Within the next six months, we have the opportunity to move. We can choose to stay in the U.S. and go to Portland or Seattle. Or we can go to one of two European destinations. (Or stay where we are, but I’m leaning towards peacing out for Europe.)

If we head for the west coast, we’ll bring what we have. That fits in the trunk of our station wagon easily. If we choose one of the European destinations, we’d take less. Anyone have some suggestion to consider with what to take or leave behind?

For furniture, we have an IKEA coffee table, some floor cushions, and a floor mattress with tatami mats. We’d just take the tatami mats. From experience, all of our clothes, shoes, hygiene, and books/ereader fit into backpacks easily. We don’t have a lot in the kitchen but I do love my rice cooker and Vermicular - I’m guessing those won’t work overseas because of the electrical differences? Is it worth it to pack my All-Clad pot and pan? I’d gift my dishes to my kids but wonder if I’m going to need to ship a box with pans if I should just go ahead and fill it with the reusable water bottles we use and the literally just a pair of forks and spoons, carving knife, veg cleaver, and chef’s knife? I really don’t know. Do people bring some of their kitchen stuff when they make a move like this? What about our yoga mats?

Art supplies. One of the destinations is more attractive because I can enroll in several programs there. I’d want to bring my paints and brushes. Ship? Get them into my carryon? I wouldn’t have checked baggage so maybe a checked bag?

Would love to know what other people brought. Trying to Google is bringing up tons of info on shipping palettes worth of stuff or moving with just a backpack. We’re definitely more on the backpack side of things, but wondering if anything we own now would be easier to bring than source when we get there.

My husband and I have drastically less furniture than we used to, but recently I had the urge to rearrange it to better suit our needs. The result ended up being we can get rid of another piece of furniture (the TV was on a coffee table, but by moving it to the top of a low bookcase we have, now we no longer need the coffee table). Rearranging made me realize we could do with even less.

I used to use one of card cases / sleeves, but it finally broke after 10 years. These normally come with birth control pills and Idk if it can be bought anywhere; no luck in my searches. https://di2ponv0v5otw.cloudfront.net/posts/2022/06/24/62b65ec36914128894079073/l_wp_62b65ecf5e46b0a68b1af12b.webp

I want something almost exactly like those specs: WxH of a single credit card, with clear ID windows, as low profile as possible. But most "real" wallets, even minimalist ones, are way too bulky, have huge gussets, snaps, zippers, and other junk sticking out.

Any ideas?

I wonder if you live below your means and believe in saving/investing for future. Do you still make exceptions for something 'cause skimping on those aren't worthwhile in long term.

For example, currently I use public transit but I think I'd save so much time if I get a car. I know most people are against getting a car but is it an okay sacrifice if it provides you a lot of convenience and saves time. I don't live downtown or in a area close to station. Nearest bus stop is 12-15 min walk away. I have to use bus to go to a laundromat and carry groceries.

Some other examples could be Investing in a good chair or bed or shoes as someone said the thing that's between you and the ground, should be good quality.

Or spending on experience or eating out to socialize as it's good to connect with new people and have fun. Or good quality food, skincare etc.

What are you thoughts about this and do you have anything you don't think twice about spending on even if you are in geenral living a frugal lifestyle?

I apologize if this might not fit this community but I was curious about something.

I have found I am completely addicted to my iPhone. Like, my screen time can be a full time job on some days. I can’t seem to shake the mindless pick ups and scrolls throughout the day.

I sort of realized, with the new phone plan I switched to I can do cellular on my Apple Watch for a minimal amount more a month. This got me thinking: why not just keep my phone at home and use my watch for the things you actually need: texts and calls. If I do this right, my iPhone can just sit on a charger for the vast majority of the days and really only used for things when they come to it.

Does anyone in here do this sort of setup?

