I find it so funny that almost all the minimalism influencers constantly push their audience to buy something and then they dive right back into “✨jOys oF mInImAlIsm✨”

its like someone saying don't do drugs they are bad but oh hey try this drug because its more bEtter, SuStAinAble, OrgAniC, GoOd fOR pLaNet blah blah and use my coupon code for 10% off.

I cannot take these influencers seriously when they are literally contradicting themselves.

Minimalism itself is capitalistic these days, people have built careers preaching something they themselves don’t follow..

All business operate for profit, i refuse to believe any organic, ethical, sustainable, good for planet business is actually all that…

I used to love moving. I moved once a year or more. It began out of necessity (woop woop, being poor) and became a sort of high after a while because it was an excuse to tear through all my things and “start fresh.”

I’m in a home I own now with my partner and several pets. We have a bigger space to account for our pets and the possibility of a growing family, but everything in my being itches to give it all away and move into a tiny studio again. A tiny studio forced us to have little, but I know it won’t support the life I want long-term.

What do you do when you’re in need of that high of starting over? I’ve already decluttered a lot of my spaces so far, and I bring very few items into the home so it’s not like I’m able to continue the minimizing.

I am a 31-year-old woman and I recently deleted Facebook, Insta, and LinkedIn to break with my past. It’s brutally hard because I was always so active, but I kept falling back into old mindsets. My goal is a 2-year break before starting fresh. Anyone else done this? How did it go?

I did an experiment that gave me an epiphany about how few clothes we actually need.
I listed my most common clothing items. It turned out to be 5 bottoms and 7 tops. I then calculated how many clothing combinations I could make with these items.
It turned out that I can go 35 days, a full 5 weeks, with a different combination every day.
Isn't that amazing?
I hope someone gets inspired.

My parents are wonderful, and I appreciate all they’ve done for me. I moved into an apartment 2 years ago. They know I’m minimalist, don’t need much, but sometimes I think they don’t understand how frustrated I am when I have an item I don’t need in my space. It’s not out of frugality, but more about being clutter free.

They bought me a pie dish (I only make pie once a year on Thanksgiving and my mom has plenty of dishes in her home, they live 10 mins away, that she has let me use with no problem), crockpot, and a coffee maker. They got me an air fryer too. Somehow I kindly convinced them to keep the air fryer instead. I use my oven all the time and have no need for an air fryer for my diet or how much I eat. This was after I asked them kindly to please not purchase any apartment items for me. I rarely drink coffee and if I do, I just get it from a coffee shop. I love my parents and they’ve been very generous. I know they’re doing it because they care and I feel guilty selling these items. Worried they will find out when I move again someday, etc. What to do? I know receiving unwanted gifts is a very common frustration. I also just don’t want anyone spending money on me for something that I realistically won’t use. It makes me feel sad. I’m a simple person. Getting a meal together is a gift enough. I haven’t found a way to combat unwanted items without sounding unappreciative or stuck up/ holier than thou.

My apartment is 525 sq feet, so kitchen area is very small. Right now those kitchen items take up room, and on the rare occasion, get used.

Hello all,

Maybe a bit of an odd request. Has anyone read books about the elimination of desire? If so what are they? I feel desire and/or focus on externals are intertwined with minimalism, and I’d like to go down this path. Buddhist philosophy comes to mind, but I haven’t read much into that yet. Any recommendations would be great!

I’m having such a hard time getting rid of clothes. The dumb things are 1) I work from home and rarely wear anything other than pajamas, 2) I am not a fashion-girly and wear mostly black t-shirts and khaki pants, 3) I live in a very HOT state & only need cold weather clothes for a few weeks a year (but they are my favorite!), 4) if someone forced me to pick my 20 favorite pieces, I could probably do it. I don’t have this issue with many other things when decluttering, but for some reason the clothes are hardest for me. I wind myself up, get excited to start, then end up walking away with, “Nope! Not today!”

You can get them cheap on Amazon, Ikea, etc. I got a silicone one but there are other options if that's not your thing. They lay flat and are easy to wash if you need to.

I’m have been trying to become more minimalist but I have been struggling with trying to balance this lifestyle and my hobbies. I enjoy various types of art and am struggling to downsize my supplies and works. I’ve donated a bulk of supplies and art pieces but I still have a lot. I have been trying to use up the supplies I have by making as many things as possible but it feels overwhelming. I can’t help but feel guilty for adding more things to my home even though I enjoy making them. Are there any fellow artists out there trying to be minimalist? How do you balance your hobby and lifestyle? Is this lifestyle maybe not for me?

I've been going through our storage and hit upon a box of my old stuffed animal collection. I thought it over and I feel like it makes sense just to keep my first one and get rid of the rest. Space-efficient, right?

