- Jul 22, 2012
- 37,350
- 32,238
I really want to sell out the most of my shoes and donate a lot of clothes that I no longer wear or fit. Almost there.
"Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things" Discussion :::: Now On Netflix
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by brandon3000,
- Start date
- Dec 1, 2011
- 4,323
- 4,705
It's not a matter of losing skill, your priorities change when you start getting money.
- Nov 5, 2015
- 10,611
- 9,129
Bc I'm starting to put a uncomfortable amount money into it.
- Sep 28, 2010
- 1,928
- 343
Agree wholeheartedly. I bolded the part I agree with the most.
It's my life, let me live it how I see fit. I don't believe in telling another human being how to live unless they are partaking in self destructive behavior.
- Jul 18, 2008
- 1,987
- 568
I thought the whole minimalist concept was to emphasize the value of things you keep and to resist excess items with no values. So if having a camera provides more value to your life than a trip to India, doesn't it still follow this concept to buy a camera?
"It’s important to understand that the reduction of physical possessions is often a RESULT of Minimalism, not Minimalism itself. Just giving away a bunch of things doesn’t make you a Minimalist, any more than buying a statue of Buddha makes you a Buddhist or doing yoga makes you healthy. It’s one aspect of the whole, for sure, but you needn’t partake if that’s not where your priorities happen to be. There are always other options.
And that’s what’s important to establish here: priorities.
What Minimalism is really all about is reassessment of your priorities so that you can strip away the excess stuff – the possessions and ideas and relationships and activities – that don’t bring value to your life."
http://exilelifestyle.com/minimalism-explained/
"It’s important to understand that the reduction of physical possessions is often a RESULT of Minimalism, not Minimalism itself. Just giving away a bunch of things doesn’t make you a Minimalist, any more than buying a statue of Buddha makes you a Buddhist or doing yoga makes you healthy. It’s one aspect of the whole, for sure, but you needn’t partake if that’s not where your priorities happen to be. There are always other options.
And that’s what’s important to establish here: priorities.
What Minimalism is really all about is reassessment of your priorities so that you can strip away the excess stuff – the possessions and ideas and relationships and activities – that don’t bring value to your life."
http://exilelifestyle.com/minimalism-explained/
- Jul 20, 2012
- 10,671
- 11,131
That's not how our system of consumerism is built though. I just read today that the U.S. consumer confidence has reached its highest level since 2001. That's even higher than at the peak of the housing boom. People are racing to burn the money they have in their pockets instead of doing something smarter with it.
- Jan 4, 2004
- 2,413
- 3,500
^^ That's why I said from my personal experience. When I graduated college I did my traveling instead of entering the workforce right away. I volunteered in Central America and backpacked all throughout the Americas and Europe. When I came back to the States, I was completely changed. I know it sounds cliche, but traveling really does open your eyes to new experiences, cultures, traditions, and other aspects of life you don't see when you live in a bubble.
The way I look at it, we only live once. We live on a Planet that arguably has the only form of life. I want to see as much of the world as possible. I want to see how different people live in remote areas of the world. I want to see how people live in 3rd world countries with real poverty. Once you've seen things like this, it really does put things into perspective and makes you appreciate how we really do live on the greatest country. We take things for granted here, North American poor is not the same as Central/South America communities.
As for my number "50", that truly is just an arbitrary number I put and certainly can be changed, it's just a minimum I would like to reach. To me being rich would be a success, but if I got to visit all these countries before I die, I'll be content with my life. I'm in my mid 20s, and I've seen so much thus far. When I travel, it's always older people who are in charter group tours. They are mostly retired folk who are now enjoying their retirement, nothing wrong with that but they always compliment and encourage me on my travels. One thing I hear often is them saying that they wish they would've traveled when they were younger. It's more fun, and you get to actually hike and do all the intense stuff you can't really do when you're older.
