The minimalist

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I didn’t want to hijack Donna’s thread with a rant about how our possession weigh us down- but it is something that I am trying to deal with better.</p>

<p>Books for instance-
Yes I love my books- but I don’t read them much- mostly reading actually on my ipod. ( I like the backlighting). I imagine when the ipad comes out with a 2nd or 3rd version and I see what accessories it can work with, I will get one of those for reading.</p>

<p>I have a very small house ( less than 1000sq ft- it was going to be our " starter" house, but we sent our $$$ to private school for the most part instead- oh well, I am still on my * starter* husband as well), and a ton of gardening, cooking, parenting, remodeling,travel, philosophy & artbooks as well as your more run of the mill mysteries, American books of short stories/essays etc.
And the childrens books…</p>

<p>I had very, very few books when growing up ( perhaps two- Little House in the Big Woods and a book about the king of Hawaii that was given to me by an aunt), we went to the library instead ( but not enough).
So when I had kids, I went crazy buying books.
But really- while I have gotten rid of a lot- I have so many that I doubt I will ever read again- because there is still so much I * haven’t * read yet.
Not to mention but some books don’t age well, the paper yellows, the print blurs and the writing is stiff or trite. ;)</p>

<p>( Except for E.B. White or James Thurber- or maybe just White… It’s kinda like some clothes- the style might come back, but unless it is truly classic, there is always a little tweak in it so that the stuff from thirty years ago looks * notright- those shoulder pads* are never coming back)</p>

<p>I am seriously trying to pare down my stuff, to live more simply and to let go of attachments to things. I think about people who have lost everything, from a fire or an flood or earthquake and think about what is really important to me.
Not my stuff.</p>

<p>I think about that book that compared the typical amount of possessions of an American family, to those in other parts of the world and I feel nauseous.
[NOVA</a> | World in the Balance | Material World | PBS](<a href=“http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/material.html]NOVA”>NOVA | World in the Balance | Material World | PBS)</p>

<p>It helps that I have been at a good weight for a a few years- I can get rid of the size 12, and the size 10 clothes- although my waist is never going to be 24" again ( barring some sort of global famine) :eek:</p>

<p>It is pretty invigorating to get rid of stuff, because I don’t remember it if I can’t see it anyway ( which leads me to my housekeeping style) & it’s less work to go through things looking for something else if there is less to go through.</p>

<p>Anybody else up for spring cleaning?</p>

2

<p>Just this morning I was thinking about packing up all the stuff in my kitchen that I haven’t used in a year and storing it in the basement. If after two years it is still there then I plan on giving it away. I just get so annoyed when I look for something and I have to dig through all the gadgets, serving bowls and pans just to find it. Our kitchen (and house) seemed to have much more storage when we moved in! :p</p>

<p>Our annual church rummage sale is this weekend so I could be off to a good start. As they say in Denmark “the less stuff you have, the more time you have to enjoy life”</p>

3

<p>Yup, spring cleaning is what we did this past weekend. I stuffed two mega-sized bags with clothes that do not fit, some old kids’ stuff, some plush animals that were collecting dust in the toy chest (need to get rid of the chest, too!)… I tossed a huge pile of Time magazines - it is all online now! If only I can convince DH to get rid of his collection of scientific journals and articles :eyeroll: Scientists are really bad hoarders!</p>

4

<p>I know a true minimalist:
3 bedrooms, the 3 walk-in closets in the mbdr are totally empty, she keeps her wardrobe in an
armoire<br>
owns 7 outfits, buys one, then gets rid of one
pantry has all empty shelves except for one that holds paper towels and toilet paper
laundry room has washer, dryer, vacuum cleaner. I asked “Where is the detergent?” Inside the
washer
fridge holds only bottles of Diet Snapple
freezer has only 2 loaves of Yoga Bread
all family photos are in a guest bdr walk-in closet on the shelves which are otherwise empty
has a rolling file cart, only 1/3 filled w/ files
no radio, tv, computer
Wellesely grad owns one book, used to be the bible, now it is a dictionary
needless to say she is an empty nester. She shops often for home decor pottery, etc. and immediately gives away the “old”.</p>

5

<p>I saw Annie Leonard on The Colbert Report last week, discussing her video and book, The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change.</p>

<p>Colbert chided her for selling a book, which is just more “stuff,” but she assured him that it could be composted. :)</p>

<p>[The</a> Story of Stuff](<a href=“http://www.storyofstuff.com/]The”>http://www.storyofstuff.com/) </p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change (9781439125663): Annie Leonard: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Story-Stuff-Obsession-Communities-Health/dp/143912566X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268748946&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Story-Stuff-Obsession-Communities-Health/dp/143912566X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268748946&sr=1-1)</p>

6

<p>With D out of the house, we have been trying to pare down. I am not much of a shopper, but whenever I am tempted by an item, I imagine it sitting on a shelf in the closet and suddenly that “thing” doesn’t seem tempting. Every time I buy an item of clothing, I get rid of at least one other item of clothing. I paint, so I have a lot of art supplies that I am constantly organizing and I have more than 100 paintings that need to be sold or given away. I generally sell about 10 to 25 a year, but paint at least one a week. So I need to be a little more generous when friends and family ask for one. And I’m sure future museums will not decry the fact that some need to make a trip to the trash can as well.
I keep all my art history books, but novels that I buy go to neighbors and friends.</p>