I discovered minimalism a few years ago. I have always been very tidy and rather frugal, and minimalism seemed like the next logical step. I decluttered some more back then, kept on doing one in one out for most things. We also question if we buy a replacement each time something breaks and we cannot repair it, which led to various appliances disappearing from our household over the years. We live in 90m2 for 4 people so don't have a lot bc of space - but I realised lately that this 'not a lot' is still a big amount... in Europe it is still considered less than others and it definitely fooled me!

I have allergies and bad asthma, so I started to downsize and declutter to simplify cleaning up. I have donated or sold quite a bit (several bags worth of clothes, books, board games) and thrown away a not negligeable quantity of papers and useless bits and bobs. I hate visible clutter but getting to the hidden clutter is something else! I was already able to let go of a shelf bc I got rid of quite a lot.

It hit me then how very *not* minimalist I was in the end. I am getting back to it (right now we're on holidays and I enjoy having just half a suitcase to use tbh).

Have you experienced this? What made you realise you were lying to yourself?

Does anyone remember who she was? I was looking for her channel but can’t find her because I can’t remember the channel name. She was a petite Australian woman who liked blundstones 😂 was probably late 30’s early 40’s. She kind of moved around a lot.

TIA!

I’ve read a few books on owning less things. A few have been helpful to my journey when it comes to wrestling with attachments and comparisons.

The Art of Not Giving A Fuck
100 Thing Challenge
Less Is Best

What books helped your journey?

I want to know some of you'll view on minimalism and if you started doing it why did you'll start. Whats your story?

Hello, I'm new here. I've recently become interested in minimalism.I'm 26 years old, and you know, I've never moved from my city, and I've never thought about minimalism.But recently, I have noticed that I am too attached to things.Well, if you think about what if I move quickly? Anxiety immediately pops into my head, like, what will I do without this thing, after all, I saved up for it for so long.But at the same time, the more things/equipment I have, the more anxiety it all causes, because all of this needs to be kept clean, beautiful, and in working order.I really like the idea of minimalism because I think it will help me reduce my anxiety levels.But how can we get rid of this desire to “buy in bulk”?Well, you know, for example, you have a phone, but you buy a second phone because you think, “what if your first one breaks?”Or do you wear your favorite chain, but buy a second one because "what if yours breaks?"How can I get rid of this?And one more question, for those who've been in this field for a while, has the minimalist philosophy made life easier for you? Am I right? Does it reduce your anxiety levels?What advice can you give to a newbie in this topic?I'm from Ukraine, and to be honest, I don't know English, I use a translator, so I apologize if I made any mistakes. Have a good mood everyone!

I want to buy this Samsung galaxy folder 2 But I already have a phone (Samsung s22+). I don't like how big the screen is on this phone. I also want to improve my productivity, but in a more modern twist. In order to use the folder 2, I need to switch/deactivate my s22+. The reason why is because im on a 4 people phone plan (Me and my family). If I were to add 1 more phone, making it a 5 person plan, it would be more money monthy. Not only this, but i rely on the big screen (s22+) in order to use Google maps. Im afraid I won't beable to balance driving and looking at directions on a tiny screen. I also use the big screen (s22+) for art references when im away from my computer. So what do you guys think?

Curious about different minimalist journey.

How did you get to know of minimalism?
Is there any triggers or life event?

Was there any regret you had about minimalism?

And lastly, how did you manage all the items you have decluttered :)

That’s 467 decisions, and hours of time!

Today I reset our house after a trip and decided to count every individual item I put back where it belonged.

Not 467 "tasks." Hundreds of individual objects: shirts, socks, toys, books, dishes, shoes, towels, art supplies, toiletries...everything that had to be physically picked up and returned to its home.

For context, we have two toddlers under 5 and live in a small townhome. I declutter regularly, I'm very intentional about what comes into our home, 1 in 2 out rule, and I genuinely don't think we own an excessive amount of stuff.

I'm also an engineer by profession, and like to think in terms of systems. I’m curious about everyday processes and trying to understand where time and effort actually go, so this was an exercise born out of curiosity.

