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The Art of Japanese Minimalism

CyberPanda

Banned
I've always loved having things tidy around the house with no clutter. But, Japanese minimalism takes it to a whole new level, and after watching this video, I feel more inspired. I'm definitely going to incorporate this into my lifestyle.

Fumio Sasaki lives in a one bedroom apartment in Tokyo. He has adopted a Japanese minimalism as his lifestyle. He has exactly 20 items in his closet. No more, no less. His apartment, which is only 20 square meters (215 square feet), doesn't have any furniture at all. Mr. Sasaki prefers to spend his time traveling or creating memories with his friends. He has detached himself from everyday objects in order to live a clean, orderly life.

 
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Super cool!! I've always wanted to become a minimalist myself, But i can't find time to clean my apartment also my room... :messenger_grinning_sweat::messenger_grinning_sweat::messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
It's my dream to be like this but I'm a western fucking pig and I don't know how to live with few things lol
 
Very cool. I love the idea of renunciation. Life is really very simple, and we waste so much time and energy accumulating and identifying with things. If more people lived this way things would be much more sane
 
Fuck that shit. I prefer a regular environment. Not some shitty art museum.

Imagine living in an actual fashion statement. Jesus H.
 
i'm pretty minimalist, i have my office desk and monitors

i have my living room tv and couch, i have my exercise equipment

i have my bed and drawer and tv

and that's basically it, i got one fork and knife, one spoon, one pot and pan, a tiny fridge stacked with water bottles

you don't really need much anymore, i feel plenty comfortable with all of the above and a nice phone
 
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i'm pretty minimalist, i have my office desk and monitors

i have my living room tv and couch, i have my exercise equipment

i have my bed and drawer and tv

and that's basically it, i got one fork and knife, one spoon, one pot and pan, a tiny fridge stacked with water bottles

you don't really need much anymore, i feel plenty comfortable with all of the above and a nice phone
I like your lifestyle.
 
I like your lifestyle.

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i'm pretty minimalist, i have my office desk and monitors

i have my living room tv and couch, i have my exercise equipment

i have my bed and drawer and tv

and that's basically it, i got one fork and knife, one spoon, one pot and pan, a tiny fridge stacked with water bottles

you don't really need much anymore, i feel plenty comfortable with all of the above and a nice phone

When someone comes over.. are they eating with their hands? If you only have one spoon and so on?

The guy in the video is basically eating the same shit every day. What?!
 
CyberPanda CyberPanda

There's quite a good podcast about minimalism called 'The Minimalists'. The dudes who run it have a website also with various articles about approach and mindset: -

https://www.theminimalists.com

You'll also find there's a documentary film on Netflix they were involved in as well called 'Minimalism'

I would also recommend the Marie Kondo book: - "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing"

Marie Kondo is more about organization versus full-on minimalism, however with that said her methodology is a good way of looking at strategically tackling the things that you own in a sensible and effective manner (she also has a Netflix show, which is ok, in terms of the lessons, but I think the book is a better avenue). I was a prolific reader ever since I was a child and I'd been lugging around several hundred books ever since, largely because it never occurred to me to let them go. Albeit I still have a substantial library (I have a lot of Architecture, Art & Design books due to career) I managed to get rid of most of my fiction books because I realised that the odds of me ever reading them again was slim to none. The only ones I've hung onto are ones with some sentimental value for the most part.

Similarly, more recently I've purged most of my DVD collection. I'd already moved over to Blu-ray and in doing so I'd been a bit more selective about the films/Shows I was buying, so it was a straightforward process to start assessing whether I needed to hang onto all of the DVDs still. Beyond a few rare ones that just aren't available on Blu-ray pretty much all of them went to the charity shop.
 
CyberPanda CyberPanda

There's quite a good podcast about minimalism called 'The Minimalists'. The dudes who run it have a website also with various articles about approach and mindset: -

https://www.theminimalists.com

You'll also find there's a documentary film on Netflix they were involved in as well called 'Minimalism'

I would also recommend the Marie Kondo book: - "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing"

Marie Kondo is more about organization versus full-on minimalism, however with that said her methodology is a good way of looking at strategically tackling the things that you own in a sensible and effective manner (she also has a Netflix show, which is ok, in terms of the lessons, but I think the book is a better avenue). I was a prolific reader ever since I was a child and I'd been lugging around several hundred books ever since, largely because it never occurred to me to let them go. Albeit I still have a substantial library (I have a lot of Architecture, Art & Design books due to career) I managed to get rid of most of my fiction books because I realised that the odds of me ever reading them again was slim to none. The only ones I've hung onto are ones with some sentimental value for the most part.

Similarly, more recently I've purged most of my DVD collection. I'd already moved over to Blu-ray and in doing so I'd been a bit more selective about the films/Shows I was buying, so it was a straightforward process to start assessing whether I needed to hang onto all of the DVDs still. Beyond a few rare ones that just aren't available on Blu-ray pretty much all of them went to the charity shop.
Thanks for the recommendations.
 
