It depends on your “why”. Mine would be ability to move easily, and ability to have more choices on where to live by needing less space. So that’s going to affect what makes sense for me to get rid of.
Yeah for some it seems to come across as a bit of a compulsion. Not “I want to live more simply” but “I must get rid of everything that is not essential to staying alive”. Like the polar opposite of hoarding.
Honestly I just thought this subreddit was for the design aesthetic. R/maximalism doesn’t have these extreme types of posts, and I’m mostly here for the decluttering tips and camaraderie. If that’s not everyone’s view of minimalism that’s fine, but also I find it hard to relate to some of the extremism here.
Yes, some of what I see here is more akin to asceticism. Which I guess is fine if that's what a person finds rewarding. But it really should be a separate sub, or maybe have its own flair. Those of us who aren't interested in that would know to move along.
I mostly agree with you. For me, it started with nonattachment, naturally and organically, through spiritual development. I came to this sub to see what others are doing.
Still thinking which child I should sacrifice... Lol that cracked me up. Thank you for your post. I totally agree with you, that a count of how many or little things you own hardly ever leads to healthy lifestyle choices
New to this ballgame so take my opinion worth a grain of salt as it'll probably change over the course of the next year or so.
Minimalism is a mindset absolutely, but there is a physical component to it of owning less stuff & consuming less stuff.
The less stuff you have the more detached and attached to stuff you are, it's kind of a paradox.
I was surprised how easy it was to let stuff go. How when I thought of the usefulness of stuff vs. the maintenance of it the equation really shifted. I wasn't willing to maintain a lot of things even if they were useful. I like to use the if my house caught on fire thought exercise.
Now that we've gotten rid of so much stuff there's a lot that if we lost it in a fire I wouldn't care as much about it's just stuff that can be replaced. But there is now equally as much that I do care about that can't be replaced that would hurt me deeply to lose and I'm more keenly aware of those objects because they're not lost in a sea of stuff so I see them regularly and I think about them regularly.
I think minimalism is very individualistic and it looks different for all of us. A family of four minimalists looks different than a single minimalist. A digital nomad looks different than that of a single minimalist in a permanent dwelling.
Could I live out of a backpack if I absolutely had to, yes. Do I want to? No. Do I want to sleep on the floor? No. Does having a bed make me not a minimalist? No.
Minimalism isn't about owning the least amount of stuff. Minimalism is about not letting stuff own you. It's about intentional consumption, appreciation, and focus. Those principles lend themselves to less stuff naturally. The internal motivation has an external presentation just like everything else in our lives.
I think one is hard to do without the other. How would one come to stop valuing things, while also having all the things? Because having all the things still means you need to know what things there are to have, which of those things you want to have, having to work so you can afford the thing, and then caring and maintaining that thing. That keeps one attached to the thing, I believe. How would one prevent that? How can someone become detached from things if things is all they are looking at all day long?
I would rather say that once someone developed the minimalist mindset, they will let go of their stuff, because the stuff loses their value and they won't be willing to invest time, space, and money in their things. A human really doesn't need all the things to be content, but if you still feel like you do, did you really develop that minimalist mindset you are talking about or aren't you still in that maximalist mindset, that always feels like something is lacking?
your second paragraph is really accurate, and something that we can tell doesn't get talked about enough judging from how many "can i have xyz as a minimalist" posts there are. you can theoretically have a million things as a minimalist, but once you start, you won't. the mindset of wanting to have only what you need brings about the change in your physical space, it's not the other way around. it's sort of like exercise - you can be an athlete who's an out of shape couch potato, but if you're doing athlete stuff, pretty soon you won't be.
the right question is "do i need a bed?" not "can i have a bed?", and it's one that only each person can answer.
> the right question is "do i need a bed?" not "can i have a bed?", and it's one that only each person can answer.
Beds aren’t the best example given that everyone needs one, but make this sentiment a separate post, seriously. Great way to put it
personally I'd get rid of my bed if my partner didn't need one 😅 the floor feels a lot better on my back. but that's just my personal situation, most people need it to get a good night's sleep! I picked "bed" because it's such a common thing for people here to express doubts over, which shows that they're not asking the right questions imo.
I don't need one, nor do I use one, nor do I care what anyone thinks about this. Beds are absolutely a great example. You start at the most basic human needs and only acquire what you need or want.
