JAileen -- I totally understand backpacker minimalism! And I *love* the Tahoe Rim Trail -- I hiked it as a loop last year with my family. We're thinking about the John Muir Trail next year if we can get a permit...

I'm trying very hard not to wear Patagonia everyday, but where I live it's pretty much the environmental norm, so I'm struggling! I do, however, own an ever-growing number of kitchen tools.

I can trace my desire for 'less things' (vs aesthetic minimalism) to living in a hectic household with 'collectors' followed by a stint in Catholic boarding schools where the spare environment was soothing to me. Life is about co-operation and compromise however, and I do not live alone. My children are young adults, however there is a box of Beanie Babies, and two boxes of Legos stored in the cupboard under the stairs, and DH does like 'stuff'.

We did reduce our material possessions quite a bit when we relocated 2 years ago and downsized from a family home to a place more appropriate for 2 adults in retirement.

I have to admit that the desire to own less material goods has been further reinforced by the horror of helping DH deal with his parent's estate, and recently assisting my mother amalgamate the contents of a home and a large cottage into a condo.

It's not just you, Aziraphale. Lifestyle choices abound and for me, negativity comes in not around living more or less simply, but rather the sense of superiority that such decisions engender for some. To do what works for your household need not involve disdain for those who have another way. It is a luxury to contemplate what you don't want or need materially in your life. It is the swing of a pendulum; perhaps I am weary of the cycles. I am also chagrinned by the us/them polarization in more general and devastating terms.

We are currently editing our home in anticipation of next steps. We don't require or want many things that were once relevant to us or those who lived with us. Having less to tend is motivating us now. Others will have different priorities. And on the clothing front, while many of my favorite pieces are quite minimal in style, I enjoy a fair amount choice in my outfit creation.

OMG !!! I can't believe you posted this. I have been trying to get control of our lives by reigning in the chaos...and I HATE the term "minimalist" !!!!!!!! People tend to wear it like a badge. I hate how many of the sites tell you to "declutter" , don't buy anything, etc, but then pitch their books or their services to "teach" minamilsim. Or how, one site in particular, goes on about the environment but then keeps hawking tickets to all over the world to hear the site writers speak in person. UGH. Or how many times one is encouraged to use OTHER people's possessions. Like couching "surfing" : using others' couches and homes and kitchens and washers and dryers. You hit a nerve. My poor husband will be happy that I have someone else to rant too. LOL

Frankly, I think that the term is misused and has become a catch all. I do like the term "essentialism" better but that doesn't quite make it either. Because ONLY "essentials" also means a stripping down. Whereas, I feel, it is more about containing and not becoming angst ridden over too much choice. We need to come up with a better word. I just have never understood why one needs to "hawk" one's lifestyle 24 hours a day in order to make a point. It also chafes me a bit that the majority of the world live like "minimalists" ; it is called poverty. Yet this is some home being romanticized, I feel.

Recently, on vacation, my husband's cousins and siblings and I were talking about just this very subject. One of his cousin's said something very interesting : we will see how truly minimalist these people are 10 years in....

This is so far up my nose that I think it has hit my frontal lobe. ; )

I LOVE this article. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE !

...and this nails ( from the article ) why this chafes me :

"The movement, such as it is, is led in large part by a group of men who gleefully ditch their possessions as if to disavow the advantages by which they obtained them. But it takes a lot to be minimalist: social capital, a safety net and access to the internet. " In other words, money and privilege.

Yes, it's just the pendulum swinging back from more excessive periods. On a micro-level, I started accumulating "stuff" when I started to make a decent income. It was great feeling my purchasing power for a while, until the stuff started to make me feel weighed down. Eventually, I felt the need for fewer, better things. I jettisoned things to feel better, not to feel superior. It just seemed to make sense, and I was glad to pass along what I no longer wanted to others who might have a need for it (those yard sales were a lot of fun!). Talking to my peers who are dealing with having to dispose of the possessions of their perhaps non-minimalist parents, I can definitely see a desire to embrace a (more) minimal aesthetic, if not strictly minimalist. Nobody I know is on an ego trip about scaling down, but I know what you're talking about, especially when I go to a restaurant and see a kale leaf and a dab or two of sauce as an entree!

I didn't grow up in clutter, and I still dislike clutter. My home is not cluttered. I still have stuff, though: piano books, cookbooks, nic-nacs from traveling, fine china and crystal (most of it given to me by my mom; I do use it from time to time), lots of kitchen equipment, and some clothes. I manage to keep everything neat and tidy, and highly resent the minimalists who tell me I'm not supposed to collect anything. As long as nothing is taking over my house and looking bad, I think I'm just fine. I could show my house right now to sell, if I wanted to, without having to get rid of anything. I have large closets, built-in bookshelves and cabinets, and a very large kitchen and pantry.

I don't like clutter and would like to be more aware of my consuming and what that represents to the environment. However I don't believe that being mindful is a synonymous of being minimalist.
Some time ago someone posted a link to an article about the minimalism we are being dragged into is but only the latest for of making us consume more because we are always looking for the next perfect item, discarding things we already own because they are not the one.
I believe minimalism exists and that there are people that enjoy living that way, but the word itself became too much used word.

At BC, and even IF your house was cluttered and things were taking over, if you found it useful and loved I still say "SO WHAT" ! : )
Your post made me realize that there is an equation ( an narrative, if you will ) that to be without things or "make do " with the least possible voluntarily , makes someone more kind, balanced, peaceful, loving...etc. And that is wrong.

I agree, Isabel! I want to add that my possessions mean something to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't keep them. We have moved multiple times over the years, and believe me when I say I've culled out all the unnecessary things. What I have are things that make me happy and/or evoke memories.

BC, BRAVO ! Enjoy your things. : )

Oh my! I disappeared for 24 hours and this thread has sprouted a thicket of excellent, thoughtful replies! I'm so sorry I haven't had time to respond to each one -- I had an unexpectedly busy day yesterday and a whole load of work to to today -- but hopefully I will get back to it by Friday.

Thanks again for your perspectives. I hope I made it clear that I am in favour of avoiding excess (very much so, in fact) -- I'm just frustrated by the turn that "minimalism" has taken toward snobbery and elitism.

A lot of my problems with minimalism are articulated by Alexandra - it's become a competition. I think getting rid of stuff, not buying more stuff, and streamlining your life is commendable, but the competetion to see who owns the least is very off putting.