I don't mean to denigrate the concept, but there is a real conflict here.
Everything I read on this subject says free up your energy, get rid of anything that is not essential to your well being. If I were a billionaire would I still have a drawer full of semi ratty socks?
Yet if I am only surrounding myself with those things I really love, what about upcycling? Turning something old into something new requires that you hang on to the something old until you can find a use for it.
There are many things I have given away that I later found out I needed. But you can't keep everything. Some things do wear out, and turning a few worn out and faded t-shirts into a sad looking skirt doesn't really help my minimalist wardrobe.
Classic clothing cannot be made out of upcycled materials.
At least not very often.
Upcycled usually means funky.
So the choice is whether to hang on to things that would end end up in a landfill, trying to find some, ( usually funky), way to make use of them or to eliminate the clutter and and keep only a few quality possessions, in reality adding (perhaps less but still some) to our throw away society.
Minimalist is usually fairly stark and uncreative.
The upcycle world is very creative but fairly messy.
Which feels wealthier?
At first glance of course minimalist seems as though it is the way to go. All that sleek unencumbered jet set elegance. I like it and it makes me feel wealthy and limited, ie. poor.
My creativity seems to require that I have lots of stuff around to make things out of. Just having the stuff to make stuff out of feels kind of wealthy. Even if that stuff is things that other people have thrown away.
Still, I do not like clutter and dealing with junk can get to me, that is, make me feel poor.
Help.
Everything I read on this subject says free up your energy, get rid of anything that is not essential to your well being. If I were a billionaire would I still have a drawer full of semi ratty socks?
Yet if I am only surrounding myself with those things I really love, what about upcycling? Turning something old into something new requires that you hang on to the something old until you can find a use for it.
There are many things I have given away that I later found out I needed. But you can't keep everything. Some things do wear out, and turning a few worn out and faded t-shirts into a sad looking skirt doesn't really help my minimalist wardrobe.
Classic clothing cannot be made out of upcycled materials.
At least not very often.
Upcycled usually means funky.
So the choice is whether to hang on to things that would end end up in a landfill, trying to find some, ( usually funky), way to make use of them or to eliminate the clutter and and keep only a few quality possessions, in reality adding (perhaps less but still some) to our throw away society.
Minimalist is usually fairly stark and uncreative.
The upcycle world is very creative but fairly messy.
Which feels wealthier?
At first glance of course minimalist seems as though it is the way to go. All that sleek unencumbered jet set elegance. I like it and it makes me feel wealthy and limited, ie. poor.
My creativity seems to require that I have lots of stuff around to make things out of. Just having the stuff to make stuff out of feels kind of wealthy. Even if that stuff is things that other people have thrown away.
Still, I do not like clutter and dealing with junk can get to me, that is, make me feel poor.
Help.
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