So I am not a minimalist - I own tons of stuff. Books, records, clothes. I also have a baby and all the attendant material nonsense that comes with one.
I do, however, have minimalist aspirations to an extent. And never do I hate literally everything I own more than when I am preparing to move house, as I am now doing for the second time within a year.
No questions here, but if fellow parents could give me some hope or pointers on anything, I would appreciate it!
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Not judging or anything, but this is one of the many reasons why I’d never have kids. A lot of people just have kids because they’re on autopilot in their lives, and then all of a sudden they realize it’s completely incompatible with their lifestyle. I think that contributes to the popularity of being child free within minimalist circles. I grew up with younger siblings and can remember moving with them a few times, and the physical volume of stuff that such a tiny human needs is crazy, as is the immense marketing pressure on parents to buy stupid shit. It’s super predatory to see companies pressure parents into buying the most expensive car seat because otherwise their baby won’t be as safe. They can fuck off. Imagine gatekeeping safety, real or imagined, based so directly on money.
I hear you. I always wanted kids though, and I knew this was coming. I don’t begrudge the babe her stuff - I acquired it for her 😂
One good thing about baby stuff is 1. they really don’t need a ton (I have passed so many of her gifted items to charity), and 2. there is a thriving cyclic baby secondhand marketplace. They only use things for a few months or years, so it is easy to pick up slightly used or pass on to another new parent.
I like having less stuff, but at least a lot of the stuff I do get comes from the circular economy.
You’re definitely right on the cyclic thing - you can get a lot of stuff for free or close to it. It always used to blow my mind that parents would pay actual money for baby clothes. Like… there are SO many second hand ones out there, and they’re going to grow out of it in a month.
Can relate! I tried to sell and gift/donate but for my own sanity I’ve also trashed some stuff, even if I absolutely hate trashing things that aren’t broken… and now I have to start over because my mom died and I’m her only child, I had to move all her stuff to my garage and it’s very painful going through her life belongings
Ouch, that sucks. I only had a handful of things from my dad when he died and that was already too much, especially the sentimental stuff. I allow myself a small box of trinkets, but if I’m honest I hate sentimentality and the fact that I would be upset if I lost those items even though it’s completely irrational. Having to deal with a whole lifetime’s worth of stuff would be overwhelming. I wouldn’t even know where to start. Every dress that hasn’t been worn in 20 years and box of random papers that are damn near impossible to trace. Luckily I have some packrat siblings who I’m sure will scoop up a lot, but I dread having to clean up shop when my mom dies.
I’m not a parent but I can imagine how difficult and chaotic life can be in this situation but as a general tip you can try repurposing stuff or buying multifunctional things. Like currently I’m trying to build a new bed out of storage cubes that can later also be assembled into a shelf.
