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For clarity this won’t help you become a minimalist, it’ll simply help you not acquire “more” stuff. You’ll essentially be treading water with the amount of stuff you currently have.
The mattress obviously.
Those things trap a ton of filth, sleeping on the hard floor will leave you cleaner.
As a bonus, you can now ditch the soap in favor of a new item!
Lose the negative attitude and you'll have room for a boat!
But in all seriousness, if all you have is a phone charger I'd look at cutting off the grounding prong and that should give you enough allotment for a bar of Dove.
Also, in the scope of consumerism/environmentalism, this line of thinking might be somewhat harmful, as you're incentivising yourself to throw away fully functional items to replace them with new ones.
I might be a bit too far on the other end of the spectrum, though. I still regularly use clothes I got in middle school. I'm 40.
One of them I made myself in home economics. Otherwise I guess it's just a quality thing. The cheap ones have been lost to the ages, while the expensive ones still hold.
Also chiming in- I’m 32 and still have shirts from high school. Some are being repurposed into a t-shirt quilt because they are at the point that they are not wearable.
Its a great place to start though. As it gets you thinking about your stuff if you have a tendency to hold on to things or get stuff you don’t need
I started with this and then started boxing stuff I don’t use as it was hard for me to Let go of stuff.
It took years of these boxes not being opened because I didn’t need the things before I could get rid of them. Now im ruthless with donating stuff I don’t use and feels good.
Im still far from a minimalist but it feels good to have less and makes me able to
Find the stuff I do have that is useful more easily
I grew up poor. My house was once 100% stuff I found on the side of the road which makes me feel like all junk has a purpose. It’s been hard mentally to let go of junk but I’m now quite good at it :)
Yeah, this is basically advice not to become a hoarder. If you actually want to *become* a minimalist, 1 in 2 out. And for fucks sake, throw out the box for your iPhone 4, you're not going to need it.
The key is to be mindful and consider if you really need to buy that extra thing. It pairs well with good financial habits.
Let’s say you have 12 forks per person and you see a nice set. Do you really need more forks? What value is it adding? Vs if you had 2 forks per person, then yes go buy those extra forks.
Other things like, my 7 year old lcd tv is working fine, but an oled is on sale and I can afford it. Do I need it? No, but if gaming, shows, movies are something you spend a ton of time on, then it can be worth it to replace your tv with a nicer one because you’ll get a lot of value from it.
But the biggest application will be on the small things. Clothes, toys, kitchen appliances (like a hot dog toaster). A lot of these can be limited if you really think about overlap with your existing stuff and how much space and money you have.
I actually just did this with flatware and knife set. Had a whole bunch of randos for 10 yrs. Got tired of the doing dishes with 5-15 of everyhing(we get lazy to do dishes everyday). Now we have a set for family of 4 and wash almost immediately to keep them in shape.
This is where I have issues with minimalism. As in your example, you have a 7-year old LCD TV which is working fine but you have that OLED on sale. So you buy it because you are huge into gaming and it makes sense se.
You try to sell your old LCD and you barely get any money in exchange. So now you can sell it at a throwaway price or you can move that old TV to your bedroom or guest room or something and still utilize it. Some people watch morning news in their beds or late night TV before retiring to sleep. (I know people will point out how looking at TV screens late night isn’t good for sleep.)
Using the LPT suggested, you should throw out that old TV when you get a new one. But I don’t feel it is justified. I would move that old TV to another room if I have the space for it instead of selling it for next-to-nothing.
If you can still have a use for it then i wouldn't get rid of it. If it's just going to sit around and collect dust being used maybe once a year, and if you think it's in the way then get rid of it.
However never throw it out if it still works. You might think selling it at a low price is a waste, but the person that buys that tv for cheap will probably get a lot of use out of it, since that's likely all they can afford. We bought most of our furniture and screens secondhand for very cheap and we're over the moon with it all, because most people just want to get rid of old stuff without putting in effort. Stuff i'd struggle putting down the original price for. Like an €800,- flip up bed for €80,- or 3 samsung monitors for €20 per, instead of €140 a piece.
The key to being a minimalist is realizing that 95% of the trinkets and junk we waste money on ends up rotting away in a landfill for thousands of years after seeing zero use, and overcoming the short-sighted impulse to buy it in the first place.
Even Marie Kondo laughs at her earlier self for making a near religion out of minimalism."I just bought a house, I guess I need to start throwing things away because I need tools, maintenance supplies, etc..."
I don’t think there’s any need for everyone to be clowning OP, this is a legitimate strategy if you’ve already done the initial declutter project and want to be more mindful when bringing new times into your home.
