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flexagonThe single most interesting thing about minimalism, for me, is how QUICK people have been to assign me the label, even before I've decided whether I'm comfortable with it myself. When ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bluechromis was over last, she said "It's funny to watch a minimalist and a packrat fighting it out." When islenskr posted about not coveting possessions, she titled it "Hey, flexagon...". In a way, people's quickness to say "yes, you are this thing" makes me think there is something about it that suits me.
Today we each took a backpack-load of paint thinners, ammonia, non-latex paint and other evil stuff to the Department of Public Works, and then I took another load of my personal things to Goodwill, but those things aren't the point. The point is that with everything that leaves, the things that stay are thrown into sharper relief.
It's also a way of becoming more comfortable in my own house. I used to be afraid to go into the garage and now I'm not. I know exactly what's out there, and any spiderwebs will be easily visible. I know what is (well, was) in my junk drawers and my closet. There are still places where strange things might be hiding (some papers waiting their turn to be filed; those shoeboxes full of tights and socks; that one drawer in the bedroom) but those islands are shrinking.
Also, you know how stuff gets shabby sometimes? You think of upgrading it (fixing, oiling, sewing, replacing, painting, buying that new part), but oh god, if you did that then you should take similar care of the several other things in that category... and just throw out that one that's beyond saving... and while you're there then maybe you should reorganize that whole corner, which has been in need of paint for forever, and oh forget it.
Well, because my list of physical items no longer seems infinite, neither does that chore list, anymore. As an example, right now I have one pair of high heeled sandals, and they're in need of shoe glue because their foot lining is peeling up. I'm going to glue them, wear them and see if I still like them. It's not a big deal, and that'll be it for the whole category! Then the category will expand because my order from crocs.com will arrive. Yes, I like every minimalism post to contain an acquisitive, consumerist note, just for aesthetic contrast.
I love how renovations and new cabinets feel like exciting consumption but stay with the house. It's like some awesome wormhole in the usual curves of thing-ownership, by which you can spend thousands of dollars on new shiny things and still not own any more than you did when you started. :-)
bluechromis was over last, she said "It's funny to watch a minimalist and a packrat fighting it out." When islenskr posted about not coveting possessions, she titled it "Hey, flexagon...". In a way, people's quickness to say "yes, you are this thing" makes me think there is something about it that suits me.Today we each took a backpack-load of paint thinners, ammonia, non-latex paint and other evil stuff to the Department of Public Works, and then I took another load of my personal things to Goodwill, but those things aren't the point. The point is that with everything that leaves, the things that stay are thrown into sharper relief.
It's also a way of becoming more comfortable in my own house. I used to be afraid to go into the garage and now I'm not. I know exactly what's out there, and any spiderwebs will be easily visible. I know what is (well, was) in my junk drawers and my closet. There are still places where strange things might be hiding (some papers waiting their turn to be filed; those shoeboxes full of tights and socks; that one drawer in the bedroom) but those islands are shrinking.
Also, you know how stuff gets shabby sometimes? You think of upgrading it (fixing, oiling, sewing, replacing, painting, buying that new part), but oh god, if you did that then you should take similar care of the several other things in that category... and just throw out that one that's beyond saving... and while you're there then maybe you should reorganize that whole corner, which has been in need of paint for forever, and oh forget it.
Well, because my list of physical items no longer seems infinite, neither does that chore list, anymore. As an example, right now I have one pair of high heeled sandals, and they're in need of shoe glue because their foot lining is peeling up. I'm going to glue them, wear them and see if I still like them. It's not a big deal, and that'll be it for the whole category! Then the category will expand because my order from crocs.com will arrive. Yes, I like every minimalism post to contain an acquisitive, consumerist note, just for aesthetic contrast.
I love how renovations and new cabinets feel like exciting consumption but stay with the house. It's like some awesome wormhole in the usual curves of thing-ownership, by which you can spend thousands of dollars on new shiny things and still not own any more than you did when you started. :-)
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-09 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-09 02:03 am (UTC)It doesn't really matter, as I'm about ready to start calling myself a minimalist anyway. The verb becomes the noun, just as the noun becomes the verb, and the great Circle of Grammar rolls on.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-09 07:40 pm (UTC);-P
It's like some awesome wormhole in the usual curves of thing-ownership, by which you can spend thousands of dollars on new shiny things and still not own any more than you did when you started.
I think this line sort of sums up why minimalism fits you as a philosophy - some people would shudder in horror at the idea of spending thousands of dollars and not ending up with more stuff to show for it. But I have always been a fan of quality, and that's really what you're talking about. You do have "more" if you count quality as "stuff". Which I'm guessing you don't want to. :)
BTW, it reminded me of something I once read about being a preppy - basically the example given was that a preppy would wear a pretty glass necklace, but never fake pearls. Because by wearing fake pearls it implied that you wanted real pearls but couldn't afford them, whereas maybe you wanted the glass necklace in its own right. I think there is a certain minimalism in that - electing to go only for the authentic, no wasting time, space or energy on faking stuff. Who knew that preppies and minimalists overlapped?
no subject
Date: 2010-05-09 11:57 pm (UTC)And as for what is "stuff"... well, I did get material items and I can touch them and the satisfaction is tangible, but a) it replaced old items that went away, and b) if I don't have to pack it in a U-Haul someday, it isn't stuff. See? Loophole. :D You're right, of course, it is more quality, or more net worth.
I like your story about preppies. I don't have a great image in my head of what preppies are, but I do think of them as knowing about quality. One difference is that I think of them as learning about quality at their parents' impeccably dressed knees... not stumbling, feeling, growing into the idea like some of us.