Has Minimalism bitten anyone?

[Luck_Club]

Rustic: if you have ever had to clean out a house of someone you love after they die it is horrible when it is filled to the brim. I urge you not to leave that mess to your kids. That is one of the reasons I have been downsizing a lot through the years. I don't want to burden my kids. Also if your kids live somewhere else or both have full time jobs they may just hire a company to dispose of everything.

That's exactly as I see it.

Leave on Wednesday to clean out fathers house. Roughly 1300 SF plus full attic and basement just stuffed! Hope to get through it in 5 days! Probably going to cost money to get rid of 50+ years of accumulations.

Worst part is DW and I get to do this 3 more times in the future.

 

[Danmar]

That's exactly as I see it.

Leave on Wednesday to clean out fathers house. Roughly 1300 SF plus full attic and basement just stuffed! Hope to get through it in 5 days! Probably going to cost money to get rid of 50+ years of accumulations.

Worst part is DW and I get to do this 3 more times in the future.

Agree that this is a real pain. My FIL died a few months ago and MIL has moved to a "home". They lived in their 3,000sq ft house for about 45 years and if was chock full of junk. Turns out my FIL was a border-line hoarder. Luckily we hit on an elegant solution. My BIL is a really good guy but ended up never earning much money. My DS thought it would be a good idea for FIL/MIL to gift the house to him before FIL died (no gift/estate taxes in Canada). It would boost BIL finances but he would have to clean the house out in order to sell it. Also save money on probate fees. So in effect he was very well paid ($1.75million) to clean it out. I think it has been 5 big dumpsters so far and not finished yet. No complaints from him. Rest of estate will be split evenly amongst the 3 of them.

 

[kcowan]

We became declutter experts. Once DW and her brother inherited their Aunt's estate. BIL had been through the place and stripped all the stuff of value, so we were the cleanup crew. In the basement, stuffed behind an old filing cabinet, I found a current investment statement showing an asset total of $1.8 million. Since DW was supposed to get an equal split, I gave her the statement and let her decide what to do with it.

Eventually she confronted him with it. He denied it even though it was a monthly printout from a major bank. They became estranged and never spoke again. Eventually he had melanoma and died of brain cancer.

I would have hired a forensic accountant but DW (now my Ex) seldom agreed on major things. Aunt had got the money through flipping real estate.

 

[Souschef]

We became declutter experts. Once DW and her brother inherited their Aunt's estate. BIL had been through the place and stripped all the stuff of value, so we were the cleanup crew. In the basement, stuffed behind an old filing cabinet, I found a current investment statement showing an asset total of $1.8 million. Since DW was supposed to get an equal split, I gave her the statement and let her decide what to do with it.

Eventually she confronted him with it. He denied it even though it was a monthly printout from a major bank. They became estranged and never spoke again. Eventually he had melanoma and died of brain cancer.

I would have hired a forensic accountant but DW (now my Ex) seldom agreed on major things. Aunt had got the money through flipping real estate.

That is a shame. But Ben Franklin had it right-To know the true nature of a person,inherit with them.

 

[Danmar]

We became declutter experts. Once DW and her brother inherited their Aunt's estate. BIL had been through the place and stripped all the stuff of value, so we were the cleanup crew. In the basement, stuffed behind an old filing cabinet, I found a current investment statement showing an asset total of $1.8 million. Since DW was supposed to get an equal split, I gave her the statement and let her decide what to do with it.

Eventually she confronted him with it. He denied it even though it was a monthly printout from a major bank. They became estranged and never spoke again. Eventually he had melanoma and died of brain cancer.

I would have hired a forensic accountant but DW (now my Ex) seldom agreed on major things. Aunt had got the money through flipping real estate.

I assume her brother was executor of estate. How would he get it through probate?

