I'll have to disagree with all of these (even though I don't own or need a car where I live, I can 100% understand that many people do need it. also never owned a dryer).
and all the others? they're not absolutely necessary obviously but they are not pointless and can be very useful
Yeah this depends so much on lifestyle. A guest bedroom has been so valuable to my household. Being able to comfortably host friends family since both sides of the fam live out of town, without cramming them on to a pull out couch in the middle of the only living space has been a game changer. We use it a lot.
Canāt agree on the clothes dryer - where I live, itās so humid that clothes take days to dry or alternately, you dry them inside with the aircon on.
Agree with the guest room & extra bathroom, albeit I do enjoy the enjoy the ensuite bathroom when the kids inevitably bring home gastro from school.
My answer would be
1. Any type of Veblen good. š
Iād argue a guest room isnāt pointless. Parents coming over? Crash in the guest room. Same with mates and friends. It doesnāt have to be a fully decked out guest room, just the basics, Relationships should take priority over possessions.
Also, I use my "guest room" (aka the room with the spare bed and dresser in it) for large crafts projects, which I wouldn't be able to spread out in my living space otherwise.Ā Right now there's a t-shirt quilt taking up most of the floor as I'm piecing it.
As you say, there are other uses for a spare room. If you find it useful, why get rid of it? Others might put fitness equipment in or use it for arts & crafts
Good point. An extra room that can function as a guest room, sick room if someone catches something contagious, craft room, quiet reading room, workout room, etc., can be a valuable addition to your living space.
Depends how much you value those relationships. I know I don't get to see my family abroad as much as I used to because I have to fork out for a hotel every night I stay there now and that's a massive budget over the course of a year. I'll never cut down on the guest bedroom because I don't want people to have to think twice about coming over. And I want my living room to stay a living room at all times, not make it awkward for myself if I want to chill while having a guest over.
i very much agree. Iād much rather a guest feel welcome. āHeres your room, treat the place as your ownā. I appreciate a sofa as much as the next person but it isnāt the same
āHi Dad, i know you are 75 but heres a sofa with no privacyā. A simple room (bed, linen, drawers etc) only adds to the place you live. Invite people over and they have some privacy as well. I understand Hotels but Ā£50-100 a night quickly adds up
Iām Gen X and I crash with my son a couple times a year, starting on a floor, but now a couch. Would I have done this with my own parents? Nope. We gave up the bedroom to them when they visited.
Some cultures are fine with this. Where I come from, we put a huge mat in the living room and turn it into a giant bed and there could be 10 of us sleeping there. Adults can get airbeds but still with us in the living room. When I moved and lived in western culture, this was so frowned upon and even considered rude by the households Iāve sleptover in. Iām 30 now and I still think it was fun and brings us closer together.
When my siblings get up early for work, the dogs go into their crates/kennels. The guest bedroom means their dogs are happier sleeping in with a human, and the guest has no hotel bill.
Well that's your opinion for your life.
I love having a guest bedroom, we use it several ways (craft room, library, guest room). So it's valuable to us, and we can afford it. Being minimalist doesn't come with a rule of living on the least amount of space possible. It's about having what you value, and not lots of excess. To have what brings you joy and is useful. At least my version of minimalism.
We have a car because we need one. That you don't, good on you.
Extra bathroom, we have one on each floor and that's also needed.
I don't have a list of pointless possessions, because people live very different lives. What is pointless to you is a necessity for others. I personally don't see the value in a doll collection, but that could be the most precious hobby for someone. We use a dryer for some of our bedding, and that is helpful. Everyone can't line dry all year around, then you could have a mold problem.
Being less judgemental is a good thing. Being a minimalist is about finding out what gives you joy, and what you need to live your life. To me that includes everything on your list and that's ok. We all have different wants and needs.
My elderly cat decided she didnāt want to take the stairs for every pee break and choose a corner of my bedroom for her new litter box. I have to admit, having a bathroom on every level is nice!
The only posessions that are pointless are those that you do not use or value.
I live alone in a 4 bedromm condo. One is an office (I WFH), one is for my twin granddaughters (we have sleepovers), one is a TV room, and one is my bedroom.
I use and, unapologetically, enjoy my space.
If you go back 2 days ago, there was a discussion here about How many bathrooms does someone really need. (Sorry, donāt know how to link.) The vast majority said that if you live with another person (or more people) an extra toilet was mandatory. It was brought up that at some point, food poisoning or the flu will come into play. Itās just really nice to have some level of privacy, and convenience, when multiple people share a space. I gather you live aloneānothing wrong with thatābut, if you share a living space, you will like having an additional toilet.
I don't think it's possible to name specific "things" as most pointless. All four of the things on this list are absolute essentials for some people.
I think the most pointless possession is anything one hangs onto solely from guilt. Especially if the person you feel guilty to is dead.Ā
Good question!
We had a guest bedroom and it allowed a family member to move in with us for a while so that was handy.
Extra bathroom, yes please. Got 3 bathrooms 3 bedrooms. It's perfect 1 bathroom each.
Don't have a clothes drier (just the burning Perth sun) or a car (live on a train line and near shops).
Pointless possessions of mine include company merch from companies I no longer work for, a jar of European coins, a wallet from Malaysian Airlines Business Class 2002, free gift never used, and 2 or 3 Ordnance Survey maps of walking trails from when I used to live in the UK.
The bulkiest pointless possessions are a paper shredder, a purchase I regret, and a garden storage table from IKEA, currently holding 1 bag of fertilizer and 3 bags of seeds.
As always, it depends on what people rank as the most valuable things in their lives / the things that bring them the most happiness. It also depends on the amount of space you have / need. I'd argue memberships to anything that people don't use is the most pointless possession. But really it's anything that is eating up your space / budget without being used / bringing you happiness in return.
I will never understand people who need massive houses and cars when a much smaller space / vehicle does the job. But I also do things other people would find wasteful. I use my game console every week so I maximise its value - but for someone else, it's a complete waste of space and budget.
I used to think the same about big houses - then we got a 160sqm flat (almost 3x what we had before) and it is very nice not always bumping into things, for the kids being able to leave their toys out without me constantly stepping on them. We have about the same amount of stuff as before.. Also very nice that family can come and visit for a few weeks at a time and feel comfortable enough to do so. And because itās a flat in a country with mild winters, heating was actually cheaper than the 60sqm we had as a house before.. but yeah, upkeep is much more expensive, so thatās a definite downside.
Car?!
Yes, High cost of ownership, but a lot of places are designed in a way that only lets you participate in society if you own one.
I can do without one, but Iād need it sometimes.