It's also important to mention that I don't do this alone. My husband and I share fairly minimalist values, and he is an incredibly engaged partner. He's constantly pitching in without being asked, putting away dishes and toys, doing laundry, and tackling whatever needs doing. We regularly trade off kid-free time so one of us can reset the house while the other is with the kids. I feel very fortunate to have that kind of partnership, and I know not everyone does.

What surprised me was realizing how much of parenting involves managing inventory. Even in a relatively minimalist home, there are hundreds of objects constantly circulating that have to be touched over and over again.

I’m curious:

Does this season with young kids simply have an unavoidable "inventory burden," even when you've already minimized?

If your kids are older, does this get noticeably better?

I’m also very open to suggestions. I've spent a lot of time learning from Dana K. White, The Minimal Mom, Clutterbug, the Space Maker Method, and other organizing and decluttering approaches, so I'm not necessarily looking for "just declutter more." But if you've found a systems-level change that genuinely reduced the number of times you have to touch and put away objects, I'd love to hear about it

I feel like we often say, "I spent all afternoon cleaning," but maybe a more accurate description is, "I handled 400+ individual objects."

Disclaimer 1: I love my family more than anything. This season of life has been so anticipated and managing high inventory is worth it to me for my kids. I already know I will miss these years someday. I'm simply trying to compartmentalize one aspect of it and think about it objectively. I'd love to hear whether this resonates with anyone else.

Disclaimer 2: I realize that having enough belongings to create this kind of "inventory problem" is, in many ways, a privilege. I know many families are worried about far more important things than putting away belongings after a trip. My intention isn't to complain about having enough. I'm just genuinely curious about the amount of invisible labor involved in managing the physical stuff of family life.

Hello!

I just bought a new phone and I feel really guilty about it.

I've got my old phone 4 years ago.

I had no stockage left,the picture's quality were bad (I love making videos and photo). Not huge problem

My battery was in a bad state. I'm a young uni student who needs to take public transports,and at the end of the day (without doing anything with my phone),I had no more battery,and my family was VERY worried about it. Beside,I'm visiting a new country for two weeks.

My phone was boiling hot sometimes. It was turning off sometimes for no reason.

My family was VERY insisting about getting a new phone (I had a model in my mind,but I was waiting for my phone to die),so I bought it.

But i'm feeling guilty because it's like overconsumption to me...

Am I wrong for doing that?

That there's r/minimalism r/minimalist and r/extrememinimalism? Anyone else scroll all three and crave a new post?

Anyone know why there are three?

I'm a minimalist because it's cheaper, but I am starting to miss the old days. But I personally don't like the minimalist style.

Back when restaurants and malls hurt my brain with all the bright beautiful colors and cars and houses were different colors. Do you think it'll come back?

Hi, I've been looking more into this sub and wanted to ask something that's not entirely about decluttering or the lifestyle. I don't exactly own a whole lot of items, but lately I've been organizing my closet a bit and am having a difficult time going through some sentimental items. I have a few collections of things like trading cards and toys from when I grew up that when I look at, I only want the monetary value out of. I don't necessarily think that's bad, but I'm not having a hard time getting rid of those items. However, as I look at things that were handed to me and not necessarily mine, I don't know what to do. My dad passed away two years ago and he had given me his stamp collection. I never really was into it and I don't think it's in the best shape as it's pretty much a bunch of stamps in a tote with no sorting at all. I did try to somewhat save it by putting it in binders or at least see if there were multiple copies of one type or another, but it was a whole task I couldn't accomplish. I have thought about just throwing them away, but I get a sense of guilt if I were to. I could see about selling them (which I doubt as a lot of them have been watered damage and just stick together which also made sorting them feel daunting) for monetary value just like my personal collections. However if I were to do that, am I just being greedy? There are a few other things I have in the same situation, but this is just one example of it. If you were given things either because of inheritance or keepsakes, how do you handle them? Do personal collections bring you value because of their monetary worth, sentimentality, or is there something else?

I have a really hard time getting rid of unused clothes as my brain tells me „man these are in great condition and almost never worn“… how do I overcome that or how I should I approach this problem? Hurts me to throw away something unused that I paid for some years back but I also want to have less objects/belongings

I mean minimalism in almost everything, to maximise time and minimise responsibilities. Like not just the minimalist aesthetic but I mean as a way of life.

