Hi everyone!
We have a new feature that allows forum members to create "clubs" of their own that have many of the same benefits of a forum, including multiple threads, a member's list, and group messaging. All tribes are invited to switch from the one-long-thread here in FYT to the new Social Groups. You can read more about it here. Let me know if you have any questions but please post to that thread so I can keep everything in one place. 
I posted pics from our home here:
http://www.mothering.com/community/t/762506/post-pics-of-your-clean-clear-space/900#post_16327779
http://www.mothering.com/community/t/762506/post-pics-of-your-clean-clear-space/900#post_16350661
Our play area with all DD's toys are on one side of the big room which is our living room, office and play room. We all sleep together in the bedroom.
It's almost the same now.
I moved my desk a little bit and the linen bean bag is now in the corner where her small desk is in the picture. Her desk was moved just a little, it's between the bean bag and my desk. The bean bag is great for playing, reading, and watching movies.
Her toys and books are stored in the shelves and in baskets. She also has a rocking horse, a doll house, and a doll buggy.
We don't buy her stuff all the time. She got a white plushie cat this summer from grandpa. She will get some books, Brio train stuff and duplo lego for her birthday and christmas (asking for grandparents and godparents for these) , and I have to see what else.
On another subject - I'm going to try and make more of her clothes myself from now on. I know how to knit and sew and I want to buy organic (possibly fair trade) and vintage fabrics for sewing. I'll make tops and dresses with pockets, that she doesn't have to pull over the head, which means zippers and buttons or snaps. I also adore knit and crochet kid clothes.
No accumulating a big fabric stash though, I have to be careful about that.
On another subject - I'm going to try and make more of her clothes myself from now on. I know how to knit and sew and I want to buy organic (possibly fair trade) and vintage fabrics for sewing. I'll make tops and dresses with pockets, that she doesn't have to pull over the head, which means zippers and buttons or snaps. I also adore knit and crochet kid clothes.
No accumulating a big fabric stash though, I have to be careful about that.
I want to start making more clothes for my kids too, but I don't know where to buy fair trade/organic fabric. So far I've just been playing around with thrift store fabric and old clothes, but it'd be nice to know where to get more.
Paigekitten- You can find it quite easily online. I just started looking the other day (I'm in Australia) and found quite a few sites just from a google search of organic cotton fabric. Definitely enough range to keep me busy for a while. So I'm sure there's a much huger range of fabric choices and online stores in the US that sell organic.
I just got a mini sewing machine (my first) about 2 weeks ago and now I wish I had gone for a really good model as I didn't know I was going to LOVE it so much! I'm not using any patterns and have made tons of cool stuff so far just making it up as I go. I had never sewed before and was worried it was another waste of money item- so just got the tiny really cheap type. But I finally found something I am really passionate about 
Its a great little machine but not very good for getting through several thickness of fabric and I can't adjust the length to use zigzag for stopping seam fraying. But it will do for now as we are committed to being debt-free again (had a huge expense this year) so will slowly save for a new one as I want to get a really good one now I know it will see a TON of use. Best thing is, this one is a perfect little machine for my kids to use once I get a bigger one. Very simple for them to play around on. And I can't believe how much little kids clothes cost, now I see them and know how easy it would be to make most of them myself. And we can make things exactly the way we want them now- and in such gorgeous fabrics too!!
I am SO excited to find this tribe. I have been running a minimalist group locally for about six months now, and while I didn't start out this way, I am definitely a practicing minimalist. The real challenge has been staying this way with baby in tow now... everyone wants to give me their perfect "whatever" that they are sure I can't live without. Ugh.
I have been doing Project 333 for almost a year now and my closet holds fewer than 50 items in total. Laundry is done for the two of us in three loads: one load for me, one load for baby and towels, and one load of diapers. Awesome. I am down to less than 10 books, plus a Kindle... no more movies or music in hard copy (all digital), and only a few pieces of cherished art. Let me tell you, it feels amazing to have so much extra time and space and emotional energy to just be with my baby and enjoy life!!
