Those small houses make me feel claustrophobic. I'm a hiker and love walking, so I need a lot of space even at home. I even have this dream of a house just big enough (nothing like a mansion) to have a small indoor trail with walls decorated in landscapes to go from room to room and take the long way just for kicks. As for my car, no one will keep me from having one (I definitely was a pilot in a past life) but I can understand that some people prefer to go without for various reasons. Too many cars in my way anyways
Here's my story:
I used to be a hoarder. I'd keep everything unless it was broken or completely useless. I even bought things in double and triple or more when I saw great specials. One day I decided to take the "if it hasn't been used in X amount of time, get rid of it." The first time I got rid of everything that had not been used in 2 years. I filled up at least 3 recycling containers with paper and another 2 with plastic and other items. I gave away at least 3 full garbage bags of clothes (a few brand new never worn items) and threw away at least 10 garbage bags full of old junk - and I live in a 3 1/2 apartment!. The next year I took it down to stuff that hadn't been used in a year and filled up the recycling container at least twice again and threw away another 4-5 garbage bags of junk, plus gave away another 2-3 garbage bags full to charity. I was still in the same apartment.
Ever since (about 6 years now) I take a day or two during my vacation to clean up and still usually get rid of about 2-3 garbage bags full of stuff to recycle/donate/trash. Last year it was down to 1 or 2 garbage bags. After I moved last month, I filled the trash can with old cans that were expired. Couldn't believe the date on some of that stuff (some expired in 2001!) I still have some stuff that needs to go, mostly decoration items that were cluttering the place up for nothing, and a small box for charity. Just before the move, I spent a lot of money in tote containers and started organizing my tools and cleaning stuff. That took a while, but now I can actually enter and close the door in the storage closet, plus those were boxes that didn't need to be done or undone anymore. As a technician I do have most tools required for car maintenance and a lot of products for maintenance, but that's part of who I am.
I still have some leftovers from the hoarding days, but only what I call "semi-consumables": 14 towels (7 are now rags) 3 pairs of hiking boots (upgrades of upgrades, but one pair is replacing my 2 dead pairs of winter boots) 5 sets of bed sheets (2 sets given to charity), jackets for all and I mean ALL weather and temperature imaginable (anyone wants to buy my leather jacket?), 2 drawers full of t-shirts, a drawer full of socks and another one for undies and I might be forgetting a few items. BUT... this is all stuff that actually gets used and basically saves me money by keeping it as I know they will need to be replaced at some point, so as one wears out, another one gets worn more often. I do have to think of something useful for the 4 extra backpacks that rarely see any use, though. BTW, if you think I spent a lot of money on those, all had been bought at an average of 60% rebate, so I'm actually saving money by keeping these.
Most of the reclaimed space has been filled with useful hobby items though: hiking equipment, sowing machine, leather work accessories, etc. I don't use those very often, but those things do save me money as I often make useful things that help organize stuff. Well, the hiking equipment helps on fitness and spare time only, but I don't plan on quitting hiking anytime soon.
So, I am not a real minimalist, but I do what I can and sure do appreciate the absence of useless junk. I do still hoard toilet paper, tissue boxes, toothbrushes and all sorts of toiletries. I think that's a minimalistic use of time as I don't have to shop for those every month
Here's my story:
I used to be a hoarder. I'd keep everything unless it was broken or completely useless. I even bought things in double and triple or more when I saw great specials. One day I decided to take the "if it hasn't been used in X amount of time, get rid of it." The first time I got rid of everything that had not been used in 2 years. I filled up at least 3 recycling containers with paper and another 2 with plastic and other items. I gave away at least 3 full garbage bags of clothes (a few brand new never worn items) and threw away at least 10 garbage bags full of old junk - and I live in a 3 1/2 apartment!. The next year I took it down to stuff that hadn't been used in a year and filled up the recycling container at least twice again and threw away another 4-5 garbage bags of junk, plus gave away another 2-3 garbage bags full to charity. I was still in the same apartment.
Ever since (about 6 years now) I take a day or two during my vacation to clean up and still usually get rid of about 2-3 garbage bags full of stuff to recycle/donate/trash. Last year it was down to 1 or 2 garbage bags. After I moved last month, I filled the trash can with old cans that were expired. Couldn't believe the date on some of that stuff (some expired in 2001!) I still have some stuff that needs to go, mostly decoration items that were cluttering the place up for nothing, and a small box for charity. Just before the move, I spent a lot of money in tote containers and started organizing my tools and cleaning stuff. That took a while, but now I can actually enter and close the door in the storage closet, plus those were boxes that didn't need to be done or undone anymore. As a technician I do have most tools required for car maintenance and a lot of products for maintenance, but that's part of who I am.
I still have some leftovers from the hoarding days, but only what I call "semi-consumables": 14 towels (7 are now rags) 3 pairs of hiking boots (upgrades of upgrades, but one pair is replacing my 2 dead pairs of winter boots) 5 sets of bed sheets (2 sets given to charity), jackets for all and I mean ALL weather and temperature imaginable (anyone wants to buy my leather jacket?), 2 drawers full of t-shirts, a drawer full of socks and another one for undies and I might be forgetting a few items. BUT... this is all stuff that actually gets used and basically saves me money by keeping it as I know they will need to be replaced at some point, so as one wears out, another one gets worn more often. I do have to think of something useful for the 4 extra backpacks that rarely see any use, though. BTW, if you think I spent a lot of money on those, all had been bought at an average of 60% rebate, so I'm actually saving money by keeping these.
Most of the reclaimed space has been filled with useful hobby items though: hiking equipment, sowing machine, leather work accessories, etc. I don't use those very often, but those things do save me money as I often make useful things that help organize stuff. Well, the hiking equipment helps on fitness and spare time only, but I don't plan on quitting hiking anytime soon.
So, I am not a real minimalist, but I do what I can and sure do appreciate the absence of useless junk. I do still hoard toilet paper, tissue boxes, toothbrushes and all sorts of toiletries. I think that's a minimalistic use of time as I don't have to shop for those every month