As for social media, yea I like to post my travel photos because of several reasons. One is that they will remain online as a sort of backup. When I traveled Europe, I lost my phone and lost over 3,000 photos. I came back heartbroken. Two, I want to be able to look back at these photos and tell my kids about my experiences and encourage them to do the same. Three, I am actually trying to create a blog and get some followers to create revenue. I see there are alot of travel bloggers out there, and that would be my dream job.
Again, I can only speak for myself. And this is my mindset.
- Jan 4, 2004
- 2,413
- 3,500
^ I agree with this also. At the end of the day, make whatever makes YOU (The Person) happy. I'm just saying minimalism as in de-clutterring and getting rid of excess works for me.
Last edited:
- Jan 22, 2015
- 9,995
- 3,286
- Apr 27, 2002
- 3,709
- 3,464
as it is explained here:
doesn't seem like it would come across as minimalist, definitely on board with the establishing priorities part, that would seem to be an applicable approach the everyone could use? i wonder about that last part though; because it is hard to KNOW what "the possessions and ideas and relationships and activities" will bring value to one's life...how much should the idea of 'value' govern what we deem to be important? will there still be room for serendipity? as an aside, it just seems like people splitting into ever smaller factions of ideologies, most of it is harmless but it does highlight our tendency to form groups of like-minded people around even the most nuanced of beliefs...
no doubt, good luck in your travels my g, aren't too many things better than seeing how people move around than going to see it 1st hand, especially if maintaining an open mind. no disrespect intended, basically i was saying this:
ultimately if a person's fulfillment/happiness/worth is dependent on these externalities, it really isn't that different at all; as much as advertisers would like it to be so, what we do/own doesn't define or make us who we are-though they might paint part of the picture-ain't nothing wrong with having bucket lists, having goals or wanting certain things but there an extent that people can choose their fulfillment/happiness/worth independent of where they have been or what they own
- Sep 27, 2005
- 10,188
- 3,542
I switched to buying things as I need them
it's something I've always done but now I'm closer to it being in all aspects of my life
you don't need storage unless your in between living situations
the store is my storage
it's something I've always done but now I'm closer to it being in all aspects of my life
you don't need storage unless your in between living situations
the store is my storage
- Jan 4, 2004
- 2,413
- 3,500
^^ I've been to 36 countries. I knocked out 28 when I backpacked Europe. I was able to do so because of the EUrail which was the best thing I've ever done in my life. You could grab any train in Europe and maybe pay a small reservation fee to get better seats, meals, and other upgrades. The best part was just sitting, planning the next city, and enjoying the window view of picturesque country sides. Now that I'm back and have a full -time job, I am limited to 3 weeks off, so I plan accordingly and well in advance.
^^ It's all good, thanks. No disrespect taken. I was trying to share my thoughts. Again, I totally support people in whatever makes them happy. If you want to strive for material things that make you happy, then go for it.
- Jan 22, 2015
- 9,995
- 3,286
Last edited:
- Jan 4, 2004
- 2,413
- 3,500
Yea I was out there for 5-6 months. I got the Global pass, so I didn't have any restrictions on how many trains I could take or whatever. I bought a Europe book and went to cities that interested me. I didn't book any hotels in advance, so me and my GF stayed in hostels as we went. We would land in a city, and spend as much time as we wanted there. Some countries we only spent 2-3 days in. But western europe France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, this is where we spent the majority.
At the time I think we paid like the equivalent of like 4-5K USD for the pass. That covers transportation upfront. Also it gives alot of discounts and free entries to stuff. Theres also perks included like free ferries, food, tours, and others stuff. Honestly looking to do it again if I have the chance in the next few years. At the time the euro was more expensive, but now the dollar is stronger so it's almost at par, which makes it better for us to travel. But the great thing is you meet people, and make connections. People invite you to stay with them and so on.
- Jan 22, 2015
- 9,995
- 3,286
- Jan 22, 2011
- 29,930
- 8,487
Non-stop traveling for 6 months seems way doper than what the other dudes are suggesting.
