An article about the minimalist life

[MrNoodly]

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/...ly_sustainable.single.html#pagebreak_anchor_2<br><br>It's written from the point of view of those who do it -- or try to do it -- by choice. They become tired of the meaninglessness of consumerism. They become tired of the burdens of maintaining that kind of life. Some go extremes, like the guy who lived out of one bag, or a family of three in a 300 square foot apartment. <br><br>But there's a point that could have used more discussion. It's easy to get rid of all those things you were keeping because you might need them someday if you have the money to go out and replace them when you do need them, or if you can afford to pay someone else to repair things. But what if you don't have the money? What should a wise person keep? How many of my tools and supplies should I try to pack into my 60 square foot "apartment?" Would I be a fool to live like a monk? Yes, a van would seem spacious and serene with just a futon and a change of underwear. But can -- and should -- we really live that way fulltime?<br><br>One of my gripes with Jason Odom's "Vanabode" is that he and his wife aren't fulltimers. They take extended excursions away from their house, and when they've had enough they go home. Vandwelling is their hobby. So their van can be very minimalist. It's easy to be zen about it when you do it only a few months at a time.<br><br>I've been downsizing my life for several years. Even before I had any conscious plan to live more simply I'd go on semi-regular binges of getting rid of stuff. One of the wedges between my now-ex-wife and I was that she was comforted my her possessions while I felt liberated by not needing them.<br><br>I'd love to be able to throw a mattress and duffle bag in the back of van and just hit the road. But that kind of minimalist life can end up being expensive.<br><br>What do you folks think?

 

[1977dodge]

great post i am looking for a van at present and already seeing some areas that concern me like fuel costs<br>Royz

 

[wagoneer]

By definition being a merchant I am surrounded by stuff. Yes still not fulltime on the road but getting closer. Cannot fill my life with 2 x 4 cages holding microwaves and freezers. I travel with a canvas "A" frame civil war style tent. Camping is not so stealthy but I need not stealth. I need fire and release.I am a burned out city dweller. When I was younger my dad worked for PG&amp;E they had a family camp ground near the Feather river a train ran through and some real HOBO camps where these guys told tall tales and drank cheap wine and smoked RYO stogie's&nbsp;

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I dunno, I think you can go overboard with anything, including minimalism.&nbsp; I like the idea of keeping only what you need to be comfortable and happy, which will be different for anyone.&nbsp; If i look at something, i think 'Do I really need this?&nbsp; Would I really be in trouble if i didnt have it."&nbsp; And if I am honest with myself the answer is most often no.&nbsp;

 

[MrNoodly]

If i look at something, i think 'Do I really need this?&nbsp; Would I really be in trouble if i didnt have it."&nbsp; And if I am honest with myself the answer is most often no.&nbsp;

<br><br>I used to go to flea markets -- just to look. My then-wife would ask why I didn't buy some of the cooler things I saw and commented on. "It's enough to have seen them and know they exist. I don't need to own them." Once in a blue moon I'd see something I couldn't resist. Those things gave me years of enjoyment and usefulness, but I've since divested myself of them.&nbsp;<br><br>So I like the idea of asking myself if I'd be in trouble if I <em>didn't</em> own something. That's a good rule of thumb.&nbsp;

 

[offroad]

True that you dont own stuff.&nbsp; stuff owns you, because you have to care for it and use it.&nbsp;&nbsp; Horders are collecters, and fans (short for fanatics) that have slipped a little too far into value of themselves through posessions.&nbsp; Even think that greedy rich folks do this, until they get too old to realize they dont have the brains to get rid of the money to the betterment of society.<BR><BR>Look at the advertisements in the society magazines in all metropolitans areas.&nbsp; Oppulance in every way to say, "pay attention to me, my rich fake famous friends".&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

[MrNoodly]

Some people have the money to indulge every whim, and then they discover indulgence isn't gratifying. I never had that kind of money, but I did as much whim indulging as I could for a while. It was rather pointless in the end.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

<p>minimalism is just the latest fad for those that are into it.I think it is appealing because it seems stressless&nbsp;from the outside.&nbsp;minamilism is not without issues. &nbsp;</p>

