For those who appreciate simplicity in any form.

Mini story: In 2012, I bought a very nice laptop with some extra money I had. I never replaced it because I wasn’t using it much lately and wanted to sell it, but it was hard to sell something so obsolete. A 12-year-old computer is very hard to sell.

Present day: Yesterday, someone broke into my apartment. They broke the building door and my door while I was at work, an hour away from home. When I got the call, I felt extremely nervous, just thinking about strangers in my home, the uncertainty of not knowing what had happened, and my two cats—my biggest fear was that they might have escaped.

When I arrived, I had to enter with a police officer, and they wouldn’t let me touch anything. Everything was a mess, my drawers emptied on the floor, my apartment in total disarray. My cats had hidden themselves. The only thing they stole was that old laptop. My only “loss.” I have absolutely nothing else of value, because I simply don’t consume for the sake of consuming. This is what I wanted to share, which is why I’m posting in this sub. I can imagine the bitterness I would’ve felt if they’d taken a MacBook, an iPad, expensive jewelry or other stuff... all the things thieves usually look for. Even the police were surprised—they couldn’t believe that three people had broken into my home, and my only loss was a shitty laptop.

I wanted to share this because the feeling I was left with was that the minimalism I maintain in my life made this horrible moment so much easier than it might have been for the average person. It reinforced my belief that very few things are essential, and I already have them. And that makes me feel, despite the situation, very calm, at peace with the lifestyle I lead.

Just wanted to share my experience. 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/@sk3ptiko/live

How are the minimalist website portfolio as seen on the site deadsimplesites.com created? Are they all using a simple template or creating them from scratch? I really liked these portfolio websites. They are not flashy but are informative enough to show off your work. I want to create such a portfolio.

Hi! Looks like I’m back to black for my staple clothing. I love the simplicity and classy vibe.

I tried others but nope.

Black for the win! Less is more. 🖤🤍

I am 22 extrovert have tried deleting all social media and it worked except for Instagram. The reason for this is because it just feels dumb and time wasting. I love making friends and consider myself as a social butterfly (extrovert) and every time I meet someone new they ask if I use Instagram. Now I decided that I’ll just keep an account just for messaging and coz I think these days people find it more comfy to give it out than their phone numbers. But every time I go on the app, even if I mute people, I just feel like it’s almost close to impossible to not get addicted to reels and posts and other stuff and I like I just feel like if I’m just going to be messaging why don’t I use text or WhatsApp instead.

But then I also would like to see other peoples profile sometimes and stay in touch with people more easily.

I feel like I’m kinda overthinking this but what do you guys think? Is there anyone who has similar experience as me?

After dealing with years or intense anxiety, depression, procrastination, and dependency, I decided to remove both apps from my phone last night. I didn’t announce anything on either app. Just texted closer friends and family.

I just turned 38 and have been struggling with my weight, impulse buying, bad back pain (recently completed physical therapy), ADHD, major depression, feeling less sharp mentally, losing my sister, distancing myself from everyone except my partner, fatigue, messiness…I have wasted a lot of time trying to appeal to…I don’t even know.

I took a mental health day. Had a smoothie, started cleaning, checked in with some people, am having conversations with my partner about how we can improve our food choices and increase activity.

I have been wanting and waiting for day one for a long time and I made it.

I am so proud.

Soooo I’m loving my minimalist life as usual

And my microwave died Immediately I was annoyed but then I started cooking more in my air fryer and I was like..

Hmmmm I don’t even need a microwave!

Just curious if anyone else got rid of it?

I bet my food will taste better!!

Dating apps? $20 dollar subscription. Movie/Television? Easily another $30 - 50 dollars depending. News? Another $20 dollars. Starting a buisness? Another $30 dollar subscription to a website build. It's never ending! All these subscriptions...and you may not even like them, and then decide you want a different one. I don't have any of these but every time I think about them I get overwhelmed and figure I should just pack my shit up, watch some outdoors tutorials, and try out my luck.

Ffs.

To me, minimalism means completely vanishes from reality, becoming a perfect nothingness, a gap. Once I do this, I finally feel decluttered, and this really helps my peace of mind. My next step on my minimalism journey is negating the very idea of negation itself.

I have a bunch of stuff and I’m staring to feel suffocated by it. I have always been a “collector” mainly vintage tech and shoes (vans) I was start to remove and sell it off but I always get a feeling I’ll miss it (I rarely ever do) but that’s a huge hump I can’t seem to get over.

Any tips that worked for you?

Hair Dryer
There is no need for a hair dryer. A towel will do.
If you think you need a hair dryer, then your hair is too long. Keep it short!

Oven
A stove is enough to get the perfect nutrition. Replace baking / broiling / roasting with boiling / steaming / sautéing.

