I Like Minimalism
I have spent the past 1 year plus of my life moving and getting rid of all of the stuff I inherited from my dad. It's so difficult. There are so many things... useful tools I want to hang onto and so much cool stuff but I don't have enough space and the clutter is holding up my life.
It's a slow process of getting rid of things. I just keep trying to go through it all and each time I go through stuff I am like "what the heck am I keeping this for" and then I get rid of it and the amount of things shrinks slowly but surly. Each time I go through things it gets more organized and when I have a pile of about 20 pairs/styles of different safety glasses, sunglasses, colored lens glasses, ski goggles, motorcycle goggles, welding glasses, I get rid of all but the best ones but I still have more than I will probably ever use. So then I have to go through it again and whittle it down.
Then you would think a guy only needs one flathead and one philips head screw driver but when you get them all in one place and you have 40 different screwdrivers sitting in front of you, you organize them and you realize that each one is a different size, different length, different angle, different thickness, different material handle for hammering on vs electrical work (all of them useful for a different project to reach when you are working on a car, a radio or whatever else). Then you are challenged with "Ok what ones can I do without and will use the least?" And yes I do a lot of work on projects so it's difficult when I have so many hobbies that actually will use most of this stuff at some point, but where do I draw the line on keeping something I might only need once every 5 years? Having stuff is a luxury that we can't afford in today's world where space is so costly to rent or own.
So many challenges in becoming a minimalist in a world of infinite interests, hobbies, opportunities and adventure that all require objects. Sure you can be a minimalist that is interested in camping or fishing and have the bare minimum camping or fishing gear, but what happens when you are interested in 20 other hobbies that require at least some stuff that is completely different from the other hobby? If money were not an issue, obviously you just rent or buy when you need it so there is the trade-off of how to balance maintaining your own storage vs someone else storing stuff.
To really be an actual minimal minimalist, you either have to have a decent job where you can just buy things over and over when you need them which isn't sustainable, pay into a shared shop space and have to use tools that aren't maintained by other people, or you have to only have minimal hobbies and interests in life, and pay others to do all these other things for you since you don't have the tools to do them.
One smart thing to do is to just get rid of all of it and start fresh. Then you weed out those things you only use once every 5 years if that. This is especially true when you inherit stuff and you may know it's use and could imagine using it some day but you may never use it. But then you have the sentimental attachment of using good quality old stuff your dad had vs having to buy some new junk. I have been battling this challenge (in addition to other challenges) for over a year now straight trying to get my life into as minimalist fully functioning happy state as possible but am a ways off still.
When my dad was alive, I rarely had to go to the store for things. If something needed doing, we could get it done. Even in the past year I have done all sorts of projects and not needed to go to the store. Which is nice when you don't really have a job and can't afford to be buying stuff. I realize more than ever how much money my dad sacrificed to have the luxury of stuff though. It's a challenge figuring out what is the most cost effective and time efficient.
It's a slow process of getting rid of things. I just keep trying to go through it all and each time I go through stuff I am like "what the heck am I keeping this for" and then I get rid of it and the amount of things shrinks slowly but surly. Each time I go through things it gets more organized and when I have a pile of about 20 pairs/styles of different safety glasses, sunglasses, colored lens glasses, ski goggles, motorcycle goggles, welding glasses, I get rid of all but the best ones but I still have more than I will probably ever use. So then I have to go through it again and whittle it down.
Then you would think a guy only needs one flathead and one philips head screw driver but when you get them all in one place and you have 40 different screwdrivers sitting in front of you, you organize them and you realize that each one is a different size, different length, different angle, different thickness, different material handle for hammering on vs electrical work (all of them useful for a different project to reach when you are working on a car, a radio or whatever else). Then you are challenged with "Ok what ones can I do without and will use the least?" And yes I do a lot of work on projects so it's difficult when I have so many hobbies that actually will use most of this stuff at some point, but where do I draw the line on keeping something I might only need once every 5 years? Having stuff is a luxury that we can't afford in today's world where space is so costly to rent or own.
So many challenges in becoming a minimalist in a world of infinite interests, hobbies, opportunities and adventure that all require objects. Sure you can be a minimalist that is interested in camping or fishing and have the bare minimum camping or fishing gear, but what happens when you are interested in 20 other hobbies that require at least some stuff that is completely different from the other hobby? If money were not an issue, obviously you just rent or buy when you need it so there is the trade-off of how to balance maintaining your own storage vs someone else storing stuff.
To really be an actual minimal minimalist, you either have to have a decent job where you can just buy things over and over when you need them which isn't sustainable, pay into a shared shop space and have to use tools that aren't maintained by other people, or you have to only have minimal hobbies and interests in life, and pay others to do all these other things for you since you don't have the tools to do them.
One smart thing to do is to just get rid of all of it and start fresh. Then you weed out those things you only use once every 5 years if that. This is especially true when you inherit stuff and you may know it's use and could imagine using it some day but you may never use it. But then you have the sentimental attachment of using good quality old stuff your dad had vs having to buy some new junk. I have been battling this challenge (in addition to other challenges) for over a year now straight trying to get my life into as minimalist fully functioning happy state as possible but am a ways off still.
When my dad was alive, I rarely had to go to the store for things. If something needed doing, we could get it done. Even in the past year I have done all sorts of projects and not needed to go to the store. Which is nice when you don't really have a job and can't afford to be buying stuff. I realize more than ever how much money my dad sacrificed to have the luxury of stuff though. It's a challenge figuring out what is the most cost effective and time efficient.
