Transitioning to minimalist living

[Anonymous]

I feel like I live the tiny home lifestyle in 884 sq ft now in Pimmit.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are on the right track.

I won't go into how I adopted a minimalistic lifestyle because it is a long story, but I will say this - DO IT. It is absolutely amazing and liberating. We have a kid and two dogs and we are still able to do it. Stuff does not matter, stuff is expensive to buy and maintain, to clean and store, you just don't need it.

My new thinking is, I want to be able to pack and go in a day. We are thinking of moving and the move will be a breeze compared to most people's experience.

The benefits to living a minimalistic life are tremendous. You are lucky to have discovered this.

[Anonymous]

The idea of defining and seeing abundance in non-material ways is related to all this.

https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Abundance-Ancient-Principles-Abundant/dp/0140196064

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The idea of defining and seeing abundance in non-material ways is related to all this.

https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Abundance-Ancient-Principles-Abundant/dp/0140196064

The fact that your link is from Amazon is quite funny.

[Anonymous]

I want to do this but I am worried the infrastructure will collapse, the shit will hit the fan, and I will wish I had all those old t shirts to make into reusable toilet paper. Have you read Lionel Shriver's new book, The Mandibles?

[Anonymous]

Long story why, but I once housesit for a Polish model/actress in Warsaw.

Amazingly cool apartment. In her closet there were: 2 pairs of perfect, very expensive jeans, two silk blouses, 2 cashmere sweaters, and the leather jacket of a lifetime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are giving our kids the rest of high school, college, plus one "bonus/ just in case year"
Then we move to a tiny home lifestyle. Will rent vacation places when we visit with them.
So excited!

If you change your mind and do it sooner, there are people who have blazed that trail too: http://www.tinyhousefamily.com/

This is getting me thinking. I wonder if there are any time homes in the DC area?

I think it's called a condo (Kondo)?

I see what you did there!

And yes. Our downtown DC residence is slightly (but not much) larger than the home on this site. We did however pay a bit more than $12,000 for it.

It was quite a discipline and also quite a gift to learn how to live with a family in a space like ours, but I really do love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Long story why, but I once housesit for a Polish model/actress in Warsaw.

Amazingly cool apartment. In her closet there were: 2 pairs of perfect, very expensive jeans, two silk blouses, 2 cashmere sweaters, and the leather jacket of a lifetime.

I have tried to do something like this--only on a smaller budget. I have 4 pairs of great jeans. 6 sweaters that I love. 5 t-shirts that I love. a few necklaces. a couple pairs of flats (my wardrobe is very basic but I love a pop of color in shoes) a pair of sneakers and a pair of boat shoes.

Anything that I don't wear right away, goes back to the store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for starting this thread -- I'll take a look at the website. This has been on my mind a lot lately. Lost my mother recently, and now we are in the process of getting her house ready for sale. I am both incredibly grateful for all the "stuff" that I will get from her as well as incredibly overwhelmed. they had really nice quality Danish midcentury furniture, valuable Persian rugs, beautiful framed art and things collected from my family's travels... but I will now have to put all of that in a storage unit. There is no room in our rowhouse. We are now thinking of moving to a bigger house, but unless we pay $2m there is no house in dc that can fit all that... so basically, like a turtle, I am carrying my home on my head -- the burden feels very heavy, and it is loaded with emotion. I need to downsize my stuff too -- and all of a sudden, I have no taste for shopping, something I used to enjoy. feels very bittersweet.

This sounds really hard. I am dealing with something similar. I really don't want to have a bunch of things in storage forever, in case I ever get a house big enough to hold it. But I don't want to get rid of it. It is quite painful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Long story why, but I once housesit for a Polish model/actress in Warsaw.

Amazingly cool apartment. In her closet there were: 2 pairs of perfect, very expensive jeans, two silk blouses, 2 cashmere sweaters, and the leather jacket of a lifetime.

Are we to believe that she wore jeans and a silk blouse to EVERY occasion?

[Anonymous]

I started doing this years ago before Marie Kondo's book. I am constantly culling stuff from my house. I have donated so much stuff over time that the people at the Goodwill drop off greet me by name. It is really freeing. I also buy very few things.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone share resources for donating more valuable clothes? I dont want to take them to goodwill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share resources for donating more valuable clothes? I dont want to take them to goodwill.

Send them to threadup

[Anonymous]

If anyone has business clothing, consider donating to "Dress for Success"

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what to do with books? I have a hard time thinking of putting relatively recent hardcover books in recycling but I'm not sure any organizations take donated books other than children's books.