I am presuming a master's degree in hopes to find a high paying job, but I want to use the money for FIRE (Financial Independence and Retire Early). I don't even want to spend a single dollar for non essentials. Example:

-live in a 300 square feet apartment by choice: cheap rent, no roommates, good area near downtown, no crime. Sacrifice space for comfort and peace of mind.

-Minimal friends by choice (being dismissive avoidant).

-Minimal objects, ex: cloud gaming to replace computers.

-Refusal to have a relationship (I am a dismissive avoidant and that caused issues, relationships never last a year).

-Wear the same clothes everyday; only 1 winter coat. Have a limited wardrobe.

-Refusal to have a car, I have my full driver's licence, but I live close to everything by choice.

-Use food delivery services to replace cooking; refusal to spend time cooking and cleaning. Sacrifice some cash for more free time.

-Refusal to follow gender roles to minimise social pressure : No providing, no wasting energy to appear masculine/feminine, no gender war stress. Sacrifice relationships for peace of mind.

-Digital minimalism: no social media apart Reddit. Nobody knows what I am doing 99% of the time.

Honestly, all I do all day is study for my mathematics and statistics program, play games on my laptop, and do my hobbies all day (language learning, piano, trumpet, reading, charcoal still life, watercolors, etc).

The only luxury I have is my bookshelf, otherwise my head is minimalist, my life costs are so low that I don't worry about bills. My contacts are minimal so I have no social stress. I just want to relax my whole life and not stress.

Sort of considering dating again. Just wondering what people would think if a guy shows up to dates wearing largely the same style (i.e. same style/design of plain tshirt, shorts/joggers, sandals/sneakers)? My wardrobe has now been pared down to just the essentials, with an emphasis on comfort and matching my hobbies/interests (i.e. gym and the outdoors). Is this a turnoff for people, particularly women? For context, I'm early 30s male with a decent career if that matters and when I used to go on dates I was never stingy with dates (i.e. happy to pay or took turns etc.). In my mid-late 20s I did not really feel comfortable with what I was wearing but just wore stuff because that's what I observed other guys were wearing or what my partner at the time wanted me to haha. Thanks in advance.

Buongiorno a tutta la Comunità. Nei giorni scorsi ho scritto un breve post in materia di cancelleria, dove ho illustrato il risultato di un percorso, durato qualche anno, in cui mi sono liberato della necessità di acquistare ed usare molte penne, matite, evidenziatori etc. Lo trovate qui:

https://www.reddit.com/r/minimalism/s/nqnnO83sBp

In realtà la cancelleria è solo uno degli ambiti in cui sto cercando di applicare i principi del minimalismo. Ho fatto la stessa cosa con gli strumenti digitali (intendo hardware). È un argomento sul quale ho letto centinaia di post, molti dei quali molto interessanti, che mi sono stati di aiuto e di ispirazione. Qui voglio condividere i miei risultati.

Nel tempo ho capito che potevo fare a meno, e quindi ho eliminato (venduto/regalato), i seguenti dispositivi: un secondo laptop che tenevo a casa "per emergenza" (senza sapere esattamente di quale emergenza si trattasse, ed infatti non ne ho mai avuto bisogno); i PC desktop, che mi costringevano ad avere un laptop quando andavo fuori per lavoro; tastiere e mouse esterni, che con un laptop non sono necessari; Tablet di quale marca (ho avuto un Samsung serie A ed un iPad mini con Apple pencil); Apple Watch (al momento non ho nemmeno un orologio tradizionale); Kindle Scribe (adesso per prendere appunti uso carta e penna); smart TV; powerbank (mai usato, lo smartphone arriva la sera con almeno il 30% di carica); un milione di altri accessori rimasti inutilizzati per mesi: vecchi cavi USB, cavi di rete, vecchi caricatori di precedenti smartphone, mini-hub USB, tastiera Clicks di un precedente iPhone 16 etc.). La lista potrebbe continuare.