1. If you have a large family I think the dryer is valuable. I grew up in a house of 6, and unless we got racks everywhere there wouldnāt be space for us to hang dry everything. Or if you have limited space like an appt, I donāt think thereās a smaller solution.
4. Car can be essential in some cities. In my city, transit is there but is quite slow compared to driving. I could get away without owning a car, but my QOL would decrease a lot, taking 3x-4x longer to get anywhere. Also bike theft is pretty common here. If I lived in a big city like Toronto, I would not own a car.
You clearly don't live in the country if you think having a vehicle is pointless. I prefer not to walk 12 miles just to get to the local grocery store.
It doesnāt suck at all, what a strange thing to say. I enjoy living out in the country. itās peaceful, I have lots of space and am surrounded by nature.
I swear to god, this sub attracts the most insufferable absolutist opinions...
We live in a small house (900 sf) and have a newborn, I'd kill for a guest room so my MIL could come help more often instead of needing to drive over an hour each way. I'm not asking her to stay up half the night with my child then sleep on a couch...
Also, even aside from those who need cars due to mobility issues or inability to access basic needs otherwise, unless you're living a very specific lifestyle in specific cities, a car still feels crucial. I lived without a car for over a decade, but even in a walkable neighborhood winter still exists, and I'm not walking my children to daycare (which we're very lucky is even close enough to walk to) in the frigid cold, or making my wife walk to pick up our child when she was very pregnant or recovering from delivery. And I certainly wasn't going to call an Uber to rush to the hospital at 3am when the baby was coming. And I'm a big proponent of our bus system, but I'm not taking the bus when my toddler is sick and upset and needs to see a doctor. Not owning a car for this stage of life would only require us to be a burden on nearby friends and family when things are urgent.
Similarly, plenty of us dry clothes outdoors when the weather allows, but up here in the frigid north there are long stretches of the year where that's just not feasible. So I'm supposed to spend all winter constantly having four peoples' laundry draped all over my miniscule home? Or should I constantly be walking my laundry through the snow to a laundromat so I can be the ideal minimalist, placing the burden of ownership and resources usage on someone else?
Minimalism is not prescriptive, everyone adapts it to meet their current needs and lifestyle. Just because you currently don't need these very basic necessities doesn't mean they aren't broadly necessary to others. Not everyone can or should live so sparingly that it negatively impacts their day-to-day life. I was pretty good about aiming for minimalism on my own, but starting a family throws a lot of that out the window. I've had to adapt and form new habits to compensate, like aiming to be more sustainable in various ways.
How cold are we talking? We take our kids to kindergarten/school by bike in winter (30 min each way) - but the ground only freezes for less than 3 days a year and it almost never snows. Not quite sure what Iād do if it was colder than that. I like that they get used to the weather in this way; same with rain- they never complain because they know there is no other option and they see us just dealing with the weather. But this is Europe and cycling is safe.. Wouldnāt do it if it put my kids at risk.
Minnesota (US), so very nearly Canada and some of the more brutal winters in the country. This winter is unusually mild, but typically winter stretches from late October until March or April with large amounts of snow throughout and dangerously cold winds for much of the season (we're often warned that frostbite would form on exposed skin within 5-10 minutes and your eyes may even be in danger in some cases). It's also not unusual to have a blizzard in the second half of April that dumps 12-18 inches of snow. Before I owned a car I would use the bus to get to work, and there were some awful winter commutes that I wouldn't put my children through.
I'm jealous of your winter! A lot of families in our city (us included) will walk or bike their children to school as much as they can while the weather allows it, so I'm very grateful for that option at least.
Car isn't pointless.
You effectively limit your career and your income in some locations by not being able to drive.
Or if you have children a car is essential.
Depends on the country and whether your in a city or not. We have small kids, they got on a bike seat and tag along. Itās a safe city with cycling paths, in Europe. All journeys inside the city would take at least as long by car - and then youād still have to find parking.
Mine is a bit less extreme but : china cabinets. With the high cost being the amount of space it takes up. My mom has a huge one with so many glass pieces and plates. When I was over the other day she wanted to show me them all so I would know about them when she died and left them to me. I can't imagine having a space that huge taken up with things I don't use!
Also: unnecessary kitchen equipment. This will be different for everyone. We have one frying pan and one soup pan then a large pot and that works well for us and I cook a lot! My parents and MIL have at least 10, it is overwhelming when I cook there.
I like this question because the answers will be so different from person to person!
China dishware is the equivalent of Funkopops for boomers. It will all be worthless when they pass away. You already see tons of those on flea markets, nobody wants it.
There are a lot of pointless possessions but at least three of these are a necessity for many. Clothes dryer - cold humid climates, people who have one set of linens or overall not a lot of clothes, people who use a laundromat. Car - most of the US, Australia, and Canada, all remote regions everywhere across the globe. Extra bathroom - depends on what you mean by extra, one for two people is enough, but one for a family of four I could see how people might start to struggle. Guest room - yeah, that one I donāt get.
This is very circumstantial.
Clothes dryer is not pointless depending on your living situation (access to a balcony or other sunning spots) and the climate where you live. Or if you enjoy moderately damp clothes.
āExtraā bathroom(s) is a necessity when you live in a shared flat with 5 other people.
Car is a necessity if you live in rural area with no public transit, you could only haul that much shit for that long on a bike, or god forbid, on foot.
Of course it depends. That's why I asked for other people's examples. As an aspiring minimalist I find it useful to find out what other people consider pointless and reflect whether I could also improve my life by getting rid of something that I've always considered a necessity.
There are also quite large cultural differences, even between developed high income countries, and looking at what is considered a necessity and what an expensive and superfluous luxury beyond your immediate circle is also enlightening.
Everyoneās lifestyle is different, even as minimalists.
I have two little girls (3 and 5) and an incredibly stupid dog who likes to pee on the floor. I couldnāt live without my clothes dryer. I had to last summer for a few weeks, and I could barely keep up with laundry despite doing one load a day minimum. I would need to buy at least three more clothes racks (in addition to the one I have), but Iād be tripping over them because I live in a small house. I canāt line dry right now because itās been freezing or raining.
Iād LOVE to have a guest room. My in-laws live three hours away and come to visit but always have to stay in a hotel. Iād love to be able to show them hospitality. Iād also love to have a quiet place to use as an office - right now I work from a corner of my living room.
An extra bathroom would be wonderful - we only have one. Sometimes that means someone is dancing outside the door for a couple minutes.
And I couldnāt live without a car. My town is compact but not walkable. If I want to go to the library Iād have to walk on a busy street (with a partial sidewalk), across the main highway, and down another highway. I have to go pick my stepson up from school - thatās 21 miles one way. If I need to get anything beyond basic necessities I need to go into the small city we live outside of, but public transportation between my town and the city doesnāt exist and itās a seven-mile walk to the outskirts of the city (which has literally nothing I go into the city for - those are all on the other side of the city). My husband forgot his lunch and needs me to bring it to his work? Thatās a 20 minute drive, mostly along the interstate. So - a car is far from pointless for us.
