A minimalist lifestyle (Hoboken, Englishtown: sale, house, buy)
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About 3 years ago I took three trips to Englishtown with my main objective being ridding myself of stuff that is no longer useful or is just simply cluttering my life. I was successful the first trip I made about $300, second about $80, and third about $50. I made a vowel to think before a purchase and to not let myself end up with too much stuff ever again. I sold all kinds of stuff and I take care of my stuff, so most of it was clean and in good shape: sega genesis, clothes mine and family,trinkets, colognes, bachelor pad end tables, tv, vcr, etc...I assumed this simple lifestyle and let it carry over and now I'm looking for more stuff to get rid of, plus i traded in all my old cds at princeton record exchange....anybody else see this as some type of movement that is developing in this country? I also rarely buy clothes anymore because I found that I usually rotate in the same 3-4 shirts weekly. good site
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i am a cyclist and this is a $$$$ sport. and it requires all kinds of stupid junk. tools, equipment, tires, tubes, wrenches, spokes, wheels, etc. however i do not have a car and could not be more happy about that. However that is a rare opportunity I have to not have a car in northern NJ. now why am i a cyclist. because i need to get my energy out so i can stare at the computer all day......
we do not have cable TV - whatever comes in off the antenna we watch
things we TRY to do, but have not succeeded in: shopping at local owner/operated stores - we still get sucked into the malls, big box stores, a lot.
things we are very good at! we go to the farmer's market on sunday and for $15, plus maybe another say $25 for milk, bread, pasta, OJ at the store we are eating healthily ALL week long!!!
secondly, we started a garden this year and have zucchinis, basil, peppers and cucumbers growing out the wazoo on the side of our house!!! ok not out the wazoo, but enough for us, and to give some to friends and family.
energy- without going crazy, ripping down the walls and insulating everywhere (because our home has no insulation as far as I know..................) we do what we can to save energy.
I wish i could say we dont have a lot of "crap" clutter junk..... we do, and i swear its so bad for your psyche.
so there we are... we're doing OK but would love to do more. not sure where to go from here.
I plan on decluttering more than I have...I can't stand clutter. I can't stand excess... and I really do believe in living a simpler life. It is just awfully hard to do sometimes when you have to work so hard to just maintain your life.... and trust me, I don't have a flashy lifestyle, but it's NJ and we all know that's expensive.
I de-cluttered my house quite a bit. I sold a lot of things on ebay, and donated or threw away the rest. It's easier to find things now
I like when things are orderly, and with less stuff, it's easy to keep things that way. Rooms appear larger too. I also organized all of my closets. Other than necessities, I really haven't bought anything in about a year.
I admire anyone who can condense the "stuff" down to what really matters--I use Freecycle, yada, yada. We have a two-year-old though, and what I've learned in this short time is that kids come with a lot of crap. Our house (really the basement, at this point) is like a Baby Emporium.
I think women tend to hold on to things a lot longer than men. Back to my single days I was happy in my "crappy" apt (my wife's description of it). All I needed/had was my TV, Stereo system, an old table w/ 4 chairs that was donated by one of my friends, a sofa & chair, 2 end tables and 2 lamps bought at a yard sale for $20 and that was it. Now my DW has stuff that has been handed down in her family through the years, from Dining room sets, to sideboards to bedroom sets. If it was up to me I'd sell everything and go live under a bridge.
I think women tend to hold on to things a lot longer than men. Back to my single days I was happy in my "crappy" apt (my wife's description of it). All I needed/had was my TV, Stereo system, an old table w/ 4 chairs that was donated by one of my friends, a sofa & chair, 2 end tables and 2 lamps bought at a yard sale for $20 and that was it. Now my DW has stuff that has been handed down in her family through the years, from Dining room sets, to sideboards to bedroom sets. If it was up to me I'd sell everything and go live under a bridge.
LOL, I want to throw everything "not necessary" out. BF is holding onto everything....think he still has the first squirrel he shot...
Anyway, I have a 3 car detached garage with attic storage above it....I have nothing in there, not even my car, BF has commandeered (sp?) the whole space. Junk, junk, junk, he has even saved grocery store flyers from 2004. I just don't go out there unless I have to, at least he's not messing up the house with all his crap.
I think women tend to hold on to things a lot longer than men. Back to my single days I was happy in my "crappy" apt (my wife's description of it). All I needed/had was my TV, Stereo system, an old table w/ 4 chairs that was donated by one of my friends, a sofa & chair, 2 end tables and 2 lamps bought at a yard sale for $20 and that was it. Now my DW has stuff that has been handed down in her family through the years, from Dining room sets, to sideboards to bedroom sets. If it was up to me I'd sell everything and go live under a bridge.
Amen, dude- if it was up to me, we'd be living in a 2 bedroom house with a living room and an eat-in kitchen, and I'd have a furniture list similar to what you noted. Apparently, it's not up to me, since we're living in a 4 br house with a great room, home office, formal dining room, a basement full of crap, and a 2-car garage that we can't park in due to clutter.....lol.
While I can't seem to do anything about the amount of stuff the wife and kids have amassed (and continue to amass), I'm at least trying to simplify and de-clutter my own portion of things. It's not easy though, since I spent the last 15 years of my adult life in the "that's cool- I think I'll buy one" mode, and accumulated a whole lot of useless, meaningless "stuff". Recently I've started to think twice before making purchases, I've started shopping at (and dropping off at) the Goodwill store- it's amazing how big those stores are down here, and even more amazing that you can find great stuff there. I've gotten Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, and Van Heusen dress shirts with the tags still on them for $4! Maybe if the wife and kids see me making changes they'll eventually catch on (maybe? please? pretty please????).
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I just don't go out there unless I have to, at least he's not messing up the house with all his crap.
