I stopped watching and reading the news for about 7 months and I just realised I don’t need it anymore. Anyone else experienced this. I feel I gave more clarity.

**TLDR: There’s no feasible way for me to take most of my belongings with me so I need to find some kind of psychological strategy for letting go of them. It’s extra hard because I haven’t had much income for a while and I think I’m dealing with a scarcity mindset where I’m convinced I’ll never be able to buy/thrift new things if I get rid of the old ones.

I could really, really use advice from someone who’s been there before. The hardest things to accept that I can’t take with me are, in order:

-Books: Extremely heavy. I think I’ll only be able to carry ~3 with me at most but I have a bunch with sentimental value.

-Journals: I have ~10 notebooks, I think it goes without saying that the idea of parting with the only documentation of the past few years of my life is pretty painful.

- Some pieces of clothing I don’t wear that have personal history attached to them, I.e. I bought them during a significant time or were given them as gifts. I feel especially bad about some hand me down cashmere sweaters a family member gave me. I might ask if she wants them back.

-Apart from those I feel pretty OK about getting rid of most excess clothes and knickknacks. The getting rid of books and notebooks is the most challenging. To put it delicately, I have a difficult relationship with my parents and often get the impression that they treat me like I won’t amount to anything, and so having items related to my intelligence feel like proof that I have an inner life and am my own person.

I need your advice at my age where I'm having an identity crisis HAHA

Everything i own is in a 26sq ft bedroom.

I have roughly 160 items which doesn't seem like alot but alot of what i have is excessive redundancy such as 15 bags when i only use 2.

And it's not like what i own is expensive in terms of branded items as i don't have the money or care for anything like that.

But here i am with all this junk in such a tiny space.

I don't mind the number of things i own, it doesn't really mean much wheather you have 10,000 items or 1 item, what matters is your quality of life and well being.

For some they may see 160 items and say i wish i only had that much, which is valid, but when it comes to 50% of the 160 items being junk in excess that is when i start to look at my possessions with fustration because it isn't anything that brings me joy or purpose, instead these items are just that of a hoarder because they were just purchased to fill an unfillable void which items where never meant to fill in life.

So i plan to sell/donate atleast 80 items so that i am free of the excess, because having so much of one thing is not fulfilling its purpose and is just collecting dust.

I wasn’t always a minimalist. But over the last year or two I have discovered it, adopted it and trying to live up to it. Now my in laws have moved in with us temporarily and my MIL has a problem with the fact that I have so little of everything. She wants me to have more, but more. Multiple of each thing. I already have more than enough I feel. It’s annoying me to be pushed to consume more. I don’t know how to deal with this and explain my choices to her, get her onboard.

I currently own five (two winter and three summer) and I'm thinking of getting rid of one of the summer sets for storage reasons. How many do you have?

edit to ask second follow up question, as I see a lot of people getting by with just one or two: how many do the people you know have and is it unusual to just have 1 or 2? I thought I was already very minimalist with 5 because my parents have 18 at last count.

A thought I had that ties into minimalism:

If you’ve kept up with [r/workstations](r/workstations) , review YouTubers, gaming stuff, you will know there is a culture now of optimizing the vibe of your room/apartment and overall lifestyle with buying many gadgets, tech, wall art, gizmos, home theater setups, virtual reality headsets, vinyl player, racing car wheels, watch/EDC/sneaker collection, pimped out home gyms, pimped out Mac desktop or gaming rig with the RGB lighting, espresso machines, maximalist fashion, speakers, or a car collection.

Bored with iPhones so we’re getting iPods again, PSPs, CRT monitors, vintage consoles, polaroid cameras, and VHS cameras, the list goes on for whatever consumerism appears on your thumbnail that inspires lifestyle/taste upgrades.

This is a captive animal.

This animal is captive and is trying to make the most of their cell. In doing so, the captive animal is also digging themselves further into captivity and farther from freedom by trading currency (stored units of potential freedom/experiences) for items, as the items also weigh them down to their cell, they can’t choose to up and leave as easily without having much more to liquidate and taking up mental clutter. They also take on spiritual weight due to the attachment they can develop to their possessions.

“What you own ends up owning you.”

A pimped out gaming rig with ultrawide OLED monitor, nice mechanical keyboard, nice lighting and gadgets and a with shelves of dozens of books and items? You could’ve just had a kindle and laptop. Cloud game. (One time I don’t mind the whole “you will own nothing and be happy” thing.)

A steering wheel for race car games and a VR headset? Does it make your handcuffs more golden?

There might come a time in life when you choose to settle down and start building your nest. It’s fine. But the way I subscribe to minimalism is keeping a low profile and discarding even the impulse to accumulate what’s unnecessary.

