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Minimalism?

Anyone watch the new documentary on minimalism on Netflix? I've been in purge-all-the-stuff mode ever since Christmas. Thoughts?
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Re: Minimalism?

  • I haven't seen it.  I have too much stuff to qualify for a minimalist but I do like to try and keep to lower levels of total stuff.  

    It is a good feeling to clear out the clutter!
  • I haven't seen it, but I have a friend who is trying to head that direction.  Basically wants to get to the point where he can wake up, get on the bike, and leave.  Or something close to it.
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • Now I need to watch this.  
  • I have too many craft supplies and Christmas decorations to ever do this, but I do try to keep stuff at reasonable levels.  I've moved twice in 6 years and had DH move in with me so I've purged a lot of stuff that never got used.

    We moved from a 1,500 sq ft house to a 2,700 sq ft house (plus basement) and I don't know how all of our stuff ever fit in the old house.  I do keep everything in it's "home" as much as possible so I'm comfortable with the amount of things we have.

    I also try to clean out closets and drawers 1-2 times a year and trash/donate as needed.  I could probably be a little more ruthless, but as long as we have the space to store it I'm not too upset.
    Formerly AprilH81
    photo composite_14153800476219jpg

  • I loved it.  So much.
    HeartlandHustle | Personal Finance and Betterment Blog  
  • I've started listening to the minimalists podcast for motivation as I work to clear out and declutter. It's been pretty effective! I've also signed up for the "buy nothing" group in my area to gift items to people in the community; I find that this is having a much better "payoff" than trying to sell the stuff. 
  • I'd like to see it. I don't think I could ever full-on live that lifestyle, because I have a lot of stuff from my Grandma that I really value and I know most minimalists have to let go of attachments to heirlooms. I do think that I do pretty well on things like clothes, purses, makeup, accessories, etc. and I'd like to do better in other areas, too.
  • I don't live it because I have a kid with toys but I've already been stressed by the way this house looks since Christmas.  I can't wait till DD goes back to school so I can clean the crap out this house.  I think I will dedicate Jan. to deep cleaning and organizing.
  • I have a 4y/o and 7 y/o, and I notice that their insane amount of toys causes them to treat them carelessly. I sometimes think my desire to give them everything is not only causing me more stress but them too!
  • Totally agree @als1982! I got in an interesting conversation the other day with a group of people (mostly DINKs) who claim they all could "never" live with only one bathroom. Just a generation ago one bathroom and kids sharing rooms was completely standard and people still lived full, happy lives. 
  • Mustard76Mustard76 member
    Fifth Anniversary 500 Comments 250 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited December 2016
    Totally agree @als1982! I got in an interesting conversation the other day with a group of people (mostly DINKs) who claim they all could "never" live with only one bathroom. Just a generation ago one bathroom and kids sharing rooms was completely standard and people still lived full, happy lives. 
    H and I shared a bathroom in our second home together. It was pretty awful, and we even worked opposite shifts. I really can't imagine sharing a bathroom with someone trying to get ready for work at the same time I am. A generation ago many (not all, but many) had a stay at home spouse or parent whi didn't have to shower and get ready on any sort of schedule. Two working individuals has to complicate things. 
  • Mustard76 said:
    Totally agree @als1982! I got in an interesting conversation the other day with a group of people (mostly DINKs) who claim they all could "never" live with only one bathroom. Just a generation ago one bathroom and kids sharing rooms was completely standard and people still lived full, happy lives. 
    H and I shared a bathroom in our second home together. It was pretty awful, and we even worked opposite shifts. I really can't imagine sharing a bathroom with someone trying to get ready for work at the same time I am. A generation ago many (not all, but many) had a stay at home spouse or parent whi didn't have to shower and get ready on any sort of schedule. Two working individuals has to complicate things. 
    We've done it for nearly five years and it's really no big deal.  H usually showers first and then he finishes getting ready while I'm in the shower and leaves.  Then I have the bathroom to myself to finish up.  If I need to be in earlier than usual, I just go first.  Truly, we rarely ever have issues, if ever.
    HeartlandHustle | Personal Finance and Betterment Blog  
  • als1982 said:
    Mustard76 said:
    Totally agree @als1982! I got in an interesting conversation the other day with a group of people (mostly DINKs) who claim they all could "never" live with only one bathroom. Just a generation ago one bathroom and kids sharing rooms was completely standard and people still lived full, happy lives. 
    H and I shared a bathroom in our second home together. It was pretty awful, and we even worked opposite shifts. I really can't imagine sharing a bathroom with someone trying to get ready for work at the same time I am. A generation ago many (not all, but many) had a stay at home spouse or parent whi didn't have to shower and get ready on any sort of schedule. Two working individuals has to complicate things. 
    We've done it for nearly five years and it's really no big deal.  H usually showers first and then he finishes getting ready while I'm in the shower and leaves.  Then I have the bathroom to myself to finish up.  If I need to be in earlier than usual, I just go first.  Truly, we rarely ever have issues, if ever.
    Same. I just know that I can't use the bathroom between 6:30 and 7:00. I make sure to go beforehand, and if I have an extra early day I get in there 6:00-6:30. It's really nbd at all. Don't get me wrong, it would be cool to have 2! I'm sure I'd like it. I just refuse to accept it as a "need" vs. a "want" for a two or even three person household. Nothing wrong with going for some wants in your life, of course. 
  • we share our master bathroom NBD.  When I was little we lived in a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house - that was hard.
  • Y'all are better than I. I seriously hated every minute of our time living in a 2 bd/1 ba. HATED it. 
  • H and I cannot be classified as minimalists, however we are (read: I am) pretty good at giving 'stuff' a place and keeping it there. We do have some clutter but definitely not at an unhealthy level. Although the longer we're in our 1700 sq. ft house, we do seem to accumulate more and more stuff...although as a general MM lifestyle, we don't generally buy too much stuff 'just because.' The stuff we buy usually has a purpose, which helps keep our house from being cluttered with too much extraneous stuff. But we don't have kids yet, so...

