Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.
Today, it’s my pleasure to bring you Gil’s story. Dissatisfied with the amount of “stuff” in his life, Gil set out to purge three-quarters of his possessions. I’m so glad he’s decided to share his experience with us!
Gil writes:
I could say my own path to minimalism started not only as a desire to downsize my personal possessions, but also to take the focus off of said items and project it onto those things which are much greater and bigger than me. Now, my goal is not to rid myself of everything except my toothbrush, BUT, to live and enjoy only those things which I need and will give me happiness. In essence, I am seeking freedom from consumerism and material excess.
I was raised in a wonderful home full of life’s “creature comforts” and as an only child, I had never wanted for anything. Additionally, I was, like so many in American society, conditioned to think that unless we are surrounded by an abundance of material goods and spend our weekends shopping at the local mall, we are unsuccessful and don’t “fit” in with society’s norms and expectations.
Over time, I amassed over 200 books, Hundreds of VHS tapes and DVDs, close to 250 CDs, 10 video game consoles and countless games, artwork, clothes, you name it. Plus, I have a storage shed full of things that I hadn’t used for years. I still relished the thought that those items would “come in handy” some day. An item that I was mesmerized by would loose its “coolness” in a month, only to be replaced by something even better, and the cycle would repeat itself.
When buying things without hesitation or conviction, I didn’t consider the bigger picture, but lived for the moment. I also failed to take into account that one day, I would want to get rid of them. In due time, I began to feel overwhelmed, suffocated and weighed down by all of these things. Around 2007, I began to develop a plan to rid myself of at least 70-80% of the items I owned. It would not be an easy undertaking, but I was bound and determined.
I started with the storage shed. I cleaned it out over the course of two weekends and forgot I had more than half of the things in there. I donated, pitched and sold those items. I also gladly told the storage company I would no longer need their services. I then turned my attention to my apartment and was relentless over the course of several months. CDs I no longer listened to, books no longer read and movies no longer watched went to the exit door. They were sold and donated. Clothes that no longer fit or were out of style, donated. The same applied to the remaining items. In 2007, I moved to be closer to my fiancée and got rid of more things.
As recent as this weekend, I did some more purging and donated more books, sold more DVDs, video games and CDs. Now, I am down to 20 books, 2 game consoles, 30 DVDs and 20 video games. I also burned my remaining CD collection onto my IPOD. I would still like to go through my wardrobe, but as of this writing, I feel I have “arrived”. Needless to say, I feel like a new person, re-born, so to speak. Plus, I take comfort that someone else can use and enjoy those things I no longer want.
Striving for a minimalist and simpler way life does NOT equate to an existence of deprivation or denial. In fact with each day, I am feeling a sense of freedom, richness and wealth that extra things and “stuff” simply could not accomplish for me. I am also free to explore other areas and avenues in life that I allowed to be closed off because of my accumulation of and fascination with things. While I strove to “keep up with the Joneses, I left Gil behind in the process and came up empty. Additionally, the price tag of having too much supersedes any dollar figure. It can be stressful and mentally draining.
My wife to be hasn’t yet been bitten by the Minimalist bug, but she told me that she admired me for what I was doing and hopes to follow suit, but not to the extent I have. We will be moving into a brand new home soon, so hopefully that will be some impetus for her.
I still enjoy the few things I have elected to keep and now I can really appreciate their value and beauty even more. I can also focus on what’s really important at the moment.
In conclusion, Minimalism isn’t a current fad or buzzword for me, but a long-term journey. I’m sure it will be challenging at times, but I am ready!
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Very inspirational story! His journey sounds similar to mine, except my spouse has yet to say he “admires” what I’m doing. ;-) Maybe someday though.
“While I strove to ‘keep up with the Joneses,’ I left Gil behind in the process and came up empty.”
I can definitely identify with this. Thanks for sharing your story!
I agree with Sarah – I can definitely relate to that quote! Too many times I’ve felt like I had to have or do something because everyone else was, and in turn forgot myself!
My husband thought I was being extremist when I suggested getting rid of our bedframe and night tables. LOL! It definitely helps to have a spouse who is on the same page. Hopefully, Gil’s wife-to-be will come around. =)
What a great story. Gil, I think you are so right in that it’s not how much you have left but whether what you have left is useful and meaningful.
