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Post by moonglow on Sept 11, 2014 9:50:43 GMT -5
"Optimal" is a good word...
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Post by OnTheMend on Sept 11, 2014 9:53:57 GMT -5
Personally, I get rash from minimalism blogs and sites. They appear to me as preachy and know-it-all - not to mention pompous in their compulsory stripped down visual looks. (Just a personal opinion of mine, no offence to anyone who reads or writes those blogs/sites.) When it comes to home decor, I am not liking the modern, all white type of aesthetics. I am not interested in that kind of minimalism. But I am interestested in minimalism never-the-less, and I suppose many people would call myself one. This leads me to think (as others have already stated too) that there are several kinds of minimalisms and minimalists, and the one I am interested in and feel pull towards, is actually different that the image I have in my mind of sterile surroundings and holier and thou attitudes If that makes sense! I like to avoid rushing and being in hurry. I like to avoid fast food, fashion. I want to keep a capsule-inspired wardrobe, I want to minimize my ecological footprint here on earth. I want uncluttered space where my soul and energy and weary body get restored. I hate knick-knacks and stuffed, unorganized surfaces and storage spaces. I want to know what I have, and find it easily. I want the maintenance of my home to be efforless. I want to find happiness in simply being and in small things. I want to simplify as many areas of my life as possible. These are just few things that inspire me, some might be better called simplifying or some such term, but I see these all being intertwined with minimalism - at least my interpretation of it. On the flip side, I do not enjoy "maximalism" at all, it's just too much visual chaos and I cannot concentrate or think clearly. I love organizing and even at my worst squalorous days my drawers and cupboards were neat and organized. I get anxiety if I cannot see what's in a cupbords when I open it, for example.
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Post by lucie on Sept 11, 2014 10:01:56 GMT -5
You did it again, OnTheMend! You are being me! OK, you are an owl and I am a lark but that is about the only difference.
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Post by OnTheMend on Sept 11, 2014 10:05:56 GMT -5
lucie Too bad we don't live closer, it'd be fun to go for a coffee sometimes! It would be difficult to find a time when we are both awake and alert, though!
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Post by larataylor on Sept 11, 2014 10:07:44 GMT -5
OnTheMend - I don't like all white, either. My old house was so dark, with its tiny windows, that it needed to be white to maximize the light. But I would really like color on my walls now. I think painting walls could add a lot of beauty and interest without adding to housekeeping chores. I've already taken down all the curtains and pulled up most of the carpet, and painted one wall turquoise.
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Post by misssue on Sept 11, 2014 10:32:46 GMT -5
I wrote this for another website.. "If you have pay rent for a storage locker, you are not a minimalist. You are not even at maintenance."
That applies if you live in two rooms or ten! I believe that the space you live in, is the space you get to keep your things. That is minimalist thinking. I do not have a storage rental, I have 2000 sq ft and usable matching size basement. I am getting rid of a lot, working on it.
Minimalist is also not about deprivation. It is about living a good life with what you can afford, which I will admit is easier if you have the financial security to live that way. If you have huge debts, some will argue you are not a minimalist either! Which you will have financial security, if you do not spend all your money on things! You can not retire on things! Just my opinion.
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Post by aquamarine on Sept 11, 2014 10:38:55 GMT -5
I am very minimal indeed when it comes to cleaning: if a dry cloth does the job, why use water? If cold water does the job, why use hot? If plain water does the job, why use a product? If a cheap, gentle, safe product does the job, why use supermarket chemicals? If a tiny drop of product does the job, why splash it in? If vacuuming once a week is good enough, why use up electricity on more? This is very good for my finances!
Clothes must fit in their allocated space, which means, for example, one plastic drawer for socks. Minimalism does not mean no storage of products provided that they will be used: this increases efficiency and time and reduces costs.
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Post by angela on Sept 11, 2014 11:16:13 GMT -5
I'm a little late to this awesome thread however, here is what my vision of minimalist is for me. I cannot live without color and pattern and texture, I also can't seem to live without pets. For clothing, I have always enjoyed the idea of a uniform. I grew up with esprit catalogues and the glorious bright preppy crew necks and corduroys. Then the look of Benneton when I got older. Now, I still do a similar thing..plain colored tops and pants and all the colored scarves and accessories I care to have. In this way, while I don't only have 33 pieces since in that scheme accessories still count a piece at a time, I do have a simple wardrobe that has endless mix and match possibilities. And thanks to some deep decluttering two years ago, it all fits very comfortably into my micro-closet, cedar chest, and chest of drawers. In my home decor I would love to someday get the macro surfaces such as walls, floors, furniture upholstery to a cleaner, high level of attractiveness. No more shabby would be awesome. No more things stored on the floor because I don't have shelving. I have a vision of a house where a roomba could do the vacuuming. I've said elsewhere, but I love the aesthetic of hand-made objects, as much made by me or people I respect and care about. So my minimalism is very likely not that of an all-white, blonde wood, Japanese/Danish look. I do like small decor items and have in the past had great fun making tablescapes and mantlescapes, also candlescapes and pillowscapes. I don't mind at all dusting and handling pretty little things. I do mind when I'm feeling like my time is so sparse and there are more important things to do. And I really mind when I feel like I would have to clean all day to get even for the day. So I would have to greatly reduce winter mud track-ins and wood dirt and ash from wood heat.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2014 13:01:47 GMT -5
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Blackswan
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Post by Blackswan on Sept 11, 2014 13:35:20 GMT -5
I think it comes down to being in touch with yourself versus out of touch. Your rooms will be more streamlined and meet your needs if you know who you are and what you value and like and your purposes and goals. If you are more fragmented then there will be more of a mess and jumble of stuff that reflects differing fragments of self. Does that make sense? Feel free to expand upon it anybody.
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Post by def6 on Sept 11, 2014 16:27:50 GMT -5
Hello Lara, I think we are totally on the same page! I want to swish and swipe the whole house and I don't want a bunch of gadgets in the way.
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Post by papermoon on Sept 11, 2014 17:39:32 GMT -5
Personally, I get rash from minimalism blogs and sites. They appear to me as preachy and know-it-all - not to mention pompous in their compulsory stripped down visual looks. [...] the image I have in my mind of sterile surroundings and holier and thou attitudes As a matter of fact, they ARE holier than ME. If minimalists have figured out how to live a simplified streamlined life, in a clean home without excess, without spending the livelong day cleaning stuff (or moaning about it), if they can move freely through their living spaces without knocking over piles or stepping in poo, if they can find any necessary document in a minute (and it isn't an overdue bill they can't afford to pay), if they've freed themselves from dirt, debt, mess, and stress..... then yeah, they are way ahead of me, holier than me, and I want to look up to them for inspiration and read about how they did it. Likewise with any members of this forum, if you have achieved any of those freedoms, I want to be inspired by you and learn how you did it.
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Post by larataylor on Sept 11, 2014 18:16:10 GMT -5
I've achieved *some* of those freedoms, and I hope we can all help you on the way. But we are all equally holy!
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Post by papermoon on Sept 11, 2014 18:19:41 GMT -5
Or holey, as the case may be.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2014 18:41:12 GMT -5
where is the outrage? There were no KITTENS!!! False advertising!!!!!!
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