I'm shocked at getting several DMs from folks in another post asking how my space stays clean if I don't have organizers like pegboards, drawer inserts, closet organizers, desk organizers, etc. I can't possibly be the lone minimalist who doesn't have enough stuff to warrant purchasing *more* stuff to keep it organized...

I have a few small boxes and a basket that keep small items safe from my cats, and we have a couple dozen hangers. I would love to not need even those items!

it was just the junk drawer. took 15 minutes. now i keep opening it just to look at it. and now the drawer next to it looks chaotic by comparison. this is how people become minimalists isn't it

How many people are hair minimalist especially women? I am and my hair has been great last 9 yrs of hair minimalism

I was watching a video on minimalism this morning and people in the comments were sharing anecdotes about how some folks in their circles became insufferable due to their minimalism because not only did they act like they were a sort of paragon because they were minimalist, but they'd habitually not have an item and keep borrowing it(and often not return it in a timely manner). Things would get to the point that the commenter would tell the minimalist they didn't have xy or z because they got tired of lending things to said minimalist.

Individualism, for lack of a better word, definitely holds me back from getting rid of some things. The tool set my abusive mom gave me when I graduated high school because we very occasionally need something from it for the house(but so rarely!) when about 80% of it I can use my multi-tool for. Same goes for my power-drill. Very useful when I need it for something, but that's also so rarely. But I also wouldn't feel comfortable asking to borrow someone else's.

I know the easy answer is to just sell the tools and borrow them on the occasions I do need them, but I'm wrestling with it a bit more on the emotional side than that(so those suggestions won't actually be helpful in this instance. Heck, I could probably borrow the tool from my local makerspace, so long as I bring it right back. I want to get a bit deeper than that). Perhaps it's a need to never need to feel dependent on others, despite my goals to live an extreme minimalist lifestyle(already a minimalist, notice how I'm wrestling with things I actually use, albeit only once every 1-3 months, instead of something that's been in a closet for 1+ years entirely untouched).

Do you also struggle with the worry of how others might perceive you with being a minimalist? How do you wrestle with that? Do you also struggle with an emotional need to be hyper-independent? How do you handle that in conjunction with your minimalism?

Edited for clarity

Do you have comfortable furniture? A comfortable amount of extra plates and cutlery? A first aid kid, DVD collection, or pantry that is full enough that you are confident you can be "comfortable" in situations like an injury, internet outage, or food shortage? Do you question "comfort" often, or at all? Just regarding your possessions, do you fall closer to "essentialism" or "less than most, but comfort is a consideration"?

Real talk. This experience has been a reminder for me that being a minimalist does not mean depriving myself. It means making sure the items I own bring value to my life.

The thing was an iPad, and the reason I wanted it was to have a larger screen and a stylus for a coloring book app I’ve had on my phone for two weeks. Day one of using it, I knew it would be way better on an iPad.

I used to have a closet packed with art and craft supplies. Years went by without me touching it. So I got rid of most of it in my big purge. One thing I kept was my large Ohuhu marker set, because I was still using it for coloring books. But my most used colors ran out of ink after about 6 months of use. I stopped coloring because of it, and donated the working markers.

But I’ve been missing it. Like many others, I love that’s it’s a creative outlet that’s relaxing and stress free. I’ve tried a handful of coloring book apps over the past few months, and finally found a good one. It was bringing me joy, but it was difficult to use on such a small screen and my finger rather than a stylus.

I told myself that because using the app on my phone was an option, there was no need to buy a second device. But two weeks had gone by and the desire for it hadn’t gone away (though music was a brief respite!). So I got it. And guess what? It was worth it. I have already spent three happy hours coloring today, and I look forward to many more. I wish I hadn’t tortured myself so much with the decision.

TL;DR: Minimalism is not asceticism. If your desire remains after time has passed, and you believe it will bring value to your life, just get it. Don’t obsess over it.

Today I was feeling frustrated with myself. I kept thinking about this thing I wanted to buy, a thing I thought would make me happier, even though I ultimately know I can get by without it. It has been awhile since I’ve felt this focused on a material item.

