A Commitment to Minimalist Living

Find a neighborhood street sale
Join it

Hordes of folks cruise thru those
It’s how they spend their weekends
And they do spend

And…..(drum roll), you won’t be haggling with YOUR neighbors

Oh, and don’t haggle
Sell that stuff
You don’t wanna haul it home

I heard a great idea on the radio the other day
The idea came from a public school. They were putting on a ‘trunk’ sale.
For $20 you could rent a spot to park your car and sell as much out of your car trunk as you could.
Thats a good idea. Yours is a great idea also but we have a LOT of stuff. We might need a few weekends during the summer but if I put my mind to this I could actually do it. The liberation of having MUCH LESS STUFF would probably feel as good as losing a lot of weight. Exhilarating indeed.

Thanks Gary.
 

I heard a great idea on the radio the other day
The idea came from a public school. They were putting on a ‘trunk’ sale.
For $20 you could rent a spot to park your car and sell as much out of your car trunk as you could.
Thats a good idea. Yours is a great idea also but we have a LOT of stuff. We might need a few weekends during the summer but if I put my mind to this I could actually do it. The liberation of having MUCH LESS STUFF would probably feel as good as losing a lot of weight. Exhilarating indeed.

Thanks Gary.

If you decide to sell from your yard;

one word;

signage




Big

bold

legible

strategic places

use the word HUGE


I had a tiny carport sale
used that word
folks said, 'you said it was huge!'

I said, 'it was...yesterday'
 
Thank you for the encouragement in organizing our home.
I’ve almost finished decluttering one entire room. Custom blinds were ordered but they came with the turning wand right in the middle of the blinds which was terrible so I had to reorder them. Meanwhile I decided to change the colour of my room to something lighter that reflects more light. This should help with seasonal affective disorder. I also decided to add some spring and summer freshness so purchased this comforter, pillows and cool painting. The real seashells add such dimension. It’s so interesting I’m considering making my own version of it.

Anyway this room wasn’t that disorganized so there wasn’t much to do.
When the blinds arrive and are up I’ll post another picture.
I’ve packed away three bags worth of stuff for goodwill which I’ll drop off tomorrow.

Now I’m working on the hallway and hallway closet.

Here is a picture of the new bedroom colours and the cool picture I found. In my eye it was a great match that added a theme. Those are dog stairs on the right.


Here is a closer picture of the picture.

View attachment 65685

If you posted a bedroom with its colors I'm not seeing it.

I love the painting and I'm assuming that the bit of wall I can see behind it is your bedroom wall? I also realized that I never commented on the color you chose for your foyer..that cool gray is very restful, a nice neutral color that you can dress up or down with brighter touches or keep it clean and cool looking.

We're keeping to the neutral tones as we work on the master bedroom/bathroom. Inside the closet is plain eggshell white. We haven't decided on the wall color yet..it will be a while before we're ready to repaint the bedroom. We're still finishing up the closet and then we have to demolish the existing closet and bathroom in order to build a new one. So lots of work to go before we're ready for finishing touches, but there's no downside to zeroing in on the general color family we want to stick to for the bathroom and bedroom.

As your thread started out as a discussion of minimalist living, I want to comment on that too. The concept appeals to me, but the practicalities of my life just prohibit true minimalism.

I don't have any deep seated reason for keeping what I have as she discusses at the beginning of her video. It's simply that I'm a realist. Plus I like to approach my life in the most efficient manner possible. Plus I have a busy social, professional and family life with lots of moving parts which is just the way I like it. All of that translates to needing more stuff than fits in to a truly minimalist lifestyle. So I compromise by staying very on top of what I have, routinely purging and de-cluttering. I am more grateful than I can say that Ron is exactly the same way. There isn't a month that goes by where he or I or the both of us aren't taking one or several bags or boxes to goodwill.

My clients don't help! They love to give me things...their clothes/shoes/purses/whatever from the closet purge we just did of their master closet, kitchen stuff, furniture, objets d'art, artwork, jewelry etc. I have a circle of family and friends and worthy causes that I distribute the stuff to. Some stuff I sell on ebay with the full knowledge and constant of my clients. It's not every month, but there's a very consistent turnover, peaking at the beginning of the warmer months, and again at the beginning of the cooler months...both times are when clients are switching between their seasonal wardrobes and that process tends to launch them into a general decluttering mode.

Keeping my stuff pared down is routine, ongoing habit. Good thing to because I'd be overwhelmed very quickly with stuff if I didn't keep the outgo commensurate with the intake!
 

