Am I a minimalist then?
I've just read a lovely blogpost entitled,
'Don't spend anything for a year - how to be a minimalist.' It's made me stop and think:
Is that me, then?
For a whole bunch of reasons - some moral, some social - I appear to be fitting into another category.
Let's look at this.
To be a minimalist:
One doesn't spend on anything but the essentials - food, rent, items for work. (I'm struggling to think about anything else I spend money on...ooh hang on - nope, I make gifts for
people....hmm..although I do spend some pennies on the kids and grandkids.... I'll give myself a small tick
.
Everything that can be mended is done before anything new
is bought. (I'm thinking about my current mending pile - Man
Wonderful's jeans being patched this morning, Gorgeous Daughter's shorts and a dress awaiting mending, my skirt was shortened yesterday from a mid calf I don't wear much to a knee length - giving me the denim I needed to repair MW's jeans... Big tick
Ownership of items is kept to a minimum, and reduced regularly. I share a single wardrobe and a chest of drawers with MW. I honestly own just four bras - and that was three until last week when I'd bought number three for work and it
was so comfy I quickly bought another. Underwear items are the only things I buy new. Everything else is either made or comes from the Bay of E or a chazza shop (very rare these days as I'll come on to below). My shoes come from GD as cast offs or gifts from folk for a bday or Xmas.
Today, for example, I’m wearing a grey v- neck cotton jumper that was MW’s and before that his son’s. Under that I’m wearing a long black dress made for £1.20 from scrap fabric, and under that a pair of leggings made from a 70 denier pair
of tights that needed a repair. On my feet are beautiful
Rocket Dog boots that are GD castoffs (hand-me-ups!!) and apart from undies that’s me. Tomorrow I’ll wear a variation of the above as that’s how my wardrobe works.
Way back when, I used to enjoy the chazza shop for browsing regularly. Then we lived in a caravan where there was no space to store anything. Now I don’t chazza shop as a hobby. Simples!
My kitchen is a beautiful space because I don't have every little item going. If I want to mash something I use a fork, to
divide eggs I use the half shell, to get lemon juice I either have bottled in the fridge, or squeeze lemon in my hands. I don't have endless gadgets.
I only buy white plates and bowls for eating from, that way when one needs replacing I buy a white replacement and it doesn't matter if it is a match. I do have a salad bowl ( charity shop) and a couple of small mis-matched casserole-type dishes that can also be used as serving dishes. Again, I love to receive these as gifts and it is easy to replace them if they get broken by getting any patterned bowl from the
charity shop!
If you'd like a little tour of the new little house, just say in comments.
I'm trying to think of an area where I'm not minimal - even if I'm not quite minimaliST..
Even the dreaded craft 'stash'..well, I'll be honest and say that the workroom needs a little tidy up, but whereas before I'd have more wool than I'd ever knit in a lifetime and some of everything, now my stash is fabrics that I will use to clothe myself, and the 'stash' is the size of the space under a caravan table. (I have a table with my sewing machine always set up on, and this second - caravan - table beside it for cutting out/grandchild entertaining, etc.) What I don't have is a tidy workroom at present. And that needs to change.
Ooh I feel a Spring clean coming on!!
Where do you feature on the minimalist scale?
Tracey xx
'Don't spend anything for a year - how to be a minimalist.' It's made me stop and think:
Is that me, then?
For a whole bunch of reasons - some moral, some social - I appear to be fitting into another category.
Let's look at this.
To be a minimalist:
One doesn't spend on anything but the essentials - food, rent, items for work. (I'm struggling to think about anything else I spend money on...ooh hang on - nope, I make gifts for
people....hmm..although I do spend some pennies on the kids and grandkids.... I'll give myself a small tick
.
Everything that can be mended is done before anything new
is bought. (I'm thinking about my current mending pile - Man
Wonderful's jeans being patched this morning, Gorgeous Daughter's shorts and a dress awaiting mending, my skirt was shortened yesterday from a mid calf I don't wear much to a knee length - giving me the denim I needed to repair MW's jeans... Big tick
Ownership of items is kept to a minimum, and reduced regularly. I share a single wardrobe and a chest of drawers with MW. I honestly own just four bras - and that was three until last week when I'd bought number three for work and it
was so comfy I quickly bought another. Underwear items are the only things I buy new. Everything else is either made or comes from the Bay of E or a chazza shop (very rare these days as I'll come on to below). My shoes come from GD as cast offs or gifts from folk for a bday or Xmas.
Today, for example, I’m wearing a grey v- neck cotton jumper that was MW’s and before that his son’s. Under that I’m wearing a long black dress made for £1.20 from scrap fabric, and under that a pair of leggings made from a 70 denier pair
of tights that needed a repair. On my feet are beautiful
Rocket Dog boots that are GD castoffs (hand-me-ups!!) and apart from undies that’s me. Tomorrow I’ll wear a variation of the above as that’s how my wardrobe works.
Way back when, I used to enjoy the chazza shop for browsing regularly. Then we lived in a caravan where there was no space to store anything. Now I don’t chazza shop as a hobby. Simples!
My kitchen is a beautiful space because I don't have every little item going. If I want to mash something I use a fork, to
divide eggs I use the half shell, to get lemon juice I either have bottled in the fridge, or squeeze lemon in my hands. I don't have endless gadgets.