The really big challenge is that I moved my mother in with me this past summer... and she is NOT minimalist. If I could just make my kitchen as minimalist as I'd like, I feel like I'd be free from the last bit of clutter and STUFF that weighs me down, but alas... my mother would have a fit and then angrily replace all of my things that I'd donate or throw away anyway. LOL
The other thing i worry about as I read stories in this thread of minimalists who come from pack-rat homes is that my son will turn into a pack-rat because I am a minimalist. That would be just my fate! Haha!
My dream is to live in a tiny house or a refurbished airstream some day...
Hi and welcome Mommel :)
I don't think you need to worry about turning your boy into a packrat, as long as you respect that minimalism is YOUR choice, not his - and respect his right to have his own stuff and decide whether to keep or give away things. We visit thrift shops, both to donate and buy, and I talk about giving to others who don't have as much or who may need the thing we no longer need. She is having a birthday soon (three years) and then Christmas, and if she got something I hated, I admit I would try to sneak it away and she if she even remembers getting it -if not I would donate it. Some baby toys I got rid of and she has seen them in photos and asked about them, oops! I will not give away any of her stuff without her permission anymore, except perhaps something she just got and doesn't even remember getting :)
If you make your child feel like they have to protect their stuff and worry about it suddenly disappearing, then you might encourage hoarding.
If the kid stuff gets on your nerves, kindly try to steer him in the direction you want, and if it doesn't work too well, remember that they are only small kids with lots of toys for a short while...
I think that some kids are natural minimalist and other are collectors. We just visited a wonderful toy shop and my daughter just said "Mom, let's got home!"
But she does have her stuff, and she does still get gifts. I just prefer fewer and really good quality, and ones that are not really ugly in our living room if I can help it ;)
Oh, and Etsy is great for organic fabrics. There are NONE here at the fabric store. Re-using second hand fabrics is great too. And there are on-line store who sell fair trade fabrics.
Very good points! Thanks... you are so right that I can only point him in the right direction, give him control over his own stuff, breathe and remain calm! LOL
Quote:
Hi and welcome Mommel :)
I don't think you need to worry about turning your boy into a packrat, as long as you respect that minimalism is YOUR choice, not his - and respect his right to have his own stuff and decide whether to keep or give away things. We visit thrift shops, both to donate and buy, and I talk about giving to others who don't have as much or who may need the thing we no longer need. She is having a birthday soon (three years) and then Christmas, and if she got something I hated, I admit I would try to sneak it away and she if she even remembers getting it -if not I would donate it. Some baby toys I got rid of and she has seen them in photos and asked about them, oops! I will not give away any of her stuff without her permission anymore, except perhaps something she just got and doesn't even remember getting :)
If you make your child feel like they have to protect their stuff and worry about it suddenly disappearing, then you might encourage hoarding.
If the kid stuff gets on your nerves, kindly try to steer him in the direction you want, and if it doesn't work too well, remember that they are only small kids with lots of toys for a short while...
I think that some kids are natural minimalist and other are collectors. We just visited a wonderful toy shop and my daughter just said "Mom, let's got home!"
But she does have her stuff, and she does still get gifts. I just prefer fewer and really good quality, and ones that are not really ugly in our living room if I can help it ;)
Hey, has anyone thought about starting a "Minimalist Tribe" group on MDC? The original objection of exclusivity of groups has been addressed with the ability to create a group with open membership, so anyone can join at any time. It seems like a great way to organize topical threads within the "tribe" so newcomers don't have to weed through 8 pages of varying threads to find out what's happening. I'd be happy to co-lead (it requires two leaders to moderate just like any MDC forum).
Of course, if someone prefers to have an exclusive membership type group, I'm open to hearing the reasons for it, but I'm thinking it would just be an easier way to organize many threads for the minimalism topic while still keeping the group open to anyone who'd like to post on the subject. Yes?
Anyone? I'm thinking we could have topics like: how do you get your family to not buy you stuff for the holidays, and help for aspiring minimalists, etc...
