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[educatingarti]

This is the new minimalist/decluttering thread! I hope everyone likes the minimal title!

[iWillDoItInAMinute]

Lois I had a treadmill that made a fantastic clothes horse too

-now there's a cross trainer gathering dust in the playroom-

[iWillDoItInAMinute]

Well MM I will sort of be trying that next week.

We are going on holiday and thanks to Harriets brilliant idea, I'm being very strict with what the DC can take.

Last holiday DS 2 packed a whole bag of soft toys . This time they are restricted to 2 soft toys each

I'm going to observe them over the holiday and see how they get on with having very little

I think it'll probably mean no wifi MN too

[hobnob57]

Arse. I've just managed to break said bayonet light bulb in the hall and I read a scary thread about the mercury vapours and small children. And I was leaning over it when it happened. And I'm breastfeeding. And the mercury persists on the carpet for weeks to months. And you're not meant to hoover. And did I mention it's my hall? Where ds spends most of the day emptying the shoe cupboard? Harrumph.

[iWillDoItInAMinute]

Oh no Hobnob

[UnitedZingDom]

not sure if I should post here - it's not very "m" of me to be on 5 similar threads about decluttering/life improvement, is it?

[UnitedZingDom]

hobnob

to clean up you need to :

-open windows and ventilate area.
-switch of any heat source
-put on rubber gloves

• collect large pieces with cardboard or sticky tape and put in a freezer bag
• collect small pieces with sticky tape and put in freezer bag
• wash area with damp cloth, then put cloth in freezer bag
• take off gloves and put in bag
• seal bag and take it to acrecycling centre where it can be disposed as hazardous waste.

mercury is easily vapourized at room temperature when "disturbed" so do not sweep and definitely don't hoover.

[harrietspy]

My boys are at their grandma's so I am in my ringfenced 2 working days for the summer. Feeling very panicky about how much I have to do (about 2 weeks work!) and I have a tendency to procrastinate when I feel overwhelmed... So I may leave the house to resist the urge to declutter... I sometimes forget that minimalism is not about obsessing over stuff. Have I replaced my former preoccupations (interiors magazines, design scrapbooks, trawling charity shops for new possessions...) with something that's equally unhealthy?

Don't get me wrong: I believe it's better to have more space and less stuff. But when I repeatedly choose to spend time sorting out the house instead of being with my kids or getting on with work I love, I have to take a step back. This isn't simplicity parenting and it isn't minimalism. It's still about things.

Does this make sense? I'm not saying for a moment that it's wrong to be culling or decluttering in the same way that it's not wrong to take time preparing a delicious meal. But when it becomes all I think about or what I do instead of living my life then I have to pause. (Like the food addict who is obsessed with food to the exclusion of all else). I love having an ordered calm home but I'm questioning how much time I'm committing to this and what I'm not doing instead...

[LoisEinhorn]

Oh yes totally understand what you are saying Harrietspy It can take over and I'm guilty of not feeling I can do anything fun unless the housework is done first.

[iWillDoItInAMinute]

Wow Harriet how eloquently put before 8 am

It's like a radio 4 thought for the day, lots to ponder...

[MinimalistMommi]

IWill I would like no wifi for sure
Harriet have you managed to sort out your light bulb?

[harrietspy]

MM I think it was hobnob with the lightbulb problem. (I have one of my own but didn't post about it). Hope it's sorted.

[iWillDoItInAMinute]

Harriet you mentioned in your holiday post that you took Lego for your DSs, did you take a new small box to make each or a small box of mixed pieces?

I usually look forward to a Lego free holiday but I have the feeling it's going to rain -a lot- so I thought I might take a small tub of Lego to share, I've had 4 hours sleep, all i can think about is I'm supposed to be packing or at least list making. I do enjoy crossing things off a list

MM yes no wifi I like it in theory but I get so many great ideas from-MN- the Internet. I'm going to try not to post -or lurk- next week, if you spot me you have permission to smack my hand

[harrietspy]

Iwilldoit, good luck with the packing. Hard to to when brain-fogged. My big ds is nearly 11 and not so much into toys these days, although he does play with Lego occasionally, so the box was mainly for ds2.

After that little holiday I took them on the train this week to go to their grandma's with Lego in a lunchbox like this: www.amazon.co.uk/Lunchbox-Green-Plastic-Yellow-Handle/dp/B001ENDDK6/ref=pd_sim_kh_2?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 and it was great on the train because he could fold it out with Lego in one side and build in the other without the pieces going on the floor (too much)...

This summer I bought an animation package - SAM animation - for £20 for my laptop and they've spent a lot of time making little films with Lego. It was the best £20 I've spent in a long time.

I'm off with the family again to housesit next week, so we don't need to take anything except clothes. Then I get a weekend camping at a festival with no childcare responsibilities (because their dad has had masses of time without the dc over the past 3 years) and need to think v carefully about what to take so I can stay clean and dry.

[hobnob57]

Thank you united. I can't believe I didn't even have the presence of mind last night to put the bulb in a bag - it has been sitting on a shelf in the garage all night! Carpet is taped and wiped and I'm feeling slightly better about it. But ds will unavoidably get a dose of it I think - we have been walking over the area since it happened, and feet/shoes will have carried the stuff all over the house.

Harriet my decluttering has fully occupied me for the bulk of this year to the exclusion of most things. However I have seen it as a necessary step to try and regain some feeling of control in my surroundings, which has been beneficial for me and then, as a knock-on effect to the family. I should be preparing for the new term at work this week to save me a lot of pain later, but it is too good an opportunity to get lots done and I am making significant inroads.

