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Minimalism + Simplicity

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LegendOfGood said:
OP, what do you do when you receive gifts and the like?
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I've actually just sold them off, donated it to charity (good will) or actually told friends and family not to give me anything at all moving forward.

it throws a wrench into the system if they do, I appreciate it and don't at the same time.

but at this point in my life I'd be happier with even less stuff then I currently have atm

I want to start traveling ALOT soon anyways.
 
RSP said:
Minimalist would be having a patch of land to grow some crops on and a cow or a goat. What you have is a laptop, a smartphone and a gun.
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This post really made me happy for some reason, and I can't even adequately put my finger on it.
 
Zilch said:
You don't actually own a handgun in NYC, do you?
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in storage in an upstate area

planning to move to Vermont anyways

I've read up and contacted a firearms lawyer before I even purchased it back then

went though a year long process and paper work and red tape.

I know the laws.
 
I don't know. I don't see how you can have a laptop, a smartphone, a fucking gun, looking to get a tablet, and call it "minimalist." Yeah, you don't have DVDs and such, but everything is digital now anyway. You don't have a gaming console, but there are plenty of games available on smart phones now. Hell, the stuff you have is more expensive than a lot of the stuff you gave up. Lol, I actually own less than you do (original 360, ancient laptop, no smartphone, no gun), but I don't feel like a minimalist.

Just my opinion, though.
 
SoulPlaya said:
I don't know. I don't see how you can have a laptop, a smartphone, a fucking gun, looking to get a tablet, and call it "minimalist." Yeah, you don't have DVDs and such, but everything is digital now anyway. You don't have a gaming console, but there are plenty of games available on smart phones now. Hell, the stuff you have is more expensive than a lot of the stuff you gave up. Lol, I actually own less than you do (original 360, ancient laptop, no smartphone, no gun), but I don't feel like a minimalist.

Just my opinion, though.
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within reason, if I wanted to go hard core I would just burn everything and go live in a monastery naked.

and telepathically connect to GAF....

never said I was Full minimalist

most people never go full minimalist

and don't come a cryin when zed is chewing on your ass
 
Emily Chu said:
within reason, if I wanted to go hard core I would just burn everything and go live in a monastery naked.

never said I was Full minimalist

most people never go full minimalist

and don't come a cryin when zed is chewing on your ass
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Zed chewing on my ass? What? I don't get the reference.

I'm not trying to judge you. I'm just saying. I always thought minimalist meant some sacrifice for the sake of simplicity, but I don't see what you've sacrificed. You don't own a TV, but why have it when you can watch whatever you want on the net. You don't own a gaming console, but what you own classifies as such imo (especially if you get a tablet). I know plenty of people who live like you. They don't call it minimalist, though, it's just life in 2012. Do you cook for yourself?
 
SoulPlaya said:
Zed chewing on my ass? What? I don't get the reference.

I'm not trying to judge you. I'm just saying. I always thought minimalist meant some sacrifice for the sake of simplicity, but I don't see what you've sacrificed. You don't own a TV, but why have it when you can watch whatever you want on the net. You don't own a gaming console, but what you own classifies as such imo (especially if you get a tablet). I know plenty of people who live like you. They don't call it minimalist, though, it's just life in 2012. Do you cook for yourself.
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I don't really think of it as a "sacrifice" more of pairing down the number of material possessions to a bare minimum to fit anyone's lifestyle choices

I trade stocks most of the day as one of my sources of income on my laptop so I can justify my laptop as a need.

when outside I need to check on stocks as well so a smartphone would come in to play as a need / want

sometimes I go hiking, fishing, camping and theres bears and shit out there so a pistol would be handy as a need/ want

Its Situational minimalism I suppose and not all out full hard core minimalism

I cook at times, only simple meals though using a pan and a spatula

so I suppose I have the basics
 
SoulPlaya said:
I don't know. I don't see how you can have a laptop, a smartphone, a fucking gun, looking to get a tablet, and call it "minimalist." Yeah, you don't have DVDs and such, but everything is digital now anyway. You don't have a gaming console, but there are plenty of games available on smart phones now. Hell, the stuff you have is more expensive than a lot of the stuff you gave up. Lol, I actually own less than you do (original 360, ancient laptop, no smartphone, no gun), but I don't feel like a minimalist.

Just my opinion, though.
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Minimalism is a spectrum, not an endpoint.
 
Not me. I like "purposeful expression", which is just a fancy way of saying "buy/keep the things that truly add to your life." It's perfectly fine to want to reduce clutter, but there's a huge middle ground between being a borderline hoarder and living in a cleanroom.
 
Emily Chu said:
I don't really think of it as a "sacrifice" more of pairing down the number of material possessions to a bare minimum to fit anyone's lifestyle choices

I trade stocks most of the day as one of my sources of income on my laptop so I can justify my laptop as a need.

when outside I need to check on stocks as well so a smartphone would come in to play as a need / want

sometimes I go hiking, fishing, camping and theres bears and shit out there so a pistol would be handy as a need/ want

Its Situational minimalism I suppose and not all out full hard core minimalism

I cook at times, only simple meals though using a pan and a spatula

so I suppose I have the basics
Click to expand...
I don't really see you as pairing down on "material" possessions. As Monroeski pointed out, most things are digital these days. Unless you've sworn off websites like youtube and such, you're still enjoying "material" possessions, just not in a purely physical sense. Like I said, most of your possessions are more expensive than the stuff you gave up. I also find it a bit ironic that you gain your money from stock trading, a system that relies on consumer spending, lol.
 
