vjb, you sound like a long lost twin!
YES to "grounded", "settled" and "community"...alongside the sort of minimalism i want!
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Posted 1 year ago #
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@lilavati & @thewritegirl: Wow thank you! I actually looked back on my blog a bit more and realized it's not really "minimalist" as it is more a little bit of everything mostly on how I get around the practicalities of moving from one place to another for work, or packing for a trip for example. I also really appreciate/enjoy design/architecture and things that are pretty.
@bandicoot: You make a good point. I could technically stay in one place and just travel to each city as required, but I loathe paying double for a residence when I don't have to. What makes it even harder is that my BF is also a consultant, so when he is in one city, I am in another. Sometimes we aren't even in the same "home" cities.
I remember once we were in one city (we had an apartment) and I had to travel to another city during the week and SO DID HE!!!
Made me so annoyed knowing we were paying three times the price for a residence, so we just said: forget it, we should only pay for 2 places, MAX. A total waste of money, and we don't have kids at the moment.
It's not so much that I love to travel and pack, it's more that I have to. I really hate packing and moving which is ironically the reason why I became a minimalist, to minimize the hell of it all.
I think once we move to the States and have kids, we won't be traveling quite as much, seeing as we'll probably have to get salaried jobs and hopefully will be allowed to stay in one place with our family.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I've been telling my grown girls - travel while you are young and don't have as many obligations and can afford to maybe do it on the cheap. Once you do have a family it is harder to get up and go. I'm not saying it can't be done- but it takes more planning and more money and involves more stress as you are lugging around little ones! And then once your kids are gorwn and out of the house- you can travel again, providing you still have some money and your health!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I agree with those who aren't interested in travelling around with just a backpack, though fair game to them, it sounds exciting. My interest is far more on being uncluttered in life, and thus saving time, money and energy on cleaning and tidying, as well as feeling less stressed due to stuff. With a house, a partner, a job and a dog, we can't just do the nomad thing, and I'm not sure I want to either. We're both homebodies and love our location at the moment, even though the house has a lot of work needed!
What I do want is free weekends and holiday time to have fun, not cleaning and tidying. I want to be able to take on new projects such as a vegetable garden without thinking we can't afford the tools or don't have time. I want to be at peace in my own home and to be able to invite people around.
Posted 1 year ago # -
i think, there is no need to connect minimalsm and backpacking. of course, living minmal makes it easier to store your possessions while travelling or have your possessions with you, but you can live a minimal life without travelling at all. if you don´t need to travel, why should you? that would be clutter :)
Posted 1 year ago # -
"I have never put a number on how many possessions I wish to own. I advocate the slow and stead approach to decluttering but I know that method isn't for everyone."
I completely agree. I find that itemizing your possessions is very much contrary to the true principle of minimalism, which is to own your meager and useful possessions, rather than be owned by them (and thus stressed about their desired quantity). To that extent I am an advocate and practicer of minimalism. However, one of the reasons that I prefer to be an unclutterer (as opposed to a minimalist) is that, for me, uncluttered living is the middle ground between minimalism and consumerism. I don't subject myself to constantly think "hmm...what am I doing with this object? If I throw it away, I'll be much more of a minimalist than I was with it, and hey, that just might make me happier." This sort of thinking, which unfortunately pervades minimalism and minimalist blogs (but not all), is riddled with the same problems of a consumerist lifestyle, where happiness is just another purchase away. I do think that minimalism has become a fad (like green living) where it is the fashionable thing to do, and thus much material written on the subject is really quite superficial, even if well-intentioned.
So, to put it in a nutshell, I try to keep as few possessions as possible to live enjoyably. Those possessions may not fit into a trunk or number below a 100, but I won't be stressing about them, and that makes me happy (if not a minimalist)!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Why I find more moderate Hoarders like the colorful Sir Patrick infinitely more interesting than minimalism which is, of course, merely a fad and has nothing to do with Zen Buddhism. This too will pass. And I have no problem with it aside from the superiority aspect.
Gee, I recall hippies living out of backpacks only they had very little money.
The "Unhappy Hipster" is priceless. I thank you.
Every chance I got, I travelled all over Mexico with two large suitcases, a Samsonite bag, a small cart (very useful), a 35mm camera, a disc camera, my purse and naturally a backpack. Inside I had several pairs of jeans, binoculars, a library of Spanish books, clothes in case I suddenly lost 15 pounds, saltines in a plastic bag for the fish in the Caribbean, a walkman and a dozen cassettes.
Today I'd need an electric cart to travel like that!
The most fun were the heavy rolls of quarters I lugged. In Acapulco this here Pied Piper had streams of little gum (cardboard chicle) sellers following her down the main boulevard joking around with the zany lady who spoke Spanish as she passed out American quarters.
A friend and I cracked up as we discovered we both had both brought our indispensable electric eyebrow tweezers for a one week trip. She used dental floss as a clothesline for our wet bathing suits.
While on a trip to study Spanish, a rich, smug room mate living out of a backpack with two pairs of pants swiped a nice pair of mine. The only thing I ever had stolen.
I did learn I did not need a library and friends back home would get silver bracelets and could forget the sombreros.
I cringed when a boyfriend brought an onyx chess set!
Now I could do the backpack routine but it would not be as much fun.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I saw Sir Patrick on TV last year. Thought he was pretty interesting; he had collections of Asian art, among other things. I wonder if the TV show does followups to see how their guests are doing. In fact, I haven't seen the TV show in the listings lately. Maybe it has run its' course???
terriok: I liked your story. I have a friend who is a 1st generation in our country; he came from Acapulco. He'd enjoy having a conversation in Spanish, I'm sure!
Posted 1 year ago # -
i LOVED sir patrick.
but i still don't see the need to personally OWN all that stuff. and to live with it every day.
looking after it all would take up far too much of my time, for my taste.Posted 1 year ago # -
Who is Sir Patrick?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Sir Patrick is a man who was featured last season (number two?) on A&E TV's Hoarding: Buried Alive show. He is a fascinating, funny and intelligent man who collects Asian art, dolls, etc. The show crew came in to help him declutter and organize an estate sale of his things because unfortunately he was in dire financial straits. Imho, beautiful home in Florida. He had stories to tell about adventures and memories connected with acquiring his collection. Sadly, the monetary worth/profit of the sale did not match his perceived value of the art. I was proud of the way he accepted the help in trimming down his surroundings to a more manageable level.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I would love it, Sunshine. btw, thanks!
Sir Patrick is full of such enchanting blarney! ;o)
Posted 1 year ago # -
Blarney is right! The "Sir Patrick" bit is an alias. He's a convicted sex offender.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/hoarders-star-convicted-sex-offender
Posted 1 year ago # -
o
m
g
i don't like him any more.
what an absolute creep.
what an actor!Posted 1 year ago # -
I remember seeing that show, I thought he was creepy back then, but didn't quite know why. ick. now I do.
you never know with people- one of my favorite chefs- Jeff Smith -the Frugal Gourmet- quickly became an unfavorite chef when his story came to light. I couldn't even use his cookbooks after I found that out.Posted 1 year ago # -
@irishbell - yes, I loved the frugel gourmet as well, and was very sad when his real persona came to light.
Posted 1 year ago #
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