in our family. My ds is rental flat hopping at the start of his career and gets challenged by 'minimalist' leaning friends at how much stuff he has in one room to make it feel like a home. He likes having art on the walls, big cushions and a throw on the bed and subtle lighting. Three carloads were moved across London recently that included a bookshelf, decent size desk and chair. But he could pack up the stuff and leave it with us if he needed to work abroad and live out of a suitcase. We also have boxes in our loft with more complete home stuff from when he had rooms and a kitchen in his 4 years at Uni. He bought beautiful stuff that he will need later in life.
This IS an interesting thread! ITA, Netleigh!
As an artist, it isn't possible for me to be a minimalist. I would just appreciate being fairly uncluttered and definitely organized! :)
Thanks for your understanding, bandi- and everyone. :) I was more defensive when I initially read the question, and when I replied. I thought this was going to be yet another case of me having to explain myself ad nauseum, and even after doing so folks still not getting it, or even actively sabotaging my efforts toward my dreams or trying to talk me out of it (as even family has done). I apologize for the incorrect assumption.
Yes, as with perhaps a few others here extreme minimalism is my definite goal too, but it doesn't mean I'll ever get there...at least not without just having the charities backing a truck up to my front door and emptying out the place in one fell swoop. But it's still an attractive vision for me, to see JUST HOW LITTLE Stuff I actually need. ;) Even if I do get there one day and don't like it, there will always be more Stuff to buy. And if I can't find it for sale again anywhere, then that means no one else needs it either!
I do agree that it IS nice, it makes life comfortable to have a place of one's one to decorate and come home to, filled with nice things we love and want to show off, but I don't think that need and e.m. have to be mutually exclusive either -- hence the popularity of full-time RVing, Tiny Houses, studio apartments, etc.
Thanks everyone for an interesting topic and for sharing your own dreams, journeys, goals and uncluttering tips. I don't visit here often, but when I do I enjoy it.
I would call my efforts to unclutter a success when:
1. I know what belongings i have.
2. can remember where they are all located!
I have a lot to weed before I get there.
Patch- you are so right- there will always be more stuff to buy! Always.
Some of us are homebodies, some of us aren't and some of us are in between the two. It's what makes the world go round.
@bandicoot - I loved your comment about cutting through a tomato with a good knife, etc. opposed to using a cheapo knife on a flimsy cutting board. That is what I hope to achieve. I want to be surrounded by the things I love to use, that I look forward to using; things that work.
For me, minimalism is about living with the least amount of stuff while still living comfortably WITHOUT feeling deprived. If I have to borrow a pan every time I cook a certain meal because I don't want to "own" it, that is not minimalism. That is a waste of my time and I am a mooch by having to borrow it from someone over and over again.
And like bandicoot mentioned - I want to live with higher quality items. No more rubbish clothes that fall apart after two washes. A friend of mine continually purchases stuff from the dollar store and then is flabbergasted when the knives don't cut (!) and the dish towels don't dry. Why not buy one high quality knife and actually be able to cut your food?
@Patch - I enjoyed reading your explanation behind why you want to become more minimalist. It is inspiring. I agree with you - I am also stuck at a job I don't enjoy and would love to work towards my own goals rather than work for the goals someone else wishes to achieve. Best of luck to you! It sounds like a great lifestyle change :o)
I guess there really are no true "accidents."
FYI -- Stumbled upon this interesting read today during my surfing, and it seems to fit right in with this thread and this site:
http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/less-stuff-doesnt-equal-happiness-either/
@Patch - Thank you for posting that link! It's a great article with a very refreshing point of view.
bandicoot, i hear you.
My 2 cents to extreme minimalism:
For me its clearly the way to go (we all know the pro's), and mobility and achieving dreams are the ulterior motive for many. But there is also a downside anout this life style: I am just preparing for the 21st or 22nd (this time job related) move in my life (I'm 30), and when I live somewhere my work also demands traveling a lot. I camp and live with 2 pants and 2 shirts and an aluminium bowl for weeks a year. My husband and I don't own stuff, car, status symbols, TV, etc. No debt. We have great jobs. All is good.
BUT:
-Sometimes I wake up at night and I have no idea where I am at the moment. Which town am I in, on which side of the bed is the light switch?
- I don't have a home. We have a lot of freedom but our lives are very transient. It would be nice to have a place where our belongings (those dear to us) could sit without having to worry about which place is next and how to get everyhthing there, or where we get the money to buy all the small stuff again.
- Keeping a social circle. I have friends everywhere but I am always somewhere else than they are. When I want to grab a coffee with a friend, there is no one there. emails don't suffice after a while.
- I can't even imagine putting children through this. I just don't know if it would be right (remembering how hard it was to find friends after a move).
So this is the downside of a minimalistic ultra mobile life style, although I personally can't imagine living my life any other way. Just to mention that it's not all roses on this side of the fence.
best wishes to all
I am so far from being a minimalist, I am pretty sure I couldn't get out of my kitchen without counting 500 things! I have a very ... shall we say, "layered"? ... household.
That said, I completely understand the urge. Mobility is becoming increasingly important to me as my contentment in my city is declining. I want to be able to downsize our home without major trauma, and eventually move away to a smaller and simpler scale of life. We are currently anchored by Stuff.
Decluttering: It's a process. One that we all struggle with at some point.
minimalmaya: thanks for your post. Food for thought from the other side...
And while I'm not at all interested in extreme minimalist living, I do want and intend to de clutter and organize my home so I can leave it, with someone else staying in it for 1-2 months at a time. I am more and more valuing travel and experiences than stuff.
Very well said, pkilmain. Just think of the freedom to learn and explore. Hmmm...I feel a bit jealous. If I came to visit your area, I'd probably choose to do so in July or August, not January.
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