If you decide to sell from your yard;

one word;

signage




Big

bold

legible

strategic places

use the word HUGE


I had a tiny carport sale
used that word
folks said, 'you said it was huge!'

I said, 'it was...yesterday'
I agree Gary. If I’m going to put that much effort into this than I need to put as much effort into advertising it and plenty of HUGE signs will do just that. We also have 1/2 of our garage and an outdoor tent garage to use in case it rains or even to store stuff. That’s a great idea.:yes:
Thanks.
 
I’m sorry Ronni,
I did post a picture of my room but then got a bit uncomfortable with it so took it down.
Im a bit funny like that but most people here know that about me already. :hide:

The wall colour is called ‘Silver Birch’ and it’s a hybrid between a light silver grey and cream colour. It really brightens up the room. My window doesn’t have the blind on it but I’ll show you what it looks like anyway. When the blind comes in and I put it up I’ll take pics of it and the newly organized closet. It is very organized now. Ridiculously so but I like it and to be brutally honest I’m not sure I can fully live a minimalist lifestyle. I’ve got far too many hobbies I can’t let go of that require lots of tools and raw materials but I get too much joy from them to let them go so won’t.

Here is the picture with the bed showing the colours.

9E920B45-15D7-4F33-886F-E57B36495DD2.jpg

And here is most of the room with the morning sun coming in.

5C4C6E4B-6037-4AA1-AE20-ECFEFF482002.jpg
 
What a lovely, restful room! I love the color you chose! And I really like how the painting helps draw the eye, the colors in it work so well with the walls and how you've dressed the bed.

Who makes that color? I really like it, and I'd like to know the brand if you don't mind, because I have to choose a paint color for our bedroom and this looks like just the kind of thing I'm looking for. Of course, in person it might be different, you know how color in photos online can look very different, but I'd love to check it out.

Good job Keesha!!!!
 
Thanks Ronni.
Its by BEHR which is Home Depots brand and is better than other well known paint brands.
Its the top end one in eggshell. It only requires one coat even to cover saturated colour.

Before I used to pick out the bed clothes first and then pick the colour based on that. The problem with that is that everything has to then match those colours and the colours get old after a while.
With picking neutral colours it gives the option to change bed clothes often which I like.

You have Home Depots don’t you?
 
Thanks Ronni.
Its by BEHR which is Home Depots brand and is better than other well known paint brands.
Its the top end one in eggshell. It only requires one coat even to cover saturated colour.

Before I used to pick out the bed clothes first and then pick the colour based on that. The problem with that is that everything has to then match those colours and the colours get old after a while.
With picking neutral colours it gives the option to change bed clothes often which I like.

You have Home Depots don’t you?

Yes ma’am. Ron uses Home Depot extensively and almost exclusively in his construction work. He puts all of his purchases on his Home Depot card, making it easier to track for taxes and also to invoice clients.

I love Behr paint! It’s what were used on the den, the high-end one you’re talking about, and the coverage is amazing!
 
Yes ma’am. Ron uses Home Depot extensively and almost exclusively in his construction work. He puts all of his purchases on his Home Depot card, making it easier to track for taxes and also to invoice clients.

I love Behr paint! It’s what were used on the den, the high-end one you’re talking about, and the coverage is amazing!
My mistake Ronni. It isn’t a BEHR colour. It’s a CIL colour which was made into a high quality BEHR paint.
I’ve got a link here.

https://www.cil.ca/Colour/Paint-Colours/Greys-Charcoals/70YY_72-041

In our Home Depot the exact colour is also called Ruffled Feathers. :lol:
 

I am all for downsizing. Having no children to pass things on to, I feel that less is more right now. I am slowly working on unloading many things that I no longer want or need. I have 3 dressers in the house. I do not NEED three. I am going to get rid of at least one of them. Plus a couple of chairs, and the computer desk in my office that is now more of a junk collector than a functional desk.
Eventually I want to get new carpets through the house, but want to move more things out before I do it. By the end of summer I want everything I am moving out gone.
 
