The art of simplifying your life (by getting rid of stuff)

[SecularMotion]

As a telecom executive, Joshua Fields Millburn would wake up at 4.44 every morning and immediately check his phone for emails.

It was also the last thing he did at night. Staying constantly connected to work had landed him a six-figure salary, a big house and everything else he’d ever wanted. But in 2009, at the age of 27, Joshua lost his mother and his marriage within a month, forcing him to question everything.

Joshua realised that his life had been focused on accumulation: of possessions, of status, of debt.

The average American has 300,000 items in their home and $16,000 in credit card debt, Joshua says, so the idea of pursuing a more deliberate, meaningful existence with less stuff seemed attractive.

http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/the-minimalists-how-to-simplify-your-life/

[dhol82]

1. Just looked around my house this morning and said I needed to order a dumpster

Will try to schedule a week and fill it up with stuff I don't need or want anymore.

Of course I will look to see what I can donate or sell first.
But, there is a crap load of stuff here to just dump.
Sad.

[Laffy Kat]

2. It feels so good.

I started doing it when I separated from my husband after 21 years together. I moved into an new place and started getting rid of everything I didn't need. And I didn't need most of it. Why did I have a 12-piece china set when I'd only used it maybe half a dozen times? My mother's silver set allowed me to start over with a new bank account, and I know she would have approved. The other stuff: baskets, fabric, bric-a-brac, etc. got donated. The hardest, though, are the books. I'm still working on the books but making progress.

[dhol82]

6. The books are the real problem

I LOVE books! I have finally started slapping my hand when I think about buying another one so it has slowed down. But, I have room with shelves on all four walls that filled with books. Have to try the local library to see if they would like some.
I am planning on moving to an apartment in the fairly near future. I need to get rid of stuff that won't fit.
Already gave the family silver (plate) to my granddaughter. Now need to figure out how to ship her my mother's really lovely china service. She actually wants it - awesome!
Sadly, I am a pack rat and it's hard to part with anything.

[Laffy Kat]

10. It will get easier.

Seriously, it will. The lighter I get the happier I feel. I've noticed this about a lot of people when they get older--they don't want more stuff. Period. I tell my kids that I don't want presents just presence.

[forgotmylogin]

11. Best way to deal with books.

Weed out the ones you don't want and know you won't read again. It doesn't have to be a lot.

Put them in a box with a sign "Free Books to Good Home", place in a public place, and they will hopefully be adopted and loved.

[dhol82]

12. Think I am better off with the library

Not too many places around here where I could just stick a box of books.

[pipi_k]

22. Books in random places

I've left a book or two in random places before.

Restaurant. Public restroom. etc.

Some other places to leave a book...waiting rooms (doctor, hospital, service station), in a laundromat. I've left them in shopping carts too. Not a whole pile...just one or two at a time.

I love books and just can't bear to throw them out.

Once I cleared out most of my book collection, keeping the ones I have read over and over again, I switched to a Kindle. I still have a smaller real book collection, mainly the ones I couldn't buy for my Kindle, but little by little even those books are becoming available for download on the Kindle.

[politicat]

29. Try a Little Free Library if there's one in your area.

https://littlefreelibrary.org

[hamsterjill]

19. Nursing home patients enjoy books.

Just a suggestion.

👍

[dhol82]

23. That's one I can do!

Thanks for the suggestion.

[OldHippieChick]

26. I have donated many to the library and to used book stores, but found

the greatest need to be the prison system. Both men's and women's prisons need books. If there is no one in your area that organizes a shipment, start one yourself.

[dhol82]

28. That's a great idea too!

Thanks.

[MissB]

3. My mom is a hoarder.

My older brother set her up a few years ago with a house - he bought it, gutted it and made sure everything was in fine working order. Moved her in, but he owns it.

She has pathways through the house. One seat in the kitchen, one in the living room, bedrooms crammed so full you can't even enter.

She sleeps in the backyard in a trailer.

I'm pretty much allergic to stuff. Minimal and organized. Can't stand clutter. Having kids was pretty tough- I had to tamp down the need for organization a lot.

And as I get older I find I need less. Looking forward to my kids getting their own places eventually so they can take some things that they may want.

[Ilsa]

9. Wouldn't it be something if every time she went to the store,

Something she wouldn't miss got taken away?

I wonder what would happen to a hoarder if they came home from a vacation and everything other than family photos, etc was gone? Would they have a huge panic attack? Would they feel relief? I keep wondering if there is a reset for this without taking meds.

Good luck with your mom. I'm looking to reduce ownership of stuff to make life easier on my husband kids someday, or iff something suddenly happened to me.

[Raine]

14. I've watched those hoarder shows where they try to help people, most all of them

start filling up the empty spots all over again often ending up with even more. I know I have way too much.

[Ilsa]

17. I have a family member who doesn't hoard, but

Her decorating style is to fill up every space. She usually does it quickly, without planning for what she really needs in furniture, vs some kitschy "antique" junk she's likely to trip over. Last year she bought some antique chairs that are a little bigger than child size, but very uncomfortable to sit on and not big enough to sit at her dining room table.she crowds out a room, making it look smalker.

