Do you ever feel like becoming a minimalist? Ready to chuck it all.

#31
I don't so much have a problem with getting rid of stuff (in fact, I love to get rid of clothes I never wear anymore, and I especially love shredding old bills), but it is my overwhelming desire to CONSUME that really gets me sometimes. Last summer me and my husband went to Montana, which was fantastic, and I was really struck that at the nicest steakhouse we could find (which was very good), you could get a steak and salmon dinner with potato and some other kind of side for like $15. It was the most expensive thing on the menu! And the fancy dress for this place was like nice khaki shorts and clean tennis shoes. I felt really out of place, even though I was "dressed down." I felt really inspired to be less concerned with material possessions, which lasted for like 2 weeks once I got home. I have no self control.
 
#32
twinkle.tink said:
Well, I am going to continue to work on it. Trying to chip away and not let myself get overwhelmed, kwim?

I seriously need to go on a shopping ban. There's absolutly nothing I need. But just typing the words :sweatdrop: . I think I like to shop, more than I like the 'stuff', I am always happiest shopping for gifts. The rush of the shopping, the challenge of finding the right gift, creatively wrapping it......then it leaves the house!
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Oh, I love to buy gifts, too. It makes me really happy to get something for someone if I think they will be surprised and really love it!
 
#33
Litigatrix said:
I don't so much have a problem with getting rid of stuff (in fact, I love to get rid of clothes I never wear anymore, and I especially love shredding old bills), but it is my overwhelming desire to CONSUME that really gets me sometimes. Last summer me and my husband went to Montana, which was fantastic, and I was really struck that at the nicest steakhouse we could find (which was very good), you could get a steak and salmon dinner with potato and some other kind of side for like $15. It was the most expensive thing on the menu! And the fancy dress for this place was like nice khaki shorts and clean tennis shoes. I felt really out of place, even though I was "dressed down." I felt really inspired to be less concerned with material possessions, which lasted for like 2 weeks once I got home. I have no self control.
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That happens to me whenever we travel, especially out of the country. Doesn't last :sad: Maybe I need to travel more....lol
 
#35
I go through that cycle ALOT. My house doesnt have much junk in since I try to be an anti-hoarder. But just having nice things in general sometimes freaks me out and I want to downgrade. But, then I figure that I have the money for it and I deserve it. So I try to find a healthy balance of crazy slurging and restraint.
 
#36
Yeah, I definitely know how you feel. I'm a bit hypersensitive to it b/c my dad is one of those compulsive shoppers - he's filled a 3 car garage, attic, and most of the upstairs of our house floor to ceiling with stuff. He rationalizes it by saying that it's for "the business" - he runs a small antique booth at an antique mall that processes about 1/50th of the stuff he buys. It hasn't put him in any financial distress, he has a good full-time job, it's just senseless. And I see how much it bogs him down to have that much stuff, he's so attached to it. He always says that it's our (his kids) inheritance, but I don't think any of us are relishing the thought of having to sort and dispose of it all if that's really the case.

You're certainly not in that position - you realize that you can pare down your lifestyle! And taking small steps is the answer - just be conscious of what you're bringing in your home and what's leaving. I try only to purchase quality items because that way I'll purchase less! And maybe if you feel the need to spend cash, think of fun activities or vacations you and the kids can take - memorable experiences and a lot less clutter to boot.
 
#37
vanojr9 said:
Yeah, I definitely know how you feel. I'm a bit hypersensitive to it b/c my dad is one of those compulsive shoppers - he's filled a 3 car garage, attic, and most of the upstairs of our house floor to ceiling with stuff. He rationalizes it by saying that it's for "the business" - he runs a small antique booth at an antique mall that processes about 1/50th of the stuff he buys. It hasn't put him in any financial distress, he has a good full-time job, it's just senseless. And I see how much it bogs him down to have that much stuff, he's so attached to it. He always says that it's our (his kids) inheritance, but I don't think any of us are relishing the thought of having to sort and dispose of it all if that's really the case.

You're certainly not in that position - you realize that you can pare down your lifestyle! And taking small steps is the answer - just be conscious of what you're bringing in your home and what's leaving. I try only to purchase quality items because that way I'll purchase less! And maybe if you feel the need to spend cash, think of fun activities or vacations you and the kids can take - memorable experiences and a lot less clutter to boot.
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Sounds kinda like my dad's family. They save every piece of crap as if someone someday is going to want to make a museum to them and will need it as historical artifacts. This is part of the reason I am so into clearing crap out of my house.
 
