

Key Takeaways from "Simplify" book of minimalism - nojon
http://alpblog.heroku.com/key-takeaways-from-simplify-book-of-minimalism/

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fudged71
I know this is just a scratchpad of takeaways from a more in-depth piece of
writing, but the generalizations on nearly every point make it hard to apply
to my own life. Some possessions are necessary, some experiences aren't worth
paying for, unused doesn't mean useless (emergency supplies, diverse clothing
for diverse weather conditions), watch less TV than what? How are birthday
wishlists related to minimalism (I can guess, but it should have more detail),
who says my subscriptions are mostly liabilities? Why does inbox zero have to
be used by everyone? And why is the meaning of life described as a certainty?

"There are more you should value more than possessions –God"

Hard to keep reading after that line. First, telling me things I should value,
and secondly being something I don't take value out of anymore.

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goostavos
>Things you own actually begin to own you after some time. You clean them,
organize them, buy them, sell them etc. More you own, the more time they rob
from your lives.

and

>You won’t lose that much.

These two points go hand in hand -- though, I would change "lose" to "miss" in
the second.

I grew up rather poor, and with a less than stellar family. As a result, I was
bounced around a lot from home to home. One thing I learned from that is that
with each move, I unpacked fewer and fewer boxes that were filled with my
things. I only needed a few core things in which to be happy. If another move
was only few months down the road, I didn't see a point in unpacking all of
these useless items if they're just going to go back in the box again.
Eventually, I realized that the stuff I didn't unpack was really just that:
_stuff_. I didn't need it to be happy. It was really just one more thing that
I had to spend time maintaining.

This minimalism, though originally born from necessity, carried over to
adulthood as a simple lifestyle choice. I have a massive problem in wrapping
my head around people's obsession with filling their homes with.. _stuff_.

In an attempt to explain the minimal lifestyle to my much younger brother the
other day, I gave the example of people who shop at Kirklands (we just
happened to be walking by the place when my older, and very married, sister
exclaimed joy at seeing the store). The stuff in that store is little more
than yard sale fodder (in my ever so humble opinion!). It's purpose is to will
up a space in your home, but it means nothing to the buyer. In a week's time,
it will just be another "thing;" something you bought once on a whim. In five
years it will either be thrown away, sold, or in a closet somewhere because
you've got to make room for ever _more_ stuff in your house.

I've got a very simple question which I ask myself before I purchase
something: "Is this item _really_ going to make me happy?" "I cannot imagine a
scenario where this fancy silverware holder, which by definition will sit in a
drawer, underneath said silverware and thus rarely seen, will really make me
happier than this $5 utilitarian one" (actual conversation I had with my
girlfriend at Ikea, to which she replied, "but it's cuter!").

That said, I don't _not_ buy things; I'm a sucker for the NASA lego sets,
admittedly. But they have meaning to me more than a placeholder. It's an
activity I do with my brothers, it is, to me, a symbol of a great human
achievement, and I fudging love showing people that there's actually a little
lego satellite inside the lego Shuttle. That type of thing is an experience
for me. It's not just a thing, looking at it is like a mnemonic for triggering
good memories I had of putting it together with family and friends. Those are
the things I feel are worth filling your house with, not just stuff because
"that wall could use something."

~~~
Gustomaximus
On the other hand owning stuff is cool if it doesn't clutter your life, or you
don't mind your life being cluttered. If you live in a house with a few spare
rooms and don't move around a lot then it is awesome to have walls of
bookshelves or other things you enjoy. Or even to go through that box you put
under the stairs 5 years ago and play with your old Nintendo or the like. The
minimalist thing is getting really popular but IMO there is enjoyment in
ownership of things, as long as the possessions don't own me.

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ekianjo
Owning things is part of experiencing things, no? And dont put a picture of
Steve Jobs on this blog post, thats the Man who brought more devices that
people do not need than anyone else. Hardly an example of Minimalism. Unless
this was meant as sarcasm.

~~~
mynegation
No! Modern smartphone combines many things in one and simplifies your life in
that sense. I play music, use turn by turn GPS, read books, newspapers, and
magazines (though mostly on tablet, to be honest), listen to music and
Internet radio, watch videos and photos, use instant messaging, check calendar
and todo list, write diary, keep my boarding passes, buy movie tickets, check
weather forecast, set alarms and kitchen timers - all one small device sitting
in my pocket. And oh, sometimes I use it as a phone too.

Smartphone made my life much, much easier.

~~~
ekianjo
No, it made your life more distracted, that is all. Most of these things are
not necessary just like having a phone wherever you go was just about bringing
in more interruptions in your daily life and work. There are things you see,
and things you do not see.

~~~
fudged71
I don't see why it couldn't be both. Yes, phones can be very distracting
(information when you don't need it), but they can also provide very useful
information exactly when you need it.

It can bring interruptions into your life, but it can also simplify and
optimize other parts of your life.

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mbrock
So, the simplicity of "minimalism" is still focused on interior decoration and
inbox management. How about going beyond this and actually going on to deal
with the things that matter more?

The way of minimalism: stuff doesn't matter, so here's my blog about different
interesting ways to organize your stuff and pictures of beautiful bourgeois
furniture.

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unimpressive
Not to mention, the less stuff you need, the less money it takes to have "fuck
you" money.

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mrbombastic
Can someone give me a hint as to why: send people who might give you a
birthday present a wishlist, is on this list? it seems completely opposed to
the idea of minimalism and also seems like a generally kind of obnoxious thing
to do.

~~~
spindritf
The idea is that if you get something you wanted, you won't get something that
will soon turn into clutter like 1000 other gag gifts. There is some logic to
it but I agree that it's more obnoxious than it's worth.

~~~
mrbombastic
makes sense. might as well go all the way and ask them to donate to charity
instead though.

~~~
alpb
At this point, author says that people like parents and grandparents have a
joy of buying an actual gift and he doesn't want to take this away from them.
I agree with that, if they buy you something from the wishlist then you can
pay the same amount to the charity yourself, as well.

~~~
fudged71
It seems a bit contradictory that buying a gift for someone is okay but buying
one for yourself is a sin. Both can be joyous experiences. If experiences and
relationships are more important than possessions, we should ask for
experiences with a person as a gift, and actively discourage all possession
gifts. (How boring is an essential gift? Thanks for the cheese-grater dad!).

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hapuka
Stopped reading at "There are more you should value more than possessions
–God..."

~~~
alpb
Hello, I am the reader and actually this is exactly what the author has
written. I quoted directly from him and I also took this idea from the book.

You better not read PG's essays, because he also uses the word "God".
[https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q...](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=site:paulgraham.com+%22god%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)
It is quite interesting to see you are irritated of something I believe and
understand from the book.

~~~
herbig
Then it seems to be plagiarism, not a summary of your key takeaways.

Your Google link unfortunately disproved your point.

~~~
herbig
Quotation marks added later. Good call on that I guess.

------
joonix
I would gladly be owned by a turbocharged jet ski.

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notlisted
Any time spent on religion is wasted time. There, one less thing to worry
about.

~~~
mrbombastic
but then you have to worry about looking good while the void stares at you. :)

