Are you a minimalist?

[knot]

I'd say I am a minimalist -- not really by conscious choice, but just by becoming an old fucker and realizing you don't become happy by owning a lot of material stuff beyond the basic necessities. I also try and wear my things out and repair them as much as possible before replacing them


P.S. There's a new documentary out called Minimalism: the Movie featuring Sam Harris (he's only in it for ~5 mins though). It's pretty decent, but not free, so you might wanna try and find somewhere you can borrow it (nomsayin?)

[vegan81vzla]

Well, becoming Vegan should be an important part of minimalism. One first starts minimalizing internally (that is food). But beyong that, in regards to food intake, active fasting - without reducing your overall activity that is - would be a real expression of minimalism.

I practice IF most everyday, and try to keep active and work without it affecting my mood nor rythim.

Other things I don't buy, for instance, is toilet paper. As my stools don't actually smell that bad, I can clean myself with water using my hand.

[Jebus]

Yes, this has become my latest endeavour.

[brimstoneSalad]

I don't agree with minimalism so much as I agree with practical infrastructure acquisition. The latter is much easier for others to model.

Instead of being disgusting and doing something that will gross people out and make them less likely to take you seriously and consider following your lead like wiping your ass with your hand, invest in infrastructure: a bidet, for example. Now you have leveled up in hygiene, it's something other people would consider doing too, you're helping the environment, and you're contributing to a commercial endeavor that perpetuates that argument as a matter of economics.

Useless stuff for the sake of it, not so much. But items of convenience and utility that make your life more sustainable and feed that market for others, definitely.

[viddy9]

Yes. I rarely buy any things that I don't need, and I think there's more to life than simply working hard to earn money to buy more useless consumer goods. Peter Singer, in his TED Talk on Effective Altruism, compared it to the myth of Sisyphus: in a consumerist society, people never quite each the peak of happiness and well-being. Instead, the weekend is over and the work starts again.

Minimalism also makes me less stressed, is responsible for fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and so on. If citizens become consumers and communities become shopping malls, it also lowers interest in the political process.

It also means I have more money to donate to effective charities that fight factory farming, which, despite the above, is really the main reason I'm a minimalist. However, it's important not to be overly anti-materialistic, as this could harm relationships and deter people from adopting your ideas, particularly with respect to veganism and effective altruism, if they think that to be vegan or to donate significant portions of your income to cost-effective charities you need to walk around wearing sackcloth.

[brimstoneSalad]

However, it's important not to be overly anti-materialistic, as this could harm relationships and deter people from adopting your ideas, particularly with respect to veganism and effective altruism, if they think that to be vegan or to donate significant portions of your income to cost-effective charities you need to walk around wearing sackcloth.

That's well said.

[PsYcHo]

I have some clothes that are old enough to vote, and all of my possessions could fit in a car, if I still owned one! (I share one now with my SO)

I think too many people waste money on "junk" or shiny things when they could be pursuing new experiences instead. I find it extremely odd that people will spend money on something just for the sake of it being expensive. I knew a very nice lady who owned several first edition Charles Dickens' novels. I owned several Charles Dickens' novels that I bought from a thrift store for a quarter. Same words, several thousand dollar price difference.

What really makes me confused are when people of meager means spend money on pointless junk. I've known people who lived on public assistance, yet would spend $150 on a pair of sunglasses.

[Lisaplantbasedguru]

I do have a lot of possessions in my opinion but I rarely feel the desire to buy something new unless I really need it nowadays, I feel like I have about everything I need. I don't want to throw everything away just so that I can have fewer possessions while they still might come in handy though . I don't really know whether or not I qualify as a minimalist.

[vegan81vzla]

Personally I view being a minimalist as reducing waste, hence my original comment about food and fasting. Yes, being vegan has to be the first overall expression of minimalism, but beyond that fasting and reducing one's need for food.

I don't have a house nor plan to buy one in any term whatsoever, so why would I buy a bidet if I have nowhere to install it? Besides I already go seconds once a day usually at homw and when at work I do use toilet paper but as little as I can. There are studies on the impact of toilet paper use to the environment so, I stand by my choice not to buy any. Who cares what others think? They already dislike my veganism, and I don't go about mentioning to everybody how so I wipe myself... So...

[vegan81vzla]

Other ways I view myself as a minimalist is by eating the peel of fruits most people won't, bananas, papayas, mangoes and others I would consider edible.

Being vegan reduces waste in ways most people wouldn't consider, even vegans. For example, I don't use detergent to wash my dishes or pans anymore. I don't use oil, so why would I? A simple water and some scrap with a sponge is all it takes to clean them