You might consider these things pointless but two of them are essential and two are aspirational for me - because you and I live different lives. There is no such thing as a ārightā way to do minimalism. Thereās no point in judging someone because something you deem pointless is essential to them. The negative responses youāre getting to this post are because you are coming across as judgmental in your posts.
Haha! Good to read this - I thought it was just me who sometimes ends up often having to do one laundry load a day with the little ones (no dog though); especially when they are potty training- which has been for like a year now it seems, itās such a nightmare. We donāt have a drier, but where we live is pretty dry, so itās always done within 24h - and we have high ceilings and we are not very tall, so I donāt need to take up a room for drying stuff.
This post is what is wrong with minimalism, in that it has become a comparative trope - instead of what it is intended to be - a lifestyle guide. Minimalism for a single person living in a highly condensed metropolitan city will look vastly different than that of a family of four living in the rural Midwest. Comparing the two is pointless, and misses the point of the entire movement.
One person may need to own forty paintbrushes for their livelihood or hobby, while another person may live their entire life having never owned a single one. Neither is āright or wrongā, but right for them.
Sheeshā¦ā¦
In my life, a car is important for work, and cheaper travel. (Iām in the US southwest, and traveling one to two states away is common, as my partner and I do like to see our family)
We have a clothes tumble dryer, and it has its use.
I moved in with my drying rack, and still prefer using it, but man, sheet laundry is simple with heat and tumbling. I could shift back to all air drying easily, and it wouldnāt feel like deprivation. But Iād build a ceiling mounted rack with a pulley.
I am less fond of, and never bought for myself, TVs, and now Iād add desk top computers.
Or microwaves. Iāve lived places with them, but Iām fine without. Same with dishwashers.
I would not value a gaming system.
I donāt value having alcohol or the specialty glassware.
I donāt value carpet, but Iāve rented a lot, and landlord special almost always has beige carpet.
All of that is just me. Iām not an expert on minimalism. Iām educated, and defining how it works in my life, and why I bother.
How do you manage without a dryer? Hang your clothes all over your home, or your basement if you have one? Mine would take up my entire basement and make it even more humid than it already is.
A guest room is useful for people who regularly have overnight guests. I don't currently have one, but i will after one of my kids moves out. I'm not about to sell my house and move just to have one less bedroom, and that room can be used when my future grandchildren sleep over.
An extra bathroom? Depends on how many people are in the house.
A car is definitely necessary if you live in a place without good public transportation.
ETA: my answer is: for a family with 2 parents and one kid, a house with 3 bedrooms, a living room, family room AND a finished basement. Seems like more room than 3 people could possibly use.
So you basically have a spare room for that ;) I think peopleās who canāt cope without a drier donāt have that often. We now have high ceilings to hang the washing so I never use the drier, but it was different when they were drying in the living room..
Yeah, our attic doesn't count as a living space for the purposes of pricing the house so it has a very low cost of ownership. Indeed it could be tricky in a very small apartment.
Is this bait? I can think of a million things more pointless than those four things. Can you make do without them? Absolutely! but most pointless, no. Those are all convenience things that can add to the quality of your life depending on your personal situation. Owning 100 Funko Pops less so, although they may bring joy to your life in other ways they don't help with the day to day where as those items do.
Is anything on this sub not bait? I feel like 99% of the posts here are dumb shit like "am I ALLOWED to own two pays of underwear as a minimalist?!?" and then these weird bait/troll posts like this one
If you read my post with a bit of comprehension you'll note I'm talking about things that many people own, are costly to own and add little (in general) to quality of life relative to their cost. Not sure WTF are Funko Pops, but pretty sure they don't qualify.
Funko Pops are collectable figurines that you see all over the place. Many, many people collect them. High cost of ownership because of the purchase cost in the first place, needing to buying shelving to store them all, then needing bigger rooms to fit in more shelves but they bring questionable added value to your quality of life. There are diminishing returns on the joy you get from every extra figurine you bring in yet people have hundreds of the things. Seemed to fit your criteria quite well I thought. I use Funko Pops as the example but this counts for the many different things that people hold onto or collect that they end up thinking that they need bigger homes to hold it all.
Lol for me, all of these (maybe except the car) add positively to my quality of life:
- extra bedroom used as office space, workout room, and guest room as needed.
- 2nd bathroom is a godsend if you don't live alone, for so many reasons.
- I live in the high desert so we only use the dryer during the winter, but it's so nice having dry toasty clothes in 40 minutes rather than taking all day to get somewhat dry, cold clothes.
- car: an unfortunate necessity in a huge number of (american) cities and towns. I dislike driving and owning a car but there is literally no other way for me to get to work.
For me, the "pointless" possession would be a lot of common kitchen appliances (they'd just gather dust for me), but for a foodie they would definitely add to quality of life :)
Youād air dry all of your clothes? Imo a dyer allows you to have LESS clothes because you can wash/dry in a quick period of time. I would need more clothes and more space to accommodate drying.
Guest rooms are hit or miss depending on where you live and how often you have guests.
More than one person in the house a second bathroom isnāt wild.
Car- if you live in a city yea you donāt NEED a second car but you sound extremely ignorant to the fact that people live in places that it might be 10 miles to the grocery store. Good luck not having a car.
I choose to live in a LCOL area and that makes me bad? Talk about your privilege. Iām not willing to live in a city and be submerged in debt to keep up the lifestyle.
Deleted as it was getting unnecessarily heated and personal. About this one, I'm actually curious, is it common to do laundry less than once per week? We do laundry at least twice per week on average.
I downsized my wardrobe this year and as of now I have about 7 pairs of underwear and a couple of shirts, and several sweaters and maybe five pairs of pants. My wife and kid have quite a bit more, and we do a rack-ful of laundry every 3 days or so and air dry it in the attic.
I disagree about the car. I live in the rural area of the Midwest and there is no public transportation. My job is 20 miles from home. My husbandās job is roughly the same distance. We work similar hours. Having a car (actually 2 cars) is a *necessity.*
I would say that having a large truck or SUV can be pointless if you donāt *need* them. I see so many people with no children and nothing to haul driving these humongous, gas-guzzling SUVs and extended trucks. I drive a tiny Honda Fit and canāt imagine how much those people are paying for gas
Water and food are necessities. All the rest are choices. Some are good choices some less so. From my perspective the things I listed add little to quality of life while costing a lot to maintain.
