r/minimalism

UPDATE - Please stop pointing out that I'm judgmental in the House of Criticism of Consumption. You're in the wrong sub.

Anti-consumption is a sub, and I quote: "primarily for criticizing and discussing consumer culture."

The point of this sub is to judge, discuss and analyze consumer culture.

Somebody even went so far as to make a cruel comment telling me I'll never have children because of my attitude. Ouch. And I'm getting downvoted or expressing normal statements about anti-consumption and mental health.

I posted a longer update in the comments about everything I've learned about what new parents need for babies, and have expressed much empathy in the comments individually for everything I've learned and everybody's individual experiences.

If you're not from this sub and see this post and it upsets you, please just be kind.

This post was meant to talk to people and parents specifically who really care about anti-consumption - and my experience has been a lot of deflecting accusations about my lack of knowledge about what parents need, and hearing so much defense of high consumption and gift registry culture, of which I have expressed much empathy - but it doesn't feel like we're actually having a conversation about anti-consumption.

Finally if you're not into anti-consumption, can you please just stop attacking me? This post isn't for you. Thank you.

ORIGINAL POST:

I was invited to a friend's baby shower, for which it was requested we purchase something off of the registry and bring a pack of diapers.

As I scrolled the registry I was shocked at the sheer quantity of items:

115 total.

46 were already purchased, with 50+ remaining.

I couldn't even fathom the stress of having to process that many incoming packages plus maintain every single item along with having a new baby.

If there are any parents around here, how did you keep your intake to a minimum?

Beyond reducing consumption with buy nothing groups - how did you actually keep the things you got for the baby to a basic quantity?

I don’t keep a lot of things, I’m not that sentimental about objects and I like having clean empty spaces, but I don’t know how to manage journals and sketchbooks…

I journal in a binder so I can separate things and eventually get rid of useless pages. If I keep my daily writing about my day, do you think I should also be keeping my to do lists ? Right now it feels useless but won’t it be, sometime in a couple of years, good to see what I was doing in those days ?

And I have the same problem with sketchbook. I use them to practice drawing, will I really wanna go through my trials and error later in life ?

I might for both, but it does take a lot of space and looks messy to me… Have any ideas of what I should really keep, how I can make it less and how I can eventually hide it so it doesn’t look messy ?

I am 23, live with mum, dropped out of CAD program and didn’t finish my internship at an arch firm I was at. My whole life I’ve been obsessed or autistic about tryna get a cool car just to feel like I don’t know it’s like a dream I feel like I gotta kill. It’s not gonna help me and I really have thought about this.

Well…not entirely, I can’t say my auto experiments don’t help me learn stuff, I’m without a PC and I’m ok at blender, aware of some rig setups/ lightning or UVs. I’ll just put this part of my life as part of Fire.

The adult me needs to find work though,

I really hope there aren’t any strawman or assumptions yea I admit I’ve been lazy my gap ain’t great don’t really think I should lie.

The thing with the stock market is your savings has to be increased.

Using the fire mindset is there a way to achieve this. Can be dirty or in rural town. I live in TN, zero idea about moving out,

If cars like the Bentley don’t motivate me,
Maybe my own cheap crazy workshop/house could give me a reason to avoid the xx videos or green.

Do you have some great reads you would recommend on the topic of minimalism?

Hi!! I have recently started decluttering EVERYWHERE in my apartment. I recently got rid of so many things that just took up space in my apartment and I want to know some tips or suggestions that will allow me to be more conscious of what I buy and when I buy it.

For example, I am a skin/body/haircare junkie but I am really proud of myself as I’ve condensed not only my routines but the amount of products I have! Now I can actually use what I have without stressing about what else I need to finish :).

My end goal is just to have only what I need (e.g just one of each skincare product in my routine) and just a few “luxury” purchases (such as a facial spray or a nice perfume) that I use on special occasions because I like to treat myself, and I would like to keep my closet full of clothes, but clothes that are good in quality and things I will consistently wear. Be as harsh as you want with your advice!

Over the last few months, I've found myself making a pretty dramatic shift toward minimalism, and honestly, it feels like it happened almost overnight. I've started selling huge quantities of large furniture, appliances, and electronics that were otherwise just decorative and sitting unused in a counter, donating or giving away clothes and gadgets I don't actually use through local buy/sell/free groups, and trimming my wardrobe down to the absolute essentials. I've also been moving away from physical media almost entirely. Instead of shelves of books, I've been selling and donating my physical copies and instead pivoting to checking out ebooks and DVDs from my public library. I don't really miss owning the physical copies as much as I thought I would. Part of this is practical. I'm moving from Texas to Colorado and intentionally downsizing into a much smaller place because I've realized I hate having so much unused space, especially if I’m paying more for it. But it also feels like something deeper has changed. Out of nowhere, I've developed this strong desire to live as intentionally, frugally, and minimally as possible. I was never particularly messy or someone who accumulated tons of clutter, but I also never would've described myself as a minimalist until recently. Now it's like my brain has completely rewired how it thinks about possessions. Has anyone else experienced a shift like this? Were you always a minimalist, or did it suddenly click for you? If there was a turning point, what do you think caused it? I’m quite hoping this isn’t just a mental phase where I’m in a temporary spring cleaning mode. I would save so much money, time, and space in the long run if I truly do continue to value very intentional and frugal spending within a more minimalist lifestyle, but I’m curious what everyone else’s experiences are.

I've never cared much about clothes, but after moving to a new neighborhood, I realized I wear the same outfit almost every day, and people seem to notice. I don't care about fashion, but I'd like to avoid standing out. How many casual outfits are enough for everyday home wear and neighborhood walks?

