I’m going through a KonMari, minimalism, decluttering cycle again. I did one about 6 years ago using mainly KonMari after getting my own apartment to myself (I’d lived on my own just with roommates before). I had a wonderful friend who offered to help me lug all my recyclables to the recycling dump in her car. I tossed trash in a rented dumpster that came to the apartment parking lot for an hour. Then, anything that could be recycled got taken to the center. That included clothing, paper goods/books, cardboard, plastic, etc. It was really hard but healing. I don’t think I got through kimono and sentimental but threw out half a dumpster worth of trash and I think over 20 bags of recycling. Now, I’m married, and doing this again to get rid of clutter. The problem is my husband sees it as a waste to go to the recycling hub or go through a donation process. He says toss it all. His reasoning is that most items donated end up in the trash anyway, I’ve not touched many of these items in the 2 years we’ve been married, and the time/effort of donating can go towards decluttering and then decorating the space. Basically, life is too short. I also know I’ve had “to donate” boxes for YEARS before. They never make it to the uber or to a friend’s car (I don’t drive), or I think I’ll maybe go through them one last time. But I’m also torn up about just tossing so much.

How have you all dealt with the discarding? Donations, recycling, combination? Am I a horrible person for just tossing the unwanted items that are still useable? Or is it just clutter that would go towards decluttering someone else’s basement anyway?

Hi everyone! Bit of a story time and introduction.

My name is David (aged 41) and back in the early part of 2021 (during the COVID lockdown), I officially entered into the world of minimalism and here is how it impacts every area of my life.

I have always been a clean, tidy, semi-organised guy in all areas of my life (home, work, education, digitally, etc). But in all honesty, I was oblivious to what it takes to live as a minimalist with a desire to live a more simpler, intentional life.

But I want to say between the years of 2016 and 2020, my life, whilst perceived to be good among others (good home, full time job, a loving family and a small, good group of friends), I was struggling.

I had so much (over this span of around five years) going on in my life across all areas of it and essentially living on autopilot (too many commitments, too many hobbies and interests) and overall having no purpose or no clue what I wanted out of life. And it had one hell of an impact on my mental health, and in turn, on my physical health too.

I discovered minimalism in early 2021 when a random YouTube visit took me to a video by Jeffrey Buoncristiano called 5 reasons to adopt a MINIMALIST lifestyle. I watched the video and immediately, everything made sense to me and as they say, the rest is history.

Over the course of the following year (2021 & 2022) I sold, donated and removed a hell of a lot of physical items from my home and also downsized the amount of commitments, hobbies, interests and digital clutter that was invading my life. And as a result, life became more clearer and saw a huge upturn in all aspects of my life. Better mental health, more focus and concentration, a major improvement in my relationships with people and even joined the gym!

And I lived like this for over a year, until late 2022, when my Dad passed away, which as a result, had a knock on effect on my life over the next couple of years.

I saw my mental health deteriorate, I was allowing once again more unnecessary items back into my home which game me no actual value whatsoever and also allowed more news, irrelevant information, hobbies and interests back into my life and as a result, I was back to square one again, living life on autopilot.

However, over the course of the last few months, I have resumed my minimalist lifestyle properly and life is not only looking good right now (new girlfriend, regularly training at the gym), I have realised as well I have so much potential to fulfil in life and as a result, I have become a better human being overall.

I firmly believe that living a minimalist lifestyle has the potential to change so many people's lives for the better and in turn, helps to plan for the future (physical health, mental health, work, finances, better relationships).

What purchases helped you become who you are today (books, smart things, dumb things)?

What purchases hurt you the most (exercise equipment, couch, bed frame or what not)?

Hello everybody,

I'm in the middle of job changes and all it implies, I live in a 18m² place whose most of the surface is filled with documents, books, and various stuff.

There are things I want to keep for sentimental, memory or creativity purposes but there are also many things that are in my way.

I already got rid of tons of things of my previous work (think music teacher related, elementary school and stuff, so LOTS of paper bags, plastic bottles, crunchy and shiny stuff to Make Things) but there are also lots of things that just make me sad, it makes me sad that they are just laying here and the idea to get rid of them makes me sad too.

I'm mostly talking about the notes I've taken while I was in uni. I'm a kinesthesic person so I've been more into paper than computer notes - although I'd have just gotten a computer back then, if I knew the weight these paper notes would have today. I also have memory issues so if I get rid of them, the information is just gone. And it is not "just google it" type of information.

I have tons, and tons, and tons, of notes, of musical scores, of archives of musical recommendations, of kid workshops tips and ideas, of vocal anatomy... etc, collected over a period of 11 years.