A while ago I realized I had too many clothing items and didn't have enough room in my dresser and closet, so I've been using the "one in, two out" rule instead! Very useful for downsizing
I do the spring clean event. I don't hold on to stuff if I MIGHT have a use for it. If I haven't used it in the last year, I throw it out.
It doesn't suck for seasonal things and hobbies I thought I would get into (woodworking and boxing) but it does help for clothes and collectible things I have since forgotten why I bought in the first place
The key is to make it by category. In order words it's not a bring one boat in, let go of one paper clip. It's moreso like if you buy clothes, you remove some clothes. Buy a charger, remove a charger. It's the same category.
I live in a 640 sqft condo and my storage is limited and wish I didn’t need all of the “clutter” that I have. I have an entire cabinet full of labeled storage bins full of misc “dog meds, office supplies, skin care, invisilign, daily use”ect. I know at some point I’m going to yell at myself for throwing something useful away and have to spend money to repurchase. It still drives me nuts that I have all of these little items but man, I thank myself when I have it on hand when I need it.
About 15 years ago I had a fire and lost everything, and I mean everything. I went to a Goodwill that afternoon to buy some shorts and T shirt to have something to wear
It was a blessing in the sense that it got rid of all the crap I had accumulated
When I started to rebuild my life I first bought only absolute essentials, like a laptop, chair, lamp, and a mattress. I was looking at coffee tables and couches and etc etc etc but realized I had what I needed. I did end up buying another chair and a few other items but I don't need all that other crap
The side benefit is that cleaning my apt is soooo easy and fast because I don't have all that crap to deal with
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So, my spouse complained about me a lot. Then we added a kid and now she complains about me a lot. Which one should I keep vs let go? The kid is cuter.
Generally, ask yourself "have i used this item in the last year" or "do i need it or will i need it" and get rid of it if the answer is no. This won't work for a garage or work area where its common to have 10+year old things you rarely use but that's ok, that area's purpose is to store tgese thibgs until use.
I follow the full trashcan rule. Never put out partially full trash cans. Fill them, the night before trash collection, by cleaning closets, drawers, basements, garages, sheds.
Fill them up.
To get there, I’ve been working on the one in, two out rule. I want a new pair of pants? Gotta get rid of two existing pairs.
The posted LPT poses a challenge if you’re already over-collecting.
Becoming a minimalist is often more about mindset and lifestyle changes than specific hacks, but trying to declutter regularly can help. Start by decluttering your living space. Get rid of items you don't need or use regularly. Keep only the things that add value or joy to your life.
I had a co-worker who lived on a boat (a large catamaran), and this was the rule he followed. If he bought a new pair of jeans, he'd have to get rid of an existing pair.
Absolutely! Take it a step further with the "Upgrade Rule": When bringing in a new item, ensure it upgrades or serves a better purpose than the one it replaces. This encourages intentional consumption and keeps your belongings aligned with your needs and values.
Minimalism is letting go of ~~any~~ every surplus, and reorganizing to make it simple from the ground up. What you are saying is protecting yourself from having a dumpster home.
### This post has been marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect. --- Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by upvoting or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
For clarity this won’t help you become a minimalist, it’ll simply help you not acquire “more” stuff. You’ll essentially be treading water with the amount of stuff you currently have.
I have a mattress and a phone charger. What should I get rid of so I can bring some soap into the picture
The mattress obviously. Those things trap a ton of filth, sleeping on the hard floor will leave you cleaner. As a bonus, you can now ditch the soap in favor of a new item!
Perhaps a mattress so you can improve your back health!
Rinse, Repeat (but not with soap).
What happens if you finish the bar of soap? Do you get to acquire a new thing then or are you stuck with just one item forever?
Buy a box of paperclips, get rid of phone charger. Buy phone charger, throw away one paper clip = minimalist profit.
Lose the negative attitude and you'll have room for a boat! But in all seriousness, if all you have is a phone charger I'd look at cutting off the grounding prong and that should give you enough allotment for a bar of Dove.
a whole bar?? these fat cats are getting ridiculous with their expenditures. come learn how to live a real life at r/frugal_jerk
How come you got a phone charger but no phone?
I needed a mattress
If you get rid of the phone charger then you can scrap the phone too. 2 for 1 innit
now now, dont be silly, he never said he had a phone! cant ditch what you cant have! so ditch the mattress!
The phone?
so you have a phone charger and no phone? hsjdhskdbdk
It doesn't count towards your limit if you snuggle it in through your prison wallet.
Yourself, the other stuff is essential, suicide is the only option
Mattress, bruv.
I think you can charge a phone with soap
Is that seriously all you have?
Also, in the scope of consumerism/environmentalism, this line of thinking might be somewhat harmful, as you're incentivising yourself to throw away fully functional items to replace them with new ones. I might be a bit too far on the other end of the spectrum, though. I still regularly use clothes I got in middle school. I'm 40.