I travel and make memories with my friends also and still manage to have a ton of cool stuff. I would be absolutely miserable in that kind of house hold
 
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I've been getting rid of a lot of stuff as well in the past year or so, but I wouldn't call myself a minimalist. I think some of the core ideas of minimalism are great. People should consume less, buy less pointless crap. I like watching videos of people going to Disneyland and other theme parks, but all the cheap merchandise they show in the gift shops just makes me think: what are you actually going to do with a light-up straw with a Toy Story alien on it? Are these items you will actually use, or will you just shove them in the back of the cupboard only to forget it ever existed?

On the other hand, many minimalists are extreme in how little stuff they (want to) own. This video is an example of that, IMO. I'm not counting my things because I want to get under a certain number. I'm not replacing my cutlery with sporks so I can go under 200 items owned or whatever.

For me the most important thing is to be a bit more selective in what I buy. By not buying things I don't need, I save money that I can spend on stuff (or people) that's actually important to me.
 
Best thing about going out is that you don't have to do all the dishes after.
https://nextshark.com/japanese-restaurant-lets-people-cant-afford-eat-work-50-minutes-food/

Mirai Shokudo (translated as Future Eatery), a restaurant in the Jinbōchō district of Tokyo, Japan, accepts 50 minutes worth of labor as payment from customers who can't afford to buy a decent meal.
"To manage my restaurant, I adopted an open-source model – a system through which software design is made available for free to the public so that everyone can improve upon it," she explained.

"I posted the restaurant's business plan and finances on its website so I can collect input from the public on how to make improvements. This information is also available for those who want to open their own restaurants. Sharing something with others means supporting those with ambition. That underpins my approach to work."

The restaurant still accepts money as payment, but the labor is just an option for customers who can't afford the meal, especially for the less fortunate ones and university students who are on a tight budget.

More than 500 people have reportedly tried to work for their own meals, receiving a free-meal coupon that can be deposited at the entrance of the restaurant.
 
For me the most important thing is to be a bit more selective in what I buy. By not buying things I don't need, I save money that I can spend on stuff (or people) that's actually important to me.

^ This.

I think the mindset of minimalism is great and it's something I adhere to for the most part when it comes to purchasing decisions these days, but at the same time, I'm not looking to get rid of everything I already own so much as just gradually reduce down over time.
 
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Lovely clip, thanks for sharing.

While I love my home, where I do havea lot of stuff even if neatly hidden away, I do see the attraction of minimalism.

Last summer, when we had leak repairs done in our home, we stayed for a month in a small-ish, 500sqft Airbnb in our building. We essentially only had an Apple TV, Switch, HomePod and clothes. I have ever since had fond memories of that month. I have struggled to understand why, since it was clearly a massive downgrade.

This video made me realise the reason. It was the ease of the simplicity I felt there. And the relief of knowing that if I come to a circumstance where I need to live cheaper, I can be still very happy.

5f7336db-925e-4c60-bngkg3.jpeg


eb4e5ccb-b207-4a63-avckuf.jpeg
 
Lovely clip, thanks for sharing.

While I love my home, where I do havea lot of stuff even if neatly hidden away, I do see the attraction of minimalism.

Last summer, when we had leak repairs done in our home, we stayed for a month in a small-ish, 500sqft Airbnb in our building. We essentially only had an Apple TV, Switch, HomePod and clothes. I have ever since had fond memories of that month. I have struggled to understand why, since it was clearly a massive downgrade.

This video made me realise the reason. It was the ease of the simplicity I felt there. And the relief of knowing that if I come to a circumstance where I need to live cheaper, I can be still very happy.

5f7336db-925e-4c60-bngkg3.jpeg


eb4e5ccb-b207-4a63-avckuf.jpeg
Thats your place? Very nice.
 
From someone that had to move a lot over the years, I definitely felt weight off my shoulders when I decided to sell off a collection or whatever was kind of bulky and literally gathering dust. Not only did I get money out of it but really felt at ease with less clutter, those are facts about life we dont even realize. Only prob I have with being a minimalist is that you lose your personality in a way, I love to come back home and look at my own stuff, or when others come over, it has my signature style or whatever you wanna call it. If im ever super rich, yes I will gladly buy a penthouse all in white with futuristic minimalistic design. Thats the only minimalism ill accept lol.
 
Good food for thought. In this guy's case, the minimalist lifestyle seemed like an extreme reaction to his previous lifestyle which was the other extreme, in ways. I suppose that's how some people are. For me, I've been living in a 1 bdrm for getting on 14 years, I'm in my mid-40s, I'm a bit of a nostalgic enthusiast of the things of my youth. Far from overboard, but I certainly have clutter (although my apartment isn't literally bursting at the seams or anything). I've been trying to pare things down, it's difficult.. but as I do it, it does make me feel better, it certainly makes my mental space feel less distracting! We are kind of in this toxic society a bit which constantly encourages consumerism, it can get out of check and easy to lose sight of what really matters.. balance is key.
 
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