[harrietspy]

hobnob that sounds great (about the decluttering, not the lightbulb). You're right - there's a time to focus on clearing the house. I've spent a lot of time this year getting rid of stuff and it's been emotionally and practically helpful. We have more space and less stuff and that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't spent a load of time clearing. So I don't regret what I've done one bit. I guess I'm talking very personally about what happens now for me, and how I'm at risk of getting obsessed with stuff in a different way and how I want to shift my attention to some of the other facets of minimalism that aren't about the physical stuff.

I need to get back to my mindfulness practice, for one. I was doing it every morning for 20 minutes for 6 months, but since the holidays I've fallen out of my routine and it's taking its toll...

[hobnob57]

That, I think, is a more difficult challenge. Decluttering is instant gratification, other simplifying is harder to see the immediate benefits of I think.

When do you think I can Hoover my hall?

[ArtemisatBrauron]

it's our 5th wedding anniversary today and DH is taking me to Hungerford antique arcade to try and find me a nice old desk for the study in the new house (wooden anniversary) So excited!

hobnob I did this, about 6-7 years ago, didn't know you weren't supposed to hoover it, hoovered it, walked all over it etc. We can be mutants together

[educatingarti]

Hello there all and welcome United! ( I typed Untied to begin with !)
Just dropping by really. Harriet, I can identify somewhat with your musings, though I am in a different situation. I have been talking to my counsellor this morning as to why that elephant is sitting on me so much at the moment. It has given me a lot to to think about. I think there are old habitual ways of thinking/acting that need to start to be decluttered. Not easy though. Other than that, I have identified a white ceramic candle holder to go in the chazza bag!

Right - I need to get on with some work. See you all soon!

[UnitedZingDom]

anyone?

[UnitedZingDom]

please call me Zing!

[ArtemisatBrauron]

Why thank you zing, please have some of my to go with it!

I have a question for Harriet, MinimalistMommi and you other minimalist pros... does this whole gig become a bit...cumulative? I just ask because when I was clearing the house to move I was really very ruthless and threw out all sorts of things I had previously considered to be "essential". Now, unpacking the same stuff I see potential for further culling, and I can barely remember the stuff I chucked which I agonised over so much.
Is this merely the foothill of a giant, de-cluttering mountain?

[harrietspy]

That's very kind of you artemis but if you saw my house you wouldn't consider me a pro... I don't think a stranger would think it minimalist. Having said that, a lot of friends have commented on how spacious it feels since I started the Big Cull. It really is a massive house - much bigger than anything I've ever lived in before - and when we move at some point I just don't want to be carting anything unnecessary with us. (We're renting so it won't be a permanent arrangement).

I want to be much much much more ruthless as time goes on but I share a house with someone who wants to hang on to some stuff. (I related the tale early in the year: Sport is still technically my dh but we're separated under same roof, living companionably and very amicably. We want to raise the dc together and will be setting up a 'birds' nest' arrangement next year where the kids stay in the family home & the adults rent a studio flat where each parent can go separately for separate time. In an ideal world I'd have my own truly minimalist little studio and an allotment, but that's not practical for now... We're not doing a 50/50 custody split or anything because we don't see the need, but we need to make sure we each get time away to be truly separate). I tell you this because it's weird about the Stuff. On one level we operate as separate entities, but a lot of our stuff is jointly owned because we've been together our whole adult lives. Sport has been very understanding about my desire to get rid of stuff. But there are places where we suddenly & dramatically differ and it's weird because there's usually so little conflict in our relationship, e.g. I don't see the need to have 2 glass trifle bowls (for our one annual Christmas trifle!) but Sport does. He doesn't even eat trifle. But given how accommodating he's been, I really should lighten up.

Anyway, I'm not really answering artemis's question. I think it is cumulative because it becomes about more than the objects alone. The minimalist intention makes me 'see' things differently: is this physical object useful or beautiful? Does its use or beauty outweigh what it costs me to have it in my life? eg we were given a truly beautiful but absolutely enormous fruit bowl years ago. We didn't have room for it then and if we had it now it would just be a huge thing to dust. And we keep most of our fruit in the fridge anyway. .

Does my late night essay make sense? (Late night for me. Knackered).

[harrietspy]

And I'm sure someone may have already posted this before, but The Story of Stuff video is v relevant to aspiring minimalists:

[MinimalistMommi]

Art yes, it does keep building and building for me. This first came about over three years ago for me now and it's still a huge part of me now - and it isn't going anytime soon, I don't think it ever will.

The space around me inspires my life and how I want to live (very minimally and simply) but in today's modern world of consumption that seems to be a tough gig and something I'm constantly aspiring too. Sometimes I would love a completely clean slate! How I would love to go back to age 18 and buy stuff (or not) through a minimalists eyes! I wasn't even a big 'spender'.

I'm in my early 30's now.

I mentioned this in one of the old minimalist threads, I'm the sort of girl who finds a monk's room inspiring. A bed. Maybe a chair next to that bed. A single bowl to eat from.

I'm moving towards wanting to simplify food now as much as possible (healthy, vegetarian, as little prep as possible...cooking 'one dish' meals)

I'm interested in how little one person can live with. Does it feel different to live without endless choice? From what bowl to eat out off to what peice of clothing you put on? How does it feel? Does it make a person any less happy?

I'm also very interested in how much does a child 'need' to be happy? What makes happiness? Feelings of comfort?

[Dackyduddles]

We are moving. I'm fed up of dusting and new house has loft conversion. There's therefore little storage. May I join?

What do you do with stuff you like but don't want out? I want less but struggle with 'it might be useful' 'was a present' 'like it too much to dump but don't want out either'.

Will lurk around. Thank you