    On the bathroom subject, H and I get ready for work in the same bathroom. Sometimes we get in eachother's way but it's not too bad. I will say, a huge requirement when house hunting was a second (half) bathroom, because I need to avoid the bathroom for a certain amount of time in the morning after H has used it...iykwim ;)
  • bparkhur said:
    I've started listening to the minimalists podcast for motivation as I work to clear out and declutter. It's been pretty effective! I've also signed up for the "buy nothing" group in my area to gift items to people in the community; I find that this is having a much better "payoff" than trying to sell the stuff. 
    Sounds great!  Can I ask for the podcast info?  I'm always looking for new ones when I'm on the road. 
    Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers
  • als1982 said:
    Mustard76 said:
    Totally agree @als1982! I got in an interesting conversation the other day with a group of people (mostly DINKs) who claim they all could "never" live with only one bathroom. Just a generation ago one bathroom and kids sharing rooms was completely standard and people still lived full, happy lives. 
    H and I shared a bathroom in our second home together. It was pretty awful, and we even worked opposite shifts. I really can't imagine sharing a bathroom with someone trying to get ready for work at the same time I am. A generation ago many (not all, but many) had a stay at home spouse or parent whi didn't have to shower and get ready on any sort of schedule. Two working individuals has to complicate things. 
    We've done it for nearly five years and it's really no big deal.  H usually showers first and then he finishes getting ready while I'm in the shower and leaves.  Then I have the bathroom to myself to finish up.  If I need to be in earlier than usual, I just go first.  Truly, we rarely ever have issues, if ever.
    SITB:

    We have a three bedroom 1.5 bath.  All four of us (H, myself, 6yr old and 4yr old) get ready, each morning, using one bathroom.  H and I both grew up in "1 full bath" homes.  No biggie for us.  We do want a master bath in our next house just for increased privacy, etc - especially when guests come over.  Gets extra crowded when family or out of town friends stay with us.
    Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

  • We have a three bedroom 1.5 bath.  All four of us (H, myself, 6yr old and 4yr old) get ready, each morning, using one bathroom.  H and I both grew up in "1 full bath" homes.  No biggie for us.  We do want a master bath in our next house just for increased privacy, etc - especially when guests come over.  Gets extra crowded when family or out of town friends stay with us.
    My grandfather's house was a 3bd/1bath house unless you count the toilet/shower against the wall in the basement (no walls around it).  You made it work because you had to, but it definitely wasn't fun with people over.

