Minimalism

[Flitter]

Maybe this is kind of an odd discussion for a collector forum but does anyone here consider themselves a minimalist, or want to work toward minimalism in their lives?
I've been on a huge de-cluttering and re-focusing kick lately.
While I've done occasional purges of my belongings since I was a kid, recent events in my life have really caused me to re-think my relationship with things. I'll spare you all my whole story but I'd like to discuss the topic of living only with what you need and what brings you joy, how you determine what those items are, and any thoughts people here have on minimalism in general.

[dragonfly]

I've been paring down and de-cluttering. I love the concept of minimalism and have a couple friends who are hard-core into it. After a lot of thought, I don't think it's for me. For good or for bad, I like stuff too much. I am sentimental with my belongings. I know they say, take a photo of the item and toss or donate, but I can't get behind that.

I am trying to eliminate things in my life that I don't need, "stuff" that I won't use or enjoy and over-consumption in general.

[ponyqueen]

Yes! I am on a major (for me) purging/de-cluttering kick right now. Furniture, household stuff, cloths AND toys (including ponies from personal collection), hobby and craft supplies... I want it gone. Everytime I take another bag, box, or furniture piece out of the house I feel a weight lifted from my life. It's reaffirming.

How did I wind up with so much STUFF I wonder? Garage sales, estate sales, free items from fam... but I never followed the "one in one out" rule. I have a house, so I just filled the rooms with furniture. And then overfilled. Chairs, end tables and lamps are the worst- when I see them they just have so much character so I bring them home... now I have 26+ chairs between house and yard...

It takes courage to get rid of things sometimes... but I'm ready!

[Kiwi]

I've been trying to get better at having "stuff", but I know I'll never get away from it. I like seeing things that make me happy around me, or having things to touch/hold/cuddle. Plus I get way too sentimental very easily.

But I am getting better - I have a large tub that I'm clearing out from my pony room. I'm working on just getting ones I really like, rather than just getting it because it's new and I don't have it (like every single G4, just because it has sparkles, when I don't need another Pinkie Pie).

[kasin]

My husband is a minimalist, when we met he owned exactly 7 pairs of sox, 7 pairs of underwear, 2 pairs of jeans and maybe a dozen shirts/sweaters to accommodate different types of weather. He did 1 load of laundry each weekend and bought all new everything a few times a year as it wears out fast when you use it every week. For him its cultural, he is from HK and you actually need to be a minimalist to live there. There are a lot of pros and cons, its easy to move around and you always have new stuff since you use up the old, but your constantly needing to go shopping, you have to keep everything cleaned and ready to re-use which is good and bad. That was a long time ago and now that I'm in charge of laundry I require he own more sox so I keep my sanity, but he still prefers to live with less. He is fine with my pony collecting, its part of who I am, but we do have a understanding that the ponies stay in their desiginated territory which he calls the "she-cave" its right next to his "man-cave" which is perfectly spartin and utilitarian.

In my opinion, and having exposure to minimalism with my in-laws and hording with someone in my family, I think its about finding a balance.

[kaoskat]

LOL Not me! I still have the first pony I got when I was 3 so.......

[mlp4me]

I lived with two parents that were minimalists. Probably why I'm a hoarder...

[princessluna11706]

My husband and I will never be true minimalists, we love our things too much, but we have realized we have a bit *too* much and have been cracking down over the last year.  We've been selling/donating/tossing the things we really don't need, so we have more space to appreciate the things we really do want.  It is such a great feeling, like weights being lifted off our shoulders each time we get rid of junk!

[Taxel]

I could never do a minimalist lifestyle. The thought kind of horrifies me, haha. I hate living with very few choices when it comes to clothing, furniture, etc and I miss having a normal sized closet with tons of variety. I don't like minimalist decor either. Its too bare and emotionless for me. It looks sterile/generic instead of personal to me.

But at the same time, being a hoarder is even worse. As a kid growing up my mom refused to let me get rid of most things. Sometimes I'd make a huge pile that filled up half the couch of old stuff I didn't want anymore. Usually she'd put it all back while I was at school :/ It wasn't much better trying to deal with my boyfriend's hoarder grandma and helping her move to a significantly smaller place. I ended up getting rid of probably over half the stuff I had before we left California and recently I got rid of probably 80% of what remained. Its nice to only have things I enjoy, but I do enjoy my things

My stuff is a little more hoard-y than I like because its "not allowed" outside of our room, but getting some new furniture recent-ish helped with that a lot. Once I can control my space it'll be a lot easier to keep everything much more organized.

