The Interest In Minimalist Living Is AMAZING!
by minimalistlifestyle
Wow.
So many people out there have a strong desire to live a more simple life.
A more meaningful life.
Life on purpose.
Instead of just slogging through day after day barely able to get by, not having quality time for themselves, their family, or their friends, people realize that they need to make a change.
And they are realizing that minimalist living could be what they are looking for.
In the past few days there have been 20000 page views to this blog! And hundreds of blog comments!
And almost 500 subscribers. So please subscribe if you have not already done so.
Thank you so much!
So many people get it. And that is very encouraging.
Those of us that are currently trying to live a minimalist lifestyle know that we are probably in the minority.
But we are not alone.
One of the big questions or concerns that people have voiced in the comments is this:
I want to start living a simple life but I am afraid I will need something that I get rid of.
My response to this is:
Where is all this stuff now?
Packed away in boxes? In the garage or attic buried away. Chances are you are not even aware of what you have.
Sit quietly for a while. Dig deep as to why you are holding onto all the stuff.
Were you brought up to never get rid of anything?
Does it make you feel important? More valued as a person?
You are you. You are not your stuff.
There is a TV show that deals with people and helping them purge. Just regular folks who have accumulated a life’s worth of items.
Unclutterer on HGTV. It is not an extreme show like Hoarders.
Just regular families.
They go in and the family gets to keep 10 non essential items for a month. Very interesting to see the debate as to what should stay.
Kids want cell phones. Dads want the television. Mom needs her make up etc.
Everything else gos to storage.
It is hard at first but as the month goes on they realize they never needed 95% of the clutter and items they had in the house. They actually spend more time together as a family. They go for walks and play games.
They talk.
How unique a concept. Actually talking face to face with other people!
Then they go to the warehouse and do a huge purge. Some stuff comes back of course but not much.
The point is you just do not need as much stuff as you think you do.
We have been conditioned by the media and our families and our peers to think this way.
It is so draining!
As you begin your journey to a more minimalist lifestyle you will feel the weight being lifted from your shoulders. It just feels food.
You can breathe.
There is space. Both physical and mental.
There is more time for yourself and your family.
I am not anti anti anti stuff. I am anti useless stuff and clutter.
I am against OVER consumerism.
I want people to be happy and enjoy their lives.
I do not want people to go through what I went through. Thinking I was not good enough and that I needed more and more and more to fit in and be accepted.
We are good enough just as we. Chances are your friends actually like you for you.
And here is another point.
Those people with the big house and new cars and all the new toys?
Well if they can actually afford it good for them I guess. It is their choice.
But I have a feeling they are stressed about the payments. They HAVE to work the long hours to pay for all that.
They do not have the family or leisure time that a minimalist has.
What if their business goes down or their job is downsized?
Exactly.
You can do this. Start small. One thing a day.
You will be amazed at how good you feel about it. Talk to your partner and family and explain why it is you feel that a more simple way of living just makes good damn sense.
You may be surprised to learn that they feel the same way.
Click around some of the posts.
Here are some to get you started.
Minimalist Living Starter Guide
What Is The Impact of Consumerism?
How To Be Conscious Of What Really Matters
Please share this post with everyone you know!! Thanks and have an awesome day.
“Live Simply”
another challenge would be to think about the types of food we buy. I don’t buy junk food, therefore, I’m not eating any. I just buy whole natural foods and cook my meals. Snacks include apples, cheese, nuts, raw vegies and yes, even homebaked stuff. I am amazed how much money I am saving and how much healthier I feel!
I have recently started looking at the foods I eat. I am buying more local, organic foods and less processed foods and junk foods. I feel better and I am happier! You are right it’s amazing the money you save.
Yes, it is true. I think this economic downtown we have been experiencing is moving people back to a simpler life. In my life, I call it Zen living–simple. Nothing more is required. Nature is the best way to get there–watch nature. “never take more than you need”–from the movie “I AM” (a great story about a movie producer who had a bike accident and began to live a simpler life. It’s an inspirational story. Blessings….love your blog
I’m hoping some of my minimizing will rub off on my husband and teach my daughter not to put a huge value on material items. Great blog!
Someone said recently during a conversation among friends that when you want something think about the number of hours you have to work to pay for it. You might just realize that the thing isn’t worth that many hours of your precious time.
Great blog! Perhaps minimalist living is something I need to explore in order to remain a stay-at-home mom for at least the next couple of years. Thanks for the tips on getting started.
Hi, I discovered your blog on simple living few days ago and I found it quite interesting. Thank you for sharing with us!
I got interested into minimalist and simple living in the lat month after reading a book on decluttering and I am taking things slowly – one task at a time…I found out I feel so much better after I get rid of something/clean things up and I simply LOVE my newly found space!