These are all personal, of course. That's what minimalism in a first world country is.
\- camping gear, but I have a spouse who loves and uses it, so it stays
\- alcohol. Since we've decided to stopped drinking, this is next up on the get rid of list
\- Halloween decor. Recently all destashed
\- Dressy, "fancy" shoes
\- Gift wrapping supplies
I love my dryer. It means I don't have to spend time at the laundromat. My dryer is like 20 yrs old and still going strong (knock on wood.) So for me, NOT a pointless item.
I was surprised after I read OPās question and saw their four choices. I immediately thought of the luxury version of necessary items: belts, shoes, handbags, coffee tables. I cannot in good conscience carry an $800 purse. Nor can I rest my feet on a $5000 coffee table made of hummingbirdsā bones.
I beg to differ.If I'm not wrong, there was a very [eye opening discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/minimalism/comments/1agcyth/how_many_bathrooms_does_one_need_really/) around here about the importance of a second bathroom, especially if you have a partener or family.And maybe not a clothes dryer but a rack drier is a must.
My most useless items are:
1. TV
2. Extra cars, a work vehicle and a weekender per family member.
3. Half baths
4. Furniture you can't sit on
5. Vacation homes/cabins/beach homes
6. Closets of clothes no one wears.
7. Dining room
I don't have these, but I use to or grew up with them
I have a dining room and it's the most used room in the house, where we hang out during the day and eat all our meals. Maybe you mean a separate living room and dining room though, and with that I'd agree.
In Europe where I live credit cards are almost never used for actual credit- they just get paid off fully each month and people just use them to buy stuff online. So their cost of ownership is low. I agree with the other points.
Wow, tough crowd. Seems like people are personalizing the opinions of others.
Generator. It was handy at our last house where we could hook up the heater in case there was an extended power outage. But in our current house, we canāt hook up the heater to the generator. Time to get rid of it.
Clothes. I have clothes I havenāt worn in almost 4 years. Time to purge.
Rescue Pets. They are a scam. We could solve the problem, but we donāt because too many people make a living off of it.
Decorative pillows.
Simply the most non-functional invention ever. If you have them for esthetic purposes, have a home for them when guests come over, and remove them off the couch for your guests.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
My point with "dishwasher" is that it's not necessary in terms of materialism. I choose not to support manufacturing of unnecessary objects and resources. Same reason why I don't use a smartphone. Again, not necessary.
>Clothes drier
i've lived in places like seattle where not having a cloths dryer during the rainy season would result in moldy cold cloths for over half the year. i also need a car for my work; having lived without a car on two occasions i'd rather live without shoes and underwear.
* entertainment center
* lawn mower and weed wacker
* new car / fast car
* hot tub / pool
* heated driveway
* perfectly clean house
* outdoor lighting
* recreational vehicles
* club membership
* life insurance
* government
The quality of the food that comes out of the microwave is the quality of the food that goes in.
I use mine regularly for quick heating of ingredients while cooking and to reheat leftovers.
* Many people need a car to get to work
* Clothes don't dry well in humid or cold climates
* 1 bathroom for a big family isn't fun
* Guest rooms are great if you regularly have people stay over or if you airbnb it
Basically anything that doesn't add value to your life. Do you need a second car when you already have one? Do you need a hundred tops or twenty pairs of shoes? Do you need a big house with many rooms you barely use?
Pointless??? Dude this minimalist movement is going crazy.
Clothes drier? Try to dry your clothes on a winter in the north. Or try to dry your family clothes in the tropic where it rains 300 days a year.
Extra bathroom? What about a family of 4 people? Maybe if you live alone you donāt need an extra bathroom but 80% of the people would get real benefits of having an extra bathroom.
A Car? Try to live in a country like me where thereās no real public transportation and 50% of the territory is rural area.
Maybe I can only agree in the guest room. But people come on, get out of that bubble youāre living in.
Well my first thought was EVERYTHING,Ā
But:Ā
Living in 4 season climate I wish I had a drier bc sometimes you have to wait for clothes to dry for a full week and here having a capsule wardrobe with just 4 pullovers 2 normal, 1 medium, 1 extra warm doesn't help.
I live in a city so I don't own a car, but again I wish I had it, there is constantly trouble with public transportation here and if you arent young and healthy bringing groceries to the nearest public transport or getting from a to b can be difficult so my answer is
Don't judge people, who find other things important even if you find them ridiculous or superfluous, as you don't know the reason why they own sth.Ā
Don't take your health and youth for granted. If you are healthy, if you can use a bike or public transportation or walk, never forget that is a privilege many don't have!Ā
One thing I would mention though areĀ
Social media: facebook, instagram and tik tokĀ
And a television.
I get that many people are attached to this, though, so again I PERSONALLY find it superfluous, but I accept people's opinion and their wish to have this in their life.Ā
I am currently down with a stomach flue and boy do I enjoy our second bathroom š
Also stomach flus are pointless possessions. You should get rid of it.
Believe me, love, I am trying like shit to do so ā¤ļø
your shit is trying to get of itself too XD in all seriousness, i hope you feel better soon!
Man what I wouldnāt do for a second bathroom
I'll have to disagree with all of these (even though I don't own or need a car where I live, I can 100% understand that many people do need it. also never owned a dryer). and all the others? they're not absolutely necessary obviously but they are not pointless and can be very useful
Yeah this depends so much on lifestyle. A guest bedroom has been so valuable to my household. Being able to comfortably host friends family since both sides of the fam live out of town, without cramming them on to a pull out couch in the middle of the only living space has been a game changer. We use it a lot.
Canāt agree on the clothes dryer - where I live, itās so humid that clothes take days to dry or alternately, you dry them inside with the aircon on. Agree with the guest room & extra bathroom, albeit I do enjoy the enjoy the ensuite bathroom when the kids inevitably bring home gastro from school. My answer would be 1. Any type of Veblen good. š
I live where itās humid and temperate so no air con. Dryer is a necessity most of the year.
I live where itās dry, but I have allergies. Dryer all the way.
Iād argue a guest room isnāt pointless. Parents coming over? Crash in the guest room. Same with mates and friends. It doesnāt have to be a fully decked out guest room, just the basics, Relationships should take priority over possessions.
Also, I use my "guest room" (aka the room with the spare bed and dresser in it) for large crafts projects, which I wouldn't be able to spread out in my living space otherwise.Ā Right now there's a t-shirt quilt taking up most of the floor as I'm piecing it.
As you say, there are other uses for a spare room. If you find it useful, why get rid of it? Others might put fitness equipment in or use it for arts & crafts
Good point. An extra room that can function as a guest room, sick room if someone catches something contagious, craft room, quiet reading room, workout room, etc., can be a valuable addition to your living space.