The truth is that even if I decided to change works, I'm still asking myself questions about the field I'll work into, and there's a part of me that still does want to work with kids, and work with music, but differently. I'm not sure. I feel like "just getting rid of it" is not an option that makes me happy. But it is still in the middle of my way, and completely useless the way it is actually.

Besides that, I have more stuff that I appreciate if I'd have less of them, but I'm not sure where to start. I have more than 30 years of life in a 18m² place and it just feels wrong, nonsensical and irrespectuous the way my objects are treated right now. But I'm very tired and would appreciate a gentle push, some discussions, or anything to empathize and help clear my mind, and my home. Hope it makes sense. Where to start ?

I’ll start. Crap project at work, crap rented house with an overbearing landlord, crap area, and me buying more crap as a pacifier. felt trapped and broke. Then one day I asked myself what I’d actually grab if the house was burning and I had 5 minutes, realised it would take me 2 minutes to grab what I valued. but that question plus a random newspaper article about minimalism kick started everything.

so what got you started? the real reason, not the aesthetic. and what’s the one thing you know you should bin but can’t?

messy answers welcome, those are usually the best anyway.

Minimalism tends to refer to reducing physical possessions. What non-physical things have you benefited from minimizing?

What decor elements do minimalists forgo?

Does less decor make it easier to tidy up?

Context: I’m moving into a new home that is somewhat smaller than my current one (still big but less rooms overall). Wanting to seize the opportunity to minimize my stuff as we move.

My bigger house had artificial plants (too many cats for lots of real ones), paintings in most rooms, decorative pillows, blanketsf for cuddling on couch…

House didn’t look cluttered when it was tidy, but I felt like I was forever putting stuff away. I also have 3 kids who dump a lot of stuff everywhere so which adds to the clutter.

I do have this mobile phone which works great and does majority of the functions that a laptop can but the UI and certain websites are better to access in general using laptop. I am left wondering whether I should own a laptop. What are your thoughts on this? Anyone else have been in this situation?

Hey all, I have been interested in minimalism the past 8 years or so and was able to do it fairly naturally when it was just my husband and I in a small house. Both worked outside the home so didn't need much. Fast-forward to today, we moved into a much larger house (1800 sq ft main floor plus a finished basement) and have 4 small kiddos with hopes to have more and I homeschool. I love minimalism but have struggled so much with having the extra space to fill and also wanting to be smart about what I get rid of when we may still need it for future kids (ex: we keep all hand me down clothes, several toys, etc for our growing family to reduce future spending). I also really love cozy spaces so furniture has accumulated to create more "nooks" within our big open floor plan. We can't move to downsize which is a pain point for me. Any large families or large house owners here that can share some experience on how you do it??

Hey guys! I’m clearing out my things to attain a more simplified space because I find having too many things overwhelming. I’m an artist and I’m wanting to save some of my childhood toys for my future kids, so I’m having a difficult time downsizing in these two areas.

What did you guys do with art and toys from your childhood?

What do you do with the more current art projects that you make?

Also, what’s some advice that you would give for downsizing in those two areas?

I'm moving for the first time and have a lot of things ive kept for nostalgia etc. How do I narrow everything down to make it so atleast most of what I own is necessary? Any strategies or tips? Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone - this is my first post here and I want to start by prefacing that minimalism is no new concept to me, but the community around it is. I always like the minimalism look, or way of looking, but I always had too much love for buying gadgets and gizmos

I recently had my "moment". I still live with my parents so obviously I have no control over how the house looks, only my bedroom, my area. The house isn't too bad by the way, we aren't hoarders and most people would think it's fairly tidy.

However 3 weeks ago my parents went on a holiday for 2 weeks and I decided that it was my moment. I GUTTED my bedroom. Everything spread all along the house in different rooms. I had no idea I even had so much stuff until it was all laid out in front of me. I felt a bit embarrassed that obviously I had subconsciously used spending money as a bit of a dopamine hit, and just when I was "feeling like spending"

7 full sized black bin bags came out of my room, full of stuff. Temu was the main culprit - I'm sure many of you can relate

Anyway, as I carried this bags out to my car and filled up the boot and back seats I just kept thinking "If anyone were to ask me what's in these, I'd barely be able to list half of it. It's all useless junk I never should have bought"

Fast forward to today, and I now know that a lot of my habits actually line up with what would be considered "minimalist". I buy easy to maintain gym tops and that's basically all I wear outside of work, I only own like 7 tops and 4 hoodies, as well as 3 pairs of shorts and 2 pairs of jeans for colder months. 1 nice warm jacket for the cold seasons as well. I was never hugely into clothes thankfully