- Dec 19, 2011
- 3,516
- 1,191
These guys are a bit extreme. But I think the general concept of being minimal should be advocated.
- Apr 30, 2007
- 2,484
- 352
This is a stupid little story but it led me to minimalism.
When I was 18 which was back in 2006. I had this dream that I was going to move out ASAP (didn't move out until I was 26). My room was always a mess with plates, clothes, and video game controllers and wires everywhere. I also had a lot of clothes as well.
When that time came for me to move out, I knew that I wouldn't have to move a lot of stuff. The three important things were my bed, my desk and my TV stand. Everything else I left behind.
My room currently is very minimal and I reduced a lot of clutter. I make it a rule that if I throw in the trash, there is a reason that I put it in there and I will not take it back. For example, my recent breakup. I threw all of her cards, all of our pictures and any kind of memento about us because it's about to be a new year and she has no value to me anymore. Yes, there are times when I think to myself why am I throwing this out? What is the reason? It's very similar to the documentary when they tell people to ask themselves "what is the value of this camera?" It was really funny to hear them say that because that's how I live my life.
Everything in my room also serves a purpose and living a clutter free life really has helped my psyche. You can see how a person lives just by their very desk at work. But I feng shui'ed my desk.
Oh yeah, people should check out how to Feng Shui their house or desk. It's similar to minimalism but it's more about placement to harmonize your living space.
When I was 18 which was back in 2006. I had this dream that I was going to move out ASAP (didn't move out until I was 26). My room was always a mess with plates, clothes, and video game controllers and wires everywhere. I also had a lot of clothes as well.
When that time came for me to move out, I knew that I wouldn't have to move a lot of stuff. The three important things were my bed, my desk and my TV stand. Everything else I left behind.
My room currently is very minimal and I reduced a lot of clutter. I make it a rule that if I throw in the trash, there is a reason that I put it in there and I will not take it back. For example, my recent breakup. I threw all of her cards, all of our pictures and any kind of memento about us because it's about to be a new year and she has no value to me anymore. Yes, there are times when I think to myself why am I throwing this out? What is the reason? It's very similar to the documentary when they tell people to ask themselves "what is the value of this camera?" It was really funny to hear them say that because that's how I live my life.
Everything in my room also serves a purpose and living a clutter free life really has helped my psyche. You can see how a person lives just by their very desk at work. But I feng shui'ed my desk.
Oh yeah, people should check out how to Feng Shui their house or desk. It's similar to minimalism but it's more about placement to harmonize your living space.
- Oct 30, 2004
- 38
- 12
I saw this documentary on Netflix about 2 weeks ago, while I was working from home I let it play in the background, and I let a lot of things go over my head, but I generally thought these guys have great ideas that I should maybe adopt, and that was that.
But then I saw it again yesterday (without any distractions) and, YIKES. I NEED to get rid of more things. I truly feel held back, as far as the accumulation of things I own that no longer serve me: Things like my stacks of magazines I never dip into, DVDs that I never rewatch, shoes that I own and rarely wear, to preserve their wear/or just to have deadstock to mayyybe possibly rock in the future, or show off in some exhibit.. I know I can not only feel more free, but BE more free if I liberate myself from the attachment I have to things that, honestly, wouldn't matter that much if they were suddenly vanquished from my possession.
ARE THESE BELONGINGS A PART OF ME? How much do they really serve me in this life, are they just status symbols? Will I truly get a $450+ or so utility output on wearing those Bred Air Jordan 1s? Or is it all nostalgia/for the sake of impressing others? Personally, I love that colorway, the look of the shoe (although I do like Chicago AJ1s more), and I think I could wear them enough to justify the $160 price tag, because the shoe feels great, although it probably wouldn't look that great anymore if I wore it to the point where I would HAVE to have the shoes replaced because, say, the soles developed holes from wear, for instance.