I've found decluttering so satisfying in the past, especially when I had a lot to get rid of. I've come to a place where I don't bring in much, and so I'm in a place of what I've heard called "slow decluttering" which is honestly just called Life.

I'm not looking to become an extreme minimalist, and I'm not at all overwhelmed by my house or surroundings. Cleaning and maintaining is easy. I have hobbies and activities and a social life I enjoy. And yet!

I guess decluttering gives a bit of a rush. What do those who have found their "comfy place" do now?

Maybe I just need to sit with it, but I'd like some thoughts.

I’m trying to build a small office wardrobe after getting upgraded at work. I want fewer pieces but better ones linen shirts, trousers knits, dresses, maybe a blazer. What pieces made your work wardrobe feel instantly more professional?

Hi everyone, I’m a Millenial who grew up around A LOT of hoarding/ things. To make a long story short, I don’t want my kids to grow up in the same way. I’ve already gotten rid of a lot of things but I’m a bit stuck on what to actually keep for their memory box.

So my question is, what did you actually keep that you felt was sentimental or beneficial down the line? Is there anything you regretted getting rid of? I have toys, books, school awards, drawings, et.

I’m trying to only keep their favorite things to avoid a ton of clutter in hopes they don’t grow up with the mental load excess items bring.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Should you throw them away? Scan them with some software? What about digital receipts?

I grew up poor and grew up with nothing. We had no flooring, no possessions, no nothing. I worked hard at school, went to university and shortly after graduating got my first job with a decent salary. I spent my 20s making up for what I didn't have in my childhood and began collecting things, a lot of things. I'm not in debt, financially comfortable, but I feel overwhelmed when I come home from work and think its due to the amount of belongings I have in my home. Its not the item per se, its the monetrary value of the item I've spent on it. For a ridiculous example, say I brought an xbox for £220.00, the xbox I do not care for, but the value I do. How do I deal with letting go of this issue? How did you deal with it when you began a minimalist journey?

I’ve been a journaler all my life and recently discovered travelers notebooks. As someone with raging ADHD undiagnosed and unmedicated, you can imagine I stacked up quite a few of those journals.

Now journaling brings me a lot of joy, creativity and mental clarity. It’s the one hobby I’ve consistently stuck to for many years, though evolving in frequency and format.

The problem is not that I don’t know how to use those journals - the opposite, in fact. I have TOO many uses for them which means a lot of notebooks.

I feel guilty though about the maximalism and it’s making me anxious thinking about how I will store them all years down the line. I don’t plan on quitting this hobby, it helps categorize the chaos in my head into neat little boxes.

Any advice?

Do you prefer to re sell books or keep them? Or use a kindle

I want to keep two or four of my Backig set that I use for daily use. It consists of plates, deep dishes, small plates, small bowls and mugs. I really like the set but it's discontinued, so I can't just go back to the store if I change my mind and want more. I live alone and never have guests, especially not for dinner. If I'm having people over for coffee or snacks, I have other stuff for that. I also have two very plain plastic plates from a festival that I eat from, so if I keep two from Backig, I'll still have two other plates in total.

On top of it all, I'm leaning towards only keeping two of the Backig mugs and something in me wants me to keep the same amount of everything.

What a first world problem..

Do you have tips for how we can decide what to get rid of and what to bring?

We are moving to a bigger apartment but I absolutely don't want it to be an excuse to just increase the amount of stuff we have.

I want a minimalist household that makes cleaning and organizing easier. That prevents my subconscious from bugging out because it's overstimulated from so much STUFF to process.

We have a giant bulky black entertainment center I honestly feel drained by. It is so huge and heavy, requires wall mounting for the top part, and I find it unattractive.

I am trying to persuade my partner to sort through his crazy hoard of clothes by pointing out we can save in moving costs. I'm doing the same with mine, and with our kitchen stuff

Any tips are welcome, thanks

Hi everyone,
I’ve been unintentionally doing a low-buy year, and I’m trying to figure out if what I’m doing is actually minimalism or just me overthinking everything I own and buy.
So far this year (end of June), I’ve only bought a few clothing and accessory items:
aviator jacket
leather jacket
waistcoat (vest)
2 belts
cow-print sneakers
white tank top
tote bag

That’s basically it. I also don’t really buy cosmetics anymore, and I try to be very intentional with my spending. I also sell or swap items I don’t use, so my wardrobe is always quite “in motion” instead of growing.

On paper, it feels like I’m doing well with minimalism or at least low consumption. But mentally, I still struggle a lot.

Even when I buy something I actually like and wear, I often feel guilt afterward and start questioning if I really needed it. At the same time, I don’t feel emotionally attached to most material things …
I don’t like owning stuff I don’t use, and I constantly
ask myself if something is actually necessary or not.

Right now I feel like I’m constantly analyzing my choices instead of just living with them. I’m not sure if this is normal in a minimalism journey or if I’m just overthinking it too much.

Has anyone else gone through this kind of mindset shift? How do you find a balance between intentional minimalism and not overanalyzing every single purchase?

I own a couple of necklaces and a couple of rings. Not enough to warrant most jewellery organisers, which are fairly huge, but still, I don't want them to get tangled. Any recommendations for organising small quantities of jewellery?​

I'm not a pro at minimalism but looking for advice. Partner and I are going through IVF which is taking a while but in the meantime we are accumulating so much stuff from child number 1. We prefer to not donate or give away anything because we do not want to buy it all over again as things are expensive and we are on a budget. Any ideas on how to combat the accumulating items? We've lent out and donated at much as we are able to so far.