Just to make my point clear. I don't view it as being minimalist, I view it as being a person in 2012. You don't need a TV. Why? Because you can watch shows on your computer. You don't own movies? Why? Because it's all digital now. You don't own a home phone. Why? Because you make your calls on your cell phone. You don't own a video game console. Why? Because you can play games on your phone and tablet. You don't own many kitchen appliances. Why? Because you're a young guy who probably eats out a lot. You're not a minimalist, plenty of people live this way, because that's the way things are now. You still possess all the amenities (and the cost that comes with them) as you would have previously. They're just in a new form now.
 
I was expecting a design-topic thread, instead i saw pictures of a boring laptop and a shitty android phone.

Now...

mobler_120339898.jpg

minimalist-bedroom-lighting-ideas_176955606.jpg

skh8sommarkoksvart.jpg


There we go!
 
I wish I knew how to reduce clutter, but when I try to get rid of things I always ask myself what if I need them in the future? Maybe it comes from growing up with nothing, I dunno.
 
I feel like this thread is about two different types of minimalism. There's the aesthetic and then there's the ascetic giving up of material goods. They're very, very different ideas.

If you want a good example of a minimalist aesthetic that isn't cold/soulless but is also not ascetic, look at this gaffer's apartment. This is what I mean when I talk about minimalism.
 
SoulPlaya said:
Just to make my point clear. I don't view it as being minimalist, I view it as being a person in 2012. You don't need a TV. Why? Because you can watch shows on your computer. You don't own movies? Why? Because it's all digital now. You don't own a home phone. Why? Because you make your calls on your cell phone. You don't own a video game console. Why? Because you can play games on your phone and tablet. You don't own many kitchen appliances. Why? Because you're a young guy who probably eats out a lot. You're not a minimalist, plenty of people live this way, because that's the way things are now. You still possess all the amenities (and the cost that comes with them) as you would have previously. They're just in a new form now.
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This is how i feel about a lot of people who claim to be minimalist. It just makes sense now and is in no way extraordinary thing. Just because you are enjoying same things differently does not make you minimalist per se, maybe material minimalist would be better expression.

Having thousands/millions of songs in the cloud instead of CD's is handy, not minimalist.
 
I'm not minimalist, nor do I want to be. That's not to say I'm a packrat or that I love clutter, quite the contrary. I keep my house clean and put things away and such. But man, at this point in my life, there are things I just couldn't do without:

- my Harley
- my car
- my PC
- my TV, blu-ray player, and surround sound system
- my comfortable bed and cozy bedroom
- my hammock up the hill behind my house
- my tractor
- my kitchen and all of the cooking tools within
- my garage, and all the tools within
- my bookshelfs full of books

I could make the list longer. I love being a consumer, sorry OP. You enjoy your laptop, phone, and gun. :D
 
Mengy said:
I'm not minimalist, nor do I want to be. That's not to say I'm a packrat or that I love clutter, quite the contrary. I keep my house clean and put things away and such. But man, at this point in my life, there are things I just couldn't do without:

- my Harley
- my car
- my PC
- my TV, blu-ray player, and surround sound system
- my comfortable bed and cozy bedroom
- my hammock up the hill behind my house
- my tractor
- my kitchen and all of the cooking tools within
- my garage, and all the tools within
- my bookshelfs full of books

I could make the list longer. I love being a consumer, sorry OP. You enjoy your laptop, phone, and gun. :D
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Same.
 
Hmmm. sources of clutter in my room:
clothes(clean laundry) not properly put away.
school papers.

sources of clutter in my mind:
fatigue
girls
the internet



Basically, my only possession that negatively affects my life is my laptop because there's too much unimportant shit in the world to be distracted by. A guitar or a shelf of books enriches my life. I don't know how to live simply or minimalistically, information wise, in a world where i use the internet. internet is the opposite of focus and order.
 
I just de-cluttered my wardrobe. Threw out clothes I hadn't worn for years and the excessive amount of underwear I had.

Felt good.
 
I had no clue this was even a thing that had a name. Lately I've been like this. I've thrown away my desk because I felt like it was taking too much room now my PC is just on the floor and monitor is on top of PC which may seem uncivilized but I like it. Got rid of other stuff lately that I felt was taking too much room and wasn't being used enough.

I wish I could get away with not having a bed and just sleeping on a roll up futon or something. I don't like 'homey' items either that take up room and are mainly for decoration like lamps or bed side tables. I toss away anything I don't need now and know I won't need in the future. Most of what I have now I actively use and have little emotional attachment to, it's a good feeling. I like the idea that if I ever had to move in a hurry I could do so within a day or less.
 
Andrex said:
5IEMq.jpg
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I want to punch this guy so hard in the face for some reason. How odd.

Anyway, my opinion on this is that I find 'minimalism' to be the other extreme of the same thing. Going out of your way to live like that to me is no different to going out of your way to surround yourself with crap. It's just different ways of expressing a desire to identify oneself in some way, it's the same crisis.

I like my surroundings to be clean and uncluttered (not bloody likely in my household these days, but whatever) but I am what I am... that's life. That means picking up all the breaks and bruises and boxes of videogames or whatever on the way. I've always found the "can't take it with you" attitude to be extremely nihilistic. I know what's important to me today. It's not what was important to me 20 years ago. But it doesn't really matter.
 
213826-american_psycho_apartment.jpg


Always liked the apartment in American psycho.

As for being minimalist, I've always believed in quality over quantity. With that said when I get back home I will be doing another clean out, and trying to stick to the "1 of each item" rule. As in 1 console, 1 tv etc (clothing etc excluded due to practical reasons).
 
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