Il risultato? Uso uno smartphone Samsung S24 (non plus e non ultra, memoria base) ed un laptop LG, che al lavoro collego ad un monitor esterno. Infine, per leggere (comodo soprattutto la sera e in viaggio, anche se mi piacciono molto i libri cartacei) ho un Kobo. Non uso niente altro. Quello che posso fare con lo smartphone lo faccio con lo smartphone, altrimenti ho il laptop. Se devo leggere, ho il Kobo. Nessuna duplicazione. Non mi serve altro. Sapere che, se voglio, posso mettere tutto in uno zainetto, mi fa sentire leggero (anche di testa) e mi fa stare bene.

Magari in un futuro post scriverò come ho applicato il minimalismo anche al software 😊

Would you date someone who isnt a minimalist if you are? Do you think this could be a reason a couple would get divorced?

I’ve recently been embracing this mindset, and the massive clean out that follows. I’ve hit a certain area that i’d really like some experienced advice on.

My partner and I are starting to dabble with the “will we have kids question” (we’re both turning 30 soon). There are things I’m holding onto - old gaming consoles, star wars figures, the like. These are things I think I may be ready to get rid of. But i’m unsure. Should I keep some stuff a kid may play with, am I over thinking it? I don’t want to regret this later but don’t want to keep a bunch of stuff because of possibly unfounded fears of regrets. It’s not necessarily about the money of it all.

I’d definitely like to hear from any parents out there. It’d be a huge help!

Buongiorno. Vorrei condividere con voi il risultato di un lungo percorso che mi ha portato dall'essere (infelice) possessore di decine di penne, gomme, evidenziatori, matite etc. fino a diventare un (felice) possessore della seguente cancelleria, che uso per fare tutto: una penna Bic Cristal (colore nero), un portamine Bic Fun 0.7 HB, un taccuino formato A6 (che porto sempre con me insieme al portamine) ed alcune graffette di metallo. Tutto qui. Quando devo studiare qualcosa in modo approfondito, stampo le pagine (lo so, non stampare sarebbe meglio ma non riesco a studiare bene a video) e per evidenziare i paragrafi uso la sottolineatura, una riga a margine oppure una leggera tratteggiata a matita sopra le parole, eliminando l'evidenziatore. Le graffette mi hanno invece consentito di tenere insieme le pagine eliminando la cucitrice, i punti ed i ricambi. Il portamine Bic dura molto ed ha una gomma integrata che funziona molto bene, quindi niente più matite, gomme e temperamatite. In tutto ho speso meno di 3 euro. Perdo qualcosa? Peccato, ma ricomprarlo non sarà un problema. Tutto il resto della cancelleria è in una scatola, pronto per essere regalato.

Non voglio dire che questa sia una soluzione perfetta (so che i prodotti usa e getta non sono l'ideale) né sto suggerendo a nessuno di imitatarrmi. È solo una soluzione che mi fa stare bene, che funziona e che non mi fa perdere tempo a decidere quale penna usare o con quale colore devi evidenziare quella frase. Condividerla con la comunità mi è sembrata semplicemente la cosa giusta da fare

I’m going through a KonMari, minimalism, decluttering cycle again. I did one about 6 years ago using mainly KonMari after getting my own apartment to myself (I’d lived on my own just with roommates before). I had a wonderful friend who offered to help me lug all my recyclables to the recycling dump in her car. I tossed trash in a rented dumpster that came to the apartment parking lot for an hour. Then, anything that could be recycled got taken to the center. That included clothing, paper goods/books, cardboard, plastic, etc. It was really hard but healing. I don’t think I got through kimono and sentimental but threw out half a dumpster worth of trash and I think over 20 bags of recycling. Now, I’m married, and doing this again to get rid of clutter. The problem is my husband sees it as a waste to go to the recycling hub or go through a donation process. He says toss it all. His reasoning is that most items donated end up in the trash anyway, I’ve not touched many of these items in the 2 years we’ve been married, and the time/effort of donating can go towards decluttering and then decorating the space. Basically, life is too short. I also know I’ve had “to donate” boxes for YEARS before. They never make it to the uber or to a friend’s car (I don’t drive), or I think I’ll maybe go through them one last time. But I’m also torn up about just tossing so much.

