this evening i was talking to a friend. during the convesation, he asked how the “minimalism” was going. i replied, “i feel bad. it’s been so hectic at work the past couple weeks, i haven’t been able to do much around the house.”
something hit me as i finished the sentence – for the first i recognized fully that becoming minimalist is not an easy thing to do. it is hard work! it takes time and energy to sort possessions. it takes effort to decide what we truly value. it takes time to determine if an item is necessary to keep or can be removed. it takes time to sort, sell, recycle, or discard. it takes time to reorganize and find “homes” for every belonging.
stuff… takes your time when you own it and takes your time when you try to get rid of it. i think the best solution is to not buy it in the first place. and that’s something i wish i knew 10 years ago.
Own your stuff else the stuff will own you!
It just takes time. It teaches patience and discipline.
How much stuff do you really need to survive?
I spend short episodes. I like to survey an area for a while, think it over and then proceed. In this way, there are fewer regrets. It gets easier each time.
it is a mental challenge to suddenly decide to rid yourself of an item, sentimental thoughts come around, whether it’s to remember why you purchased, why you never used the item or do you honestly want to keep the item ‘just in case’
I’ve only started to work on becoming a minimalist, but as a student just start off (away from home!) I figure it’s a good time!
The one thing I seem to have lots of is books. Whether it’s old novels, textbooks, or other books, I seem to have a lot! I found a neat way to get rid of them, but still trust they will be used! There is a site called bookcrossing.com that lets you “release” your books and track them! I thought it might be a fun way for some of your readers to get take some old books off their shelves and start putting them to work!
Yes, I seem to want to put off the minimalizing because of the emotional energy spent, needing to remember I hold on to memories not the items that represent them. Even in the case of honeymoon photos…
-the wife-
Take a picture and store it on your computer.
Agree here too — it takes emotional energy to make decisions about things. And it takes maintenance time to keep the flow going out the door and not in. ;)
So true!!! I’m still trying to get rid of stuff that a roommate left behind when she moved out a month ago (sooo generous of her….).
I’m also giving a lot of books away to a friend so she can keep what she wants and take the rest to the library. I could sell them, but it’s just not worth it to me right now. I’m thinking of selling one, but that’s it. And if I don’t, I’ll take it to the library.
And then there’s the stuff for Goodwill. And the stuff that Goodwill won’t accept. And I know I can freecycle a lot of it, but it doesn’t always seem worth the hassle, as easy as it is. I just want stuff to be gone.
Even though I’m really decluttering more than minimalizing, it’s still tough work. I don’t know how minimal I want to go, but it’s nice to know I’m at least going in the same direction in case I do decide later on I want to take things further.
Giving things away seems to be the easiest thing to do. When someone visits, ask them if they’d like to have something you’d like to discard.
This saves time for you and money for them.
There are many different places to donate, such as a church, school, shelter, etc.
Direction and discipline.
That’s a brilliant answer to an interesting question
That’s an apt answer to an interesting question