I did this closet hack a while ago (I think I read about it in GQ or Complex): You turn the hangers to face the opposite direction of where you normally hang your clothing: and for about a month or longer, every time you grab a shirt or pants off the rack, you turn around the hanger to its normal position so that you visually can see what you NEVER wear. Then you repeat as needed until you have a decent pile of clothes you know you never wear anyway and donate/sell it off. I know some things like jackets and blazers may be more rarely worn depending on your climate, but of course you can adjust your own personal barometer of wearing frequency when determining those specific goods.
Asides from shoes, I'm also a record collector, and so parting with my music library feels next to impossible; but I can see myself compromising by way getting rid of the vinyl I don't really like (maybe if I stopped enjoying a certain artist/no longer was a fan due to their values), doing away with the more obsolete mediums I own like cassettes and CDs.. But trying to re-organize my collection of music–as well as any other collections of possessions of mine–feels and more like just denying the fact that I'm maybe just a NEAT HOARDER. And maybe, letting go of a significant amount of my physical belongings (at least not until i create digital back-up of things like my photos and music) will help get closer to being free from the attachment of it all.
I just ultimately want to live to the point where I can lose the worry of losing something, where I do use everything I own and none of it just sits around in some storage facility or forgotten closet; or maybe I'm just having an identity crisis right now, lol.
But then I saw it again yesterday (without any distractions) and, YIKES. I NEED to get rid of more things. I truly feel held back, as far as the accumulation of things I own that no longer serve me: Things like my stacks of magazines I never dip into, DVDs that I never rewatch, shoes that I own and rarely wear, to preserve their wear/or just to have deadstock to mayyybe possibly rock in the future, or show off in some exhibit.. I know I can not only feel more free, but BE more free if I liberate myself from the attachment I have to things that, honestly, wouldn't matter that much if they were suddenly vanquished from my possession.
ARE THESE BELONGINGS A PART OF ME? How much do they really serve me in this life, are they just status symbols? Will I truly get a $450+ or so utility output on wearing those Bred Air Jordan 1s? Or is it all nostalgia/for the sake of impressing others? Personally, I love that colorway, the look of the shoe (although I do like Chicago AJ1s more), and I think I could wear them enough to justify the $160 price tag, because the shoe feels great, although it probably wouldn't look that great anymore if I wore it to the point where I would HAVE to have the shoes replaced because, say, the soles developed holes from wear, for instance.
I did this closet hack a while ago (I think I read about it in GQ or Complex): You turn the hangers to face the opposite direction of where you normally hang your clothing: and for about a month or longer, every time you grab a shirt or pants off the rack, you turn around the hanger to its normal position so that you visually can see what you NEVER wear. Then you repeat as needed until you have a decent pile of clothes you know you never wear anyway and donate/sell it off. I know some things like jackets and blazers may be more rarely worn depending on your climate, but of course you can adjust your own personal barometer of wearing frequency when determining those specific goods.
Asides from shoes, I'm also a record collector, and so parting with my music library feels next to impossible; but I can see myself compromising by way getting rid of the vinyl I don't really like (maybe if I stopped enjoying a certain artist/no longer was a fan due to their values), doing away with the more obsolete mediums I own like cassettes and CDs.. But trying to re-organize my collection of music–as well as any other collections of possessions of mine–feels and more like just denying the fact that I'm maybe just a NEAT HOARDER. And maybe, letting go of a significant amount of my physical belongings (at least not until i create digital back-up of things like my photos and music) will help get closer to being free from the attachment of it all.
I just ultimately want to live to the point where I can lose the worry of losing something, where I do use everything I own and none of it just sits around in some storage facility or forgotten closet; or maybe I'm just having an identity crisis right now, lol.
Last edited:
- Jul 25, 2012
- 679
- 428
#kanyewest #donda #minimalism
- Aug 27, 2008
- 5,315
- 3,790
Saw the documentary last week and really inspired me to change my lifestyle. I'm really trying to downsize my wardrobe in the next couple months. Other than that, I use everything else I have,
- Sep 26, 2012
- 691
- 1,902
Watched it today and I'm torn on it.