#38
:yes: sometimes I get the feeling that I have TOO MUCH STUFF!!! However, I'm usually good at selling things that I don't use, and donating most of my clothes. I love to make room for more stuff :graucho: and the viscious cycle starts again...........:girlsigh:
 
#39
me & my bf moved into a house approx 1 & half years ago I have a bed room that cannot be used it is stuffed with "crap" so I totally knwo how you feel. Everyone once in a while I'm like right I am taking care of that room but it never happens
 
#40
I am not a pack rat at all. I love throwing things out...but I also love to shop! I tend to upgrade things I already have rather than buying new items all together. I've never kept a sofa longer than three years!
 
#41
whistlerchic said:
I purge every 6 months or so. I end up taking it to the Salvation Army. It feels soooo good.

I was at my MIL's yest for lunch, this woman keeps everything - it's disgusting. I was setting the table for lunch, and pulled out the top 6 plates from the pantry - NONE MATCHED. Appalling. Then I went to her china cabinet, and my eyes were accosted by about 200 stem glasses - there weren't more than 4 of ANY STYLE. It's sick. I told her - you gotta deal with this!! She's the WORST pack-rat I know. And she knows it - she just can't be bothered to do anything about it. I think it's a sickness, being unable to part with crap. Just dump it!! I looked through the drawers in her cabinet - there were bonboneire's from weddings she went to 6 years ago! One of them is from a wedding where the couple has divorced already! I told her "They're not hanging on to this junk - WHY ARE YOU???"



OMG That sounds sooooo much like my fiancee's mom!!!

I am such a clean freak...I can't stand clutter...going into her house makes me nuts!!!!
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#42
THis happened to me about a year and a half ago..I literally went through every room in the house, every drawer, every closet...every towel..every sock..you name it..And the sh*t I threw out and donated!! In the process I painted and recarpeted the whole house...and redecorated so I didn't have as much to dust...It took a while but now it's done...and it's amazing...I have always been good about not being a pack rat..but during this period I just got rid of everything that wasn't a necessity..sometimes I brought stuff to work to throw out b/c DH would freak...It took time and money but oh so worth it...now wehn you go to find something it's wher it should be, in clearview, w/o having to dig through ancillary crap...Our house has more of a 'Speigel' look to it..It's decorated nicely yes-but not a ton of it...Definitely easier to clean!!! I highly recommend doing this..you will feel so much better..you feel like you've totally 'cleansed' after you get rid of it..and you won't miss it either...
 
#43
I am going thru the same thing. I posted about this a few weeks ago and got great advice from PF'ers

This book is really interesting:
Amazon.com: Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui: Books: Karen Kingston

So I am going thru my extra bedroom which is filled with crap. I have big lawn & leaf bags and I wrote on them with white nail polish:

*old stuff to keep
*old clothes (that dont fit right now)
*goodwill
*trash
*sell on ebay

EVERYTHING in that room is being examined and put in one of those bags!
I have 2 storage sheds outside which will hold some extra furniture and the FEW old stuff/clothes bags (I'm sure it will be a while till I get into those clothes) and the good will/ebay bags I throw down the stairs until I can get to them and will put in the back of the dining room for now.
 
#44
I had that epiphany, too. It's on my list of the tolerations that I feel I have in my life and am working to reduce. While I still love my bags, etc. I don't feel that they're necessarily part of the problem- it's all the little unplanned stuff that I buy that adds up much faster. I've learned how to throw stuff out b/c I live in such a small space, but I know I can make do with even less.
 
#45
dlg said:
..a co-worker was trying to save $400-500 for a clothes dryer so he and his wife wouldn't have to take their clothes to his mom's to dry. My wallet cost more than $500. For some reason, that hit me hard and has stayed with me...
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:heart: :flowers: :heart: May it always stay with you. Neither your head nor your heart can hope for a nobler resident, nor would it have stayed with you for more than a minute if you did not have some mighty fine and noble accomodations to offer. I could not find a hug icon, but if this place had one, I would fill up half a page with them!

dlg said:
...I don't even look in the purse forums anymore...
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Please make an exception for this one. tPF is about so much more than purses, and I am posting proof that you don't have to buy, be able to afford, or even like, expensive purses to enjoy being here.

You are a needed voice, a needed spirit here, whether the discussion is about purses, boyfriends, or home remedies for hiccups.

I can certainly understand that the zeitgeist of some fashion forums would not be attractive to you, they are not to me, either, and I suspect for some of the same reasons. And here, as anywhere, you will see from time to time, messages that you find distasteful, even offensive.

But what amazes as it delights me about tPF is that I see so many messages from people who are intelligent, thoughtful, not shallow at all, and most of all, and what makes all those things possible, is the spirit of inclusion and sincere embrace of diversity. So much so that this Poor Person is proud to call it my Internet Home, and I hope that you will consider doing the same!

:back2topic: No. I am such an unrepentant, incorrigible, and very likely congenital packrat that even when I see pictures in magazines of big, beautiful practically empty living spaces, only for a nano-second do I wonder what it would be like, and then I immediately begin to imagine how quickly and with what I would fill it! :P
 
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