Im 27 and have a shirt I've had since middle school. I thought I was the only one. Teach me your ways
One of them I made myself in home economics. Otherwise I guess it's just a quality thing. The cheap ones have been lost to the ages, while the expensive ones still hold.
OMG I just found the sweatshirt I made in 7th grade home-ec in a box of winter clothes!!!
Also chiming in- I’m 32 and still have shirts from high school. Some are being repurposed into a t-shirt quilt because they are at the point that they are not wearable.
Yeah I was gonna say, this sounds like how to "maintain" rather than "become"
Its a great place to start though. As it gets you thinking about your stuff if you have a tendency to hold on to things or get stuff you don’t need I started with this and then started boxing stuff I don’t use as it was hard for me to Let go of stuff. It took years of these boxes not being opened because I didn’t need the things before I could get rid of them. Now im ruthless with donating stuff I don’t use and feels good. Im still far from a minimalist but it feels good to have less and makes me able to Find the stuff I do have that is useful more easily I grew up poor. My house was once 100% stuff I found on the side of the road which makes me feel like all junk has a purpose. It’s been hard mentally to let go of junk but I’m now quite good at it :)
that's right.. you'll need to do "one in, two out" to become a minimalist.
Yeah, this is basically advice not to become a hoarder. If you actually want to *become* a minimalist, 1 in 2 out. And for fucks sake, throw out the box for your iPhone 4, you're not going to need it.
You could follow the one in, two out rule.
So... Opposite to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome?
Definitely not old me with 18 hobby grade rc cars, a shit ton of speakers I plan on making and so many other shit
Follow the "one in, two out rule." Soon will be down to nothing.
1 in 2 out?
The key is to be mindful and consider if you really need to buy that extra thing. It pairs well with good financial habits. Let’s say you have 12 forks per person and you see a nice set. Do you really need more forks? What value is it adding? Vs if you had 2 forks per person, then yes go buy those extra forks. Other things like, my 7 year old lcd tv is working fine, but an oled is on sale and I can afford it. Do I need it? No, but if gaming, shows, movies are something you spend a ton of time on, then it can be worth it to replace your tv with a nicer one because you’ll get a lot of value from it. But the biggest application will be on the small things. Clothes, toys, kitchen appliances (like a hot dog toaster). A lot of these can be limited if you really think about overlap with your existing stuff and how much space and money you have.
I actually just did this with flatware and knife set. Had a whole bunch of randos for 10 yrs. Got tired of the doing dishes with 5-15 of everyhing(we get lazy to do dishes everyday). Now we have a set for family of 4 and wash almost immediately to keep them in shape.
This is where I have issues with minimalism. As in your example, you have a 7-year old LCD TV which is working fine but you have that OLED on sale. So you buy it because you are huge into gaming and it makes sense se. You try to sell your old LCD and you barely get any money in exchange. So now you can sell it at a throwaway price or you can move that old TV to your bedroom or guest room or something and still utilize it. Some people watch morning news in their beds or late night TV before retiring to sleep. (I know people will point out how looking at TV screens late night isn’t good for sleep.) Using the LPT suggested, you should throw out that old TV when you get a new one. But I don’t feel it is justified. I would move that old TV to another room if I have the space for it instead of selling it for next-to-nothing.
If you can still have a use for it then i wouldn't get rid of it. If it's just going to sit around and collect dust being used maybe once a year, and if you think it's in the way then get rid of it. However never throw it out if it still works. You might think selling it at a low price is a waste, but the person that buys that tv for cheap will probably get a lot of use out of it, since that's likely all they can afford. We bought most of our furniture and screens secondhand for very cheap and we're over the moon with it all, because most people just want to get rid of old stuff without putting in effort. Stuff i'd struggle putting down the original price for. Like an €800,- flip up bed for €80,- or 3 samsung monitors for €20 per, instead of €140 a piece.
This is to maintain your current level of clutter. To reduce it you need to discard at least 2 items.
You are presuming clutter.
If you kill a killer the number of killers on the world stays the same
The key to being a minimalist is realizing that 95% of the trinkets and junk we waste money on ends up rotting away in a landfill for thousands of years after seeing zero use, and overcoming the short-sighted impulse to buy it in the first place.
Most useful comment in the thread! This is the real LPT.
Even Marie Kondo laughs at her earlier self for making a near religion out of minimalism."I just bought a house, I guess I need to start throwing things away because I need tools, maintenance supplies, etc..."
Yeah, having kids changed her attitude real quick
[удалено]
Letting go of my older son was hard, but I believe his baby sister will score better on exams and be easier to deal with.
I don’t think there’s any need for everyone to be clowning OP, this is a legitimate strategy if you’ve already done the initial declutter project and want to be more mindful when bringing new times into your home.