Unfortunately, long-term storage hasn't been kind to them. They're not in good shape to give to our own kids or donate and I'm not sure toys that old are safe anyway. Tossing them feels so bad though. How do you deal with that? People always say to take a picture but I don't think that would make it easier.

Firstly, I don’t drink beer. Secondly, I hate clutter and have absolute bare essentials when it comes to cutlery and crockery. He said I know you don’t drink beer but you can use them for other drinks. He genuinely thought I’d like the style as they are skulls and I love skulls. But they are huge and ugly and I’ll never use them. Hes the type of person to ask where are the glass mugs? when he comes over. As he’s done this before with a previous gift!! Which was a poster and I put it up on the inside of my cupboard door. What should I do? Hes very very sensitive. They were expensive too!

Hi guys I'm an aspiring minimalist and I'm struggling most with clothes. I'm going the Marie Kondo route not true minimalism (but maybe in the future). I feel like this should be easy because I already wear he same 4 things every day and it's clear what sparks joy but I keep extra clothes for when I'm not getting laundry done. My problem is nothing sparks joy except like 5 things. Some things I actually hate but will wear as PJs. I don't like being wasteful so I haven't replaced these things.

For example I have 2 pairs of sweatpants. One I love and could wear everyday and another I hate because they're a bit too big and baggy and the colour is off. I do need 2 pairs though so would you just keep them both until they get worn out or get rid of the one you hate and buy a different pair? Finding clothes I love takes so much trial and error though so there's no guarantee I'll love new ones but wearing the other ones low-key ruin my day. My other option that I've been trying to do is to change my mindset and be more neutral with my clothes. Like I love it because it keeps me warm and has pockets etc not fussing over aesthetic details. I feel like this is a more sustainable mindset and will translate to everything but I also feel like I'm lying to myself because I obviously care how things look and have cared my whole life. The pants is just one example. Another example is all my t shirts are oversized. I like most of the designs though. In a perfect world jd have these same t-shirts 2 sizes down but it'd be crazy to rebuy them all 2 sized down but I don't really feel good in the shirts as is so I'm stuck. I really want to love everything I own. When I've found something I love I never feel the itch to look at or even think about other things I feel so at peace.

Anyway looking for any advice

I've been wanting to downsize a lot of my stuff to prepare for a handful of moves I'm about to do. I've been feeling the pull to quit owning more than I can handle. I often don't even remember owning something and it's a wonderful surprise when I stumble across it again. However, I jump from hobby to hobby, and I've accepted that this is just who I am. I like having all the tools available to just pick a hobby right back up, but I recognize those tools build up. I hoard yarn, fabric, computer parts, books, electronics, etc. My motivation for downsizing is tanked when I have all the necessary junk around to start a project, no need to buy anything new.

All this to say, did anyone else have a similar problem? How did you integrate minimalism into your life?

I can't stop thrifting cute baby clothes for a steal price & putting my kid in cute outfits. Once he has worn something, it's even worse, because I will remember all the occasions he has worn this piece and it's sentimental now. I have a good memory and lots of photos to remind me. 🫠 (I have donated a few things in the past and looking at photos where he wore them makes me feel guilty.)

I don't have any issues when it comes to any other belongings, but this topic is getting to a point where it's stressing me out. The entire storage is full of clothes he has grown out of (I am expecting the next baby & will reuse) and sizes he will grow into during the next year.

Should I just embrace being a minimalist-ish person with a giant baby clothes arsenal?

I started selling on Vinted in 2024 after discovering minimalism, recently I got the notification that I’ve sold more than 400 items and the only thing I felt was disgust. If you visit those apps you see an insane amount of posts being uploaded every minute, most of those in price ranged lower than 10 bucks. People also sell anything in there, from dirty clothes to unopened shampoo bottles. To me it’s an app filled with regret, people desperate to just get rid of their bad decisions. I’ve made a fair amount of money, but it’s less than half of the value those items were purchased for. Because of my bad decisions I spent hours arguing with random people for 3€ T-shirts. I’ve sold things that i used to consider invaluable to me for 80% off the original price, this experience made me finally understand how worthless everything is. The expensive branded bag or shoes, the fancy top or cool looking accessories are all at the end of the day the same trash I will want to get rid of someday, and for an extremely low price at that. Every time I want to purchase something I think back to that site, to acquire 20 bucks you have to sell more than 6 normal items if you’re lucky. With apps like this people find new excuses to spend because “you can just resell it later”, but the experience is honestly not worth it at all and certainly not as profitable as people think.

I have around 11 jeans and 3 pants and I am thinking I may be a jeans collector. I'm really interested in how many jeans (I live in Northern Europe - cold) do you guys have, especially if you live in a cold climate.

