I love this video! My main difficulty comes with where hobbies and our creativity clashes with minimalism. We make and sell jams and make and gift our own flavoured guns and beers and that naturally involves A LOT of stuff. So it clashes a lot with the minimalist ideals I love in my day to day life
beccaish x i think in that case it’s important to remember that minimalism isn’t about owning very little, but about owning only things that bring joy, and for most people, hobbies and stuff involve joy
I am with you on the "rubbish" collection. I still have three totes full of "craft supplies" from years ago. I just keep telling myself that I will use them and I cannot get rid of them. I left home for a year and a half and lived out of two suitcases which helped me understand what I really need but still have all that stuff since I returned. Thanks so much for the motivation to reduce and donate.
Lovely video. I have moved 7 times in 6 years and am about to move once more! Constant moves have forced me to be minimalist at the start, but as time has gone on I am so thankful for it. I genuinely like the items I own, it has saved me money and in fact I have lost the desire to be that typical consumer constantly buying because I can.
Thank you for your advice! I notice if I start shopping, I just won't stop buying more. It also makes me upset that I don't use everything I bought. Now, I control myself and not buying more for couples of months now. I start learning what I actually want and need. I think I can understand what you mean now. Sometimes items not necessary bring us true joy.
London is absolutely full of green spaces and nature reserves. We are so lucky that most museums and galleries are free. I would really encourage you to find more of London's hidden green spaces, there are some real treasures out there! x
I LOVED the way you described becoming a minimalist as similar to becoming an adult- that is the way it was for me, and I haven’t had the right analogy until now! Thank you!
I enjoy watching your Q&As but I found it more helpful when I wanted to go back and listen to a particular question when you had a black screen with the question on it like your Vegan Q&A video (the text floating on the screen doesn't show up in thumbnails very well when trying to look back). I also prefered the background in the other video because it has your green plants in it, and you seem more relaxed when you're sitting on your sofa next to your greenery. But otherwise I loved that you answered these questions, because I've been looking more into minimalism these days. I like how you describe minimalism as a journey rather than something you just become overnight, because I think the biggest thing keeping me from being a minimalist is perhaps the gatekeepers that go around criticising and nitpicking people for not being "truly minimalist" because someone has more than the bare stripped essentials.
Ah, that's a good point. Thank you for the feedback. I'll be adding the time-stamps for the questions in the description so you can click them and go back to any question in the video.
I am a person who needs color in my life and clothes, but what I do is to find out which colors (tones) REALLY fit me, and choose those. In that way, a lot of my clothes fit together although they are all quite colorful and give me many unique looks:) I have found that when I have clothes in my "true colors", I don't feel the need to shop that much at all, nor follow trends. My clothes just feel right:)
I moved to the country. Now I find it really difficult to have a minimal selection of footwear as I need wellies, hiking boots for walking the dog on bad weather, trainers for walking the dog in good weather, slip on clogs for nipping out into the garden even just throwing something on the compost heap ... plus the shoes for work, outings and summer holidays. Swapping city for country definitely helped me stop spending my leisure time in shops, but I ended up having to buy a whole new set of stuff to cope with my new situation!
Buying what you need, like a variety of footwear, is still minimal. I would suggest using one pair of shoes for different places, though. For example you probably don't need wellies AND boots. Or summer shoes AND sandals.
Even the minimalistic "way of living" might benefit from balance and allowing expressionism to still belong within us. If my collection of crystals makes me happy and is a passion, then I shouldn't care about minimalism, as long as I do care about it when it comes to things that don't provide that feeling of contentment like: "holding on to things because I MIGHT need them" or letting them pile up even though I don't even know they're there.
Really informative and you explain things so nicely. It's so therapeutic watching and listening to you. Thanks for inspiring me Blue! My travelling journey has take me to a much more minimalistic lifestyle that i will be bringing back home with me xxx
Hey ;) I live in London too and have a long walks on weekends in or around London. Check out Capital Ring or even better walking route London LOOP. It's amazing how green London is. X
Falsified joy would be a great video because I think a lot of people new to mins over use the "well it gives me joy so ill keep It an extreme example of where this idea or, say kon mari doesn't work is hoarders because oftentimes they think everything brings them joy. Or interpreting brings joy/is useful. Example my vacuum doesn't bring me joy but not having allergens in the carpeting is damn useful so I keep it :)
I completely agree, the 'spark joy' method wont necessarily work for everyone if they're not willing to go deep. It's an emotional journey as much as a physical one.
Wow! Blue, this is my favourite video that you have made because it is honest & real. Minimalism is an extremely emotional journey, one I have personally had as well when it led me to uncover my Aspergers diagnosis last spring. (I have been focused on my diagnosis more so of late, figuring out how some things like fidget items do add value and therapy to my life even though I don’t want a lot of things...bit of a balance act there. But minimalism is also essential in my executive functioning making less work for me when I suffer autistic burnout) Minimalism is not about aesthetics and it can be a lonely place at times too because it is not the social norm. (Hence the need to connect with other minimalists!) It is not about perfection but about living in a human way, perhaps more authentically so. Thank you for your real life inspiration. If you ever want to do a twitter discussion I’m on there @BiteSmaller 💗🙌
Wow, thank you for such an open and loving message. I'm glad you enjoyed the video... I do try to be as authentic as I'm able when talking to camera. I totally agree with you, minimalism is about so much more than aesthetics.
But city living also lends itself to minimalism in so far that you don’t need a car, you can easily access free books through libraries, go to museums, watch street art. Also the prices prohibits living in huge spaces...
I hear what you're saying. You're totally right... living in London has so many wonderful benefits. For me, though, I get the most value from being in nature (preferably secluded). That's a little difficult here. But yes, I do love going to galleries and seeing such an abundance of street art.
If you had only one of everything in the kitchen, how would you have others over to enjoy a meal with you? Would you ask them to bring their own? I guess it’s different for everyone. I one day hope to have brunches and dinners at my future house, so I suppose having a dinner set would be of value to me.
I like to have things for multiple uses. For example I sometimes drink from a jar that other times I keep my homemade granola in... so there are always options.
It’s intriguing to see sometimes where my wishes for minimalism don’t align with my zerowaste lifestyle. If I don’t hoard jars and containers I find it harder to bring my own to the store to get bulk items or I’ll end up running out of jars. Therefore I don’t complete my grocery list because I won’t take a plastic bag. At first I wanted all my things to be stream lined and only have the minimum number, but I’ve broadened my scope to allow things that are recycled or secondhand if I value and use them. But I agree one using jars for multiple things. Just hard to do if everything is already in use
I'm not a vegan but I think I have a pretty good idea why this statement is true. Most vegans care about the environment which would mean they will want to reduce waste which, in turn means buying/having less things. I've been trying to live more minimalistic and so have been watching a lot of videos on RU-vid and see a common thread. A lot of minimalists like to achieve a zero waste lifestyle and start to DIY products (makeup, detergent, toothpaste, soap, etc.) at home. Zero wastes also means not eating meat because farm animals use a lot of resources and create a lot of waste.
When you talk about your house mates I can't help but think you sound really bitter or even supremacist by calling them "hoarders" and "maximalists" like you put yourself above them. It gives me really negative feelings about minimalism and your channel.