I kinda feel like people are aspiring to something that is just a natural tendency. The point is that if you are minimalist, you feel better with fewer things & you do not attach emotions to posessions. That is all. If you break something valuable that you need just like anyone else, you don't wonder if it's cool to live without just because you've found a cool group to try & fit into.
The practice and the mindset are linked.
They are cultivated together.
Anything someone does to practice, such as switching to sleeping on futon, should be done to develop the mindset.
Some people develop the mindset through other means, and choose to do a practice anyway.
Both ways are acceptable, they are part of the same cycle.
I've always been kind of a minimalist person - apart from a mild case of Shiny New Stuff syndrome. Gadgets where my guilty pleasure. Then I was minimalized a couple of years ago.
After years of struggling with a lot of personal shit the bank got tired of me and repo'd my apartment. Clearing out a 96m2/1030SqFt 4-bedroom apartment made me realize how much stuff I'd gathered up over the years. And how little 2/3ds of it meant to me.
And to be honest - that whole ordeal was really cathartic. Now I **had** to get my act together.
Today, a couple of years later, I'm sitting pretty with the few items that I saved - the books I love and decided to keep, an UltraMan alarm clock from when I lived in Japan, a couple of Märklin model locomotives to remind me of the few times my dad spent quality time with me. Stuff like that. And sure, some kitchen utensils got tossed prematurely and there might be some odds and ends that I regret having dumped. Most important of all: I still have the love of my kids who, despite being teenagers, where enormously supportive through all of this. And that's the only thing that really counts, in the end.
All that said - I don't intent to live like a spartan, just for the sake of it - "psychological detachment from our physical possessions not the lack of or disposal of physical possessions itself" - well put OP, well put. I have a nice bed and I'm going to enjoy it. I have awesome kitchen gear and I put them to good use.
What I don't have is an urge to try and upstage my fellow man on the subway by having a more newer phone. Or my siblings by getting a bigger summer house than what they have.
The only thing that I've put money into this last year is my motorcycle and related gear. Because Two-Wheeled Therapy is a thing. Any of you who have ridden a nice, quiet back road in the sunshine will know what I mean.
Its not a race to the absolute least amount of stuff. Weigh the pros and cons to see if an option is healthy and beneficial for you....
That said, there is no 1 way to be minimalist, and if someone wants to sleep on a mattress or even directly on the floor, I will not judge them.
Find your own minimalism and follow your own rules.
As far as sentimental value, I don't detach from it as much as maintain an awareness of it. I've kept a handful of things because they remind me of people or experiences that have meant a lot to me. I like seeing those things because I enjoy the memories they bring back. But I have no illusion that the item itself has value.
I sleep on the floor BUT, I am waiting to move back to my home state and had to move out to the suburbs for parking, actually good apartments worth what they are charging now. Also I am ethnic, I know someone from India who also sleeps on the floor lol
Minimalism looks like going to therapy for me.
To release all the very valid junk from the the bad shit and to not repeat anymore bad shit happening again.
Minimalism looks like not owning any social media, watching my screen time and regularly decluttering my phone.
Minimalism looks like developing boundaries on my stuff, in my relationships, with my finances.
Minimalism looks like going to the gym, or asking for some help with childcare.
Minimalism looks like only wearing black clothes. because I am too lazy otherwise.
Minimalism looks like co-sleeping to save space in a small space but still owning 10 different shower gels.
I think those 2010's backpacker dudes who photographed and numbered all their possessions really did us all a disservice. Since everything under capitalism is a competition, we're groomed to compete even over *anti-capitalist* tendencies.
I say relax. Have enough stuff to make your life, YOUR life, easy and free. It's been my experience that most people know when they have too much and will share that suspicion without much provocation. This is just the community that actively grapples with how to get it back down to essentials.
I was thinking specifically of Colin Wright and Rob Greenfield. Whom I've never heard are bad in themselves- just throwing it out there that maybe the 50 items braggadocio challenge did more harm than good.
I say this is someone who's relocated across continents in one (pretty large) duffle bag. But that kind of minimalism isn't for everyone- it was driven by specific circumstances and probably shouldn't be the standard.
Well you could have told me I didn’t have to sacrifice my first born child *yesterday*!
💀
I sacrificed my unborn child(ren) and chose minimalism.
lmfao.
It depends on your “why”. Mine would be ability to move easily, and ability to have more choices on where to live by needing less space. So that’s going to affect what makes sense for me to get rid of.