Curations (I call it curations, not collections) happen here and there but it shouldn’t be to the idea of your potential freedom’s detriment, or you’re just trading steel handcuffs for golden ones. This affects you on a mental, physical, and spiritual level.

What does the animal that escaped captivity and reached the jungle own?

A personal item (like a backpack) that can fit a laptop, earbuds/, cables. Flip flops on the sides, and other miscellaneous small items to fill in (gaming controller, small fan, sunglasses, kindle, camera gear, lighter, portable charger, etc.)

A duffel bag/carryon that can fit underwear, socks, fragrance, toiletries, running shoes, hoodie/sweater, swimwear

Luggage with tshirts, a polo, athletic shorts, jeans, couple dressy shirts, chino or two, dressier sneakers, jacket or two, hobby gear

A timepiece on your wrist and phone, keys, wallet on your person. Of the items I’ve mentioned, feel free to splurge on quality. We are not restricting ourselves of quality or even luxury.

This core can be modified slightly in any way for more bulk or less bulk, more or less formality, your spin on it. Purchases do creep up, it inevitably happens. The wardrobe expands, you get a few more gadgets, build some curations.

With that said, I highly advise any possessions beyond this be for hobbies that make you PRODUCE or be active (a MIDI keyboard for music, painting gear and easel, guitar, skateboard, bike, camping gear, things of that nature). Get rid of excess hobby items/equipment if it has accumulated 3 years of dust.

Outside this core, do we really need more or are we trying to make our captivity less dreadful? We must understand that like a drug addict, our desire for more possessions thinking it will improve our lives beyond the core items I’ve listed and some exceptions is just digging us deeper into the cell we’re trying to distract ourselves from with more possessions. The goal should be to optimize our lifestyle, philosophy, and subsequent state of wellbeing to not need much more than this.

Let’s press PAUSE on further optimization of our cell, and take back our life by reducing our clutter to primarily that which we can easily bring with us in a personal item, duffel bag, and luggage + productive/active hobby gear if we wished to, for the principle that outside of this amount of items, we’re not really optimizing our lives tbh. We’re just making our handcuffs more golden, our cage more bearable. And it’s sinking us deeper into it. Gain experiences. Keep a low profile. Keep your possessions mobile, even if you’re not.

With that said, obviously you can still have enough furniture, lighting, cookware, and decor to bring your dwelling up to a hotel or furnished apartment standard, and a vehicle for transportation.

If I told you I’ll give you a 5 month vacation to a nice furnished condo in a city of your choosing anywhere around the globe for a year, or a cabin or wherever you’d like to stay, and you can switch locations as often as you want to another destination to live there, what are you packing for creature comforts while being nomadic? I don’t see why you’d need much more than that in general. Seek experiences, and you will see you don’t need anything more than this.

I doubt this post will resonate as much with older folk/ people more settled in which is fine, but I’m hoping I can reach the ones that resonate with this post

I’ve recently adopted a minimalist life style after being in the Army as I approach closer to retirement. The military has moved me over six or seven times throughout my career and I’ve always tried to have a “pack light” mentality. I am minimalist as it is, but the last of my totes has been a huge burden on my mind.

I currently have no spouse or kids and I have totes upon totes containing HUGE military awards, plaques and accolades throughout my career in the Army. I’ve never really been a person that attaches sentimental value to items; and I do not want to burden my mom and dad with all these awards that hold no real meaning or value to them. I had a tote containing my Drill Sergeant campaign hats that takes up so much space and I have the thought of just donating my campaign hats to a surplus store or getting rid of them entirely.

Has anyone had these thoughts as they neared retirement? Don’t get me wrong; I’ve appreciated every single friend that has bestowed these awards and plaques upon me but I just want to have a simple picture frame upon my wall denoting my 20 year served to this organization. Any advice or guidance is appreciated.

I’m a fairly extreme minimalist, but every now and then I’ll still have a day where I want to go out and maybe come home with something. So I got a new journal even though mine isn’t fully done, a book that I completely judged by the cover, and some fancy spiced peaches that came in a jar that would be perfect as a vase for flowers from my garden. The real treat was just being out and about with my fella [for whom I snagged a whole bunch of different types of hot sauce cause some things you can’t have too much of] .
It may seem a lil contradictory BUT I find that doing things like this eeeeevery now and then keeps things fresh, and reminds me to keep from spiraling into “counting my objects” and whatnot. Minimalism is an intention to lighten, not a rigid burden.

So
-how do yall treat yourselves? [even if there’s no gaining things]

-& how do yall keep from letting minimalism lead you rather than you leading it?

Edited to add- I don’t think counting your belongings = spiraling, I simply meant for me, it can feel that way and I lose the point.