Equipment-heavy sports
If you are storing a lot of sports equipment, you are doing the wrong sports.
Instead of scuba diving, ice hockey, skiing, sailing, golf, motorsports or football, do: hiking, running, swimming, bodyweight training.

Bookshelf
Readers love buying new books and installing new bookshelves. They will not admit that having a bookshelf is a form of hoarding.
Read one book at a time. Do not buy new books unless needed. Do not keep books around that you have finished already.

Sofa / couch
A couch is completely unnecessary and will mess up your back. Use instead: Chair / Bed / Floor / Standing

Some more unnecessary things:
Vacuum Cleaner -> Broom+mop
TVSet / GamingConsole -> PC / laptop
Toaster -> Pan on a stove
Can Opener -> Use a knife
Bottle opener -> No need to drink alcohol
Blender / mixer -> Whisk / fork
Toilet basin freshener -> Clean your toilet
Dishwasher -> Sink
Electric Shaver -> Safety razor / scissors
Coffee machine -> Drink water instead

I bought a flagship phone after using my budget phone for 2 years.

It's been 2 months and I started regretting my choice.

Do I enjoy it? Not really Does it improve my quality of life? Can't just throw around and don't bother about it but the camera is miles better and the screen is finally visible outside during sunny days. Do I really need it? Not at all

Interested to see if there is a correlation between your jobs and loving minimalist things

Im in project management & process improvement to start :)

as title says I'm looking for a simple website design for making my own website like a profile page

I used to be a minimalist in my late teens, went to college, moved a few times and fell back into consumerism. I wasnt happy with this for the longest time and recently decided to make a big comeback to a simpler life. I have already managed to get quite a few things out of my life which felt good. However I have two desks and both are drowning in clutter and I just dont know how to and where to start to fight rhe clutter for good. Yes, I do need both desks (one for sewing machines - thats my career - and the other is for everything else) and getting rid of one wouldnt solve my issue. I do realize that I have a big organization problem, but I am unwilling to buy any organization tools or boxes and I dont have enough space for them anyway. Decluttering the smaller areas of my life is easy, but doesn't really change much of the cluttered situation. How did you overcame clutter for good, what are your tips? Thanks

Hello! I’m VERY careful on what I let in my house, but I’m debating whether or not I should get a dehydrator. To be clear: I’m neither looking for validation to buy it nor I think that minimalists own nothing: we should all own what makes us happy etc etc. I’m just looking for another perspective. I’ll list some factors that I’m taking into consideration.

Buy it:

• I don’t have a functioning oven, so I can’t dehydrate with what I have.

• I could do Christmas gifts on a budget (but I could also make other stuff, of course.)

• I LOVE jerky but it just doesn’t exist where I live, or it’s crazy expensive. I’ve already spent 1/2 of what I would spend on a dehydrator in jerky, probably.

• I already have some ideas on how I could use it for myself.

Don’t buy it:

• it’s huge. I live in a tiny apartment, I would have to store it on top of the cabinets.

• the area I struggle the most with minimalism is kitchen appliances. I regret buying them more often than not. However, the stuff I regretted buying was stuff that was a substitute to something I could already do (mandolin, steamer)

UPDATE: I decided to go for a multipurpose small oven. I’ll look for the perfect one, so see you in the next few months, haha

• would I really use it or would I be stuck with it?

Also does anyone have it and regrets buying it/loves it? Thanks!

I'm kind of at a loss. I'm a self-employed artist and musician and most of my work comes from social media and posting said work.

However, I don't want to scroll social media, and right now having someone else run my account is an option.

I'm not totally sure how to go about making sure I can post once or twice a day on Facebook and Instagram (for work) and answer work messages but without the want to doomscroll?

My house is currently being renovated and insulated room by room, the attic, in the ceilings at the first floor and under the floor on ground level. I decided to go for a new kitchen as well while ar it. The construction workers need their space to do their jobs. I already decluttered a vast amount of my stuff. But still i keep tossing and donating stuff, like my klippan for free. Trusting the process and that karma will come my way when the job is done and when i need a sofa. Meanwhile I totally enjoy the emptiness! The remaining boxes and piles of stuff make me want to get rid of those too. Such a weird experience for an anticonsumption person, always repairing stuff and keeping stuff to repair. Maybe I was longing for the letting go all along… Before the builders came, I really had a hard time decluttering with the project in sight. I wish I could share a pic of my empty livingroom with the sun shining on the brick walls this afternoon.

Avez-vous adopté un style minimaliste dans votre espace de travail ? Comment cela impacte-t-il votre productivité et concentration ?