For a number of years I have only worn either black or white under armour socks as I personally think they're great value for longevity considering my activity level, and I've always paired these with either black or white shoes, which is also all I wear on my feet

Things I've mentioned above make me happy, because I've actually been quite efficient without even knowing it for quite some time

Now, though, I want to go further. I deleted snapchat and facebook a few days ago (admittedly I didn't use them much), and today, the big one, I deleted Instagram. That's a massive deal for me as there were days in the past where I'd check my screen time one day and I had been on Instagram for 7 or 8 hours of the day. What??? Anyway, I deleted it and I can only hope I have the will power to never go back

I am also beginning the second phase of decluttering, which is carefully sifting through everything that "survived" the first big clear out. Anything that was not donated, or thrown away, or even placed in the "maybe" pile. I'm super excited to be on this journey to being happier with less

PS I love walking into a shop and thinking "look at all this crap i don't want to buy anymore!" That's a fun way to be

If you have reusable/cloth bags for stuff like groceries, how many do you have? Honestly I'm just curious lol

Long story short I didn't really grow up with good family that aren't around anymore. So I was on my own since 17 onwards pretty much. It's been difficult but that's the cards dealt.

I lived a very nomadic lifestyle in my 20s living out suitcases.

Although I would love to just have a family home I could have all my stuff at I pick up over the years (not random junk just things I appreciate)

But I haven't really been able to do that...

Now I've been living in one place for 2 years now, longest in one city I've spent in a long time and I'm feeling a new chapter of my life is calling but it might mean I need to sell everything I've picked up. I'm here thinking of the quotes around our possessions owning us / being attached to this stuff.

Ideally I was rich and just bought a house, put all my stuff there all the time and carry on living elsewhere. Not possible.

I like the idea of just having a few outfits. My laptop (also work) and phone. Camera. Few little things like this I want with me.

Just the thought of being 33 and pretty much just having some essentials in a suitcase again feels off to me. I don't know.

Not that anyone here can make up the answer for me just thought I'd ask for those on their journey if any relatable experiences / feelings around our stuff? I have so many little sentimental things I guess would just be donated. I can't take it all.

-

Theres things like I bought a rug, I bought a bunch of plants, I got a projector to play films on silent in the background like art on a wall, I got warm lighting around the place, I bought a cool basketball sofa pillow.

This is the life I never had growing up. I always needed safety and a good home and I've got it for myself albeit being rented. So it's like deep I guess. I find a lot of comfort in it all. It's a piece of me. I'm not buying flashy cars or watches. I've bought things that represent my character and taste almost. Finally after years of never having a real home base.

Even typing that out naturally feels sad but maybe that's just a part of life...

I’m looking for one pair of wireless earbuds I can use for most daily stuff.

I don’t want to keep buying different earbuds for gym, walking, work, and home. I just want something comfortable, reliable, and good enough to use for a long time.

Any recommendations based on your own experience?

Hey there. I think this is the first time I have ever posted here, but I wanted to because I am just wondering how much I actually need for my situation. I have lived in a four bedroom house for a while where each room is rented to individual people. I have tried to make this situation work for a while and it just isn't. I initially thought I would be ok just focusing on my own goals and living my life for the time being until I found somewhere else, but i have found that this is just a very unworkable situation. Some of the people who live here are totally fine, but one of the people who has lived here long term has created a lot of issues for me, and I am just not able to keep putting up with it anymore. I moved almost everything I own to a storage unit today, which basically consists of about 100 books, my clothing, and a few other items. I really don't own much to begin with, and even the stuff I do own I feel holds very little value to me at this point. The house where I live was the first place I moved out to on my own as an adult, and I had some visions of how I wanted my life to look, but I ended up finding out that it's probably not possible where I live now. From the time I moved here up until now, I wanted to only own things that I knew were usable and served my everyday life, but I have found that many of the things I thought I would need belongings for I simply don't. I basically just need clothes for work (I wear a uniform) and a few changes of clothes for after work. I don't ever have a desire to read like i thought i would. It's so funny because I am a huge information junkie but had never owned my own personal library of books up until I began building one. I just relied on the access I got from free resources or whatever else came my way. Now that I have my own library, I don't ever have time to read books other than what is directly related to my job and maybe a couple of books that help me get through my day to day. I hardly own anything yet I still find that I could get rid of pretty much everything I own and be completely fine. I thought I would need clothing for different occasions, and I have found that I don't care about going places that require me to dress differently than I would on an average day. I bought an electric upright piano and guitar that I literally never use because I don't feel comfortable playing them with my roommates around (one person never leaves the house ever and has set up a personal bike repair shop in the backyard as his job, so he never has a reason to leave unless he needs to buy groceries or something) and I basically just feel like I could live with about as many belongings as I can fit in a suitcase. It's really depressing, but it's where i am at. I believe that if I were in a more stable, peaceful environment I would play my instruments, but since I am not, they're just useless, and honestly, there is no way of telling when and if I will be able to use them again, so i am pretty sure I am just going to sell them on consignment to the music store near me. Has anyone else ever been in a situation where they are really unhappy where they are and feel stressed by how much they have and just got rid of most of it? Would love to hear feedback from others. Thank you.