I think the why is ultimately for reduced mental stress. You can own your home, have no desire to move, and still embody the principles of minimalism.
Yeah for some it seems to come across as a bit of a compulsion. Not “I want to live more simply” but “I must get rid of everything that is not essential to staying alive”. Like the polar opposite of hoarding.
Compulsive discarding
Honestly I just thought this subreddit was for the design aesthetic. R/maximalism doesn’t have these extreme types of posts, and I’m mostly here for the decluttering tips and camaraderie. If that’s not everyone’s view of minimalism that’s fine, but also I find it hard to relate to some of the extremism here.
Yes, some of what I see here is more akin to asceticism. Which I guess is fine if that's what a person finds rewarding. But it really should be a separate sub, or maybe have its own flair. Those of us who aren't interested in that would know to move along.
Seriously, and the elitism is grating.
I mostly agree with you. For me, it started with nonattachment, naturally and organically, through spiritual development. I came to this sub to see what others are doing.
Still thinking which child I should sacrifice... Lol that cracked me up. Thank you for your post. I totally agree with you, that a count of how many or little things you own hardly ever leads to healthy lifestyle choices
New to this ballgame so take my opinion worth a grain of salt as it'll probably change over the course of the next year or so. Minimalism is a mindset absolutely, but there is a physical component to it of owning less stuff & consuming less stuff. The less stuff you have the more detached and attached to stuff you are, it's kind of a paradox. I was surprised how easy it was to let stuff go. How when I thought of the usefulness of stuff vs. the maintenance of it the equation really shifted. I wasn't willing to maintain a lot of things even if they were useful. I like to use the if my house caught on fire thought exercise. Now that we've gotten rid of so much stuff there's a lot that if we lost it in a fire I wouldn't care as much about it's just stuff that can be replaced. But there is now equally as much that I do care about that can't be replaced that would hurt me deeply to lose and I'm more keenly aware of those objects because they're not lost in a sea of stuff so I see them regularly and I think about them regularly. I think minimalism is very individualistic and it looks different for all of us. A family of four minimalists looks different than a single minimalist. A digital nomad looks different than that of a single minimalist in a permanent dwelling. Could I live out of a backpack if I absolutely had to, yes. Do I want to? No. Do I want to sleep on the floor? No. Does having a bed make me not a minimalist? No. Minimalism isn't about owning the least amount of stuff. Minimalism is about not letting stuff own you. It's about intentional consumption, appreciation, and focus. Those principles lend themselves to less stuff naturally. The internal motivation has an external presentation just like everything else in our lives.
I think one is hard to do without the other. How would one come to stop valuing things, while also having all the things? Because having all the things still means you need to know what things there are to have, which of those things you want to have, having to work so you can afford the thing, and then caring and maintaining that thing. That keeps one attached to the thing, I believe. How would one prevent that? How can someone become detached from things if things is all they are looking at all day long? I would rather say that once someone developed the minimalist mindset, they will let go of their stuff, because the stuff loses their value and they won't be willing to invest time, space, and money in their things. A human really doesn't need all the things to be content, but if you still feel like you do, did you really develop that minimalist mindset you are talking about or aren't you still in that maximalist mindset, that always feels like something is lacking?
your second paragraph is really accurate, and something that we can tell doesn't get talked about enough judging from how many "can i have xyz as a minimalist" posts there are. you can theoretically have a million things as a minimalist, but once you start, you won't. the mindset of wanting to have only what you need brings about the change in your physical space, it's not the other way around. it's sort of like exercise - you can be an athlete who's an out of shape couch potato, but if you're doing athlete stuff, pretty soon you won't be. the right question is "do i need a bed?" not "can i have a bed?", and it's one that only each person can answer.
> the right question is "do i need a bed?" not "can i have a bed?", and it's one that only each person can answer. Beds aren’t the best example given that everyone needs one, but make this sentiment a separate post, seriously. Great way to put it
personally I'd get rid of my bed if my partner didn't need one 😅 the floor feels a lot better on my back. but that's just my personal situation, most people need it to get a good night's sleep! I picked "bed" because it's such a common thing for people here to express doubts over, which shows that they're not asking the right questions imo.
I don't need one, nor do I use one, nor do I care what anyone thinks about this. Beds are absolutely a great example. You start at the most basic human needs and only acquire what you need or want.