[Melodia]

I went on a vacation and was in a hotel for a while when I came home I realized how cluttered my house looked after being away for a while. I sold off some of my stuff and at first I was  kinda bummed about it but once you get some extra cash and your house cleans up better with the stuff gone you feel much better, I did anyway

[banditpony]

*raises hand*
I strive to be as minimalistic as possible!

I realized when my "pack rat" grandma died, that how we feel about things doesn't matter to other people... and they could become burdened by all the "stuff". So I try to be mindful about what I own. I am a bit messy but I really don't like clutter, and I love to see clean surfaces.

I prioritize. Having wool for needle felting is more important than clothes. So I have less clothes and store my wool in the dresser. I try to do the one in and one out. Sometimes it's 2 out.

I am striving to limit my collections to approximately 2 ~ 3 shelves. Slowly getting there. But it's full of things I really treasure.

Occasionally I dream of getting rid of it all-- keeping 5 favorite things-- and that would be so awesome. Maybe when I'm old...

ETA:
I didn't see the question on determining what brings you joy. I just get rid of item I like the least. Either I'll mentally visualize everything and pick an item. Or I'll literally gather up everything and pick an item.

It could be a collection I like the least. (No longer into Pinky ST, gone). Or maybe an item I like least out of collection (No longer like Pinkie Pie in my MLPs, gone). Rinse and repeat when I feel like I am emotionally up for it. It's not always easy. And I personally need to take it slow.

I think Marie Kondo has some good books about decluttering and deciding on what brings you joy or not. Haven't read a full book, but enough to feel confident on letting go.

[tikibirds]

All my stuff is in NY and I'm on the other side of the planet. Does that count?

Nah, I could never do minimilst, and especially not if we are talking tiny houses that are the size of my closet. I had a 280 sq foot apartment when I lived in Alaska. And I still had a dog, chinchilla and her big cage, several large fishtanks and tons of...stuff. Not clothes but other collectible things like ponies, stickers, pokemon, ect

[aquamarinemolly]

I absolutely do enjoy minimalist philosophy and design aesthetic. Congrats to Marie Kondo on her mega successful best seller! I also find Isamu Noguchi inspiring...and it's been a struggle to unify those concepts I've embraced with my heard. Great topic, this is something I've spent a lot of my time puzzling over.

For me, it's come down to display- the actual aesthetic of how my collection impacts my home. I need my ponies to not look to crowded, give them each visual space to breathe so I can appreciate their faces, hair, symbols and other accessories. I also need to be able to obscure the display, sometimes the visual of 150 ponies is just too much distraction and noise.

[Chelsea7]

Yes, at least progressing towards it! Although my progress is slow going..

Recently I had to sit down with myself and basically decide that I need to let things go. I have been throwing things away, selling old possessions like toys, clothes, etc, and basically cleansing my house of junk I don't need anymore
But it's not like things are cluttered, everything has its proper place. I just am running out of "proper place" space, and things need to go.

I consider myself to be a bit of a "pack rat", I don't like to give things away. But lately I realized that I don't need 15 tee shirts in the same color to have a "complete" wardrobe, and I don't need to keep every single book I finish. My basement is filled with my old toys, and the only toys I actively collect now are G1 ponies, so...
Time to throw things away!

Plus the fact that now that I've graduated from college, I want to begin anew. It would be nice to buy some new clothes to replace some of the older stuff, and I would like to fill my overstuffed bookshelf with some new reads.
I also plan on moving in with my ultra-minimalist boyfriend in the next year, so I definitely need to chuck things before that happens.  (It was like pulling teeth to get him to agree on bringing the ponies up )

[FantasticFirefly]

The ponies are a hoard.
I keep it to a space. I can close the door and wish for the rest of my house to look as serene as possible.

I like other cool things too, but I love to rehome things that no longer fit if a space has too much for my liking. My spouse is a clutterbug, and it's like pulling teeth to make him realize that closed storage is a happy medium I am willing to take. I like having a very clean house, and I lose anything when there's clutter about. Cleaning, it's so much harder to do, and takes so much longer with extra "surface area" with things on open shelves or surfaces for dust and dirt to accumulate and closets stuffed. acts up my allergies too. and things in bins makes it easier to clean, but what is the point of bins everywhere. (thank you for the reminder to finish the home inventory and make a shopping/price list for appropriate furniture to store it all safely.

at any given time I have maybe a dozen pairs of socks, 4 sets of legwarmers, 12 underwear, 2 bras, 2-4 pairs of jeans, 12-15 tops (I get hot/cold so layers) and a couple "dress" outfits for when formal/business attire is required of me. I take a tiny portion of the closet with tiny stuff in little baskets. he has clothes filling the rest, and a dresser.

My apartment was so very easy to keep clean. and this place... I am agitated way too often.....