One day i just looked around me and I was amazed how MUCH stuff I have accumulated without noticing! This was not the way I want to live. So I took the matters in my hands and I can already see the results!
What was the book and would you recommend it to others??
The book is called “The Joy Of Less (a minimalist living guide)” by Francine Jay. I found it quite interesting because its first part explained the philosophy about minimalistic living. The second part is more practical and teaches you how to get rid of the things you don’t need/use. Yes, I would recommend it. The only drawback, according to my opinion, is that in the second part the author is repeating quite a lot. Read how to clean one room of your house, for example the bedroom, and you can apply the strategy in all other rooms…
The second book which I really liked is called “What’s a (dis)organized person to do?” by Stacey Platt. It is more about decluttering, organizing, etc. Very useful tips!
Enjoy everyone!
“Oh, but what about the GDP,” exclaims the economists? “Don’t we have to keep spending and buying and producing and spending and buying and producing?” I think this economic readjustment that we’re going through is the healthiest thing that’s happened in a long time; if you can’t get people to think “minimalist,” it will definitely force them to live minimalist, and hopefully they can embrace it fully, leave their fears behind of those possessions they’re “losing,” and look at what they’re gaining. But some people have to get used to the uncluttered life; there’s a quiet that surrounds you when you unburden yourself of all that crap. Some people are very uncomfortable in that quiet…. nice dialogue. Not unique, but still, not enough people embracing it. Good on ya.
Really loving your blog. I have been wanting for so long to make a change and live more simply. I think this is exactly what I needed to read to get myself motivated. Love your ideas!
Hi Mark,
I too noticed how many subscribers you have gained in such a short period of time. Congratulations! My catalyst for change was when I lost a job several years ago, you evaluate your needs and wants so differently. I just found myself out of work again, not a problem, because I planned accordingly. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t all want nice things, but my experience with my ex wife is that some people buy stuff out of boredom and depression. No amount of stuff is going to fix you inside. When you take responsibility, shut off the TV and work on yourself, that is were the true wealth is. Gratitude is also very important. Everywhere I look families are losing there homes and struggling to eat.
Thanks again for writing, Blessings.
Loved this post. I’ve never heard of Unclutterer on HGTV, but I’m going to go look for it right now.
I read about the show Unclutterer on this website and tried to find it online. The official website of HGTV allows you to watch episodes online but they just refuse to start playing (at least for me) :s
If anyone finds out HOW and where they can be watched online, please let me know…
I find living spaces can be a big one for a lot of people – especially in North America we are all so driven to buy houses, and not just any houses, but the biggest houses we can reasonably afford. Until last August I was living in what I felt was a reasonable 300 sq ft bachelor suite, but it was just my dog and I so that was fine. I could only be in one room at a time so what’s the use in having more room than a person needs really? The thing that struck me was how often people would criticize and laugh at me for having such a small space like it was some sort of character flaw. Now I’ve moved into a bigger apartment with my boyfriend, mostly because it was the only pet friendly place we could find in the area we wanted (and I won’t lie, it’s gorgeous) and while it’s bigger than I feel like we need I’m fine with it – we are making good use of the space, people are still a little critical of it. Since we are in our thirties they figure we should probably be buying a house.. it just never ends I guess
but for us a house would be entirely too much space I think – a largish apartment already is more than enough, we don’t need to be greedy! And we have no need for a yard or any of the other things than come with home ownership. We are happy with what we’ve got, and that’s more than a lot of people can say I’m sure. No need to chase the North American dream over here! I could rent for the rest of my life and be happy, I won’t lose any sleep over this “equity” everyone keeps telling me we are losing by not owning.
There are many pro’s and con’s of renting as opposed to buying – personally, I think it’s all about what makes you happy – I once rented an apartment in a rough area – the apartment was gorgeous, rent was right but the area was a little rough – a few friends were very critical of the area – that apartment was the best I ever lived in and the people in the building were the nicest bunch of people I’ve ever lived amongst! I currently own and I can tell you that there are lots of expenses to owning and depending on your lifestyle, you may be ahead of the game in the end!
Thank you! I know there are a lot of expenses, that’s why I don’t want to buy – people always say buying is cheaper, but I can’t see how. We are dead set on the neighborhood we are in, so even a condo would be over $300k – a mortgage on that would be more than our rent! So to get a place where the mortgage is cheaper than our rent we would have to move to a neighborhood we don’t like (why do that?) and then there are still utilities, property taxes, etc. and then what if something breaks? We have to fix it! I think you are totally right – if owning a house makes you happy I say buy a house, but I don’t think it would make us happy, because we would either have to leave our neighborhood or not eat
[...] The Interest in Minimalist Living is Amazing! at Minimalist Living. One of those amazing blogs I’ve discovered through Freshly Pressed which is not only well-written, but useful. I recommend it to anyone interested in minimalist life. [...]