 

[MrNoodly]

minamilism is not without issues. &nbsp;

<br><br>True, but the issues are less likely to be obscured by the clutter of life. The issues can be acted upon more directly if you have fewer things in your life complicating decisions. <br><br>Classic example: You get laid off and can't find work. If you're living a minimalist and mobile life, you can go where the jobs are without needing to first sell a house.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

yes this is true you would not have those issues but you would be faced with a whole&nbsp;other set of issues.&nbsp;If&nbsp;they&nbsp;seem greater or not, I think,&nbsp;depends on who you&nbsp;have become. Driving to a new job, new community may seem like a great adventure to some but leaving your comforts and support network may&nbsp;be too&nbsp;stressfull&nbsp;for somebody else.<img class="emoticon bbc_img" src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif">&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

[MrNoodly]

True. I'm such an independent person that I forget how important family, friends and other social support systems are to most people.&nbsp;<br><br>But about fifteen years ago I was struck by how limited I had unintentionally made my life options. A niece in her early 20s was living in Florida, and working at a crappy entry-level job. She didn't like Florida much, either. (She was there only because that's where her parents moved when she was a kid.) So she and her roommate/work buddy decided to pack up their few belongings and move to Colorado. "It's not like we have a lot to lose," she said. "We can find crappy entry-level jobs there, too." I was envious because I couldn't just pack up and go in search of a different life. I had a marriage and career and a house (filled with stuff, of course).<br><br>So here I am now, with no marriage, a career that's essentially over and a house on the market. And I feel more alive than I have in twenty years. I feel lighter every time I sell, donate or throw away what I once thought were necessities, or what were ineffective bandaids on my malaise. Those things were anchors instead.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

&nbsp;I know the feeling that you had with your niece, I also know the feeling of getting ready for a new lifestyle, shedding the&nbsp;old to make room for the new, the known for the unknown, Very exciting!!!&nbsp;Sounds like the timming is right for you, it&nbsp;will&nbsp;not come without moments of fear (issues)&nbsp;&nbsp;Like your niece said what do you have to loose. Good luck I look forward to hearing about it...Yahoooo,&nbsp;&nbsp;<img class="emoticon bbc_img" src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif">

 

[treesonggal]

Over the past 10 years I've continuously downsized - in all respects.<br><br>Designed a 600 sq. ft. earth bermed home; helped build it and got divorced.<br><br>Moved in with an elderly friend until I found a 160 Sq. Ft. cabin with no amenities/facilities on a dead end road of hunting cabins, so seldom saw a soul. Great location for soul-searching &amp; time away from the rat race.<br><br>Met a man; bought a small mobile home &amp; got sucked back into a lesser version of the rat race.<br><br>Now, he's dying &amp; I'm his room mate/caretaker. It works for now, but the goal to van dwell full time continues. I spend my days researching, measuring, inventorying my "stuff" and looking at other conversions every chance I get.<br><br>I left him for three months, but returned to care for him.&nbsp;The SMARTEST decision I made then was to NOT UNPACK!<br><br>Six large blue storage totes are stacked on the screened porch; two more are in a closet. I won't &nbsp;unpack until I have a van. Most of what they contain I haven't missed &amp; can barely recall.<br><br>I unpacked summer clothes (I'm in Florida), toiletries and my cast iron pans.<br>I've lost any attachment to this place, most of the furniture, the yard or neighborhood.<br>I'm in a holding pattern and that has been a teacher too.<br><br>Today I made n AZ list of everything I thought I'd put in my van. Looked at it awhile ago and crossed off two items. Suspect I can continue to do that and perhaps add some.<br><br>It helps that I'm organized and visual; but again, NOT unpacking has helped me shed the excess.<br><br>Some might consider packing as though they were going to move &amp; just live awhile. Just a thought.<br><br><br>

 

[MrNoodly]

The not unpacking thing reminds me --<br><br>When I moved from CA to NC, I rented a house for a year and kept most of my things packed. When I bought the house, I had the movers just put everything in the garage, because there was a lot of renovation to do. I'd fish things out of the boxes as I needed them. I had boxes of stuff in the garage for years. I finally got a dumpster and started going through things. There wasn't much left. Yeah, the emotional attachments were gone.

