Im a minimalist

[Minimalist86]

Im a minimalist.
AMA.

We should all consume less, so whilst I’m far from a
minimalist I do respect your stance OP.

I do cook sometimes but its just a faff.
So i have ready made sandwhichs, salads, fruits noddles junk or i just order something.
Pretty much like anyone else.

I think most people cook most meals! Living mainly off ready made foods and takeaways is expensive.

Not to expensive when its just me.

I only keep important emails delet the rest.
No saving internet history.
Yes if i get something new somethings going out.

I would really hate to live like this. It would make me feel I was in a prison cell. Also how? I need way more clothes than that for work, events and different weather. I also can't imagine only reading on a laptop as I read in bed every night. I also cook for up to ten people at Christmas etc so need stuff. Plus I like plants and decorative things and have loads of hobbies. I was born to be a maximalist I think. Each to their own.

We are all different.

Where does your minimalism come from? Do you think it’s a way of exerting control over your life?

Your answers are in themselves quite minimal, but I get the sense from this thread that you haven’t had a particularly happy time in childhood or in romantic relationships - or am I way off?

I only ask because my DH is similar - he could (and would) live exactly this way. He has zero sentimentality around objects, an entirely minimal wardrobe (wears the same thing every day), and would torch almost everything we own if he could. But he acknowledges that this is not just personality-driven, it’s a result of serious childhood trauma and an inability to have agency over his own choices until he left home at 18.

That's terrible , I'm sure that your marriage has helped him, but he must be living with a lot pain from the trauma.

Well i grow up in a home that was just a mess, with clutter and stuff every surface had something on it, every drawer was stuff full.
Walls covered in pitchers, furniture, side cabnits, ornaments.
And still brought more when she went out.
I wouldnt say it was a bad childhood it was just a cluttered one.

Such a good question! I have loads of nice tea towels stashed & am using ratty old ones because I don’t want DH to ruin them… I deserve to enjoy my beautiful tea towels!

Do you wear make up or indulge in much self grooming?

Did you find it very hard when you lived with someone else?

Interesting about your childhood, OP. I grew up going shopping with my mum, it was a hobby, something to do (1980s). I continued it on & loved shopping, fashion, homewares etc… I own loads of stuff. My child is the same now, so I can see the pattern. He always wants new things! But it’s because we always go shopping & I buy them. DH has loads of stuff too!

But if more than three turn up at one time, they have to take it in turns to have a cup of tea or a glass of wine?

That’s really not normal, though.

No im dont wear make-up.
I do have a full body massage once a month, done at my home.
And i have a pedicure once every 4 weeks.

The last time i lived with someone i soon relised i liked my own space, he was lovely but he had way to much stuff, boxs of clothes boxs of other stuff, that was 10 year ago and never again.

I have 2 close friends and one sister.
They dont always turn up together.

I think it is who wants to cook every day.

I suppose if you're not interested in cooking and there's only you, that's the solution.

Thanks for the thread it’s really interesting. I aspire to be minimalist but not to your extreme.

Having no plush home furnishings and enjoyable decor sounds really uninspiring and flat. When you go to people’s houses with plants/cushions/throws/candles/beautiful objects do you enjoy how lovely it is?
How does it then feel when you return home to your plain empty house?
I walk around my home and enjoy the beauty in every room, does your home not feel cold and lifeless?

I sense that your minimalism comes not from environmentalism, or an aesthetic of having a few very beautiful things you cherish, but from a deep-seated ‘can’t be bothered’ mindset, like your ‘too much faff’ attitude to cooking.

When im in someones home i dont take any notice of what they have or how they live.
Im just happy to be invited.
If they show me something like oh i got this the other day, i say wow thats nice looks lovely so you etc.

To me my home is cosy its just right for me.

Growing up my mother had many nice things but i was just not into it.
Its not oh i cant be bothered its i dont need it.
Cooking i cook sometimes but i dont want to cook every day.

Can't imagine why.

As i have said we are all diferent.
Some people are happy with more some of us happy with less.