    Sucks if the whole house is sick with the runs.
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • We're pretty good about this- our house is a little less than 1,600 sq ft for 4 people (4 beds/2 baths, but 2 beds are up, 2 beds are down). We do have huge closets for an older home so that helps a lot. The girls share the largest upstairs bedroom and we are able to keep their dresser (6 drawers, 3 side by side) in their closet. Our walk-in (we pushed into the attic space to double the size) has 2 3-drawer dressers in it as well plus all of our clothing. A full basement helps too- the girls have an art space, DH has a work bench, and we have a work out area down there as well. 
    We donate a lot too- the girls go through their toys 2-3 times a year and we are always going through clothing as our seasons change.
    I'll definitely have to check out the documentary though- sounds like a good one.
    Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • jtmh2012 said:

    We have a three bedroom 1.5 bath.  All four of us (H, myself, 6yr old and 4yr old) get ready, each morning, using one bathroom.  H and I both grew up in "1 full bath" homes.  No biggie for us.  We do want a master bath in our next house just for increased privacy, etc - especially when guests come over.  Gets extra crowded when family or out of town friends stay with us.
    My grandfather's house was a 3bd/1bath house unless you count the toilet/shower against the wall in the basement (no walls around it).  You made it work because you had to, but it definitely wasn't fun with people over.

    Sucks if the whole house is sick with the runs.
    Yes!  These are totally a thing in older houses in my region and they can be a big help with families.  You can actually search "Pittsburgh toilet" on wikipedia :)
  • csuave said:
    jtmh2012 said:

    We have a three bedroom 1.5 bath.  All four of us (H, myself, 6yr old and 4yr old) get ready, each morning, using one bathroom.  H and I both grew up in "1 full bath" homes.  No biggie for us.  We do want a master bath in our next house just for increased privacy, etc - especially when guests come over.  Gets extra crowded when family or out of town friends stay with us.
    My grandfather's house was a 3bd/1bath house unless you count the toilet/shower against the wall in the basement (no walls around it).  You made it work because you had to, but it definitely wasn't fun with people over.

    Sucks if the whole house is sick with the runs.
    Yes!  These are totally a thing in older houses in my region and they can be a big help with families.  You can actually search "Pittsburgh toilet" on wikipedia :)
    His house was actually an hour outside of Pittsburgh.  No need to look. ;)

    Honestly, I hated it.  Anybody could have either come down the stairs or right in the basement door which they used as a primary entrance.
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • csuave said:
    jtmh2012 said:

    We have a three bedroom 1.5 bath.  All four of us (H, myself, 6yr old and 4yr old) get ready, each morning, using one bathroom.  H and I both grew up in "1 full bath" homes.  No biggie for us.  We do want a master bath in our next house just for increased privacy, etc - especially when guests come over.  Gets extra crowded when family or out of town friends stay with us.
    My grandfather's house was a 3bd/1bath house unless you count the toilet/shower against the wall in the basement (no walls around it).  You made it work because you had to, but it definitely wasn't fun with people over.

    Sucks if the whole house is sick with the runs.
    Yes!  These are totally a thing in older houses in my region and they can be a big help with families.  You can actually search "Pittsburgh toilet" on wikipedia :)
    We may have had one of these in our basement at one time! Currently there is a toilet hookup down there with no toilet. I could see someone removing it to sell the house since it's so random. We're hoping to use the hookup when we finish the basement at some point. 

    *Not in Pittsburgh, though. 
  • We may have had one of these in our basement at one time! Currently there is a toilet hookup down there with no toilet. I could see someone removing it to sell the house since it's so random. We're hoping to use the hookup when we finish the basement at some point. 