 

[Ballenxj]

Thanks for bringing up the emotional attachment part of ridding yourself of excess baggage MrNoodly. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> <br>I've started a thread about dealing with that right here. https://vanlivingforum.com/post/Emo...anymore-6297836?pid=1277638909#post1277638909 <br>-Bruce

 

[MrNoodly]

I've been reading an article about lock picking in Victorian England. The article said that in the 1850s, there was a great rise in the middle class. The middle class was able to acquire material goods and property like never before. (They were the great-great grandfathers of the consumerist middle class life we have today.) The trouble was that their stuff needed protecting. That created a demand for more and more sophisticated locks, which spurred thieves to figure out how to open them. <br><br>We're stuck in that cycle today. We have locks, alarms, security systems, video monitoring, gated communities, guards and all that, just to protect our stuff while we're out earning money to buy more stuff or to pay off the debt for the stuff we have.<br><br>But what if we could break our addiction to owning stuff? What if we had less stuff to house and protect?<br><br>About ten years ago, a thought started popping into my head whenever I'd be on my way home from a trip. "What if someone has burglarized the house while I was gone? What if the house has burned down?" At first those thoughts created anxiety. But after a while, I started thinking it might not be such a bad thing if all my stuff was gone. Well, it would be devastating to lose all the business stuff on my computer, but the rest of it? The momentos? The family heirlooms? The things I'd crafted myself? Mmmmm, I could get over it. Everything else could be replaced. So I made sure my insurance was adequate and stopped worrying. You want my stuff? Take it. Save me the trouble of having to get rid of it in the future. <br><br>This was before I ever thought of vandwelling. My mind had been heading that way for years, whether I was conscious of it or not. <br><br>At one point I entertained the idea of joining a monastic order, even though I'm not a religious person. A change of clothes, a few personal items, some food, a bed and something to keep me busy. What more did I need? Well, maybe a bit more, but the idea of owning almost nothing stopped being scary. It started looking more like freedom and opportunity rather than poverty and deprivation. It would be nice to not need so many locks.

 

[treesonggal]

MrNoodly, you last paragraph mirrors my experience exactly!<br><br>I find myself noticing what has not been used in while, whether that's a week or a month or more. Instead of maintaining it; moving it around the home or taking it out thinking, "I might use this some day," I'm inclined to gift it or donate it.<br><br>Though I could hold yard sales, even that thought tires me!<br><br>The ex-boyfriend's son moved out so the guest room is empty. I thought of setting up my studio again, but that involves unpacking, arranging, cleaning, etc. Better to have it packed away and move it into my van one day.<br><br>It's as though almost anything associated with filling and maintaining a home has lost its appeal. The blessing is, I'm fine with that!

 

[MrNoodly]

It's as though almost anything associated with filling and maintaining a home has lost its appeal.

<br><br>I used to watch a lot of HGTV, a.k.a. homeowner porn. "Ooooo, I could do something like that!" "Where can I get cabinets like those?" And so on. But then I started to get annoyed by people whining that their closets weren't big enough or that they didn't have enough bathrooms, or that their entry hall wasn't grand enough. Oh, boo-hoo, poor them.

 

[treesonggal]

Exactly! If ever there's an accurate portrayal of our consumerism gone amuck, it's HGTV House Hunters. What they trash while removing to "upgrade" in ONE house, I could build a few houses with and they'd have more character too.<br><br>Keeping Up With the Jones is so underrated!

 

[owl]

&nbsp;&nbsp; I don't understand why people of different lifestyles feel the need to put down other folks choices. You see it all the time here and in society in general. I guess some do it to make themselves feel better about the&nbsp;decisions they have made in their life. There are millions of people all over the world that enjoy immensely their homes and possessions and don't feel at all that their things own them. Some of the things I have and enjoy daily are paintings and crafts that&nbsp;friends have made for me. We expect and hope for tolerance from friends and family for this lifestyle. I would suspect that they would like the same from us. Enjoy your day !