[susanna]

21. One of my late in-laws was a hoarder.

Things I have learned:

- They will re-fill the space if you clean it. Always.
- These objects brings some sort of deep psychological comfort to them (see above).
- There is an order to their chaos; often they are visual people with sharp memories, and can spot it if you removed a pizza joint flyer from halfway down a stack (nope, not kidding).
- They often have patterns on the types of things they hoard (or the number). In my in-law's case, dominoes, ukeleles and clocks/watches. I kid you not. We also found things in multiples of four (one for the in-law, one each for their three kids - who never actually received them).
- When they pass, your job will be overwhelming. There is no time to process grief when you are cleaning out the accumulation of a hoarder's lifetime.
- When you are clearing things out, some things will make you terribly sad. We found a graduation photo of my husband's mother that he had never, ever seen before - and he's 55. It was just packed away in a box and never saw the light of day. We display it happily now, in our own home.
- My house is going to be essentially empty within the next few years if I have anything to say about it. I would never put anyone through what my husband and I went through trying to respectfully take care of all of the 'things.'

My truthful admission of my own "hard to get rid of it" items: books and cookbooks (I make that distinction as I am both a avid "regular" reader and a chef), pretty soaps (I have no idea where this comes from), bed linens (I love them), movie posters and music.

I've made strides on fiction books by getting more for my e-reader, as well as on the soaps. Still working on the others. On the bright side - it does get easier, as someone else said in the thread.

[CrispyQ]

4. I de-cluttered my entire house 2003-2004.

It was wonderful! The local thrift shops looked forward to me driving up with a truckload of boxes. It's easy to slip back into accumulating stuff, though. I need to do it again.

[dhol82]

7. I feel your pain

[Warpy]

5. Ah, another upper class twit writing a book to tell the peasants they don't need all that stuff

cluttering up their lives, when if they'd had his advantages, they would have been a lot more selective instead of settling for cheap crap that doesn't work have the time and has to be dusted whether it works or not.

At the ripe old age of 27, he's been there and done it all and has written what will likely be a best seller on how to fix our shitty little lives, not realizing Thoreau did that over 100 years ago.

I predict that by the age of 37, he's going to realize there's a line between streamlining and privation and he's crossed it, so it's time to go shopping all over again. That cabin in the woods becomes a lot more bearable when you realize you can get comfortable digs with all the latest amenities when the book has paid you enough royalties to afford it all.

(Sorry to all the DU minimalists who have actually made a choice rather than having economics make it for them, a sprained back has made me deeply cynical about all things)

[HockeyMom]

8. Downsizing in your retirement

doesn't mean just moving to a smaller house. Constant fights with my husband over this with him saving reel to reel devices and boxes and boxes of films, tapes, 45 and LP records from the 50's and 60's. We need a basement just to store all this, which personally, I do not want to listen to any of this music again. If I did, I would go on YouTube.

My old stuff includes family photo albums, my wedding dress, Mom's 1930's oak kitchen table and chairs, dry sink, china and crystal from our family's 19th century. No comparison in my book to his old stuff. My things I want to pass down to my children. which they DO want and are already fighting over who will get what. Old records? Not even close.

[dhol82]

13. Check out ebay

I was able to sell a bunch of my husband's old ham equipment that I never thought would get me some money.

[Ligyron]

15. Ligyron's Law says one will acquire stuff to fill whatever space one occupies.

and then some.

[IrishEyes]

16. I started the new year by cleaning.

I have gotten rid of a bunch of stuff. I had so many books that I couldn't fit them on the three large bookshelves that I have. I had to stack some books on the floor. I took every book off of all my shelves and went through them one by one to decide to keep them or not. I made a pile to go to the charity thrift shop near my job. I can take a small bag of books there on my lunch hour each day until they are gone. I put all of my books back up on the shelves and now there is an entire empty shelf. I also sorted them so there is another shelf just for books that I have meaning to read. That way when I finish a book, I can donate it and then pick up another book on my shelf to read.

[FailureToCommunicate]

18. Most of the smartest, most interesting people I've ever known...had messy houses, full of

books,magazines, all kinds of art, musical instruments and plenty plenty enough time...to visit and share some beers.

OTOH, I DID know a few who had a real issue with actual hoarding. Maybe not Collyer Brothers level, but bad.

[Tikki]

20. I read the article and watched their movie on Netflix and the one thing that.....

hit me is when one of the Minimalist said....when you tell people you are not going to be doing much consuming
anymore, people feel like you are taking something away from them.


Tikki

[Vinca]

24. I sell antiques and collectibles so I end up with serious piles of stuff.

I'm on a mission to get rid of everything that hasn't sold in the past few years. Most will go to the charity thrift shop and some will go to the local recycling shed. A few pieces will remain in my own collection, but not many. Every time I drop off a bag of stuff I feel a sense of relief.

[Orrex]

25. We hear these stories every so often

A wealthy executive sees the light and starts preaching the Good News about "simplifying" one's existence.

I'm sure that Ol' Josh had a tough life with that six-figure salary, and I promise that I'll lie awake at night worrying about his well-being. Perhaps he could "simplify" by moving to the inner city to some rural shack and work for $8.00 and hour with no benefits. That way, he wouldn't run the risk of accumulating too many possessions, and how happy he'll be as a result! He can enjoy the simplicity of not knowing if he'll be able to afford food or rent or utilities or gas or a car or medicine. He could be as simple as the rest of us. Simple!


I have no stomach for this brand of wealthy, enlightened hipster "simplicity." I'm glad that Ol' Josh feels like he's gotten his shit together. I'm sure that there are millions in this country alone who'd have been more than willing to trade their problems for his.

[FBaggins]

27. There's no question that I have to much "stuff"

But 300,000 is a ridiculously high figure unless you count grains of rice (etc).