to bloody love living alone in a quiet minimalist flat?

[LeftMyRidingCropInTheMortuary]

I'm 32 and I think I've finally cracked it. I have the lifestyle I want although it is never how I thought things would turn out.

I don't even want to live with a man again. Kids is unlikely to happen for various reason.

I've become increasingly sensitive to noise and mess as I've got older. I work in a stressful people-focussed job and treasure being able to hear myself think when I get home. I am also a control-freak and need to have my environment "just-so".

I have got rid of a lot of "stuff" over the past few years. All my books now on kindle and music on laptop. Everything admin done on-line.

Have I accidentally stumbled on the key to happiness? Peace, space & simplicity?

Or am I secretly kidding myself and want a house full of man, kids, dogs and family stuff?!

Just musing this over whilst my friends socialise tonight and I lie on the couch listening to the swoosh of the dishwasher.

Sounds like heaven
I have a house full of crap, kids, cats, men and my mum. But in a strange kind of way I like it like that and am content

Yeah, in terms of living with other adults, I'm happy to be alone. I mean I find it really odd when people make a big deal of going to the cinema/out for dinner on their own. Or people who WON'T do those things! I don't think twice about going for a day/night out on my own.

I'm going to holiday on my own too (when I save up some money!!)

Men - plural, Betty?!

Jealous OP. I would love that.

Yep op, ds is 23 and his girlfriend also lives here ( I know I must be mad!), then there's DH. I also have twins

I was never very good at minimalism (other than in the sense of doing all admin online to minimise paper) as I am too messy and hang on to various things that I don't know where to put. However, your flat does sound blissful right now when I think of the constant mess and noise that my children generate, or when I think of my years of flatsharing. Enjoy the peace and quiet and lack of clutter!

It doesn't have to be one or the other. I have a husband, two small children, and a minimalist tidy house that's relatively quiet

Sounds fabulous. I live with my kids and DH but out house is quite calm and nit particularly cluttered. I love living with my DH but if I didn't have him I don't think I would live with another man, I would enjoy my children until they left home and then enjoy my clutter free solitude

I am very jealous.

I lived a similar life for 10 years and I loved it. My tv was broken for about 4 years ans I really didn't care. I had music on as a background noise when I wanted it.

Now I live in a 3 bed semi with 2 dcs and the worlds most untidiest man complete with the dog and a couple of horses ( horses don't live with us but a lot of their stuff does). It drives me insane.

I am having a declutter session very very soon. I can't fecking wait.

But suspect it will soon be cluttered again soon. We have only been here since November ans I got rid of skip fulls of sgite when we moved.

Sounds fantastic. I love my husband and baby dearly but was happiest with my environment when I lived alone in a lovely flat, decorated how I wanted it and where things stayed where they were put.

Yes, I think if I found another man, we would keep our own places. If you're not having kids, there's no real reason to be together 7 days a week unless you want to.

I'm certainly never permanently sharing my bed again.
I actually got rid of my double and got a lovely brand new single bed from John Lewis that only I have ever slept in!. I sleep like a baby and have half the bed linen to wash!

And the kids leaving a sticky trail over all your surfaces, shoving toys down the toilet, throwing screwed up bits of soggy toilet rolls around, trashing their bedrooms and living area if given the chance and every meal time involving picking up bits of food for the floor. That's just some of it...

Sounds a tad dull OP, sorry but you don't sound happy you sound like you are having to isolate yourself to cope with increasing anxiety levels in relation to your environment. I can kind of see your point of view but I think if you don't break out of the cocoon more you might get stuck there. Control is an allusion. Do you take weekend city breaks or go camping to break it all up a bit? I like clean, I like quiet, I like to know things are where they belong but I appreciate none of it without the balance of messy cakey noisy adventures with random independent minds who are out of my control Do you do anything fun that is not work or home alone in your cocoon? I can't help but feel a bit sorry for people who are upset by grass stains from the park or a messy kitchen after a dinner party.

and a hoarder of a man who owned lots of ugly technology comprising mangled cables covered in dust

I've got one of those. Guh.

And me pictish

Sooooo many bloody cables......

Always - I enjoy going for walks (alone, usually).
Hosting a dinner party (or attending one) sounds like hell to me. Not least because of the messy kitchen!

I do go to London for shows etc. But again, usually alone. I will occasionally meet up with a friend or two. But it always saps my energy in the end.

My nightmare, y'see would involve a big, hairy, smelly licky dog on a sofa, surrounded by whiny children watching loud cartoons and a hoarder of a man who owned lots of ugly technology comprising mangled cables covered in dust.

Oh. Shit. I have the sofa dogs, hoarder man, and I'm currently pregnant. I used to have the minimalist apartment thing going on and loved it. What Has Happened to My Life?

I've lived alone for about 6 years (discounting the kids, only one of whom remains at home and works lots of hours/dwells in his cave-room), I recently had a short relationship where he moved in with me and his teens came too. I found it very, very hard and am so grateful to live alone again.

Though I do have quite a herd of pets, and thoroughly enjoy their company and nonsense.

Having complete control over my surroundings, finance, not having to speak to anyone or be considerate of anyone else's needs is utterly splendid!

heaven

My cables must all be neatly bound up and each plug labelled so I can plug/unplug the right one.

I live alone and I blooming love it. I'm 39 and I'm surprised when people ask if I think I'll get lonely later in life. I can't imagine being more amenable to other people as I get older....in fact I doubt I'll ever bother having a relationship again and I've not been treated badly or anything, just not interested.

The one that worked best for me was a long distance one - which makes perfect sense now I know myself better!

What I would like is a quiet flat and a big flat. I have friends staying quite often, I'm very social and I like to entertain here because I think it's nicer than being in a bar or restaurant. I only have a sofabed to offer people which isn't great.

I also live on a busy street but it was a good decision at the time because of bus and train connections. Now I find I am so sensitive to noise, I have to sleep with ear plugs in but I didn't do that when I first moved here.

Interestingly I think living alone has made me more understanding of people generally, like their essential mental health mechanisms IYSWIM.

I am actually very introverted so need equal alone time to social time. This also makes living alone ideal...if friends upped and left on a Sunday and I had to actually talk to another human being, I might not want the friends around in the first place!

Yes, I love to be in control of my own admin and banking!
My mum doesn't even know who her & dad's mortgage provider is...