I only buy white plates and bowls for eating from, that way when one needs replacing I buy a white replacement and it doesn't matter if it is a match. I do have a salad bowl ( charity shop) and a couple of small mis-matched casserole-type dishes that can also be used as serving dishes. Again, I love to receive these as gifts and it is easy to replace them if they get broken by getting any patterned bowl from the
charity shop!
If you'd like a little tour of the new little house, just say in comments.
I'm trying to think of an area where I'm not minimal - even if I'm not quite minimaliST..
Even the dreaded craft 'stash'..well, I'll be honest and say that the workroom needs a little tidy up, but whereas before I'd have more wool than I'd ever knit in a lifetime and some of everything, now my stash is fabrics that I will use to clothe myself, and the 'stash' is the size of the space under a caravan table. (I have a table with my sewing machine always set up on, and this second - caravan - table beside it for cutting out/grandchild entertaining, etc.) What I don't have is a tidy workroom at present. And that needs to change.
Ooh I feel a Spring clean coming on!!
Where do you feature on the minimalist scale?
Tracey xx
To be minimalist can’t be defined in one way. It means different things to different people. Some do only buy exactly the basics, but others buy more things, but that add meaning to their life. Minimalists come in all shapes and sizes, with a general base line of simply having enough that is meaningful and useful. Your minimalism probably doesn’t look like mine and mine doesn’t look like someone else.
ReplyDeleteIt’s ok to have craft stuff, you can still be minimalist there.
ReplyDeleteI am much like you in the kitchen. I was so fed up of a drawer full of unused gadgets, I bagged them up and took them to a charity shop. I even had a potato ricer that was huge and used to stop the drawer closing. It was liberating to get rid of everything I didn’t use. I am not a minimalist though. Charity shop pretty china is my downfall. I won’t pay above the odds but if I see a bargain I treat myself.
ReplyDeleteAll fairly minimal here though I did treat my self to a pot of tete a tete diffs this morning, they were reduced to £1 as they needed watering.
ReplyDeleteWe have one small wardrobe between us and a bedside cabinet each.
I think you are the perfect example of a true natural minimalist,, I hate labels but we re label society ,, I really enjoy minimalism,, the challenge of it,, the basis of it, but I think the extremists get carried away,, I live very much as you,, we all walk our own path in life and the less trash we leave on that path the better!!! I just found you today, thank you for sharing this,,
ReplyDeleteReading the last bit of this post has made me feel guilty of my wool stash, I keep looking at it and thinking i should clear it out. lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
We live in about 600 sq. ft. So, by default, i’m a bit of a minimalist. I do like to shop for food, not clothes. I have a dresser and a few items on hangers. My crafty stuff is contained in a large bag and one tote in the basement. My husband is another story. He has more clothes and more stuff. I feel crowded if I have too much stuff, anymore. Plus, I have to clean it and I have better things to do. Having said that, I have two freezers and a food storage area in the basement so I can prepare just about anything to eat, no matter the weather.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Well, I don't have the seemingly obligatory all white decor or mid-century modern look (Just kidding) but I think that I could qualify in many categories.
ReplyDeleteI pay all bills & debt first and live on what is left.
I have a very comfortable apt. - I have what I need (and a little of what I want - mostly books) and can't think of a reason to buy anything new in the foreseeable future. Over the past couple of years I've donated, given away to friends or sold a lot of stuff that I thought I needed - but didn't and I will continue to eliminate more items over the next year - but more slowly now.
I have all the clothes I need for at least the next few years (aside from some new bras and shoes). I do not buy used (never had any luck) but I do purchase the best that I can afford, look after it and make it last. I am gravitating more and more to a "uniform" look as I find this makes the most sense for me.
I have even simplified what I eat - more vegetarian meals and a lot less meat. I also only cook maybe twice a week now and then eat the same thing again or supplement with eggs, cheese or HM soups.
I think it's a mindset more than anything else. There are so many other things I prefer doing or that I'm interested in learning about that time spent on recreational shopping has no appeal these days - aside from books - we all have our addictions. :-)
I do spend money on socializing - but more often now it's a coffee rather than a meal - plus I like to entertain in my own home - and no one ever turns down an invitation so my cooking must be ok. If I'm going to spend then I prefer that it be on an experience rather than on stuff.
I can see the appeal of being a minimalist however each time I throw something out within a week you can almost guarantee that I could have used it...having said that now the cottage is coming together and I feel truly happy in it I feel much less of
ReplyDeletea need to have stuff everywhere x
Love a look of your beautiful home, I am heading in the right direction, towards being a minamilist, clothe are the first thing, I only buy from eBay so am getting there slowly over the years I have spent large sums on cloths only to get fed up or or y don't fit
ReplyDeleteI reckon I am off the pages!!!! But I am as equally happy as you xx
ReplyDeleteHi Tracey, yes would love a look at your new home.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would also like a look at your new home!
ReplyDeleteWould definitely like a mini guided tour please - SOOOOO nosy!
ReplyDeleteAs for minimalism, I guess in a financial way I mostly am. In the more traditional way it is usually meant though, no. I love the concept but the practise escapes me utterly - I have and love "stuff".
lovely post. I am a minimalist and my home probably looks different from yours. I think it's really about removing the excess.
ReplyDeleteI have too many of some things because I always think they'll come in useful, but I'm not a hoarder. Like you, I'm not a gadget person so I haven't got lots of kitchen appliances unused in the back of a cupboard. I have a potato masher, bought c1976 .
ReplyDelete