 

[Rustic23]

Teacher Terry: To be exact, we have done 3 houses, my parents, DW's parents, and my brother's. My brother's was by far the worst as he was more of a hoarder. DW's parents took longer, but that was because the siblings wanted to go through everything, and all four had to be there. They were not geographically close so the did it on the weekends sometimes separated by four to six months! While there was a lot of stuff to go through, much of it brought back memories, and in DW's case several weekend visits with her siblings. The stuff in our home makes it OUR home. Not our kids, or our siblings. To get rid of it just to make their job easier is not going to happen.

 

[meierlde]

Rustic: if you have ever had to clean out a house of someone you love after they die it is horrible when it is filled to the brim. I urge you not to leave that mess to your kids. That is one of the reasons I have been downsizing a lot through the years. I don't want to burden my kids. Also if your kids live somewhere else or both have full time jobs they may just hire a company to dispose of everything.

Actually to minimize the work for survivors, suggest that the survivors just pick out what they want from the house, then hire an estate sales company to deal with the rest. They will have a sale, and include having them dispose of the rest, and clean the house for sale.

 

[O2Bfree]

The real stuff people can get rid off is cash. Send them my way if you talk about real minimalism. Try to live without that stuff and we shall see how's it working out. Interesting how people can discuss Budhism without understand the real underlying philosophy. I have been to a real monastery for monks and it was very quiet. No cash buzzing around. No worries about 4% SWR. Lol

I had a funny experience with minimalist thought at a monastery. Upon arrival, I went to check in with the teacher's translator. This being a Zen monastery, I expected her quarters to be like the rest of the grounds --neat, orderly, and generally minimalist. But her room was a cluttered mess! It rather looked like everything anyone had ever given her was just set down and left there, with no attempt whatsoever at organization. Now there was a koan!

 

[manerac]

The best New Year's resolution I ever made, and the only one I sort-of stick to is:
Make sure the trash can is full on pickup day.

 

[kcowan]

I assume her brother was executor of estate. How would he get it through probate?

He and DW were joint executors. He was also the Aunt's bank manager. I did not mention the bank (because of my Scottish heritage).

 

[Fedup]

Minimalism no more. Number two came back this morning after stayed up all night to clean her apartment. The hallway is full of stuff now. While I made stuff for my husband to enjoy his Father's Day, she is sleeping.

 

[Walt34]

Actually to minimize the work for survivors, suggest that the survivors just pick out what they want from the house, then hire an estate sales company to deal with the rest.

This is what I have told DW to do if anything happens to me. I have a lot of small tools and such that I used to build R/C airplanes and they are occasionally useful for repairing/maintaining stuff around the house so I keep them. There are three 6-foot workbenches and about six cabinets of stuff that I still sometimes use.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I would say Enoughism over Minimalism. I don't actively try to own as little as possible, but even the things I collect are limited to just a few items across each category. I guess I just try to find the one thing that fits best for what I want, and get that. And if that doesn't quite do it for me, I pick the few others things that round out whatever I'm looking for.

 

[sengsational]

no freezer.

Really? No. You just wrote that to see if we were paying attention.

Make sure the trash can is full on pickup day.

That's the kind of decluttering rule I like. Simple. You know if you did it. I tried to pound through the "KonMari" book, but it got too goofy for me.

 

[spncity]

We decluttered with the plan of selling the house and traveling in an RV for a couple of years before relocating. We were still going to have plenty of stuff to store, but the amount of stuff we hauled out was impressive.

But then - decided not to sell the house for now (arrival of grand baby nearby).

We're enjoying the new paint, carpet, refinished wood floors and feeling of space.

Another round of getting rid of stuff wouldn't hurt. Even then, not sure I can give up the "weather theme" diorama that was assigned to our eldest when she was in second grade. With a tornado fashioned out of steel wool, it contains some of my finest work!

We've had to clean out my dad's place and my mom's place. But they were smallish. The one that looms in the future is FIL's house and barns and sheds...

Save​

 

[jollystomper]

I don't try for Minimalism at all. But I like things neat, so that helps me realize when I have too many things. At this point in my life accumulating things is just not as attractive as it used to me. I'm finding I'm ignoring a lot of the "free" stuff that comes my way these days because of that.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

That's the kind of decluttering rule I like. Simple. You know if you did it. I tried to pound through the "KonMari" book, but it got too goofy for me.

