The majority of my possessions is still in boxes. We plan to move again very soon. The plan is: Live in this country-ass mobile home, cheap as hell, for just a short time. Continue to look for our perfect place, closer to the center of the denser metro area. Leave as much stuff in boxes as possible, because we’re going to turn around and move again really soon. I only have a small pile of clothes out; a few pots, pans, dishes…just necessities.
I’m doing just fine without the rest of my stuff.
I can see why this minimalist living craze has been going on. I’ve heard a few NPR stories, you know, read some stuff: If you haven’t used it in 30 days, get rid of it. That sort of thing.
When I peer into any of these boxes, though, the items that I see seem useful or desirable somehow. I have already pared down my collection of possessions a few times. Every time I move I do that: I shed pounds and pounds of unused junk. I thought I was getting pretty lean and mean.
The main thing I could stand to get rid of is some books. I should take em all out in the yard and burn em. Why am I carting around all these books? It’s a hernia waiting to happen. I think I keep them because subconsciously it makes me feel like a smart guy.
who cares 
6 replies on “Minimalism (in Excess)”
Getting pretty lean and mean in terms of material possessions — that sounds great. I am a fan of minimalism. Yeah, don’t you feel lighter and a bit happier after having discarded most of the junk that’s weighing you down? It applies as well to non-material stuff: Unnecessary friendships, emotions, activities, etc.
Getting rid of books and papers — that’s painful for me, too. But we gotta be ruthless. 🙂
It gives you the opportunity to focus more on the things that are truly relevant and salient in your current life.
With me, there is always a tangle of some past memory that somehow wraps a thread around me in the present. It’s so weird how memories work.
There definitely is a parallel there between material and non-material (memory/emotion/relationship type of stuff).
I understand. The sentimental in me often impedes me from letting go of many things — holding on to memories is one huge strand in it. But we’ll soon get older as freedom from attachment to irrelevant and non-salient matters grows more and more appealing.
I’ve written about the joy of simplifying and downsizing because the more space I create in certain areas of my life, the happier and lighter I feel. You seem to already know about all this and I commend you for that.
Creating space. Yes! I’ve read and heard notions like: we ARE the space. We are the space in which all of this stuff happens…ha, sorry, got my nerdy/seeker hat on there for a minute. You ever hear of Jeff Foster or Bentinho Massaro?
Pardon me that I have to google them prior to this reply as it’s the first time I’ve heard of the two.
Er, I ain’t a very spiritual person. Are you? Buddhism makes a lot of sense, though. 🙂
I like hearing about their ways of seeing things. They have a way of weeding through a lot of static. These two guys don’t bomb you with a lot of dogma type of stuff or belief system type of stuff.