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I would argue that you aren't a minimalist, at least not in the kitchen. If I think of a minimalist kitchen I think of a kitchen that's slightly better supplied than an Extended Stay hotel. A pot, a fry pan, a baking sheet, a few place settings, a few glasses.
Granted, my kitchen has more than just a cast iron skillet and a pair of tongs in it. It's the room in my house that has the most items per square foot, but I can and do cook a lot of meals using just a 5-qt. Dutch oven, a 10" cast iron skillet, a mixing bowl, a chef knife, a cutting board, a pair of tongs, and a flat-edged wooden spoon. That's pretty minimalist when all is said and done, and I wouldn't have any trouble cooking meals for my family if that's all I had on hand. I certainly don't need shelves in my garage to handle overflow cookware and small appliances. Having lots of unique cookware is certainly fun, but it's not necessary. Still think a minimalist kitchen means no cooking? Check out the book One Knife, One Pot, One Dish by Stephane Reynaud. It will open your eyes to a world of satisfying and delicious meals that require only minimal cookware.
To go back to Tamara's issue, I really think hers is a hoarding problem, and that's not about minimalism. The flashlight conundrum I do not understand at all. One well-designed flashlight for each person in an accessible spot with extra batteries, along with some type of reliable lantern for general lighting in a power outage, should more than suffice. Her focus on the "necessary clutter of life" stymies me. By it's very definition, clutter is unnecessary.
Last edited by randomparent; 10-01-2018 at 11:11 AM..
Randomparent
Similar here. Drastic downsizing was worst on SO but he uses and needs every tool and every scrap of wood or metal in the garage. I can ask for bird houses or shelf separators and generally things show up within a day or two. Inside - art is on the walls, two items are in the built in in the eating area. Three items on the counters in the kitchen - oversized wooden cutting board (2x4 and it does come in handy), coffee maker, air fryer combo (in use daily). There is no need to go dumpster diving in the pantry, the freezer, anywhere. Everything has a place. Moving to glas freezer dishes opened a huge space in a cabinet which will be slide in storage for cookie sheets and all other flat large items. Plastic ware found a happy new home! House flashlights are mounted on magnetic strips under cabinets in the kitchen and in bathrooms and high tech ones are in night stands wall mounted on door frames. But power outage has not been a problem with a whole house gas generator big enough to let neighbors plug in heavy duty cords.
Hoarding can take on a number of faces and I have seen many. Something comes into the house and something has to go.
Granted, my kitchen has more than just a cast iron skillet and a pair of tongs in it. It's the room in my house that has the most items per square foot, but I can and do cook a lot of meals using just a 5-qt. Dutch oven, a 10" cast iron skillet, a mixing bowl, a chef knife, a cutting board, a pair of tongs, and a flat-edged wooden spoon. That's pretty minimalist when all is said and done, and I wouldn't have any trouble cooking meals for my family if that's all I had on hand. I certainly don't need shelves in my garage to handle overflow cookware and small appliances. Having lots of unique cookware is certainly fun, but it's not necessary. Still think a minimalist kitchen means no cooking? Check out the book One Knife, One Pot, One Dish by Stephane Reynaud. It will open your eyes to a world of satisfying and delicious meals that require only minimal cookware.
To go back to Tamara's issue, I really think hers is a hoarding problem, and that's not about minimalism. The flashlight conundrum I do not understand at all. One well-designed flashlight for each person in an accessible spot with extra batteries, along with some type of reliable lantern for general lighting in a power outage, should more than suffice. Her focus on the "necessary clutter of life" stymies me. By it's very definition, clutter is unnecessary.
Similarly, I use four pieces for 90% of my cooking. But that doesn't mean that I don't like having different size cookie sheets, muffin pans, roasting pans, sauce pans, etc...
None of it is cluttered, it all fits nicely in my cabinets. But I wouldn't call it minimalism. Key to minimalism is an extreme streamlining of most things that don't receive extremely regular use. In my mind, anyway.
Similarly, I use four pieces for 90% of my cooking. But that doesn't mean that I don't like having different size cookie sheets, muffin pans, roasting pans, sauce pans, etc...
None of it is cluttered, it all fits nicely in my cabinets. But I wouldn't call it minimalism. Key to minimalism is an extreme streamlining of most things that don't receive extremely regular use. In my mind, anyway.