I was surprised after flipping through that book that it was so popular. I thought she had signs of OCD - throwing out other people's things as a child, thinking about what she could organize during the school day when she got home from school. It seemed a bit over the top to me.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I made some good inroads on organizing and decluttering today - some stuff went in the trash and I took enough stuff to Goodwill I had to make three trips from the car to the donation bin.

 

[Surewhitey]

We sold everything except what fit in the car (spacious Avalon) and moved from California to Mexico back in 2011. We were at the perfect time in life with aging furniture and DW wanted to cut the corporate cord and we decided to jump. Selling everything was a mistake, though. We should have only sold the big things and given away all the tiny, $3 items. The time invested didn't pay off. It was extremely freeing for sho.

We lived in Mexico with "throw away" mentality. When we leave, at worse, we chunk it. Makes you buy what you truly need if you think about it that way. Now we're back in TX, in a 1700 sq ft home. We furnished with mostly lightly used or personally made furniture / decorations. Probably spent a whopping $3-4k on the whole house furnishings...

 

[haha]

Really? No. You just wrote that to see if we were paying attention

I wasn't clear. When I wrote "no freezer", I meant only a small freezer section on an apartment size fridge. I can't buy much food to freeze and keep. Mostly my cooking has a no inventory system on perishables.. The main things about my story were that it is hard to get someone else on board for de-cluttering, and it can be overwhelming emotionally. Frankly, I was both frustrated and overwhelmed.

Ha

 

[Bamaman]

We're presently minimalizing from 5 cars to 4 cars, from 4 houses to 3 houses (10,000 square feet total to 7500 square feet), 2 boats, 2 ATV's and 1 Rottweiler (down from two Rottweilers).

Had our first garage sale a week ago and pocketed $1,250--going into our travel fund.

Now, we're evicting our daughter from her (our) house and will be going down another 2,800 square feet.

 

[John Galt III]

I'm glad to see so many hoarders out there! Makes me feel less put upon, as I declutter a relative's house. Day after day. It's endless! Not getting paid for it, but I get to keep anything of value I find. If I get stuck on whether or not to throw something out, I just put it in one of the "deal with it later" boxes and put it in the basement, where there actually is some room available still.

 

[Shanky]

Some take it too far. You should keep at a minimum. 1 fork, one knife, a spoon, a bowl, 2 sets of undergarments, one pair of shoes, slacks, shirt. Belt will come in handy also, as will socks. A phone, a bike, and a towel. Hat is an option as is cold weather clothing. If you minimize beyond this, you will likely regret it and have to buy something.

 

[Koolau]

Some take it too far. You should keep at a minimum. 1 fork, one knife, a spoon, a bowl, 2 sets of undergarments, one pair of shoes, slacks, shirt. Belt will come in handy also, as will socks. A phone, a bike, and a towel. Hat is an option as is cold weather clothing. If you minimize beyond this, you will likely regret it and have to buy something.

Recently watched the movie JACK REACHER (Tom Cruise). Reacher had no drivers license, passport, permanent address or luggage. If he had to travel (as he did for the story) he took the bus and then he stopped at Goodwill or similar and bought what he needed as he needed it. He washed out everything in the sink at night. Just a little piece of me found that life appealing - at least for the length of the movie. YMMV

 

[Souschef]

Recently watched the movie JACK REACHER (Tom Cruise). Reacher had no drivers license, passport, permanent address or luggage. If he had to travel (as he did for the story) he took the bus and then he stopped at Goodwill or similar and bought what he needed as he needed it. He washed out everything in the sink at night. Just a little piece of me found that life appealing - at least for the length of the movie. YMMV

I have read almost all the Reacher books, and he has an interesting philosophy. If he had more clothes the would need something to carry them,like a suitcase. more STUFF!!
As an aside, the casting of Cruise in the movie was a joke. In the books, Reacher is a former Major in the MP's, is well over six foot tall, and weighs about 225-250-all muscle.