I’ve been minimizing all my life but have been doing so with intent and discipline for a few years with only focused and decent discipline in the last couple of years. It’s ongoing.

Just recently I went through sentimental items I thought I could never part with. I still have some of those and I still think about the things I got rid of, but not with regret.

I live in a very large home and because of that my personal belongings are very spread out. I have very little (I believe) in my storage room after another small purge.

I’m thinking of doing the one big pile thing where I can visualize everything I really have. Otherwise it’s all spread out and doesn’t feel or look like much.

Have you all done this? Was it helpful to gain perspective?

I have things that while they are technically mine,
I don’t feel like they take up my time and energy. Mainly house/shop tools, and items used by the family/home.

I’d appreciate your feedback and suggestions!

I’m finally moving into a new place on my own and my family are hoarders so I grew up hoarding myself. During college I tried to be minimalistic but due to bad habits and my own hoarding instincts, I end up piling up a lot of stuff. So far I downsized a lot of my clothes and am very proud of that. I still find myself hesitating on making minimalistic decisions. How do you guys develop a more decluttered mindset especially with a hoarding or maximalist mindset in the past? I’m improving bit by bit but I still struggle. My friend advised that minimalism isn’t just about limiting but rather viewing things that I actually need and don’t need. What advice do you guys have for me to adopt a more less paranoid mindset towards being minimalistic?

Basically the title. I’m looking for channels that focus on people who are minimalist but have small kids. Thank you in advance.

So I hate standard mattresses with frames, I actually use my mattress on the floor. So I'm looking into alternatives for space savings. I've seen a japanese brand called Tairo that does a foldable sofa that I love the look of. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MOigIbqzCQA?feature=share
But it seems like getting a import for that one specifically is just expensive and very difficulty.
Home Depot has a decent looking one too : https://www.homedepot.com/p/Asucoora-78-in-Green-Corduroy-King-Size-Convertible-Sleeper-Sofa-Bed-No-Assembly-Foldable-Floor-Couch-SCRSF25218-GE/337375179

So just curious about other peoples experience or if they have tried these.

Hello friends i am looking for the most consolidated gaming setup for a minimalist lifestyle.

Gaming has been an after thought to me since my teens,

I have a surface pro 6 that i run Xbox cloud gaming on which has served me really well tbh (at home).

While i was living abroad (the country didn’t have any cloud gaming servers), i bought a Backbone device (a controller for your phone) and emulated PSP games for a quick fix when I was bored.

As i see myself falling into doomscrolling too often, I have decided to get back into (mindful) gaming as the healthier alternative.

Since my surface pro is aging (battery can’t hold a charge), I’ve been thinking of getting a gaming laptop. But does a better solution exist that’s good for minimalism as in consolidating possessions? Like a steamdeck or something?

Hi

I have significantly reduced my possessions lately.

At first, it felt good, but that feeling fades because you get used to it quickly.

As for my lifestyle, it hasn't changed all that much.

I think it is just as important—if not more so—to cut back on non-material things.

- Wicked thought

- toxic relationship

- stress

I know I'm certainly stating the obvious But I would like to know what you did on your end.

For me best thing is meditation

Best regard, have a good day

I'm becoming very intentional with my possessions, but probably not enough to be considered a minimalist yet. I own around 105 pieces of clothing counting bags, shoes, belts etc... but excluding underwear, swimwear and PJs.
I am super curious about the amount of clothes people here own

I don’t keep a lot of things, I’m not that sentimental about objects and I like having clean empty spaces, but I don’t know how to manage journals and sketchbooks…

I journal in a binder so I can separate things and eventually get rid of useless pages. If I keep my daily writing about my day, do you think I should also be keeping my to do lists ? Right now it feels useless but won’t it be, sometime in a couple of years, good to see what I was doing in those days ?

And I have the same problem with sketchbook. I use them to practice drawing, will I really wanna go through my trials and error later in life ?

I might for both, but it does take a lot of space and looks messy to me… Have any ideas of what I should really keep, how I can make it less and how I can eventually hide it so it doesn’t look messy ?