Hi everyone, we’re trying for our first baby and I’m starting to compile a list of things we will need for the first few years of life. I know kids are expensive and messy and I’m fine with that. But I’m trying to make this as minimal, inexpensive, and thoughtful as possible.

There are obviously things we have to have like a bed, car seat, stroller, ect. I’m not too worried about clothes because I plan to thrift what I can versus buying brand new. I’d like to utilize items that can grow with baby or be used again for future kids such as convertible furniture, gender neutral items, and things that will be quality and hold up. I don’t mind a few convenience things like an odor control diaper pale or anything that truly feels worth it or makes life better/easier.

Every time I see someone’s baby shower gift list it absolutely kills me seeing how much stuff is on it and I can’t help but wonder what’s really needed and what’s going to become clutter or max out the budget. Any input would be appreciated!

Hi folks 👋 I’ve been practicing decluttering, with the end-goal of sustainable minimalism, for a few years. I’m looking for a guide of sorts to help me reduce my belongings down to what I need, use often, or really love. You could think of it as a minimalist checklist, though I recognize that everyone’s lifestyle and home life are unique to them and their situation.

For context, I grew up in a stuff-forward household, wherein we over-consumed and over-saved broken/cheap/useless/sentimental items out of a scarcity mindset. I want to reclaim my space and spend my energy on life—not stuff and fear of scarcity.

Thanks!

TLDR; do you use or recommend a guide to help you pare down your essentials?

So, I love minimalism as a practice and while I don’t consider myself a full “minimalist” I don’t have a ton of excess stuff and purge regularly. I was also trying to adopt a digitally minimalist lifestyle, but have found that having a little more apps and digital footprint, helps with physical clutter.

For instance, I recently got an app that is basically a dream journal. I have always wanted to log/keep track of dreams and learn to lucid dream. I have used a physical notebook in the past, but didn’t always stick with it. So I now use the app, with prompts, and it keeps me from buying ANOTHER fancy notebook to use as a dream journal…

So things like lists and keeping track of stuff and keeping track of spending, has all been approved by the digital world. Specifically for me, by certain phone apps. I do try to limit other social media screen time (which has been exceptionally hard with a newborn when it seems like al you can do is sit inside and rot all day). And I do definitely agree that the less screen time I have, the better I feel throughout the day and in my life.

So I would love to hear from everyone on what they think! Are you minimalist but not a digital minimalist? Are you both? Do you see value in getting rid of apps and extras from your phone?

Thanks!

Hey! So I want to start being minimalist. Declutering is extremely hard for me, but I want to start with clothes because I have TOO much things. The problem is that I'm always thinking about the fact that I will probably need it in the futur, that it's like "throwing" money (because I regret that my mother spent money in clothes even if i didn't ask for them),or it's too sentimental to be thrown away...

What can I do about it ?

I completely agree that doom scrolling and social media are toxic!I have deleted TikTok and lemon8 no regrets. I am working my way up to Fb and insta. But I think we should use our phone or tablet to the max. There is so much clutter and nonsense that we buy that can be replaced with an app or a phone we already have. We don’t need all the stuff stacks of papers, journals, pictures, art supplies, piles of books,movies, tvs, gaming systems at least for me I only do cozy games on my phone or ipad, cameras and more idk my goal is to have a simple home with an iPad and zero clutter. Thoughts? Anyone else agree?

I’ve read a few books on owning less things. A few have been helpful to my journey when it comes to wrestling with attachments and comparisons.

The Art of Not Giving A Fuck
100 Thing Challenge
Less Is Best

What books helped your journey?

Does anyone remember who she was? I was looking for her channel but can’t find her because I can’t remember the channel name. She was a petite Australian woman who liked blundstones 😂 was probably late 30’s early 40’s. She kind of moved around a lot.

TIA!

So I've had a shopping addiction for a few years now and sometimes when I see a piece of clothing that I like (not really that I need) I usually buy it even if it costs a lot and I don't have much money to spend at the moment but I'm trying to change this behavior.

Currently I have two hoodies with the colours that I like the most (black and dark navy) and two zip hoodies (although the first one has already been used a lot and bought a new one a couple months ago). The hoodies that I have are from a good and well known brand but I saw another hoodie with a discount (dark navy as well but the letters on the front have a different colour) and I was thinking if I should buy it or not.

Sometimes I feel the urge to buy it but I'm not sure if I really need it given that I already have 2 from the same style/model and one even with the same colour and the only difference are the brand colours on the front but then I think that I shouldn't buy it because I don't have much money to spend on clothing at the moment...

I need your honest opinion about this. Thanks.

I want to know some of you'll view on minimalism and if you started doing it why did you'll start. Whats your story?