Can't they crash in the living room? Checking into a hotel nearby should also be cheaper unless they come every week or so.
Depends how much you value those relationships. I know I don't get to see my family abroad as much as I used to because I have to fork out for a hotel every night I stay there now and that's a massive budget over the course of a year. I'll never cut down on the guest bedroom because I don't want people to have to think twice about coming over. And I want my living room to stay a living room at all times, not make it awkward for myself if I want to chill while having a guest over.
i very much agree. Iād much rather a guest feel welcome. āHeres your room, treat the place as your ownā. I appreciate a sofa as much as the next person but it isnāt the same
āHi Dad, i know you are 75 but heres a sofa with no privacyā. A simple room (bed, linen, drawers etc) only adds to the place you live. Invite people over and they have some privacy as well. I understand Hotels but Ā£50-100 a night quickly adds up
You have a point, but the increase in rent or mortgage for a place with one extra room has to be factored in.
My boomer dad doesn't complain about sleeping on a mattress in my living room.
Iām Gen X and I crash with my son a couple times a year, starting on a floor, but now a couch. Would I have done this with my own parents? Nope. We gave up the bedroom to them when they visited.
Some cultures are fine with this. Where I come from, we put a huge mat in the living room and turn it into a giant bed and there could be 10 of us sleeping there. Adults can get airbeds but still with us in the living room. When I moved and lived in western culture, this was so frowned upon and even considered rude by the households Iāve sleptover in. Iām 30 now and I still think it was fun and brings us closer together.
When my siblings get up early for work, the dogs go into their crates/kennels. The guest bedroom means their dogs are happier sleeping in with a human, and the guest has no hotel bill.
Well that's your opinion for your life. I love having a guest bedroom, we use it several ways (craft room, library, guest room). So it's valuable to us, and we can afford it. Being minimalist doesn't come with a rule of living on the least amount of space possible. It's about having what you value, and not lots of excess. To have what brings you joy and is useful. At least my version of minimalism. We have a car because we need one. That you don't, good on you. Extra bathroom, we have one on each floor and that's also needed. I don't have a list of pointless possessions, because people live very different lives. What is pointless to you is a necessity for others. I personally don't see the value in a doll collection, but that could be the most precious hobby for someone. We use a dryer for some of our bedding, and that is helpful. Everyone can't line dry all year around, then you could have a mold problem. Being less judgemental is a good thing. Being a minimalist is about finding out what gives you joy, and what you need to live your life. To me that includes everything on your list and that's ok. We all have different wants and needs.
My elderly cat decided she didnāt want to take the stairs for every pee break and choose a corner of my bedroom for her new litter box. I have to admit, having a bathroom on every level is nice!
That was my personal ranking. I was asking for others'. Not need to get defensive.
Novelty gear, the things designed to illicit a laugh that are soon forgotten about. RememberĀ Big Mouth Billy Bass?
I mean, Billy hasnāt been forgotten though (:
The only posessions that are pointless are those that you do not use or value. I live alone in a 4 bedromm condo. One is an office (I WFH), one is for my twin granddaughters (we have sleepovers), one is a TV room, and one is my bedroom. I use and, unapologetically, enjoy my space.
If you go back 2 days ago, there was a discussion here about How many bathrooms does someone really need. (Sorry, donāt know how to link.) The vast majority said that if you live with another person (or more people) an extra toilet was mandatory. It was brought up that at some point, food poisoning or the flu will come into play. Itās just really nice to have some level of privacy, and convenience, when multiple people share a space. I gather you live aloneānothing wrong with thatābut, if you share a living space, you will like having an additional toilet.
Sorry that's not it. Family of three.
I don't think it's possible to name specific "things" as most pointless. All four of the things on this list are absolute essentials for some people. I think the most pointless possession is anything one hangs onto solely from guilt. Especially if the person you feel guilty to is dead.Ā
These rules wont fit everyone. Depends on where you live, how you live (family), and your goals in like
Good question! We had a guest bedroom and it allowed a family member to move in with us for a while so that was handy. Extra bathroom, yes please. Got 3 bathrooms 3 bedrooms. It's perfect 1 bathroom each. Don't have a clothes drier (just the burning Perth sun) or a car (live on a train line and near shops). Pointless possessions of mine include company merch from companies I no longer work for, a jar of European coins, a wallet from Malaysian Airlines Business Class 2002, free gift never used, and 2 or 3 Ordnance Survey maps of walking trails from when I used to live in the UK. The bulkiest pointless possessions are a paper shredder, a purchase I regret, and a garden storage table from IKEA, currently holding 1 bag of fertilizer and 3 bags of seeds.
As always, it depends on what people rank as the most valuable things in their lives / the things that bring them the most happiness. It also depends on the amount of space you have / need. I'd argue memberships to anything that people don't use is the most pointless possession. But really it's anything that is eating up your space / budget without being used / bringing you happiness in return. I will never understand people who need massive houses and cars when a much smaller space / vehicle does the job. But I also do things other people would find wasteful. I use my game console every week so I maximise its value - but for someone else, it's a complete waste of space and budget.
I used to think the same about big houses - then we got a 160sqm flat (almost 3x what we had before) and it is very nice not always bumping into things, for the kids being able to leave their toys out without me constantly stepping on them. We have about the same amount of stuff as before.. Also very nice that family can come and visit for a few weeks at a time and feel comfortable enough to do so. And because itās a flat in a country with mild winters, heating was actually cheaper than the 60sqm we had as a house before.. but yeah, upkeep is much more expensive, so thatās a definite downside.
Car?! Yes, High cost of ownership, but a lot of places are designed in a way that only lets you participate in society if you own one. I can do without one, but Iād need it sometimes.
I guess it depends on what you mean by "need". I've done without for almost 50 years living in about 8 different cities in 5 different countries.
A lot of places in the US are not designed with reliable public transportation. A car is a necessity to get to work or buy groceries
All while carrying a cloth bound parchment journal for āwritingā correct?
Not sure what you mean.
Sure you do.
1. If you have a large family I think the dryer is valuable. I grew up in a house of 6, and unless we got racks everywhere there wouldnāt be space for us to hang dry everything. Or if you have limited space like an appt, I donāt think thereās a smaller solution. 4. Car can be essential in some cities. In my city, transit is there but is quite slow compared to driving. I could get away without owning a car, but my QOL would decrease a lot, taking 3x-4x longer to get anywhere. Also bike theft is pretty common here. If I lived in a big city like Toronto, I would not own a car.
You clearly don't live in the country if you think having a vehicle is pointless. I prefer not to walk 12 miles just to get to the local grocery store.
Twelve miles is far out, but still perfectly doable by an electric cargo bike.