I'm looking at the authors and some of the people praising the minimalist lifestyle and I'm all in on the idea. I feel people are too concerned with image... what will make them look "cool/successful/trendy". I have always done my own thing, but there are times I slip and waste money or time wanting something materialistic. This movie really made me just want to disconnect and pay attention more to my relationships, surroundings, and myself. The authors seemed genuine, and so did the family of four that looked like they lived in Arizona or New Mexico, and the lady living in the tiny home on a farm. They looked like they walked the walk in terms of living the minimalist lifestyle. I believe them...
But...
There were little things that stuck out to me, like all these people appeared to have a LOT of money. It's easy to give up possessions if you know you can replace them just as easily. The couple that lived in that expensive New York apartment had me kind of
. They came across as elitist, as did the cool bro finance guy. It was almost condescending hearing these wealthy individuals telling us how cutting materialistic stuff out of our lives is so great, yet they are lounging around a $2 million dollar apartment. It reminded me of the documentary Forks Over Knives... they meant well by it... but it's easy for rich people to tell poor people to stop feeding your kids McDonald's and instead buy organically-grown fruits and vegetables instead.
Just my thoughts.
I'm looking at the authors and some of the people praising the minimalist lifestyle and I'm all in on the idea. I feel people are too concerned with image... what will make them look "cool/successful/trendy". I have always done my own thing, but there are times I slip and waste money or time wanting something materialistic. This movie really made me just want to disconnect and pay attention more to my relationships, surroundings, and myself. The authors seemed genuine, and so did the family of four that looked like they lived in Arizona or New Mexico, and the lady living in the tiny home on a farm. They looked like they walked the walk in terms of living the minimalist lifestyle. I believe them...
But...
There were little things that stuck out to me, like all these people appeared to have a LOT of money. It's easy to give up possessions if you know you can replace them just as easily. The couple that lived in that expensive New York apartment had me kind of
Just my thoughts.
- Dec 19, 2011
- 3,516
- 1,191
Watched it today and I'm torn on it.
I'm looking at the authors and some of the people praising the minimalist lifestyle and I'm all in on the idea. I feel people are too concerned with image... what will make them look "cool/successful/trendy". I have always done my own thing, but there are times I slip and waste money or time wanting something materialistic. This movie really made me just want to disconnect and pay attention more to my relationships, surroundings, and myself. The authors seemed genuine, and so did the family of four that looked like they lived in Arizona or New Mexico, and the lady living in the tiny home on a farm. They looked like they walked the walk in terms of living the minimalist lifestyle. I believe them...
But...
There were little things that stuck out to me, like all these people appeared to have a LOT of money. It's easy to give up possessions if you know you can replace them just as easily. The couple that lived in that expensive New York apartment had me kind of. They came across as elitist, as did the cool bro finance guy. It was almost condescending hearing these wealthy individuals telling us how cutting materialistic stuff out of our lives is so great, yet they are lounging around a $2 million dollar apartment. It reminded me of the documentary Forks Over Knives... they meant well by it... but it's easy for rich people to tell poor people to stop feeding your kids McDonald's and instead buy organically-grown fruits and vegetables instead.
Just my thoughts.
Yes and no. Minimalism is not black or white, it is a spectrum. You don't have to living in a van to be a minimalist. Just like you don't need to be living in a mansion to be considered a materialistic person.
- Sep 27, 2005
- 10,188
- 3,542
same thing I felt which is why I wasn't even pressed to watch it cause I knew how it would come off
it moreso implies you can live in a 2 million dollar condo if you stop consuming
but most of these people downsized after already having money
also a lot of them seem to have high paying jobs that can be done anywhere making it easier to pack up and live anywhere
but still good principles to follow nonetheless
but it may discourage people out the gate if you don't have a better understanding of how to achieve a more fulfilling life
Last edited:
- Aug 27, 2008
- 5,315
- 3,790
My girlfriend ordered the book for me and it came in on Friday. Man I love this girl. Will post a review after I finish reading it.