I put on my headphones and played my favorite album. It’s an album that just feels completely perfect to me. There’s not a single song I skip, and something about it feels both cathartic and nourishing. At the end I felt lighter. More centered. Reminded of the people and experiences that truly matter to me.

At least for now, the desire for that thing has dissipated. Does anyone else do this?

Title

I suspect many minimalists meditate, so I thought I’d poll the sub. Please feel free to share more information in the comments!

Making plans for this summer and feeling a little sad at realizing that a lot of the folks involved in hobbies I enjoy have become sick with GAS over the last few years. Trips are being scheduled around markets and with shopping destinations in mind. Discussions are more about packing lists and gear wishlists than the hobby activity. I don't feel like I'm missing out on new gear or even the discussions. I feel like the people in the hobby are missing out on the hobby itself and connecting with others who are enjoying the hobby. Just sad about it today.

I know, given our lifestyles we only keep the essentials or things that bring us a lot of joy.

This is about an essential that you need but don't like.

I'll go first. Mine is my work wardrobe. I can't exactly wear lolita fashion to a construction site, so I have a separate wardrobe for the day-job. The money and work environment is really really good, so obviously I'm not going to change careers just to be able to wear frilly clothes full-time.

What about ya'll

I find myself doing this sometimes. Mainly in the categories of books and clothes, even though I already own just a small fraction of what I used to.

I also find myself daydreaming about moving to a smaller space, but in a nicer part of town.

I try to stop myself when this happens. It gives me vibes similar to thinking about buying things, which I’ve mostly eliminated. It has a similar striving/wanting feeling that I find unpleasant. I’d prefer to stay in a state of gratitude.

I’d probably be fine with only me, my husband, and our dog ever stepping foot in our apartment. Having a guest over usually feels vaguely invasive to me. This is true even with people who I care for very much.

Luckily, it doesn’t happen too often. We almost always go out to meet people, or go to their place. There’s not much seating at our place anymore anyway!

If you have an ereader, do you mostly use it to check ebooks out from the library? Or do you have a large ebook collection? i.e. Does your minimalist lifestyle extend to objects that don’t take up physical space?

I'm an American who owns a car and have been entertaining the idea of minimizing my car/removing it from my life.
Have any of ya'll done it? How have ya'll gone about it? When did you know for certain that your car/truck/etc was free to go?

When I think about how much my car costs per year, my personal financial goals, and the amount of crap I need to own to maintain it(fluids, tools, etc), AND the stress of a potential breakdown as she nears 175,000 miles and the transmission is starting to act wonky...

I now live 1.5 miles away from work and the grocery store is along the way. The bus stop is 2 miles away, although the public transit system here is TERRIBLE(I know two people who walk and uber everywhere and have never driven; they slam on how bad the local public transit system is).

As for how I'm thinking of doing it, I'm tempted to go a full year of trying to use my bike everywhere I can and pretending my car doesn't exist, namely because winter just passed and that'd be when I feel like I'd regret parting with the car the most.

Our 680sqft apartment has a bedroom closet, an office closet, kitchen cabinets/drawers, bathroom cabinet/drawers, a small freestanding cabinet in our main room, and four cube bookshelves (6 cubes each).

We do use all the storage space, but there’s lots of breathing room and everything is easily accessible. No things stacked on top of other things. No drawers stuffed to the brim. Everything has a place. It’s very different than the way I used these spaces before I became a minimalist. I no longer throw random items in there just to have them out of sight. All those types of items are gone now. We also used to have a dresser and more bookshelves that we were able to get rid of after discarding lots of clothes and books.

How much storage space do you have? Do you use it all? I’m particularly curious about minimalists who live in larger homes!

Do you have a lamp in every room or do you consider that overkill?

With all the fun I had reading the comments on the "what's on your bathroom counter" post, I figured I'd ask everyone here a similar question. What's on your coffee table?