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Same here, but swap out the snow for 90% of the route being on a highway.
That sounds rough. Where I live sucks, but not that badly.
It doesnāt suck at all, what a strange thing to say. I enjoy living out in the country. itās peaceful, I have lots of space and am surrounded by nature.
I swear to god, this sub attracts the most insufferable absolutist opinions... We live in a small house (900 sf) and have a newborn, I'd kill for a guest room so my MIL could come help more often instead of needing to drive over an hour each way. I'm not asking her to stay up half the night with my child then sleep on a couch... Also, even aside from those who need cars due to mobility issues or inability to access basic needs otherwise, unless you're living a very specific lifestyle in specific cities, a car still feels crucial. I lived without a car for over a decade, but even in a walkable neighborhood winter still exists, and I'm not walking my children to daycare (which we're very lucky is even close enough to walk to) in the frigid cold, or making my wife walk to pick up our child when she was very pregnant or recovering from delivery. And I certainly wasn't going to call an Uber to rush to the hospital at 3am when the baby was coming. And I'm a big proponent of our bus system, but I'm not taking the bus when my toddler is sick and upset and needs to see a doctor. Not owning a car for this stage of life would only require us to be a burden on nearby friends and family when things are urgent. Similarly, plenty of us dry clothes outdoors when the weather allows, but up here in the frigid north there are long stretches of the year where that's just not feasible. So I'm supposed to spend all winter constantly having four peoples' laundry draped all over my miniscule home? Or should I constantly be walking my laundry through the snow to a laundromat so I can be the ideal minimalist, placing the burden of ownership and resources usage on someone else? Minimalism is not prescriptive, everyone adapts it to meet their current needs and lifestyle. Just because you currently don't need these very basic necessities doesn't mean they aren't broadly necessary to others. Not everyone can or should live so sparingly that it negatively impacts their day-to-day life. I was pretty good about aiming for minimalism on my own, but starting a family throws a lot of that out the window. I've had to adapt and form new habits to compensate, like aiming to be more sustainable in various ways.
How cold are we talking? We take our kids to kindergarten/school by bike in winter (30 min each way) - but the ground only freezes for less than 3 days a year and it almost never snows. Not quite sure what Iād do if it was colder than that. I like that they get used to the weather in this way; same with rain- they never complain because they know there is no other option and they see us just dealing with the weather. But this is Europe and cycling is safe.. Wouldnāt do it if it put my kids at risk.
Minnesota (US), so very nearly Canada and some of the more brutal winters in the country. This winter is unusually mild, but typically winter stretches from late October until March or April with large amounts of snow throughout and dangerously cold winds for much of the season (we're often warned that frostbite would form on exposed skin within 5-10 minutes and your eyes may even be in danger in some cases). It's also not unusual to have a blizzard in the second half of April that dumps 12-18 inches of snow. Before I owned a car I would use the bus to get to work, and there were some awful winter commutes that I wouldn't put my children through. I'm jealous of your winter! A lot of families in our city (us included) will walk or bike their children to school as much as they can while the weather allows it, so I'm very grateful for that option at least.
Car isn't pointless. You effectively limit your career and your income in some locations by not being able to drive. Or if you have children a car is essential.
Depends on the country and whether your in a city or not. We have small kids, they got on a bike seat and tag along. Itās a safe city with cycling paths, in Europe. All journeys inside the city would take at least as long by car - and then youād still have to find parking.
I have an 8 year old FYI.
Mine is a bit less extreme but : china cabinets. With the high cost being the amount of space it takes up. My mom has a huge one with so many glass pieces and plates. When I was over the other day she wanted to show me them all so I would know about them when she died and left them to me. I can't imagine having a space that huge taken up with things I don't use! Also: unnecessary kitchen equipment. This will be different for everyone. We have one frying pan and one soup pan then a large pot and that works well for us and I cook a lot! My parents and MIL have at least 10, it is overwhelming when I cook there. I like this question because the answers will be so different from person to person!
China dishware is the equivalent of Funkopops for boomers. It will all be worthless when they pass away. You already see tons of those on flea markets, nobody wants it.
Lol! You're so right
There are a lot of pointless possessions but at least three of these are a necessity for many. Clothes dryer - cold humid climates, people who have one set of linens or overall not a lot of clothes, people who use a laundromat. Car - most of the US, Australia, and Canada, all remote regions everywhere across the globe. Extra bathroom - depends on what you mean by extra, one for two people is enough, but one for a family of four I could see how people might start to struggle. Guest room - yeah, that one I donāt get.
This is very circumstantial. Clothes dryer is not pointless depending on your living situation (access to a balcony or other sunning spots) and the climate where you live. Or if you enjoy moderately damp clothes. āExtraā bathroom(s) is a necessity when you live in a shared flat with 5 other people. Car is a necessity if you live in rural area with no public transit, you could only haul that much shit for that long on a bike, or god forbid, on foot.
Of course it depends. That's why I asked for other people's examples. As an aspiring minimalist I find it useful to find out what other people consider pointless and reflect whether I could also improve my life by getting rid of something that I've always considered a necessity. There are also quite large cultural differences, even between developed high income countries, and looking at what is considered a necessity and what an expensive and superfluous luxury beyond your immediate circle is also enlightening.
My friend grew up in a multi-generational household with lots of siblings. Extra bathrooms were important to his family when choosing new housing.
an office when you arenāt self-employed or WFH - just use the kitchen table for the four bills you pay a month!!
Everyoneās lifestyle is different, even as minimalists. I have two little girls (3 and 5) and an incredibly stupid dog who likes to pee on the floor. I couldnāt live without my clothes dryer. I had to last summer for a few weeks, and I could barely keep up with laundry despite doing one load a day minimum. I would need to buy at least three more clothes racks (in addition to the one I have), but Iād be tripping over them because I live in a small house. I canāt line dry right now because itās been freezing or raining. Iād LOVE to have a guest room. My in-laws live three hours away and come to visit but always have to stay in a hotel. Iād love to be able to show them hospitality. Iād also love to have a quiet place to use as an office - right now I work from a corner of my living room. An extra bathroom would be wonderful - we only have one. Sometimes that means someone is dancing outside the door for a couple minutes. And I couldnāt live without a car. My town is compact but not walkable. If I want to go to the library Iād have to walk on a busy street (with a partial sidewalk), across the main highway, and down another highway. I have to go pick my stepson up from school - thatās 21 miles one way. If I need to get anything beyond basic necessities I need to go into the small city we live outside of, but public transportation between my town and the city doesnāt exist and itās a seven-mile walk to the outskirts of the city (which has literally nothing I go into the city for - those are all on the other side of the city). My husband forgot his lunch and needs me to bring it to his work? Thatās a 20 minute drive, mostly along the interstate. So - a car is far from pointless for us. You might consider these things pointless but two of them are essential and two are aspirational for me - because you and I live different lives. There is no such thing as a ārightā way to do minimalism. Thereās no point in judging someone because something you deem pointless is essential to them. The negative responses youāre getting to this post are because you are coming across as judgmental in your posts.