Francine,
Thank you SO much for publishing my story. Sorry for the late reply, as we are just getting back from our wedding weekend. We had a great time with our loved ones and we were not, surprisingly given lots of stuff. We did get a few things such as basic kitchen utensil sets that my wife, shockingly threw out and kept just what we needed, lol.No bread makers, espresso machines, etc. We simply wanted everyone to bring themselves, eat, drink and be merry, and that’s exactly what transpired.
Thank you Deb, Julia,Candice, Sarah and Red for your kind thoughts. I am glad you found my own story inspirational, like I have found the stories and journeys to minimalism from other readers here. Thanks again!
Gil
Gil – that’s great that you didn’t get a lot of stuff for gifts! I remember registering for gifts for my wedding to my ex (and had the huge wedding to go with it) the wedding planning boards online and even the store clerks telling me what to register for. Stupid, uncessary things that no one ever really needs. Like ‘every day china’ and ‘special occasion/fine china’ – why the hell do you need two different kinds? By the end of it all, once the gifts were opened, we ended up with enough dinnerware settings for 24 people, 3 crock pots, a lot of crystal things that never get used (candlesticks, platters, bowls, etc)… but no good silverware to eat off of. No cooking pans to actually cook with. None of the more useful things that we really needed, and the multiples because apparently people can’t read registeries to see that someone already purchased an item.
My 2nd wedding was the best one ever. We didn’t register for anything. There was like 25 people there max. We didn’t receive gifts because we didn’t even need them, except for the gift card from my coworkers for a nice dinner out at an expensive restaurant. I didn’t even have a bouquet – I bought a wrist corsage to wear because I wasn’t even having bridemaids to hold my boquet in the first place. It was informal and nice and just our style. :)
Great story, Gil! That’s a real accomplishment!
What a great story Gil. Don’t you feel a thousand lbs lighter from ridding yourself of all the stuff. Now you have the room in your life to pursue the passions that really matter. Great job!
Thanks Jan and Sherry..Yes, Jan..I feel lighter physically and mentally. My sleeping has improved, not only with the shedding of things, but the accompanying debt is gone as well!
That’s pretty cool. I respect you for doing that, I consider myself a minimalist as well. My bf and I download our movies, music and use the kindle app for the pc for books now. I like having a digital library because its just easier, its nice to hear that you are freed from all the stuff that weighed you down.
That’s pretty cool. I respect you for doing that, I consider myself a minimalist as well. My bf and I download our movies, music and use the kindle app for the pc for books now. I like having a digital library because its just easier, its nice to hear that you are freed from all the stuff that weighed you down.
We got married in 1972. Registered for Corelle, no good china. Got some stainless steel from my husband’s aunt and some from my grandparents. Got some stainless steel pots and pans we still use. We got a couch we had for 30 years. Still have a lot of the second hand furniture. We used the money we got to make a down payment on a house. Still have 2 crystal platters.
I bought our coffee table, kitchen table, and dining room table second hand. I still shop at garage sales, thrift shops, rummage sales and avoid the mall. I wanted unpainted chests for our bedroom, but my in laws bought us a bedroom set. The only place I would buy new furniture is Ikea. The crystal platters are nice at the holidays.
When I read your postings, I feel hope for the future. All our friends have big 2600-3500 square foot houses full of stuff. Big TV’s and lots of clothes, DVD’s, etc. We live in 1600 square feet which is big for this blog. All winter we don’t turn on the furnace because our condo is south facing. If we run A/C in the summer it costs maybe 30 or 35 dollars a month.
We could go smaller and have even less, but we keep a guest room since our son moved out.
I want to get rid of more, so my children won’t have to sort through a pile of stuff when we are very old.
We went to pay a condolence call yesterday. The children were talking about how they had kept cleaning out their mother’s stacks of papers and cardboard and used plastic. There was still stuff in the cabinets and a spare room but nothing like what had been there before. At least it was clean.
We went to visit my mom at the nursing home yesterday. I bring her books and puzzles and take home whatever she’s finished with. She was talking about some books she had which we had thrown out because of mildew. I have been gradually replacing her favorites through library sales, rummage sales, etc. I keep trying to go through her clothes but she doesn’t want to move anything around.
My mom finally gave me some old papers to recycle. She still has a big stack of papers and magazines to go through. We throw things in the recycle pile every day because I can’t stand clutter.