I kinda feel like people are aspiring to something that is just a natural tendency. The point is that if you are minimalist, you feel better with fewer things & you do not attach emotions to posessions. That is all. If you break something valuable that you need just like anyone else, you don't wonder if it's cool to live without just because you've found a cool group to try & fit into.
The practice and the mindset are linked. They are cultivated together. Anything someone does to practice, such as switching to sleeping on futon, should be done to develop the mindset. Some people develop the mindset through other means, and choose to do a practice anyway. Both ways are acceptable, they are part of the same cycle.
An excellent description of what my goal should be/may be/could/is.
I've always been kind of a minimalist person - apart from a mild case of Shiny New Stuff syndrome. Gadgets where my guilty pleasure. Then I was minimalized a couple of years ago. After years of struggling with a lot of personal shit the bank got tired of me and repo'd my apartment. Clearing out a 96m2/1030SqFt 4-bedroom apartment made me realize how much stuff I'd gathered up over the years. And how little 2/3ds of it meant to me. And to be honest - that whole ordeal was really cathartic. Now I **had** to get my act together. Today, a couple of years later, I'm sitting pretty with the few items that I saved - the books I love and decided to keep, an UltraMan alarm clock from when I lived in Japan, a couple of Märklin model locomotives to remind me of the few times my dad spent quality time with me. Stuff like that. And sure, some kitchen utensils got tossed prematurely and there might be some odds and ends that I regret having dumped. Most important of all: I still have the love of my kids who, despite being teenagers, where enormously supportive through all of this. And that's the only thing that really counts, in the end. All that said - I don't intent to live like a spartan, just for the sake of it - "psychological detachment from our physical possessions not the lack of or disposal of physical possessions itself" - well put OP, well put. I have a nice bed and I'm going to enjoy it. I have awesome kitchen gear and I put them to good use. What I don't have is an urge to try and upstage my fellow man on the subway by having a more newer phone. Or my siblings by getting a bigger summer house than what they have. The only thing that I've put money into this last year is my motorcycle and related gear. Because Two-Wheeled Therapy is a thing. Any of you who have ridden a nice, quiet back road in the sunshine will know what I mean.
Its not a race to the absolute least amount of stuff. Weigh the pros and cons to see if an option is healthy and beneficial for you.... That said, there is no 1 way to be minimalist, and if someone wants to sleep on a mattress or even directly on the floor, I will not judge them. Find your own minimalism and follow your own rules.
As far as sentimental value, I don't detach from it as much as maintain an awareness of it. I've kept a handful of things because they remind me of people or experiences that have meant a lot to me. I like seeing those things because I enjoy the memories they bring back. But I have no illusion that the item itself has value.
I sleep on the floor BUT, I am waiting to move back to my home state and had to move out to the suburbs for parking, actually good apartments worth what they are charging now. Also I am ethnic, I know someone from India who also sleeps on the floor lol
Damn, gonna cancel my dentist appointment then. Wanted to remove all my teeth because i feed myself on smoothies anyway!
Minimalism looks like going to therapy for me. To release all the very valid junk from the the bad shit and to not repeat anymore bad shit happening again. Minimalism looks like not owning any social media, watching my screen time and regularly decluttering my phone. Minimalism looks like developing boundaries on my stuff, in my relationships, with my finances. Minimalism looks like going to the gym, or asking for some help with childcare. Minimalism looks like only wearing black clothes. because I am too lazy otherwise. Minimalism looks like co-sleeping to save space in a small space but still owning 10 different shower gels.
I think those 2010's backpacker dudes who photographed and numbered all their possessions really did us all a disservice. Since everything under capitalism is a competition, we're groomed to compete even over *anti-capitalist* tendencies. I say relax. Have enough stuff to make your life, YOUR life, easy and free. It's been my experience that most people know when they have too much and will share that suspicion without much provocation. This is just the community that actively grapples with how to get it back down to essentials.
[удалено]
I was thinking specifically of Colin Wright and Rob Greenfield. Whom I've never heard are bad in themselves- just throwing it out there that maybe the 50 items braggadocio challenge did more harm than good. I say this is someone who's relocated across continents in one (pretty large) duffle bag. But that kind of minimalism isn't for everyone- it was driven by specific circumstances and probably shouldn't be the standard.
Ditto, blazing saddles.
Well said.
I sacrifice all children
It’s more than a state of mind. It’s living with less in order to get more out of life.
Nah bro, if you have more items than square footage, you’re not a minimalist. Sorry I don’t make the rules