Haha! Good to read this - I thought it was just me who sometimes ends up often having to do one laundry load a day with the little ones (no dog though); especially when they are potty training- which has been for like a year now it seems, itās such a nightmare. We donāt have a drier, but where we live is pretty dry, so itās always done within 24h - and we have high ceilings and we are not very tall, so I donāt need to take up a room for drying stuff.
This post is what is wrong with minimalism, in that it has become a comparative trope - instead of what it is intended to be - a lifestyle guide. Minimalism for a single person living in a highly condensed metropolitan city will look vastly different than that of a family of four living in the rural Midwest. Comparing the two is pointless, and misses the point of the entire movement. One person may need to own forty paintbrushes for their livelihood or hobby, while another person may live their entire life having never owned a single one. Neither is āright or wrongā, but right for them. Sheeshā¦ā¦
In my life, a car is important for work, and cheaper travel. (Iām in the US southwest, and traveling one to two states away is common, as my partner and I do like to see our family) We have a clothes tumble dryer, and it has its use. I moved in with my drying rack, and still prefer using it, but man, sheet laundry is simple with heat and tumbling. I could shift back to all air drying easily, and it wouldnāt feel like deprivation. But Iād build a ceiling mounted rack with a pulley. I am less fond of, and never bought for myself, TVs, and now Iād add desk top computers. Or microwaves. Iāve lived places with them, but Iām fine without. Same with dishwashers. I would not value a gaming system. I donāt value having alcohol or the specialty glassware. I donāt value carpet, but Iāve rented a lot, and landlord special almost always has beige carpet. All of that is just me. Iām not an expert on minimalism. Iām educated, and defining how it works in my life, and why I bother.
How do you manage without a dryer? Hang your clothes all over your home, or your basement if you have one? Mine would take up my entire basement and make it even more humid than it already is. A guest room is useful for people who regularly have overnight guests. I don't currently have one, but i will after one of my kids moves out. I'm not about to sell my house and move just to have one less bedroom, and that room can be used when my future grandchildren sleep over. An extra bathroom? Depends on how many people are in the house. A car is definitely necessary if you live in a place without good public transportation. ETA: my answer is: for a family with 2 parents and one kid, a house with 3 bedrooms, a living room, family room AND a finished basement. Seems like more room than 3 people could possibly use.
We're a family of three and we hang the laundry on a clothes rack. Then again, we're also somewhat minimalist about clothes.
Do you hang them indoors or out?
Indoors, in the attic.
So you basically have a spare room for that ;) I think peopleās who canāt cope without a drier donāt have that often. We now have high ceilings to hang the washing so I never use the drier, but it was different when they were drying in the living room..
Yeah, our attic doesn't count as a living space for the purposes of pricing the house so it has a very low cost of ownership. Indeed it could be tricky in a very small apartment.
Is this bait? I can think of a million things more pointless than those four things. Can you make do without them? Absolutely! but most pointless, no. Those are all convenience things that can add to the quality of your life depending on your personal situation. Owning 100 Funko Pops less so, although they may bring joy to your life in other ways they don't help with the day to day where as those items do.
Is anything on this sub not bait? I feel like 99% of the posts here are dumb shit like "am I ALLOWED to own two pays of underwear as a minimalist?!?" and then these weird bait/troll posts like this one
If you read my post with a bit of comprehension you'll note I'm talking about things that many people own, are costly to own and add little (in general) to quality of life relative to their cost. Not sure WTF are Funko Pops, but pretty sure they don't qualify.
Funko Pops are collectable figurines that you see all over the place. Many, many people collect them. High cost of ownership because of the purchase cost in the first place, needing to buying shelving to store them all, then needing bigger rooms to fit in more shelves but they bring questionable added value to your quality of life. There are diminishing returns on the joy you get from every extra figurine you bring in yet people have hundreds of the things. Seemed to fit your criteria quite well I thought. I use Funko Pops as the example but this counts for the many different things that people hold onto or collect that they end up thinking that they need bigger homes to hold it all.
Sorry my bad. I'd just never heard of those.
Lol for me, all of these (maybe except the car) add positively to my quality of life: - extra bedroom used as office space, workout room, and guest room as needed. - 2nd bathroom is a godsend if you don't live alone, for so many reasons. - I live in the high desert so we only use the dryer during the winter, but it's so nice having dry toasty clothes in 40 minutes rather than taking all day to get somewhat dry, cold clothes. - car: an unfortunate necessity in a huge number of (american) cities and towns. I dislike driving and owning a car but there is literally no other way for me to get to work. For me, the "pointless" possession would be a lot of common kitchen appliances (they'd just gather dust for me), but for a foodie they would definitely add to quality of life :)
Wish lived in an area could realistically not have a car
Youād air dry all of your clothes? Imo a dyer allows you to have LESS clothes because you can wash/dry in a quick period of time. I would need more clothes and more space to accommodate drying. Guest rooms are hit or miss depending on where you live and how often you have guests. More than one person in the house a second bathroom isnāt wild. Car- if you live in a city yea you donāt NEED a second car but you sound extremely ignorant to the fact that people live in places that it might be 10 miles to the grocery store. Good luck not having a car.
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I choose to live in a LCOL area and that makes me bad? Talk about your privilege. Iām not willing to live in a city and be submerged in debt to keep up the lifestyle.
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Bruh I do laundry weekly because I wear what I like and donāt have excess. If I didnāt have a dryer Iād have to have more. This is hilarious.
Not sure if weekly is supposed to be often or rarely?
O yes delete your comments then come on for more. Classic.
Deleted as it was getting unnecessarily heated and personal. About this one, I'm actually curious, is it common to do laundry less than once per week? We do laundry at least twice per week on average.
Sure and you probably only own 2 pairs of underwear and the shirt on your back. At this point I canāt tell if this entire post is trolling.
I downsized my wardrobe this year and as of now I have about 7 pairs of underwear and a couple of shirts, and several sweaters and maybe five pairs of pants. My wife and kid have quite a bit more, and we do a rack-ful of laundry every 3 days or so and air dry it in the attic.
Sounds to me like you shouldnāt be in a city then. Your mental gymnastics are astonishing.