I'm not into minimalism, but about this time a year ago I'd just finished up going through EVERYTHING from a 38-year marriage that was housed in a 2story, 4br, 2.5bath house with full basement and a large (stuffed) garage. My husband died at the end of December 2019, and I couldn't afford to stay there so had to get moved to smaller digs, as quickly as possible. It was a nightmare because I have disabilities w/mobility problems - so had to take my time going thru things. My husband had THIRTY - count 'em - 30 stuffed 13-gallon trash bags full of clothes. He really wasn't that much of a clothes horse, he just never threw anything away. Some of our stuff was sold in a couple weekends of "estate sale," some was just trashed, some (incl all tyhose clothes) went to Kidney Foundation, etc., and as little as possible came with me (probably still too much since I have a couple of "collections"- beads, yarn). So I think to myself I've done a good bit of the work for my son & DIL when they have to deal with my stuff. I hope they'll feel the same. At least, things are straightforward, mostly all in one place and all they'll have to do is ask themselves: Keep or Jettison?
 
I'm not into minimalism, but about this time a year ago I'd just finished up going through EVERYTHING from a 38-year marriage that was housed in a 2story, 4br, 2.5bath house with full basement and a large (stuffed) garage. My husband died at the end of December 2019, and I couldn't afford to stay there so had to get moved to smaller digs, as quickly as possible. It was a nightmare because I have disabilities w/mobility problems - so had to take my time going thru things. My husband had THIRTY - count 'em - 30 stuffed 13-gallon trash bags full of clothes. He really wasn't that much of a clothes horse, he just never threw anything away. Some of our stuff was sold in a couple weekends of "estate sale," some was just trashed, some (incl all tyhose clothes) went to Kidney Foundation, etc., and as little as possible came with me (probably still too much since I have a couple of "collections"- beads, yarn). So I think to myself I've done a good bit of the work for my son & DIL when they have to deal with my stuff. I hope they'll feel the same. At least, things are straightforward, mostly all in one place and all they'll have to do is ask themselves: Keep or Jettison?
I’m sorry for your loss. That must have been so difficult. I’m glad you managed to cope with your situation. Good for you.
Did you not realize he was a hoarder ?
How are you doing now?
 
It’s been 2 years since I’ve written this thread and while I’m still not a complete minimalist, I’ve progressed so much.

I literally went through all our stuff, and put in into 1 of 4 piles;

1/ Keep
2/. Trash
3/. Donate
4/. Sell

Most of my work purging things was done because I had to so most of this downsizing took about 3 months.

Things I never thought I could part with were given away to charity. We filled a garbage dumpster in a matter of 2 weeks. We sold bigger items for very reasonable prices.

Now even here, I realize I need to do the above once more minus selling stuff. It’s either going in the garbage or getting donated. Unfortunately we couldn’t donate as much stuff as we wanted due to Covid so much of it felt very wasteful.
 
I am not a minimalist either, but have been trying to go through the things I have. To either donate or throw out. I carried stuff around with me for years, moving from one place to another. I think when my parents died and I had to go through their stuff (it was a nightmare!) it woke me up. I am working on doing this right now. Taking stuff to be donated at a thrift store. I don't have anyone to give things to and I can't sell on eBay any longer. I got rid of a lot of stuff there and was surprised that people bought some of it.
 
I am not a minimalist either, but have been trying to go through the things I have. To either donate or throw out. I carried stuff around with me for years, moving from one place to another. I think when my parents died and I had to go through their stuff (it was a nightmare!) it woke me up. I am working on doing this right now. Taking stuff to be donated at a thrift store. I don't have anyone to give things to and I can't sell on eBay any longer. I got rid of a lot of stuff there and was surprised that people bought some of it.
Why can’t you sell on eBay any more @katlupe?
 
I think when my parents died and I had to go through their stuff (it was a nightmare!) it woke me up. I am working on doing this right now.
Exactly. While my parents haven’t died, I did have to clean up their house before it got condemned as unsafe to inhabit and it was a HUGE wake up call to not have more than I need at any one time. I was surprised to learn how liberating it was to have less stuff as well as rewarding to have helped others out.
 
I heard a great idea on the radio the other day
The idea came from a public school. They were putting on a ‘trunk’ sale.
For $20 you could rent a spot to park your car and sell as much out of your car trunk as you could.
Thats a good idea. Yours is a great idea also but we have a LOT of stuff. We might need a few weekends during the summer but if I put my mind to this I could actually do it. The liberation of having MUCH LESS STUFF would probably feel as good as losing a lot of weight. Exhilarating indeed.

Thanks Gary.
In England they call them boot sales, I loved to go when I was in the UK .
 
My husband and I moved about 2 yrs ago. I made my 2 children and 3 Grandchildren come over and take whatever they wanted. The only thing I wanted to take with me was my pictures and of course my furniture. When my parents passed away I made my nieces and nephews and my children go over and take whatever mementoe's they wanted. I didn't take anything. The memories of my wonderful parents were more than enough for me.
 


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