    *Not in Pittsburgh, though. 
    We have a flange in our basement too- it's right next to the sewer stack.. we bought the house with it, we'll leave it if/when we leave. We're about 4 hours north of Pittsburgh.
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  • I've never seen it but I've been decluttering over the last few years especially since we've moved into a house just over 1000 sq feet. Pretty much the same as out condo, but we lost the good closet space but gained a man-cave and big basement. I like to live on a "only what we need" basis but we do splurge on things that we would use constantly or enhance our lives. I consign and craigslist a lot so it's going good so far.  

    One of my "musts" for a house was 2 bathrooms for sure. Even if it's just the 2 of us, we would have a hard time sharing 1 crowded bathroom.

  • bparkhur said:
    I've started listening to the minimalists podcast for motivation as I work to clear out and declutter. It's been pretty effective! I've also signed up for the "buy nothing" group in my area to gift items to people in the community; I find that this is having a much better "payoff" than trying to sell the stuff. 
    Sounds great!  Can I ask for the podcast info?  I'm always looking for new ones when I'm on the road. 
    Here you go: http://www.theminimalists.com/podcast/

    They're a little self-righteous at times, but it IS a good motivator!
  • labrolabro member
    Fifth Anniversary 500 Comments 250 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited January 2017
    I haven't seen it but I'd like to check it out. This time of year always gets me in the mood to find things to donate or pass on to someone else who might need it. It amazes me how much stuff just two people can accumulate after 3 1/2 years in a 1800 sq foot house. Everything has a home and we don't have any clutter...but when I think about moving it all it starts to stress me out. My plan right now is to attack our kitchen cabinets first and then go through my books again and see what I can part with. I have two 6-shelf bookcases filled to the brim with books. It's tough because I love to read (and re-read) and I keep thinking to myself, what if I'll miss this one and want to read it again?

    Last year I went through our closet and got rid of a ton of clothes and shoes. I also bought baskets for under the bathroom and kitchen sinks and reorganized and threw out a ton of empty or nearly empty containers.

    Regarding bathrooms...DH and I share our master bath every day no problem, but I'd absolutely hate sharing it whenever we had guests over. Then again, I was lucky enough to grow up only having to share a bathroom with my sisters. The one time we had a single bathroom for the entire family was when we were stationed overseas and sharing an apartment...but I was pretty young at the time and my youngest sister hadn't even arrived yet so it was certainly more manageable.
  • jtmh2012 said:
    csuave said:
    jtmh2012 said:

    We have a three bedroom 1.5 bath.  All four of us (H, myself, 6yr old and 4yr old) get ready, each morning, using one bathroom.  H and I both grew up in "1 full bath" homes.  No biggie for us.  We do want a master bath in our next house just for increased privacy, etc - especially when guests come over.  Gets extra crowded when family or out of town friends stay with us.
    My grandfather's house was a 3bd/1bath house unless you count the toilet/shower against the wall in the basement (no walls around it).  You made it work because you had to, but it definitely wasn't fun with people over.

    Sucks if the whole house is sick with the runs.
    Yes!  These are totally a thing in older houses in my region and they can be a big help with families.  You can actually search "Pittsburgh toilet" on wikipedia :)
    His house was actually an hour outside of Pittsburgh.  No need to look. ;)

    Honestly, I hated it.  Anybody could have either come down the stairs or right in the basement door which they used as a primary entrance.
    When I was younger I had a reoccurring nightmare that I was using a toilet that had no walls and everyone around me was like "that toilet isn't supposed to be used since we can see you" and I'd get embarrassed and confused hahaha.  

    We dove back into our decluttering project this weekend! We (ahem...my husband) have SO much stuff in our house it causes me constant anxiety. Every time I get a bag of stuff that can leave I immediately drive it to the donation center so that it's just GONE. Even if it's only a small bag it just all needs to go. 
  • I've gotten better about the cluttering as I've gotten older, but I still have a long way to go.

    My H and I only have one bathroom in our house and it is a small one at that.  It's not usually an issue.  He has talked about wanting to add a 1/2 bath in our bedroom.  It's a good sized room, but I don't think its large enough for that and it has been a big veto on my end.

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