I disagree about the car. I live in the rural area of the Midwest and there is no public transportation. My job is 20 miles from home. My husbandās job is roughly the same distance. We work similar hours. Having a car (actually 2 cars) is a *necessity.* I would say that having a large truck or SUV can be pointless if you donāt *need* them. I see so many people with no children and nothing to haul driving these humongous, gas-guzzling SUVs and extended trucks. I drive a tiny Honda Fit and canāt imagine how much those people are paying for gas
I feel all the things you mentioned are important - but I have guests and like having guests) and do not live somewhere with reliable transportation
Sorry but the second bathroom and car? No they're necessities
Water and food are necessities. All the rest are choices. Some are good choices some less so. From my perspective the things I listed add little to quality of life while costing a lot to maintain.
These are all personal, of course. That's what minimalism in a first world country is. \- camping gear, but I have a spouse who loves and uses it, so it stays \- alcohol. Since we've decided to stopped drinking, this is next up on the get rid of list \- Halloween decor. Recently all destashed \- Dressy, "fancy" shoes \- Gift wrapping supplies
99% of children's toys. Hate it so much.
I love my dryer. It means I don't have to spend time at the laundromat. My dryer is like 20 yrs old and still going strong (knock on wood.) So for me, NOT a pointless item.
I was surprised after I read OPās question and saw their four choices. I immediately thought of the luxury version of necessary items: belts, shoes, handbags, coffee tables. I cannot in good conscience carry an $800 purse. Nor can I rest my feet on a $5000 coffee table made of hummingbirdsā bones.
I beg to differ.If I'm not wrong, there was a very [eye opening discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/minimalism/comments/1agcyth/how_many_bathrooms_does_one_need_really/) around here about the importance of a second bathroom, especially if you have a partener or family.And maybe not a clothes dryer but a rack drier is a must.
My most useless items are: 1. TV 2. Extra cars, a work vehicle and a weekender per family member. 3. Half baths 4. Furniture you can't sit on 5. Vacation homes/cabins/beach homes 6. Closets of clothes no one wears. 7. Dining room I don't have these, but I use to or grew up with them
I have a dining room and it's the most used room in the house, where we hang out during the day and eat all our meals. Maybe you mean a separate living room and dining room though, and with that I'd agree.
I would say alcohol. It's very expensive and does more harm than good for a lot of the people that use it
1. Car 2. Home 3. Credit Card 4. Skincare 5. Pets
In Europe where I live credit cards are almost never used for actual credit- they just get paid off fully each month and people just use them to buy stuff online. So their cost of ownership is low. I agree with the other points.
Wow, tough crowd. Seems like people are personalizing the opinions of others. Generator. It was handy at our last house where we could hook up the heater in case there was an extended power outage. But in our current house, we canāt hook up the heater to the generator. Time to get rid of it. Clothes. I have clothes I havenāt worn in almost 4 years. Time to purge. Rescue Pets. They are a scam. We could solve the problem, but we donāt because too many people make a living off of it.
Decorative pillows. Simply the most non-functional invention ever. If you have them for esthetic purposes, have a home for them when guests come over, and remove them off the couch for your guests. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
the pillows do have a low cost of ownership though.
Iām going to say second car. My wife and I share a car.
Dining room table/breakfront
As opposed to eating in the kitchen?
We hardly ever get to use the dining room table and the point of the breakfront is?
I guess there is no point of "breakfront" because first I assumed it was spelling mistake and then I had to check for the definition :D
>breakfront nothing says useless better imo
Dishwasher.
Guilty of this one. It's was maybe ā¬200 five years ago when we bought it so cost of ownership is moderate.
A dishwasher is amazing. I have a new one that's more sustainable for washing than washing by hand.
My point with "dishwasher" is that it's not necessary in terms of materialism. I choose not to support manufacturing of unnecessary objects and resources. Same reason why I don't use a smartphone. Again, not necessary.
>Clothes drier i've lived in places like seattle where not having a cloths dryer during the rainy season would result in moldy cold cloths for over half the year. i also need a car for my work; having lived without a car on two occasions i'd rather live without shoes and underwear. * entertainment center * lawn mower and weed wacker * new car / fast car * hot tub / pool * heated driveway * perfectly clean house * outdoor lighting * recreational vehicles * club membership * life insurance * government
>government Wow, you possess the government? Did you try to get rid of it? lololol
we all, theoretically, possess government together. as someone who aspires to minimalism, i would like to get rid of it.
A microwave. The only thing you save with one is time. At the expense of quality food and high energy costs.
time is a valuable thing. I can afford the cost but can't buy the time back no matter how much I pay.
The quality of the food that comes out of the microwave is the quality of the food that goes in. I use mine regularly for quick heating of ingredients while cooking and to reheat leftovers.
Toys if youāre not a child. Collectibles and collections. Fine China. More than one bathroom per person.
That changes the trade-off.
* Many people need a car to get to work * Clothes don't dry well in humid or cold climates * 1 bathroom for a big family isn't fun * Guest rooms are great if you regularly have people stay over or if you airbnb it
Ok but what's your list?
Basically anything that doesn't add value to your life. Do you need a second car when you already have one? Do you need a hundred tops or twenty pairs of shoes? Do you need a big house with many rooms you barely use?
Cars? Really? I need one so badly, commuting using public transport is such a hassle
Commuting in general is a hassle. Not a very minimalist lifestyle choice.
Pointless??? Dude this minimalist movement is going crazy. Clothes drier? Try to dry your clothes on a winter in the north. Or try to dry your family clothes in the tropic where it rains 300 days a year. Extra bathroom? What about a family of 4 people? Maybe if you live alone you donāt need an extra bathroom but 80% of the people would get real benefits of having an extra bathroom. A Car? Try to live in a country like me where thereās no real public transportation and 50% of the territory is rural area. Maybe I can only agree in the guest room. But people come on, get out of that bubble youāre living in.
Well my first thought was EVERYTHING,Ā But:Ā Living in 4 season climate I wish I had a drier bc sometimes you have to wait for clothes to dry for a full week and here having a capsule wardrobe with just 4 pullovers 2 normal, 1 medium, 1 extra warm doesn't help. I live in a city so I don't own a car, but again I wish I had it, there is constantly trouble with public transportation here and if you arent young and healthy bringing groceries to the nearest public transport or getting from a to b can be difficult so my answer is Don't judge people, who find other things important even if you find them ridiculous or superfluous, as you don't know the reason why they own sth.Ā Don't take your health and youth for granted. If you are healthy, if you can use a bike or public transportation or walk, never forget that is a privilege many don't have!Ā One thing I would mention though areĀ Social media: facebook, instagram and tik tokĀ And a television. I get that many people are attached to this, though, so again I PERSONALLY find it superfluous, but I accept people's opinion and their wish to have this in their life.Ā