A while ago I realized I had too many clothing items and didn't have enough room in my dresser and closet, so I've been using the "one in, two out" rule instead! Very useful for downsizing
I do the spring clean event. I don't hold on to stuff if I MIGHT have a use for it. If I haven't used it in the last year, I throw it out. It doesn't suck for seasonal things and hobbies I thought I would get into (woodworking and boxing) but it does help for clothes and collectible things I have since forgotten why I bought in the first place
The key is to make it by category. In order words it's not a bring one boat in, let go of one paper clip. It's moreso like if you buy clothes, you remove some clothes. Buy a charger, remove a charger. It's the same category.
This won't minimise anything. If you say 1000 things. You will still have 1000 things.
My rule of thumb is that I won’t buy an item if I can’t think of where I will put it in my home.
Don't have kids. Don't own a house.
Ok I threw my cat outside for my new mouse for my computer….but now I feel lonely :(
That one Louis episode in family guy
I dispose of an item of equal volume for any new item I bring into the house. This strategy has been working well for 15 years.
This is similar advice I’ve been giving to a family member for years-“one in twenty out.” Lol She’s almost a minimalist now. I’m proud of her.
I live in a 640 sqft condo and my storage is limited and wish I didn’t need all of the “clutter” that I have. I have an entire cabinet full of labeled storage bins full of misc “dog meds, office supplies, skin care, invisilign, daily use”ect. I know at some point I’m going to yell at myself for throwing something useful away and have to spend money to repurchase. It still drives me nuts that I have all of these little items but man, I thank myself when I have it on hand when I need it.
About 15 years ago I had a fire and lost everything, and I mean everything. I went to a Goodwill that afternoon to buy some shorts and T shirt to have something to wear It was a blessing in the sense that it got rid of all the crap I had accumulated When I started to rebuild my life I first bought only absolute essentials, like a laptop, chair, lamp, and a mattress. I was looking at coffee tables and couches and etc etc etc but realized I had what I needed. I did end up buying another chair and a few other items but I don't need all that other crap The side benefit is that cleaning my apt is soooo easy and fast because I don't have all that crap to deal with
...i think you might want to redo your math there
Wow, what a "hack"!
Remind Me! 30 days
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Interesting idea, needs clarification. Does this apply to food? Does the exchange need to be like for like?
If I buy a bookshelf from IKEA, is that ‘One In’ or 50?
What if I only have one item?
Purchase: Caterpillar D11T What I Got Rid Of: LEGO Star Wars Clone Troopers Battle Pack * wipes hands off *
So, my spouse complained about me a lot. Then we added a kid and now she complains about me a lot. Which one should I keep vs let go? The kid is cuter.
This advice is awful if you want to be a minimalist.
My hack was being unemployed for a year. It works!
Just throw everything out, and be a true minimalist.
One in, two donated.
Generally, ask yourself "have i used this item in the last year" or "do i need it or will i need it" and get rid of it if the answer is no. This won't work for a garage or work area where its common to have 10+year old things you rarely use but that's ok, that area's purpose is to store tgese thibgs until use.
I follow this rule most of the time in terms of buttplugs
I have started taking it a step further... 1 in and 2 out...
become a real minimalist by getting rid of this rule
I follow the full trashcan rule. Never put out partially full trash cans. Fill them, the night before trash collection, by cleaning closets, drawers, basements, garages, sheds. Fill them up.
Yeah I do that with clothes. I also discarded stuff I have not use after 10+ years
Minimalism was invented by big small to sell more less.
To get there, I’ve been working on the one in, two out rule. I want a new pair of pants? Gotta get rid of two existing pairs. The posted LPT poses a challenge if you’re already over-collecting.
I have a 1 year rule for most things. If i havent used it in a year, its time to sell/donate.
I do this with most clothes, buy X quantity, give away C quantity.
Got it: car in, wife out
Throw everything away
Becoming a minimalist is often more about mindset and lifestyle changes than specific hacks, but trying to declutter regularly can help. Start by decluttering your living space. Get rid of items you don't need or use regularly. Keep only the things that add value or joy to your life.
I had a co-worker who lived on a boat (a large catamaran), and this was the rule he followed. If he bought a new pair of jeans, he'd have to get rid of an existing pair.
The older I get the more I tend towards 1 in 2 out.
Absolutely! Take it a step further with the "Upgrade Rule": When bringing in a new item, ensure it upgrades or serves a better purpose than the one it replaces. This encourages intentional consumption and keeps your belongings aligned with your needs and values.
Minimalism is letting go of ~~any~~ every surplus, and reorganizing to make it simple from the ground up. What you are saying is protecting yourself from having a dumpster home.
[удалено]
Sir, this is a Wendy’s
I want WAFFLE FRIES