Dear Minimalism Community,

I hope you guys are doing well. I'm Josh, 29 years old, and I'm studying Multilingual Communication (majoring in English, Spanish, and Business) at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne. I'm currently writing my Bachelor's thesis on the topic:

"Minimalism in the Age of Consumption: The Search for Happiness Beyond Material Goods"

For the practical part of my thesis, I would be very interested in conducting an interview with one of you guys about your experience with minimalism regarding happiness.

I am currently still in the research phase and would like to conduct the interview (preferably via Zoom) with you in mid-November. I plan to allocate approximately 30 minutes for it. If desired, I can send you a preliminary list of questions, but I would also like to leave part of it open to allow the conversation to unfold naturally.

If that idea sparked your interest and you are meeting some of the criteria, feel free to shoot me a message.

You should:

-            consider yourself a minimalist

-            be practising minimalism for some time already and have realized a difference in your life

-            preferably be happier in life with the practice of minimalism

-            be willing to spend 30-min on Zoom Call and fill out a small questionnaire beforehand

-            be ok with the interview published in my thesis

-            speak English or German

Im open to fit the interview in your time schedule. If you are located in some place else in the world beside Europe, we have to plan according to time diffrences. But I would consider myself quite flexible in that regard :)

Thank you in advance!

Josh

Hi! I am 28F, and I am an avid sewer. I also like to be a minimalist. However, I do enjoy the idea of sewing seasonal decor. So I want to sew pillow cases for the different seasons. Would this still be living minimalist? Love to hear your thoughts!

Has anyone tried the thing where you eat the exact same breakfast, lunch and dinner each day?

Saves time, money, waste and decision making.

I worry that I would get bored with it. Thanks 🤩

I just joined a university and found myself feeling like I can't compete with the other dudes around here, for one reason or another. Slowly I've found myself attracted to the idea of living like Mike Ehrmentraut--simply, practically. Obviously, I don't think I'll become a hitman or fixer just yet, but I like the way he goes about living. He watches TV, reads newspapers, eats at diners, and generally minds his own business but takes in the world around him to be prepared. I've started wearing simple clothes, dark chinos, black shoes, a black lightweight jacket, and a button up under. This idea has morphed into just trying to live more in the present. Instead of trying to reach other people's standards, what if I just focus on what I am doing and they will come to me. So I've been thinking about changing a few things in my life. First was to get a watch so I can know the time without having to check my phone, which might make me look cooler. Then was to get a flip phone, or something that can restrict internet access so I can just make calls or text people if necessary, which would help me have more interactions. The struggle I had is that I would like to listen to music as well, since I don't think I could live comfortably without it. I failed to consider the service provider aspect of this, I have a provider already but I don't want to deal with getting a new phone.

My question would be should I get a good flip phone like a CAT one that has access to spotify, or just a regular prepaid flip phone and buy an mp3 player, somehow figuring out how to put music on it without spending a lot of money.

I also am interested in knowing what habits I should do to live more in the moment, because I believe that once I let go of all the overthinking and things I can't control, I can really start interacting with people. This may or may not be considered minimalism, but to me, it would be me removing any excess from my life and just living in the present, without falling for want and desire, or jealousy and envy.

What are your best tips for creating a stylish and functional backyard on a budget?

I want a minimalist wardrobe in which I cover both aspects. Casual shirt aspect which I can wear to nice gatherings and casual T-shirts which I can wear everyday. Don’t really care about button up formal shirts.

I saw Less is Now and was inspired to declutter. I'd dabbled a little with the idea of minimalism without really knowing, and always enjoyed the minimalist aesthetic. The song Comfy by Lice makes me want to be more extreme than is realistic as a single parent, but the chorus "I don't ever get too comfy, I don't like to own much stuff, I ain't really wanna unpack, if I goes down I'mma jump up" makes me want to be able to pack everything I own in one bag.

My desire to feel prepared is a main reason I've found myself surrounded by too much stuff. I buy extras of things that might get damaged, lost, or used up - like multiple pairs of jeans that I had a hard time finding the right fit, or extras of my kids' mittens and hats. Doing this too often makes for a lot of inventory to manage, but the alternative of not feeling prepared makes me uncomfortable. If you can relate, how have you dealt with these feelings?

Minimalism can mean so many things, and another one for me is reducing how much food I buy and consume. I look at my past eating habits and it's why I ended up in a slimming group. I'm reducing waste and reducing my waist.

So I sold all my clothes that Im tired of/and went kind of allergic to. I had 3 sweathers to use during cold days, but two of them are wool and my skin dont take it anymore. Now I have one white. I can’t wear the same every day so I’ve decieded to buy new ones that my skin can take but also looks nice on me and timesless stuff.

Im looking on an app where people sell their used stuff. Its cheaper and it helps the environment. I found one from H&M that has a colour I like. The issue is that its no return if I dont like it so much. The other one is online and made in my country. Is on 50% discount now and I can return it if I dont like it so much.

Which one would you choose?