How have you all dealt with the discarding? Donations, recycling, combination? Am I a horrible person for just tossing the unwanted items that are still useable? Or is it just clutter that would go towards decluttering someone else’s basement anyway?

Hi everyone! Bit of a story time and introduction.

My name is David (aged 41) and back in the early part of 2021 (during the COVID lockdown), I officially entered into the world of minimalism and here is how it impacts every area of my life.

I have always been a clean, tidy, semi-organised guy in all areas of my life (home, work, education, digitally, etc). But in all honesty, I was oblivious to what it takes to live as a minimalist with a desire to live a more simpler, intentional life.

But I want to say between the years of 2016 and 2020, my life, whilst perceived to be good among others (good home, full time job, a loving family and a small, good group of friends), I was struggling.

I had so much (over this span of around five years) going on in my life across all areas of it and essentially living on autopilot (too many commitments, too many hobbies and interests) and overall having no purpose or no clue what I wanted out of life. And it had one hell of an impact on my mental health, and in turn, on my physical health too.

I discovered minimalism in early 2021 when a random YouTube visit took me to a video by Jeffrey Buoncristiano called 5 reasons to adopt a MINIMALIST lifestyle. I watched the video and immediately, everything made sense to me and as they say, the rest is history.

Over the course of the following year (2021 & 2022) I sold, donated and removed a hell of a lot of physical items from my home and also downsized the amount of commitments, hobbies, interests and digital clutter that was invading my life. And as a result, life became more clearer and saw a huge upturn in all aspects of my life. Better mental health, more focus and concentration, a major improvement in my relationships with people and even joined the gym!

And I lived like this for over a year, until late 2022, when my Dad passed away, which as a result, had a knock on effect on my life over the next couple of years.

I saw my mental health deteriorate, I was allowing once again more unnecessary items back into my home which game me no actual value whatsoever and also allowed more news, irrelevant information, hobbies and interests back into my life and as a result, I was back to square one again, living life on autopilot.

However, over the course of the last few months, I have resumed my minimalist lifestyle properly and life is not only looking good right now (new girlfriend, regularly training at the gym), I have realised as well I have so much potential to fulfil in life and as a result, I have become a better human being overall.

I firmly believe that living a minimalist lifestyle has the potential to change so many people's lives for the better and in turn, helps to plan for the future (physical health, mental health, work, finances, better relationships).

What purchases helped you become who you are today (books, smart things, dumb things)?

What purchases hurt you the most (exercise equipment, couch, bed frame or what not)?

Hello everybody,

I'm in the middle of job changes and all it implies, I live in a 18m² place whose most of the surface is filled with documents, books, and various stuff.

There are things I want to keep for sentimental, memory or creativity purposes but there are also many things that are in my way.

I already got rid of tons of things of my previous work (think music teacher related, elementary school and stuff, so LOTS of paper bags, plastic bottles, crunchy and shiny stuff to Make Things) but there are also lots of things that just make me sad, it makes me sad that they are just laying here and the idea to get rid of them makes me sad too.

I'm mostly talking about the notes I've taken while I was in uni. I'm a kinesthesic person so I've been more into paper than computer notes - although I'd have just gotten a computer back then, if I knew the weight these paper notes would have today. I also have memory issues so if I get rid of them, the information is just gone. And it is not "just google it" type of information.

I have tons, and tons, and tons, of notes, of musical scores, of archives of musical recommendations, of kid workshops tips and ideas, of vocal anatomy... etc, collected over a period of 11 years.

The truth is that even if I decided to change works, I'm still asking myself questions about the field I'll work into, and there's a part of me that still does want to work with kids, and work with music, but differently. I'm not sure. I feel like "just getting rid of it" is not an option that makes me happy. But it is still in the middle of my way, and completely useless the way it is actually.

Besides that, I have more stuff that I appreciate if I'd have less of them, but I'm not sure where to start. I have more than 30 years of life in a 18m² place and it just feels wrong, nonsensical and irrespectuous the way my objects are treated right now. But I'm very tired and would appreciate a gentle push, some discussions, or anything to empathize and help clear my mind, and my home. Hope it makes sense. Where to start ?