Aki, the Minimalist
Recently, I've been trying to avoid reading and watching US political news and commentary (not always successfully). Instead of watching political news/commentary, I found a YouTube Channel that is very interesting, called "Samurai Macha".
The content creator is a Japanese man named Aki, mid-thirties, who has traveled the world on his bamboo bicycle, was a school teacher in a country side town, and loves to make and drink macha. He has posted about his travels and the Japanese way of life, but a big part of his content is about becoming a minimalist and living with minimal possessions. He sometimes talks about the Konmari method (Mari Kondo), and if something doesn't spark joy, get rid of it.
I'm not a minimalist and don't aspire to be so extreme, but I do live more simply in Japan than I did in the US. I don't have a car, or a phone, or a television, or a hair dryer, or an umbrella, or many things that I thought were necessities when I lived in the US and I'm fine without them. I live in a small apartment, not a big house.
Watching Samurai Macha videos has me thinking about what I have and why I keep it. Of course, I have quite a bit of stitching stuff. This is my hobby and I need these things. I just don't need so many of these things. I don't want to buy any more stitching things unless it is needed for a current project. I will not be buying anything else just because it is pretty and I might want it for something in the future.
I realize I have some things "just in case" I might need them, but most of the time I don't. I save bags and wrapping paper and ribbons in case I want to reuse them. I have some small boxes in case I want to send something by mail, or organize things into small boxes. I've decided to keep two little boxes and the others will go to the cardboard recycle. I was saving some glass jars that instant coffee came in, in case I wanted to put buttons or other small things in them. My current storage system is okay, so the glass jars are going to the recycle. Maybe I have too many buttons also, but I'm not there yet.
I don't have a lot of clothes, but I tend to just wear the same ones, so I need to try on the ones I don't wear and if they don't spark joy, they need to go.
I'm consolidating things and putting like things together. I will use up cleaning supplies and check expiration dates on things. Less is better, I think.
Aki, the minimalist has inspired me.
7 comments:
Hi Pamela: I have heard about this man, very interesting life he leads.
I am cleansing our home, I am not a hoarder, never have been except when it comes to crafting, I do not have a load but many items which are in different areas of interest.
I try not to buy anything new, I usually have fabric and threads that I get off of the reallocation table at retreat, I just buy patterns sometimes, or go for free ones.
Have an amazing day.
Catherine
I'm for minimalism in life, so I'll have a look at Samurai Macha.
That sounds interesting. I will check out his channel.
I, too, want to cut down on the overflow of things I have. I doubt, however, that I will ever become a minimalist.
I know of a family who lived on a small boat. They had a rule, a new thing onboard, an old thing overboard. So if they bought a new blanket, an old blanket had to be removed. There was a limit to how many T-shirts or books each family member could have. This idea is OK for someone who lives alone, but to force this extreme idea onto one's kids is hard. How can they control how many school books they have to have or why should they not be allowed to try a new hobby and have the tools for that while still keeping the things needed for a present interest?
As for extra clothes, I will keep what I have in stock and when the things I wear now are worn out, I have the extra clothes ready to replace them. I won't need to buy anything new for a long time!
For disaster relief, it is good to have certain items 'just in case'. Instant coffee jars are sturdy and have a screw-on lid. They can be used for many things (scooping up water or mud, protecting things from moisture...)
A good motto for quilting is 'Measure twice, cut once'. I bet culling things should also be done after due consideration.
Good luck with your sorting. I do a little of that from time to time, used to keep all jars but have come to realise it is not necessary.
I'm also trying to downsize and simplify my life a bit, but it's a long, ongoing process. When it comes to my crafting supplies, they all spark such joy! But the 'keeping this just in case' is a bad habit of mine as well. I think I need to look long and hard at some things and decide if it's actually reasonable to keep.
This sounds very interesting and it is a wonderful and thought=provoking post. You leave us all with much about which to think.
I'm also currently decluttering. Although progress is slow.😅
A room with no wastes feels clean and comfortable, but I want to live with the things I like.
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