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> For everyone else on this planet for whom financial security is not a given, it makes sense to keep more things around than needed in a given instance. I'm n

by csydas 10y ago

> For everyone else on this planet for whom financial security is not a given, it makes sense to keep more things around than needed in a given instance. I'm not sure that this necessarily follows. What is the sense is there, let's say, of having a basement full of christmas decorations, far more than you have space in your home to put up? Or of having three 8-person dinner sets? Or of keeping clothes that you haven't worn in years? Like, the natural conclusion of having money isn't to just buy things for the sake of it, but that you can get what you need instead. Minimalism isn't just "have less", it's use less. See I guess I'm technically a minimalist, but not really by choice - it was a necessity as I moved frequently, always by the skin of my teeth and on my last dollar. I'm "rich" insomuch that I have no outstanding debt (worked full time to pay for University, lived a very frugal lifestyle (lots of eggs+rice for a long time)). It's really weird to me when a template for minimalists gets created, as if the only natural reason why you wouldn't want a lot of things is because you're rich enough to get them. I wasn't starving as I got more from jobs, but I also didn't immediately rush out to fill my apartment with crap once I had a tiny bit saved up.

yoo1I 10y ago
Except, the opposite of > own as little as possible, for a clutter-free, minimalist lifestyle is not > keep your basement and your cupboards full of useless junk It seems reasonable to keep one set of Christmas decoration, maybe one and a half if you don't want it to look the same every year, keep one 8-person dinner set for the three times a year you might need it. Occasionally go through your wardrobe to see if you still want to wear all your clothes, and give those away you don't want, but maybe keep two pieces that you never wear just because you like them. A persons life is probably full of examples like this, where it's reasonable to keep items that aren't exactly useful every day, or even every month. These things add up and come to be called clutter, just maybe because they're many pieces, even though they all have their purpose. And don't get me wrong, there is absolutely junk that's too much, and that one probably doesn't need to keep. But in the end this minimalist idea always seems a bit juvenile to me, where when confronted with complexity, the solution is to throw everything out instead of organizing it, recognizing that there aren't perfect systems of organization and managing to live with a small bit of actual clutter, but at the same time being able to actually host some friends coming over for dinner or fix something that's broken without first having to procure a screwdriver.

by csydas 10y ago

yoo1I 10y ago

Except, the opposite of > own as little as possible, for a clutter-free, minimalist lifestyle is not > keep your basement and your cupboards full of useless junk It seems reasonable to keep one set of Christmas decoration, maybe one and a half if you don't want it to look the same every year, keep one 8-person dinner set for the three times a year you might need it. Occasionally go through your wardrobe to see if you still want to wear all your clothes, and give those away you don't want, but maybe keep two pieces that you never wear just because you like them. A persons life is probably full of examples like this, where it's reasonable to keep items that aren't exactly useful every day, or even every month. These things add up and come to be called clutter, just maybe because they're many pieces, even though they all have their purpose. And don't get me wrong, there is absolutely junk that's too much, and that one probably doesn't need to keep. But in the end this minimalist idea always seems a bit juvenile to me, where when confronted with complexity, the solution is to throw everything out instead of organizing it, recognizing that there aren't perfect systems of organization and managing to live with a small bit of actual clutter, but at the same time being able to actually host some friends coming over for dinner or fix something that's broken without first having to procure a screwdriver.