Understood. I think it's a matter of degrees. My mother and MIL are both kitchen collectors and cannot imagine how I manage to prepare meals with just basic cookware and utensils. I think to most dedicated home cooks, I run pretty spare, but there are obviously those who do with much less.
We've gotten away from the OP's topic and perhaps this discussion would be better suited to Food & Drink, but there are obviously meals I cannot make because of the choices I've made in outfitting my kitchen, and that's a type of minimalism, too, but I do cook pretty much every day. Not having every small appliance under the sun does not prevent me from doing so.
Tamara's issue runs much deeper than whether someone has two pans or ten, and as I wrote years ago when she first started this discussion, a minimalist trying to explain herself to a "maximalist" is like a fish trying to explain to a bird what it feels like to live in water. We're simply never going to understand one another.
Understood. I think it's a matter of degrees. My mother and MIL are both kitchen collectors and cannot imagine how I manage to prepare meals with just basic cookware and utensils. I think to most dedicated home cooks, I run pretty spare, but there are obviously those who do with much less.
We've gotten away from the OP's topic and perhaps this discussion would be better suited to Food & Drink, but there are obviously meals I cannot make because of the choices I've made in outfitting my kitchen, and that's a type of minimalism, too, but I do cook pretty much every day. Not having every small appliance under the sun does not prevent me from doing so.
Tamara's issue runs much deeper than whether someone has two pans or ten, and as I wrote years ago when she first started this discussion, a minimalist trying to explain herself to a "maximalist" is like a fish trying to explain to a bird what it feels like to live in water. We're simply never going to understand one another.
I agree. Its like a lifelong New Yorker and a lifelong farmer trying to "get" why in the earth you would live in a crowded city or isolated rural farm.
I also think that Kitchens are an easy example to point out the differences between a minimalist or not. IE, a lot of people like a clean, decluttered aesthetic in their living room, and a couch, loveseat, coffee table and lamp is all they need. But, to me that's like calling yourself a fitness junkie because you have a gym membership and use it.
Your closets (Linen Closets and Bedroom Closets) are the other "tell" IMO.
Lots and lots of people appreciate organization, and decluttering, and will periodically throw stuff out/give away/sell that which isn't being used enough anymore. But that doesn't make them a minimalist anymore then running a 5K makes you an Olympic runner.
But you're absolutely correct. OP is as far from a minimalist as one can get. Most importantly, I don't think that there's anything inherently noble or admirable about a minimalist, anymore than there's anything inherently noble or admirable about the guy that always has what he needs at hand. Both have inherent opportunity costs that cannot be ignored.
...........To go back to Tamara's issue, I really think hers is a hoarding problem, and that's not about minimalism. The flashlight conundrum I do not understand at all. One well-designed flashlight for each person in an accessible spot with extra batteries, along with some type of reliable lantern for general lighting in a power outage, should more than suffice. Her focus on the "necessary clutter of life" stymies me. By it's very definition, clutter is unnecessary.
It depends on what one does with flash lights or what one could do. Such as my D cell Maglight which I bought more for its use as a baton than a flash light. Then there's its tiny cousin which I carry daily in a pocket. The springy battery type float and throw out a wide beam of light plus you know when you find them in the dark because they are that big and bulky. Etc, etc, etc..
It depends on what one does with flash lights or what one could do. Such as my D cell Maglight which I bought more for its use as a baton than a flash light. Then there's its tiny cousin which I carry daily in a pocket. The springy battery type float and throw out a wide beam of light plus you know when you find them in the dark because they are that big and bulky. Etc, etc, etc..
That's the core of the issue.
No minimalist has the phrase "Could Be" or "could use" anywhere in their lexicon. He or She thinks in terms of "what will be used so often that it would make my life a PITA regularly if I don't have it?" So, one flashlight is plenty sufficient for a minimalist.
No minimalist has the phrase "Could Be" or "could use" anywhere in their lexicon. He or She thinks in terms of "what will be used so often that it would make my life a PITA regularly if I don't have it?" So, one flashlight is plenty sufficient for a minimalist.
That's an excellent way to describe the difference.
Why? What if the new one gets dropped and broken in the middle of an emergency? I try to have a spare of anything important.
How many real emergencies have you gone through when a flash light broke?
This is not about emergencies but a hoarder.
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