Everyone has a picture in their mind of what minimalism means to them. For some it means owning a toothbrush and a shoe and damn the rest. :giggle2: For others it means slimming down the amount of "stuff" in their house but still keeping some sentimental but useless things around.
What is your definition? Why did you decide to go minimalist? What was the hardest thing(s) to get rid of? Were there mental blocks you had to overcome first? Are you where you want to be in your goal of minimalism? What inspires you to be minimalist?
My definition is owning things which I use (often) and getting rid of the rest. The hardest part for me was learning that things only have as much value as you give them and therefore a lot of my stuff was taking up more mental space than I could justify. In the last few weeks I have really readjusted what holds value in my life. I decided to Goodwill every piece of clothing DD outgrew because I have no idea if my future child(ren) will be the same sex or if they will be born in the same season. Holding onto her clothing was taking an enormous amount of space in out teeny, tiny closet and all for what? A maybe?
It was hard looking at all those cute newborn clothes and boxing them to go out. I felt like I was giving a part of her away, which is completely irrational but that was the emotional push. But I have taken so many pictures of her that I have her on almost every outfit on film. So it makes more sense to redirect my sentimentality towards those photos than her clothing.
My goal is to own only what we need and what we enjoy every day. There is no reason to hang onto half the stuff I have in our place. For inspiration I will look at pictures of Japanese houses because a lot of their philosophy has to do with peace, flow and simplicity. That is what I desire for my home.
blueone
09-21-2011, 07:25 AM
My definition is getting rid of things you just don't need or haven't been used in a while. For example, if i look through my closet to get rid of clothing, if I have to think on whether or not to keep a shirt or some other article of clothing, I should get rid of it.
Or when it comes to my sons clothing, at the moment I am hanging onto his baby clothing because we have another coming and it will likely get to wear the outfits. However, if it turns out to be a girl I'll go through some of his clothing and swap or get rid of it for girl clothing. All but his first outfit home though, that is a sentimental outfit to me at the moment. Someday maybe though! With toys, I don't get too many for our son. For one, less is more, and second, he plays with about anything around the house.
I think a minimalist can have wall hangings and decorations within reason though. I personally find bare walls to be stark and sad. I like color in my house. That's just me though! The decorations shouldn't fill every void space though. That's just clutter then.
rawheid
09-21-2011, 01:51 PM
For me, I'm going to say that I'm embracing minimalism. I don't want to be a true minimalist ( though some days I wonder if I should). I want to be able to efficiently keep my house under control. I want to love what I have. Mostly I'm just want to be done with the counter clutter and the floor clutter. I love my pictures on the wall add a few knick knacks.
erin_c_odonnell
09-21-2011, 01:56 PM
That- I think a TRUE minimalist (which I'm not) is someone that limits to having almost nothing. Friend knew a lady who had one chair, one set of dishes, reads a book and then gives it away, basically living with nothing extra. I could NEVER do that. I agree with everyone else- I think it means more living simply, only keeping what you really do use and appreciate. Not having things in boxes unless they are like clothes you WILL use and even then reevaulating every few months not leaving things boxed up.
percussionsmith
09-22-2011, 07:29 AM
I agree with MUCH of whats already been said. I want to add another "layer" though. To me its also evaluating my actions and how they impact others. I love the saying "live simply so that others may simply live"
I feel like living minimally is a step toward being conscientious of waste, reducing consumerism, raising healthy kids, supporting small business and fair trade, and being all around more thoughtful about what I bring into my home. I believe that what I do in my tiny home has a global impact.
Rose colored glasses, I know....but someone has to "imagine"..
Bum-fabulous
09-22-2011, 08:33 AM
Great feedback here, it's nice to get altering views of what everyone's definition is. I am far from my own definition of minimalism but try to work towards it every day. My mother is a packrat who borders on hoarding and I really don't want to go down that road. I also want my DD to feel calm and happy in her own space. I want her to hold "stuff" in perspective and not get emotionally tied to too many things.
I love checking this board every day and getting inspiration from the pictures and posts.
Fashionably Green Baby
09-22-2011, 09:00 AM
I guess I have 2.
If it was just me and I did not have a family my idea of minimalism would be the have a toothbrush and a shoe and damn the rest BUT I happen to live with a husband who does not aspire to live like that and I have kids that I think are entitled to have some of the fun standard childhood things SO my adjusted idea of what I would like for our life is to get rid of anything we do not use on a regular basis and cut down on the multiples.
I haven't had any real emotional setbacks on my journey so far BUT I have had setbacks when I take several huge boxes of stuff out on a weekly basis (for the last like month) and I look around and there is still SO MUCH STUFF. This is still a new journey and I am still running on the adrenaline of how good it feels to purge so much but it does get a bit exhausting to look around and see how much more I have to clear from the house.
I actually just hit a new milestone that I never though I would and that is the feeling that I want to remove about half of the pictures from my walls. I hung up so many pictures when we moved here because white walls drive me insane but I didn't want to paint (we didn't think we would stay here so long.....) so I put the pictures up to break up the white. The problem is they have no order and almost every single picture is of DD1 because we only had her when we moved here and I just never changed the pictures out : (
Bum-fabulous
09-22-2011, 11:18 AM
I agree completely about having the childhood fun things. My place is in no danger of looking ulitarian by any stetch of the imagination. :giggle2: Right now it's easy to stick to "one thing in, two things out" because DD is only 9 months old so she isn't attached to anything yet.
