World, Writing, Wealth discussion

I'm not a big fan of minimalism in art and I don't like that much black squares or blue rectangles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism

But minimalism in lifestyle, described as getting rid of superfluous in favor of pursuit of a purpose-driven life, has some appeal: http://www.theminimalists.com/minimal...
and Forbes and other media give them stage, for example:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhans...

Is it the response to 'consumerism' and a kind of interpretation of a sharing economy and austerity policy on a personal level? What do you think?
Do you imagine life with having less than 100 items?

Surely living simply (if it isn't solely for financial reasons) isn't minimalist or any label. It is just how some people feel more comfortable.
After all, if you've kept a thirty-year-old teddy bear, would you throw it out to follow a 'purpose-driven' life? I doubt any minimalist strictly keeps to the principle, though some might use the idea that they do to promote themselves.
The problem with all these labels is that hardly anyone actually fits them.

By the by, I knew a famous minimalist artist quite well and he didn't take it all that seriously. He put an arrow on the back of his originals to remind himself which way up they should be :-)

I grew up reading Mother Earth News and dreamed of living off the land and producing my own energy from a nearby stream. So many great ideas in these mags. I still admire people who do this kind of thing, but I'm not one of them. I do live within my means and pretty simply for these times.

Scout wrote: "I grew up reading Mother Earth News and dreamed of living off the land and producing my own energy from a nearby stream. So many great ideas in these mags. I still admire people who do this kind of..."

Try marriage. That's minimalism at it best.

Vance wrote: "I doubt any minimalist strictly keeps to the principle, though some might use the idea that they do to promote themselves.
The problem with all these labels is that hardly anyone actually fits them...."

Yeah, I think blind numerical fit into under '100 items' is less important than a general focusing on purpose and priorities at expense of dependence on material objects

Scout wrote: "I grew up reading Mother Earth News and dreamed of living off the land and producing my own energy from a nearby stream. So many great ideas in these mags. I still admire people who do this kind of..."

Thought you might want to have a look at 'off-the-grid' thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

GR wrote: "Try marriage. That's minimalism at it best...."

-:)

Thanks, Nik, for the link. P.J.'s post gave me some insight into what it's really like to live off the electrical grid. Too much work, basically. The great appeal is being separate from the computer-regulated grid, which can be hacked. As I said, I don't have the guts to try it, but people who do may be in a better place when things go awry - at least until their batteries die. The more I look at the survivalist thing, the more I realize that there's not much you can do to prepare for the worst.

As for minimalism in general, I've been systematically purging all but the most necessary items: things like old IRS files and outdated paperwork, old letters and cards, clothes that no longer and will never fit, appliances and furniture I never use. I'm carrying a lighter load.

Minimalist, maximalist or somewhere in the middle - what's your approach?

Still minimalist.

I've made an artform of maintaining a minimalist bank account....

Graeme wrote: "I've made an artform of maintaining a minimalist bank account...."

-:)
Hope it's not due to writing and book marketing -:)

Sorry, Graeme, but that is funny :-) What about you, Nik? Minimalist, maximalist or somewhere in the middle?

Minimalist in approach to material goods, however I don't connect with minimalist art

Any new minimalists/maximalists here?

Nik wrote: "Any new minimalists/maximalists here?"

-smiles- Minimal in process, and approach and process.

I have gotten things to use for certain activities, and rid myself of many when I stopped using those. These days ridding of things tends to require people coming to get, an ardour in itself.

I had a bunch more written and all, and rid us of perhaps half.

Thanks for that.

This guy is called the poorest president in the world:
https://youtube.com/shorts/9L9UDsw2OC...

Are Barak, Boris and others you know cast in the same mo(u)ld? :)

Definitely not Joe. Most sources say that he has a net worth of $10 million. Considering that he's been a government employee all his life, not bad.

I have spent my entire life accumulating items, so no I cannot imagine with just 1100 items. What do I do with my 2000 books?

Papa, this has been on my mind lately - getting rid of stuff so that my son doesn't have to deal with it when I kick the bucket. I'm assiduously paring down my nonessential possessions, but being surrounded by my books is something I won't give up. He'll probably trash them or have a yard sale, but I'm not going to do that myself. When deciding what to get rid of, I have to think about what's going to be important to him. Will my great-grandmother's wedding dress mean anything to him? Or the hand-made trunk my great-grandfather made? The cast iron frying pans, the antique tools, the hand-made quilts, the photos of ancestors? I've held onto them because they were handed down to me. Should I make him deal with that stuff or get rid of it now?

After having to deal with vacating my late father's, uncle's and aunt's apartments, I can say that I've kept all the photos and a bunch of different items that I thought were meaningful or nice. Among them - lots of albums full of stamps, which I have no idea whether they are worth anything, but I keep them.

Scout wrote: "Papa, this has been on my mind lately - getting rid of stuff so that my son doesn't have to deal with it when I kick the bucket. I'm assiduously paring down my nonessential possessions, but being s..."

I have zero idea of what to tell you. It is so personal. I have kept keepsakes from various family members and I do look at them and remember. Photos are always important to me. If you can, write their names on the back of the photo. That helps.


As far as the cast iron pans, if they are old, have him keep them. Mine from my father-in-law is 100 plus years old and I use it all of the time.

To quote Monty Python, "I am not dead yet", so I am not going to worry about after I am dead. He gets of the money, he can deal with all of the stuff

Thanks, guys, for the insights and advice.

I see minimalism as "How to live in a big city 101". Many places in big cities aren't made to have much of anything. I live in the country so I can be as maximalist as I want to be.