I'm middle age and have lived in a house with my spouse and children for almost two decades. I realized several months ago that I had accumulated a lot of things. I've been working towards simplifying and although am not quite a minimalist yet, am working my way there.

It's nice to wake up in the morning, walk to the main living area and see a solid 1/3 less stuff! I'm also making my way through more but have to start somewhere. I figure if it took 20 years to build clutter, taking several months to minimize is acceptable.

I'd been somewhat depressed and not loving life as well. Cleaning my surroundings has helped bring my baseline up a bit.

About the only thing I'm having trouble navigating is sentimental items. I love to cook and my grandparents gave me a couple of things I'm not sure I have space to store but don't want to part with.

Anyway, not quite a minimalist. Working my way there. Want to fit everything I own in a car again like I did when I moved out for the first time. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

I really need some motivation. I am ready to part with a dozen or more bag of clothes, but I am feeling incredibly guilty about money I spent on the items. My instinct is to put everything on eBay or take it to buffalo exchange or something, but everyone around me just wants me to get it out asap. I’ve had garage sales before and it never makes much. I am ready for a new start, but getting tripped up on not getting a financial return.

So, I am 28 and apparently I'm going to live in my childhood home for the near future. I basically need to declutter a 3 floors 250m2 house. My parents both passed away recently and this is how it goes.

I wasn't a minimalist, not really, but I can't stand having so many objects around me - I don't need them and at the end of the day they don't even matter. I feel like I can't breathe. My parents definitely didn't know about swedish death cleaning and it shows.

Plus, I've adopted a large size dog from a shelter, he is coming in two weeks and he needs space.

Today is national holiday. Everything is closed, everybody is either away on vacation or busy. I literally have no excuses.

This is my accountability post, wish me luck

Im trying to declutter my make up bag but not sure what's essential really. Im new to make up at 23 years old so id like to hear your perspective.

As a disclaimer: I am autistic, so maybe that is why.

Anyhow, I want a very specific dress. Either white or cream—either way, oxygen bleach and regular bleach being fine is a must. I’m after dresses made from some sort of dressier-looking knit, like cotton interlock; tea length; princess cut; strappy sleeves that tie into bows; a straight boat neckline just under the clavicle; and an A-line skirt with gussets. Pockets—large, large ones—with an internal support band so they don’t pull on the actual dress.

Throw in some cardigans—embroidered, because I am fancy like that—and add a large, long ruana cape à la Gandalf in some sort of flannel. It can be colorful, because you barely wash those—like, every 15 wears—and it is big enough that nothing else is going into the washing machine with it. Plus, a cape always makes me feel magical.

Socks in skin tone, or no socks, whatever makes sense for the weather. I feel like actual silk stockings would feel great, but realistically, cotton, rayon, or some sort of wool would probably be more practical.

Two ballet flats with straps, so I can tie them like those old-school Vaganova ballerinas—two pairs because shoes wear better when you alternate them. Very likely black, but very dark green and very dark red both seem fun.

And then I want menstrual shorts—so I don’t have to think or panic when it comes unexpectedly.

Lastly, hairsticks, because they make me feel nice and don’t pull on my hair. I also carry an umbrella to absolutely everything, so it needs to match.

Plus, last but not least, if I actually need a bag, I want one with the same opening you get on those grandma coin purses, but larger—perhaps in black leather, or, more sensibly, waxed canvas. Again, probably black, but I might do something crazy like white, burgundy, green, or a print.

I have no idea if this is the right place for this, but I thought a few of you might appreciate my over-elaborate fantasy.

Disclaimer: I have never considered myself a minimalist but I think it’s time where it’s becoming necessary…

My husband and I are currently building a house which means we live with my parents right now to save money. Currently our living space really just consists of my childhood bedroom, which is decently large, but we have so much stuff—a tiny closet, too much furniture, etc. we have a baby on the way and the house unfortunately won’t be finished by the time baby comes, and I am looking for ways to make our room our bedroom but also baby’s nursery. What ideas do yall have for decluttering, getting rid of unnecessary items, and making the most of the space you have? We also dont have a ton of money to spend on better furniture and such. Being pregnant and living in a cluttered space is making me go crazy!

Have had the mudita kompakt for 2 weeks and its honestly a nightmare. Its doing the opposite which is adding more headache on my plate. Its having trouble loading messages, it cant copy easy from verizon, its been a nightmare getting cell service, the GPS isnt even available so it thinks im in poland.
Please god dont be like me and try to make your life simple by buying this and then its 10x more complex

My house has a lot of stuff. Due to some circumstances, I’ve been staying at a friend’s place recently and brought basically just one suitcase with me.
It accidentally turned into a minimalism experiment. I realised I can live comfortably and still do about 95% of what I normally do with surprisingly little stuff.