I gotta laugh. My hubby was always a minimalist and I thought he was weird because it was so extreme that he took to sleeping on the floor when his bed broke and refused to buy one. He tried to make one, but it didn’t work out…. he just go so used to sleeping on the floor in his sleeping bag. I still think this is mega weird but it lends itself to his tendency to not have stuff around that he absolutely doesn’t use. It gets frustrating for me because I can NEVER buy him a gift that he would appreciate and so, in order to not waste money, I stopped buying him presents for ANY occasion.
There are plenty of things one can get a minimalist. Speaking from my own personal experience, my wife and I get a lot of enjoyment by spending on experiences rather than materials. Memories last a lot longer than the stuff.
This is so true. I moved last year and put the majority of my stuff in storage temporarily, just keeping the essentials. I was surprised at how little I needed to live happily. I ended up getting rid of most of the stuff in storage, my new home is free of clutter, I have room for the things that I do need, there is less work in maintaining what I have, and I feel liberated. Our possessions possess us – break free. Fantastic blog!
Break free indeed!
Every day i wake up and my work is to help people make more money and save more money for the things they want now and in the future. In all the years i have been a financial adviser i see every day the stress society puts on us all to live the life we cannot afford to live and want the things we don’t have.. I see people earning hundreds of thousands a year, feeling like they deserve more and are not satisfied with what they earn. No savings, however they are wearing a $800 dress or had a nice dinner and wine at a top restaurant for the forth time this month.
Unfortunately the cycle will never end and that is the whole goal of consumerism, if you stop buying what happens then? you survive!
Society believes that because something is old it is useless and it’s better to buy new?
This is what i hate about the world of today.
Waste.
Wonderful insight from someone who sees the results of overspending and poor spending choices first hand.
It frustrates the hell out of me that people make so much money and yet have little or no savings and no plan for retirement.
You must go mad with what you see.
Thanks so much for commenting.
I just wanted to stop by to congratulate you on a fantastic site and your success with it. You are an inspiration and have been an advocate of the minimalist lifestyle for some time. It helps when you have chosen a bohemian lifestyle.
I look forward to reading more.
Hi Mark,
I’ve just given you a shot-out on my blog, and I think you’ll enjoy the post! Thanks for the inspiration!
http://mindfulstew.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/shop-class-minimalist-living-and-a-hands-on-day/
I wish there was a minimalist forum somewhere. Have you ever considered starting one?
I am the only “in real life” minimalist I know LOL.
One more thing. I just wanted to add that this is my favorite minimalist website. I know it’s time consuming but thank you for posting regularly. Sometimes it feels like I am hungry for info and I have read every site and watched every youtube video in minimalism LOL. It’s so nice to see a new posts.
I am going to start with my bedroom. I’m going to trim down the clothing to start. Recently I have been researching organic clothing. This would be a great place for me to start by getting rid of old worn out clothing and replacing a lot with a few quality organic items. Thanks for this blog! More people should think like this and like you said they would be so much happier. Simple living makes life easier and happier
I’ve felt quite alone in my quest for only needing what I have and having only what I need. I just found your blog thanks to Freshly Pressed, and it is wonderful to see you writing about the values I’ve been implementing in my life.
To quote Chuck Palahniuks character Tyler Durden from Fight Club (arguably a movie about minimalism):
“The things you own, end up owning you”.
f-stop mama: With respect to clothing, you might be interested to see an estimate of just how much water is used to produce clothes: http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/how-many-gallons-of-water-does-it-take-to-make.html
So perhaps, where possible, recycling clothing might be a good way to go. Or maybe even make your own from other clothes you don’t need or want any more (my wife seems to have a knack for doing this).
Yes I certainly I have that quote in many places around the blog!
Thanks for the link. I LOVE stuff like that. Information we don’t really think about. Same is true for hybrid cars. There is a lot of stuff used in them that may not be the best(rare earth metals). But we don’t think about that or hear about it really.
I’ve gradually been changing towards the minimalist mindset over the past 6 months and it has been liberating to say the least. Keep up the enthusiasm for sharing your experiences.
Great post! My wife and I are currently in the process of paying off all of our debt. By early next year, we should be debt free. Talk about a weight being lifted off of your back! It definitely feels good getting rid of the unnecessary things that society, advertisers, and even ourselves, make us THINK that we need to be happy.
It is all about the media and what they want you to believe.
Good job on becoming debt free soon!
Glad I found your blog. – - I lived in Georgia for a year and left some things in storage when I moved back to Florida because I thought it’d be temporary. We over 8 years and $15,000 later, I’m still here. Anyway, I’ve chosen to go back and remove the things from the storage unit I really want and sell/donate the rest. – I’ll be following your blog to stay inspired.
Thanks.