Minimalism: Do you know anyone living a truly minimalistic lifestyle?

[Gary O']

Minimalism has nothing to do with survivalism or being a hermit. It means living with only the things you NEED and little else. Needs include food, clothing, and shelter. It's just simplifying your life. Your 'fluff-stuff' owns you

Boy howdy....can I ever relate

We live in a cabin

I have a shop...filled (but I get rid of stuff I found I don't need)

We have this sea container......filled
with cookbooks, yarn, wool.....my seasonal stuff

I've always suggested to folks that have complained about having too much stuff;
Get a sea container or storage room
Fill it with all yer stuff
If there's anything left in it after a year.....git rid of it


I do love this;

You don't have to live off grid or in the woods to be "minimalist".

Minimum "stuff" you don't use, clear surfaces, organization are key.

No such things as "keepsakes"- what, for the sake of "keeping"; hidden in boxes in backs of closets, unused, unseen? Why?

Your memories live in your mind, not in your stuff.

Forgot to answer the question;

Minimalism: Do you know anyone living a truly minimalistic lifestyle?

Yes, I do
He's just a couple miles down the path

One room cabin

Zero clutter

 

[Em in Ohio]

A Minimalistic lifystyle seems very appealing to me, living with and buying things you may need versus want. I like nice things, but essential things, not frivilous buying just to buy.

Shopping has always been a chore to me, whether it is for food, clothing, furniture, etc, so I'm sure that contributes to the appeal. I've thought of what it would be like to sell my house and buy a tiny house in the countryside near a brook or stream. I'd rather spend more time outside than inside, I don't require alot of material things or space to live; not to mention the money you could save to travel or do other things with......freedom!

It's a fun idea to ponder and to read about.

So how about you, sound appealing?

If I went to the tiny house idea, it would have to be on wheels and I would have to have a few reliable, rural places to park - but not like RV parks! I would like the ability to go where the weather is best and the scenery is amazing, while still having the minimalist comforts of home - a real mini-house, not some motor home full of chemicals and off-gassing synthetics.

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[Em in Ohio]

OK - sorry, but now I can't stop... (I did look into tiny houses a couple years ago and may go there eventually - but, as long as I am able, I want to keep the yard that I currently have.) These are two more images that show what can be done. The link below may inspire many folks to consider the lifestyle with the many tiny house styles.

https://www.boredpanda.com/small-houses/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

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[squatting dog]

If I went to the tiny house idea, it would have to be on wheels and I would have to have a few reliable, rural places to park - but not like RV parks! I would like the ability to go where the weather is best and the scenery is amazing, while still having the minimalist comforts of home - a real mini-house, not some motor home full of chemicals and off-gassing synthetics.

View attachment 105963​

While cool to look at, there are some problems with tiny homes such as these.
1- When fully finished and furnished, they are generally too heavy to travel down the road from point A to B, and almost all are way too heavy for the trailer they're mounted on.
2- While pretty to gaze at, the height becomes borderline legal, and of course, does anyone believe that roof would still be there after a road trip... again, necessary to get from A to B. I'd be willing to bet that after even a short road journey, there will be flexing cracks and cracked windows. Heck, when I sold that small cabin I built, not only did need special permits to haul, just loading it to move cracked a bunch of drywall and 2 of the windows. I have no idea if anything else broke as I didn't follow it to it's final destination.
3- another problem that has arisen a bunch is many municipality's have draconian regulations that prohibit this kind of free thinking to even exist in their area.

 

[Em in Ohio]

...
3- another problem that has arisen a bunch is many municipality's have draconian regulations that prohibit this kind of free thinking to even exist in their area.

View attachment 105968

It's really too bad that these living arrangements, especially non-mobile ones, aren't promoted to solve the affordable housing issues. I know that there is at least one place that set up a community of them for veterans (Yeah!). As to the problems with the mobile versions, I can see that happening. Heck, my stationary house circa 1945 is still 'settling!'

 

[squatting dog]

It's really too bad that these living arrangements, especially non-mobile ones, aren't promoted to solve the affordable housing issues. I know that there is at least one place that set up a community of them for veterans (Yeah!). As to the problems with the mobile versions, I can see that happening. Heck, my stationary house circa 1945 is still 'settling!'

Agreed seems like these little dwellings would be a simple answer especially for homeless vets. The people who protected our country.

 

[PopsnTuff]

Minimalism has nothing to do with survivalism or being a hermit. It means living with only the things you NEED and little else. Needs include food, clothing, and shelter. It's just simplifying your life. Your 'fluff-stuff' owns you, and it empties your wallet, forces you to maintain it, and makes you worry over it to make sure it is all safe and well-insured. For example: Do you really need a mansion to survive when four walls or less and a roof will suffice? Minimalism means that you have all you require to be secure.

Totally agree here....this is how I live....never been a materialistic person and dont have collections of any kind.....
being married, divorced then single parenting three kids for fifteen years humbled me to having only what we need and a few perks every now and then....I still live like this which makes life much simpler, but am still grateful for what I only have.

 

[oldman]

Boy howdy....can I ever relate

We live in a cabin

I have a shop...filled (but I get rid of stuff I found I don't need)

We have this sea container......filled
with cookbooks, yarn, wool.....my seasonal stuff

I've always suggested to folks that have complained about having too much stuff;
Get a sea container or storage room
Fill it with all yer stuff
If there's anything left in it after a year.....git rid of it


I do love this;


Forgot to answer the question;

Minimalism: Do you know anyone living a truly minimalistic lifestyle?

Yes, I do
He's just a couple miles down the path

One room cabin

Zero clutter

View attachment 105957


View attachment 105960View attachment 105961

Gary-----How many square feet is your place, not including any workshops, just living area? Just curious.

 

[Em in Ohio]

Agreed seems like these little dwellings would be a simple answer especially for homeless vets. The people who protected our country.

The housing project that I mentioned was indeed primarily for homeless vets - it offered the pride of ownership, a responsibility, a sense of stability, and a supportive community. I can't remember if this was just a YouTube special or a documentary, but it made me feel better towards humanity.

 

[Llynn]

I've always tried to adhere to this:

"A man who owns little is little owned."

 

[Gary O']

Gary-----How many square feet is your place, not including any workshops, just living area? Just curious.

The main cabin, where I'm at now, while I type this, is around 240 sf



Seems roomier with all the windows
….unless we have company
Then the place gets small




It's two rooms
The living room
The bedroom



We spend most our indoor hours there, other than the shop, or my lady's spinning shack

 

[Gary O']

While cool to look at, there are some problems with tiny homes

My opine;
They're an overpriced nightmare
A human has to have room
Their cubbyhole conveniences look nice, but not for real life...day to day living
I wanna plop into bed when day is done
Not scale up a ladder.....and literally 'crawl' into bed

No thank you
Gimmee a simple cabin, and I'll make my own 'conveniences'

 

[C'est Moi]

No minimalism here. I like my stuff.

 

[Butterfly]

My opine;
They're an overpriced nightmare
A human has to have room
Their cubbyhole conveniences look nice, but not for real life...day to day living
I wanna plop into bed when day is done
Not scale up a ladder.....and literally 'crawl' into bed

No thank you
Gimmee a simple cabin, and I'll make my own 'conveniences'

The ladder up to bed thing is a real turn-off for me. Maybe okay for some young people, but certainly not for those of us who are a bit older.