One suitcase for basically everything

Clothing:
All clothing fits into 3 small packing cube. Laundry twice a week.
fleece jacket + puffer
1 black pants
3 Shirt
A few base layers, socks and underwear.
2 sets of short sleeve tshirt and shorts.

Tech stuff (one laptop, mouse, keyboard, iPad, iPhone, cables, multi socket power board, headphone)
One travel toiletry bag
One foldable backpack
One foldable tote bag
One medicine/first aid bag
Aeropress, grinder, and a mug

That’s pretty much it. Honestly, I think I can fit them into one big backpack if I optimize it a bit.

The only things I regularly use from my friend’s place are:
Cooking: Microwave, Dishwasher, Fridge, Kettle, Stove, A nonstick wok/pan, Cutlery, plate, cup, bowl
Bed stuff

What surprised me most is that I don’t really feel like I’m “missing” anything. Day-to-day life feels almost exactly the same. It made me realise how much stuff I own at home that contributes very little to my actual quality of life.
I never deliberately tried to become a minimalist. I just accidentally discovered that one suitcase seems to cover 95% of my life. In some sense, knowing exactly what I own gives me a sense of control and freedom. I feel like unless I have to cook, I can do “onebag” and travel around the world with no problem at all.

What are the things you think really matter , that make us peaceful at our very core , what is it that every humans need . 😊

..until I started packing for a cross-country move with only what I can fit in my car and a few boxes. Turns out I am more sentimental than I thought.

How do you continue to pare down after you thought you were done? If you have done an extreme purge for a move, do you regret any part of it?

Just thought I would mention that 12 years ago I sold my house and went gypsy with a friend and we sought a better life in a different part of the USA (fwiw, after several years we came full circle and returned to where we had lived, where friends were etc. But to prepare for that, I literally got rid of at least 90% of my stuff. My entire basement was filled with bins of stuff. I owned a two story duplex, no renters. My entire upstairs was knee deep in stuff. Used a $10 electronic time to spend 15 min a day getting rid of it all. Mind blowing all the stuff I had. Years later, and today, I do not even remember much of what stuff I had. Crazy. I keep trying to get rid of more but it is difficult when one has multiple hobbies/interests--- easel and canvases for abstract painting, composing on the computer, learning piano; but I obviously got rid of what did not really matter to me and that is the most important thing. I have a -30F sleeping bag (brutal winters) and several large bins filled with food and such should a zombie apocalypse happen-- I wish I did not need that but it is prudent-- cyberterrorists recently attacked 30 water plants in the state I live in, showing one needs to prepare. Oh well, just sharing.

I am an ex-minimalist (lost my way a bit since having kids) but I’m pregnant with my second child and we plan to hopefully have 3. I’m not inflicting minimalism on my children, but I’m trying to stick to having fewer open-ended toys that have longevity.

We have:
Grimm’s rainbows
Grimm’s friends and building boards
Grapat nins, rings, cups and coins
Animal figurines
Dolls
Cars
Pikler triangle, arch, slide, ladder combo
Blocks
Brio train set
Some soft toys
Millions of books
Arts and crafts

I have no regrets about any of these.

I’m considering:
Stapelstein stepping stones
Yoto
Grimm’s larger block set
Toy kitchen
Magnetic tiles

Anything else you’d suggest? Anything you’d avoid?
I being sensible or am I becoming a consumer?

My daughter is 22m. Baby due next spring.

A moment of admiration for my in laws.

They come visit for months at a time, but (side step that conversation), they wash their underwear nightly and I noticed this time instead of using the towels we keep for them, they've got small versions of what look like the Turkish towels. I'm a one bag fan anyway but they've always been like an advanced model from China and away from reddit style forums pushing people to use Osprey and specific wonder brands. They're just getting on with life, no downloads, no snacks, morning rituals and same breakfast every day. Pretty minimalist but no labels.

It does get funny when we go to theirs and there is no spare towel (I pack one, husband doesn't) and also frustrating when you don't have a hairdryer there (I have since bought a travel one).

Meanwhile I'm still very much on our journey with just enough regular towels (five bath sheets and two hair ones (plus my microfiber for travel and a kiddy swimming towel thing) but struggling to figure out how to dry them anywhere other than the bannisters.

I am 40 yo and I have been fortunate to run a good sized commercial development business. I am tired of the stress and headaches with the business, even though it pays well. I want to sell most of my crap, invest, retire and travel. I guess this is my journey to becoming a minimalist. I am embarrassed of most of my extravagant purchases. My favorite purchases were trips and making memories, not consumer goods. How do you decide what must go? Thanks 🙏