All About Minimalism

Do you subscribe to this lifestyle? What benefits have you reaped from practicing?

I can only remember a few times in my life when I spent so much money on non-essential, outrageous items (when my girls were younger, I bought boutique clothes/dresses on the regular). Now that my oldest is almost pre-teen ayaw na niyang matchy matchy sa mga kapatid niya. Yes I used to be that mom who looked homeless next to my well dressed kids. At least lahat kami ngayon pare pareho na lang :lol:

Things I practice now:
1)I tend to go social media free for a few months if I feel like it. I work in healthcare and I deliberately avoided FB in the last 6 weeks or so.
2) My wardrobe now consists of basic staples and lots of black/cream/grays - a few shirts, trousers, a few business casual attire then 3-4 holiday dresses (although I donā€™t skimp on running shoes and I buy 1-2 new pairs a year due to mileage)
3) Our kids get two gifts the entire year: one for each birthday then Christmas.

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I actually started living minimally since I moved to various places in the span of 10 years. I have to cram everything I own into two check-in suitcases was my mantra. Anything that doesnā€™t fit, reminds me of bad memories (or doesnā€™t spark joy), I donā€™t like using na, I give away or toss or swap with something useful to me. Now, medyo kailangan ng adjustment kasi may toddler ako, I have to make compromise with constant kalat and things that donā€™t match.

Even my aesthetic with my apartment was minimalist. I like being decluttered because it helps me think and focus better. I also join mindfulness workshops every now and then.

It does help I have a husband na similar ng aesthetic. I posted in another thread I used to have a funky, colorful fashion (lalo na when I was single), but now Iā€™m more on the neutral palette like the hubby and donā€™t buy as much kasi we buy better items (and also some more expensive items) that will last longer. Our kid is the same, we donā€™t spoil him with the latest stuff or with lots of things, tempting as it is.

I think I was doing Marie Kondo before she was even mainstream. I learned about Marie Kondo through my assistant in 2014 when she brought her book to the office.

What minimalism has taught me:

  1. It keeps me zen, good for mental health
  2. Iā€™ve become more practical and pragmatic
  3. Iā€™m not as materialistic as I was
  4. Our kid gets to grow up valuing things differently
  5. Itā€™s so much easier to move around the world with less

I think that growing up na hindi binibigay lahat ng parents ko yung gusto naming magkakapatid kahit kaya nila did help push me on the path. My late dad was also pretty frugal kaya that influenced me more when I was living alone.

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Yes. Thereā€™s that sort of balance you keep striving for once you have kids, right? My husband and I grew up poor so at times we feel the need to overcompensate and lavish them with stuff we didnā€™t have while growing up. Thankfully those times were rare, and when we did give in, they would lose interest in a matter of days. Lesson learned quickly. Being a military family, we move a lot, so my kids are used to not get too attached on stuff and value family adventures and togetherness instead. Not gonna lie - we get eye rolls and remarks like, ā€œBut roadtrips are boring!ā€ I sure hope theyā€™ll appreciate it more when they get older.

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Agree with the kids. The moment we had him, we knew we have to adjust. Hubby grew up ā€˜poorā€™ daw but Iā€™m more of the we moved a lot earlier in life as well as now so it does help to be ready to go to move at a momentā€™s notice. I try not to spoil my kid, I prefer the same way my folks raised me kasi it did help me na hindi maluho. When hubby says my kid looks like heā€™s bored, ako na sasagot na let this be a time the kid learns to entertain himself. My kidā€™s 2 and heā€™s learning to be more creative with things around him. I hope that stays the same and we could have less stress on long haul travels.

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When I was single, I wanted everything I owned to fit into one suitcase, which, of course, did not jive with my love for hoarding books like a dragon. But a well-stocked library with topics that interest me gives me joy, so I let it be.
Fast forward to being a first-time mom, I thought I needed all those baby things. No, I really didnā€™t. When #2 was born, I had already figured out what things supported my parenting style, and just knowing that all I needed were a few things instead of a mountain of supposed essentials is very liberating.
A desire to produce less non-compostable waste is a nice thing to go hand in hand with minimalism.
After moving around these past couple of years with the kids in tow, weā€™ve all learned not to be too attached to stuff. After all, itā€™s just stuff. I tell my kids, ā€œIf you donā€™t use it properly and take care of it, Iā€™ll find someone to donate it to who will use it better.ā€ Same goes for anything that is no longer in use. Why leave it in my house unused when thereā€™s bound to be someone else who actually needs it? Things that are not regularly used tend to just break, unless theyā€™re silver cutlery. The plastic becomes brittle, the elastics just disintegrate. Itā€™s like they die when they donā€™t get used often enough, especially if you forget that you even have them in the first place.

Iā€™m not great at putting stuff away. So it helps if I donā€™t have much to put away to begin with.

I mean, why spend your time putting stuff away when you can peyups instead?

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Iā€™m trying to practice this as well, but itā€™s too difficult for me, Iā€™m doing baby steps for now.
Itā€™s too hard for me to throw/giveaway the things I have kept for years (some are even in a box still). :slightly_frowning_face: What I am trying to do is declutter more often, until I am ready to let go some of those things.

I used to be the undisciplined buy-anything-that-I-wanted-at-the-moment type; and a sentimental person, where I try to keep every little item that some experiences attached to it. And this is what I am trying to change as of the moment. Whenever I am trying to buy something, I ask myself questions like, ā€œIs this really something I need?ā€, ā€œCan I survive without this?ā€, ā€œIf I donā€™t buy this, what will be the alternative?ā€

This social distancing thing going on is the perfect opportunity to do decluttering though. So this is a timely topic for us. Hehe.

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This is one of the things I learned after Ondoy. I can do without a lot of things naman pala. Yung mga tinatago tago ko na akala ko MAgagamit pa in the future, or kakailanganin ko someday (which never happened), narealize ko they are all clutters.

With clothes, I am very careful in choosing classic pieces. yung pwedeng mix and match. i allow myself a fixed limited closet space. pag di na kasya dun, it means i need to let go of some. so walang papasok, kung walang lalabas. sa shoes, I try to keep only 5 pairs at a time.

Even with our toddler, kailangan ko magdetach sa mga baby clothes/things nya. I gave them away/sold most of it online. may mas makikinabang pa na iba kesa itago ko sa cabinet. Left are a few pieces na may sentimental value for me.

Sa bahay, we only purchase what we really really need. Like until now, we donā€™t own a microwave oven dahil we can always reheat via stove top. Nakakatawa pero i also stand by my decision not to have more than the starter set plates that we bought when we had a place of our own. Ergo, bawal magkabisita dahil magdadala sila ng sarili nilang pinggan :embarasslaff:

My mom would always offer me to get stuff from our house. Yung platera nya na panay pinggan, baso AT punchbowl na bilang lang sa kamay ilang beses ginamit. Oh please. ayoko ng punchbowl.

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