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Minimalism
Sept 11, 2014 22:21:23 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by sunshineshouse on Sept 11, 2014 22:21:23 GMT -5
@hordfest...of course NOW I will have to check the blog : ) Really no kittens? (minimalism wasn't enough to get me there!)
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Post by aquamarine on Sept 12, 2014 2:00:29 GMT -5
I too dislike the bare, stark, sterile, soulless look of much modern decor. There is nothing wrong with living within ones financial and spatial limits though. I like to see myself as frugal, thrifty,ecologically and ethically minded; I also like everything around me to look colourful and attractive.
There is a blog by "the mean queen" that I once encountered. She is an elderly lady who lives comfortably on a low income. She wears boys' underpants because they are much more durable than flimsy ladies' briefs! Her slippers are falling apart so she patched them up with brown sticky tape. I think this may be going too far. I have some lovely knitted slipper-socks and do not wear clothes to the point of destruction.
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Post by soapyclean on Sept 13, 2014 17:44:37 GMT -5
I'm a maximalist. I love decor. I have art all over the place, lots of dishes (on display) and a collection of figurines. It works for me. The only things I have to dust are on one open set of shelves; everything else is behind glass.
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Post by lostchild on Sept 13, 2014 20:33:34 GMT -5
I am not so much a minimalist as a streamliner. I try to find the best way to do tasks I don't like quickly and efficiently so I have room to do things I want to do. I got rid of stuff I didn't want to find homes for.
I make a focused effort to buy things that make my life easier. I purchased my oven with the point of mind that all the burners worked,the broiler worked and I don't have drip pans. All of it is easy to wipe down without excess crevasses.
I buy in mind of where will I put it once I have it and what will I get rid of to equalize my home so it never has more stuff than it can hold.I don't keep things as much as I used to. I release things to have room for what's important...time with my daughter, being on time, having my son's room where he could enjoy being in there. Having my home so I can let people in. I used to stop people at the door!!! I have local interaction now. I love streamlining.
I have room for the things of importance. I have room to be a better me. I have room to love my family...my stuff isn't blocking the way.
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Post by larataylor on Sept 13, 2014 21:59:55 GMT -5
lostchild I like how you think! Streamlining. Something I heard long ago regarding work management -- put the l@ziest person on the job first, and he/she will figure out the most efficient way to do the job. Then teach that method to the most energetic person. I try to "think l@zee" and then do it fast. It seems that a clean, orderly environment is one of the baselines for my mental energy and creativity. Clutter and dirt sucks it all out of me. So it's not really minimalism … it's just wanting a home that's really fast and easy to clean so that I feel like doing things, and I have time for other things.
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Post by lostchild on Sept 13, 2014 22:08:29 GMT -5
larataylor streamlining has reduced much of my home to maintenance. If I donate,trash,reuse and refuse to let it in the house in the first place I find it keeps us lean and mean. I especially like not letting it in in the first place. If it doesn't come in you don't have to find a place for it. You would be amazed to find many of my drawers are no longer stuffed. I purged as much as possible. Some drawers have only an item or two. There is room for growth but I am not letting it grow.
I am putting my coffee table up for sale because it just collects clutter. I find I rarely use it. We don't eat in the living room anymore so we don't need a place to set plates or cups.My daughter's homework is done at the dining room table which is cleared daily. We dust it nightly. We have a kitchen table so ... Craigslist it is. Same for guitar hero drum set.
It is amazing how getting rid of stuff frees the mind!
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Post by Di on Sept 13, 2014 22:56:48 GMT -5
I am neither a minimalist nor a "collector" I like certain things. I will admit that my curio is overloaded, but it's filled with items that I love and that I occasionally use. My dresser and chest of drawers is full but I have gotten rid of all clothes that don't fit. I could probably purge a few more but the drawers close. The closet is full but mostly tidy. The only thing I really need to get under control is the tendency to stop and drop things on horizontal surfaces.
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Post by larataylor on Sept 14, 2014 0:01:09 GMT -5
I love how my cats find every horizontal surface that I clear off. They're my living decorations. And of course, they're also the main reason that I need to dust and vacuum so much to keep down the allergens in here.
Over the summer, the teens have been hanging out in the unfinished addition. But in a month or two, it will get too cold. One of my favorite boys, who is allergic to cats, came in to use the bathroom, and said the house looked nice and clean. HIs presence reminded me about the air cleaner, which wanted its filters cleaned. So I took it apart and cleaned the filters and put them back. I also noticed tons of cat hair collected in the bottom of the unit, which has narrow slits in it. The vac could not suck it out, so I used a screwdriver to reach inside and pull it out. I wish there was a super-skinny vac attachment … like, the size of a drinking straw, for jobs like this. Maybe I should make one.
It's so cool to have a dining room table. DD usually eats in her room, and DH and I eat in the living room and watch a show or a movie. But I asked DD if she would like to eat at the dining room table. She sat cross-legged on top of it. Sigh. You see what happens when you don't eat at the table for years? This 17-year-old has forgotten how to use a table!
Edit: I probably should have put this on my blog. It was meant to be a minimalist post, but it didn't turn out that way … I was thinking of my cats as a kind of minimalist decoration ...
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Post by larataylor on Sept 14, 2014 11:19:36 GMT -5
lostchild - WTG getting rid of the coffee table! We can get stuck thinking that a piece of furniture is "supposed to" be there.
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Post by Jannie on Sept 14, 2014 13:27:41 GMT -5
To me, "extras" mean you have a luxury- like a huge supply of toilet paper neatly stacked in the bathroom- you know, those packs of - what- 24? 36 rolls ? Then there's "excess"- why do I have 13 tubes of hand cream? I enjoy getting a manicure once a week and I also like to use hand cream at home to keep my hands soft (and it smells good). I'm gonna go through my bathroom make-up drawer and weed out the hand creams. I think three tubes should be enough. Just my 2 pence.
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Post by larataylor on Sept 14, 2014 13:48:17 GMT -5
I will admit to having a hoard of Arbonne hand creams. My sister used to sell Arbonne, and I LOVE those hand creams, so she gave me her leftover inventory. I can't afford to buy it, and I do use it regularly. And I know where it is. So I think that's a reasonable little hoard.
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Post by def6 on Sept 14, 2014 14:58:01 GMT -5
what Aquamarine said! Wow awesome.
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Post by larataylor on Sept 14, 2014 16:22:29 GMT -5
aquamarine - DH wears clothes to the point of destruction, which is actually quite convenient! He only has one or two pairs of shoes at a time, and wears one pair till it falls apart, and then starts on the other, or buys two more. And he pretty much destroys his jeans. A while back, I was patching everyone's jeans because we really didn't have money for new ones. But after all that work, DH lost about 20 pounds and really had to buy new ones. I've been weeding out holey T-shirts and socks lately. It's a relief to not have that angst about giving away or tossing something "nice."
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Post by Di on Sept 14, 2014 18:45:55 GMT -5
Tossing out "nice" is something I actually like to do, I take it to a thrift store that also gives out vouchers to those in need. I appreciate that they work with the local food bank to not just to fill hungry people but also to clothe them and get them needed furniture, and other household items. I take the bulk of my junk to Good Will but the nice things and the household items go to the "other" shop.
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Post by lostchild on Sept 16, 2014 17:16:22 GMT -5
I find that streamlining makes me more thoughtful of giving other people stuff. I don't want them to feel obligated to take my mess so I find I am generally trashing a lot of stuff.
I figure if it was excess to me it would be for someone else and I don't want to force people to take my stuff and create the same problem I have.
I want the best so I watch what I give.
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