About feeling overwhelmed, my mother has this problem because, ironically, she is a perfectionist. She wants everything to be perfect and wants it done NOW but quickly becomes overwhelmed when she feels progress isn't fast enough. I watched this very interesting series on Youtube that helped me understand her way of thinking. This young college guy decided to clean out his father and stepmothers house because he felt it was too unsafe for his half sister. Over and over again he would say, "This is a marathon, not a sprint." He posted a series of "episodes" for two years as he slowly made his way through their house. Both parents were hoarders of the highest degree and it was stunning to see the mountain he had to conquer.
While I doubt I will ever have a problem with hoarding it still was helpful to remind myself that moving towards my goal can be gradual and not overnight. Holy crap....I just wrote a book. :blush:
percussionsmith
09-23-2011, 07:18 AM
I realized last night while thinking about this, that maybe my post sounded a little "holier than thou". NOT INTENDED. I want to add that I haven't achieved anything near perfection on my belief about minimalism. I still buy more than I should and fall into wanting my kids to have more than they need.
I've been thinking about all the things I've taken out in the last week and realized there is SOOO much more to do...I've been tossing everything up into the loft to "decide what to do with"....I could make maybe $50-$200 depending on where/how I sell it...but I may just donate it and be done as that would be more beneficial to more people...I dunno :dunno: The more I think about minimalism the more I think about myself...
Fashionably Green Baby
09-23-2011, 07:22 AM
I realized last night while thinking about this, that maybe my post sounded a little "holier than thou". NOT INTENDED. I want to add that I haven't achieved anything near perfection on my belief about minimalism. I still buy more than I should and fall into wanting my kids to have more than they need.
I've been thinking about all the things I've taken out in the last week and realized there is SOOO much more to do...I've been tossing everything up into the loft to "decide what to do with"....I could make maybe $50-$200 depending on where/how I sell it...but I may just donate it and be done as that would be more beneficial to more people...I dunno :dunno: The more I think about minimalism the more I think about myself...
I don't think it did! Also I would LOVE to see pictures of your house because I remember your post about living tiny and unless I have lost my mind you guys did decide to move and live like that. Anyways, I think the idea of moving into such a small place is a really awesome idea. Also :wave: from a fellow Indiana mama!
Bum-fabulous
09-23-2011, 11:42 AM
Percussionsmith,
I didn't think your post was anything but insightful and honest.
newwife777
09-27-2011, 05:49 AM
I've actually given some thought to what my definition of minimalism is, mainly because I like to read minimalist blogs, but then they leave me feeling all guilty because not only does my apartment NOT look like theirs do, but it will NEVER look like that.
So, to me, and for me and my family, minimalism is having what you use, and keeping things you love.
Reading some of the afore-mentioned blogs made me feel guilty for having pictures around, and candles, and books, etc. BUT, if I use things often, and or love them, then why shouldn't I keep them? The minimalist police aren't going to come knocking at my door "HOW many candles do you have? Five?? I'm sorry, ma'am, but to be a minimalist you must only have one."
All that being said, it's a striving thing, not an achieved thing. AND, I do allow myself to keep my absolute favorites of my kid's baby clothes because I still have some of MINE, and I loved being able to dress up my dollies in them. =)
It's OKAY to be sentimental and keep things. It's when the things own YOU and not the other way around that it becomes a problem.
percussionsmith
09-28-2011, 07:37 AM
I don't think it did! Also I would LOVE to see pictures of your house because I remember your post about living tiny and unless I have lost my mind you guys did decide to move and live like that. Anyways, I think the idea of moving into such a small place is a really awesome idea. Also :wave: from a fellow Indiana mama!
Thanks, Glad to hear I didn't come off poorly...HI!!! and yes, I did move to that tiny cabin. Thanks for remembering me :blush: I have pics in this minimalist thread (http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1274902&page=2) (post #49). It's been amazing how quickly it filled up with new junk and here again I find myself purging! Good grief!
Percussionsmith,
I didn't think your post was anything but insightful and honest.
Awe, thank you!
So, to me, and for me and my family, minimalism is having what you use, and keeping things you love.
The minimalist police aren't going to come knocking at my door "HOW many candles do you have? Five?? I'm sorry, ma'am, but to be a minimalist you must only have one."
All that being said, it's a striving thing, not an achieved thing.
It's OKAY to be sentimental and keep things. It's when the things own YOU and not the other way around that it becomes a problem.
I LOVE these statements!!!!
ellaphen
09-28-2011, 09:33 AM
To me, minimalism is a PRACTICE - similar to medicine, sports, religion, yoga, etc.
I try to find a balance that works well for my family. I genuinely believe LESS is MORE. When the house becomes too cluttered with stuff, we all start to become overwhelmed. The kids have trouble picking what toy to play with, I become stressed from the extra cleaning I have to do, and my DH sees all the money that would have been better utilized in a savings account. Without all the extra stuff, we do more together as a family.
I find it very refreshing to see that a minimalist approach is becoming more acceptable in our society.
Fashionably Green Baby
09-28-2011, 11:22 AM
[QUOTE=percussionsmith;13837838]Thanks, Glad to hear I didn't come off poorly...HI!!! and yes, I did move to that tiny cabin. Thanks for remembering me :blush: [QUOTE]
I remember you because you are an Indiana mom...I tend to remember the people that I notice are in the same state:)
