i love getting rid of extra pieces of furniture and/or storage containers that I no longer want and need. We got rid of the couch/coffee table(gave back to the landlord, a chair, also gave back to the landlord, and a number of storage totes, once they were empty, I didn't want to fill them back up again and have to find a place for them. also got rid of a crappy bookshelf, and don't miss it at all.
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Posted 1 year ago #
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I have an Ikea dining room table and chairs, in solid oak, so it is possible to find good pieces. The only ornamentation in the room is a Fiestaware disc pitcher in scarlet and a Hunter reproduction table fan on the sideboard, but it doesn't feel bare (there are three different colors and a lot of wood trim on the walls).
I haven't gone that far with the living room, but I'm seriously considering it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have such negative images with minimalism. Perhaps because the minimalists I have met are so very disfunctional that they cannot function except for other's charity--which they then mock for being "worldly" and "materialistic"
OR,
it is a minimalistic style touted in home decor mags and there are gazillion cupboards or they have a storage locker where they keep the things they need to live, rotated out seasonallyit seems either morally superior (Othello's "mocking the meat it feeds on") or a fashion statement which is unsustainable.
perhaps to most people in the western world we are minimalist. We certainly do not have much that is not in constant use. I certainly can't relate to having as much stuff as people seem to (garage, basement, attic, spare room, closet, all full, whatever)
but still the idea, the word, seems so cold and unfriendly and hostile to me.uncluttering, however, means to me a life of living cleanly, without waste, without excess, and full of love and joy and air and light and laughter. And good food and wine.
I am so interested in what others perceive "minimalist" to be.
Posted 1 year ago # -
djk - How you view minimalism is how many other people view it as well. When I tell friends and family that I am becoming a minimalist they all want to see my apartment to see if I have gotten rid of everything.
To me, however, being a minimalist just means living on the least I can while still living happily/comfortably. I have pictures on my walls, I collect dolls and music, and my apartment is cozy. But I don't like having "extras" so to speak. For example, when my husband and I were moving into our apartment we were given lots of cleaning supplies to get it into shape. I used many of them one time, and then realized that I wanted to go the "more green" route and didn't want all of these chemicals; I also wanted a more simple approach to cleaning and I felt that having all of this stuff was unnecessary. I asked my co-workers if they could use the items that I was getting rid of, and they said yes. I could have stored these items under my sink but felt that I could live better without them.
When I wash my laundry I use detergent and that's it. No fabric softener, no dryer sheets. Maybe I just like things "simple" which is why I chose this type of lifestyle. I hated how I would always forget to put certain items on my shopping list (paper cups, bottled water for when we have guests). Then I realized: I don't NEED paper cups. They are not a necessity. Bottled water? Not a necessity either. Our water is great where we live, and we have a Britta, so bottled water got cut out of my life. On top of being "green" which is important to me, I now simplified my life as well.
I only want to own things that I love and that are useful to me.
That is my approach to minimalism. Maybe others think this isn't minimalist because I have more than enough to get by and my home isn't barren. But it is MY definition of minimalism and I am so happy with this new lifestyle!
Posted 1 year ago # -
it sounds as though you have found the perfect balance! and truly speaking by your definition most would consider my DH and me to be stark minimalists.
It is just that word, and the "I have one tshirt and one sweater and one pair of jeans and one pair of shoes and two underwear and two pairs of socks and one bar of soap and no furniture except a sleeping bag and a bike, and therefore I am better than you" minimalists--and we know a couple--who consider having more--including furniture and dishes--to be morally reprehensible. Usually for moral/environmental reasons.
Then on the other hand the decorating style of minimalism is very cold and there are huge houses with nothing in them--except hidden closets and shelving full of the stuff that is simply not displayed.
Both are pretentious and extremist. And what I consider minimalism to be. I think I like your definition better. It is more realistic.
Posted 1 year ago # -
djk - I agree with you completely - that kind of lifestyle sounds terribly cold. I don't know any other aspiring minimalists (in my family/friends) other than myself (and my mom) but I can honestly say this: I would NOT be inspired to become a minimalist if it meant living in a bare, empty home! Those people just take it to an extreme. If I can't have guests over for dinner because I only have two forks and two knives, well that's a problem for me!
I guess if they're happy, then more power to them. But I could not be happy living like that!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I like themusiclivez's approach to minimalism, which is my goal: <i>being a minimalist just means living on the least I can while still living happily/comfortably</i>
In this case, it's more like the Voluntary Simplicity movement, which might be a "nicer" way of looking at it. Nothing in your life you don't need/use/love, and only keeping those things/people/activities that you do. No more keeping something "just in case."
My Dad used to have a rule on our family vacations that still works for me, only now on a larger scale: if I can carry (move) it myself, I can bring (keep) it. That really helps to narrow my Stuff down even further, especially now that I'm down to my last layer of Stuff and parting with it is getting harder. I like this, but do I like it "enough" to spend the rest of my life dealing with it, dusting it, maintaining it, or moving it from place to place?
I've said it before here, but IMHO <b>true</b> minimalists-slash-voluntary simplicity proponents are self-sufficient. For instance, a <b>true</b> minimalist who does not want to own furniture or a house would rent a furnished residential hotel room or apartment flat, or even live out of their own vehicle (like full-time RVers or vancampers), before taking advantage of a friend or family member's hospitality.
Posted 1 year ago # -
"I like this, but do I like it "enough" to spend the rest of my life dealing with it, dusting it, maintaining it, or moving it from place to place?"
^I love that. That's one of my reasons for becoming a minimalist. I have seen friends move the biggest amount of junk around and I don't want to have this attachment to stuff!
Posted 1 year ago #
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