I am all for that!! I admit I am an aspiring minimalist only...as I still struggle with the ever expanding clutter that seems to appear in our house...but most of my friends and family already think I am crazy minimalist only because I have so much less STUFF than them!! Our dream is to sell our house in the near future (but only if we can do so without losing any money on it) and to buy an RV and be location-independent...with all our belongings fitting into the RV (with maybe the exception of a footlocker of a few memorabilia stored with family). It's just me, DH, and one little guy at the moment but I'm still holding out hope of little dude getting a sib at some point in the future. We want to travel, both here and overseas, and with the overseas travel we would be living out of suitcases only....which I have done before as a single person.
I tend to haunt the Decluttering, Simplifying, and Organizing forum on here, but have to admit that while there are some minimalists on there, that the majority of posters are those that have a lot of stuff and while they may be decluttering and organizing there's not a whole lot of actual minimizing going on!!
I myself have done one round of Project 333 and am currently gearing up to start a year of Project 36/365 on January 1st. I am reorganizing Bug's toys into seven categories and getting rid of any that don't fit in those categories and asking family and friends to only give from those categories as well. DH is the hard one, as he's got probably 100+ shirts (and at least half of those are t-shirts)!! He knows he will have to minimize the quantity of his clothes when we move into the RV, but sees no point in minimizing now!! He at least is on board with minimizing everything BUT his clothes and electronics...but we will need to work on those soon!!
Not sure if I could co-moderate long-term as I'm not sure how much overseeing that would entail, but I would be happy to help out at the start at least till someone else could step up in any case.
Hey, has anyone thought about starting a "Minimalist Tribe" group on MDC? The original objection of exclusivity of groups has been addressed with the ability to create a group with open membership, so anyone can join at any time. It seems like a great way to organize topical threads within the "tribe" so newcomers don't have to weed through 8 pages of varying threads to find out what's happening. I'd be happy to co-lead (it requires two leaders to moderate just like any MDC forum).
Of course, if someone prefers to have an exclusive membership type group, I'm open to hearing the reasons for it, but I'm thinking it would just be an easier way to organize many threads for the minimalism topic while still keeping the group open to anyone who'd like to post on the subject. Yes?
Anyone? I'm thinking we could have topics like: how do you get your family to not buy you stuff for the holidays, and help for aspiring minimalists, etc...
Awesome! I'm on it... I don't think it takes too much work. We can always recruit help if need be. 
I am all for that!! I admit I am an aspiring minimalist only...as I still struggle with the ever expanding clutter that seems to appear in our house...but most of my friends and family already think I am crazy minimalist only because I have so much less STUFF than them!! Our dream is to sell our house in the near future (but only if we can do so without losing any money on it) and to buy an RV and be location-independent...with all our belongings fitting into the RV (with maybe the exception of a footlocker of a few memorabilia stored with family). It's just me, DH, and one little guy at the moment but I'm still holding out hope of little dude getting a sib at some point in the future. We want to travel, both here and overseas, and with the overseas travel we would be living out of suitcases only....which I have done before as a single person.
I tend to haunt the Decluttering, Simplifying, and Organizing forum on here, but have to admit that while there are some minimalists on there, that the majority of posters are those that have a lot of stuff and while they may be decluttering and organizing there's not a whole lot of actual minimizing going on!!
I myself have done one round of Project 333 and am currently gearing up to start a year of Project 36/365 on January 1st. I am reorganizing Bug's toys into seven categories and getting rid of any that don't fit in those categories and asking family and friends to only give from those categories as well. DH is the hard one, as he's got probably 100+ shirts (and at least half of those are t-shirts)!! He knows he will have to minimize the quantity of his clothes when we move into the RV, but sees no point in minimizing now!! He at least is on board with minimizing everything BUT his clothes and electronics...but we will need to work on those soon!!
Not sure if I could co-moderate long-term as I'm not sure how much overseeing that would entail, but I would be happy to help out at the start at least till someone else could step up in any case.
A group would be cool.
We ended up not moving into my parents garage and now I find myself in the curious position of actually wanting more things, and of wanting to replace some of the things we gave away expecting not to need as my parents already had them. It's very odd for me to feel like acquiring!
Okay ladies!! Here is the new group!
http://www.mothering.com/community/groups/show/18/minimalist-mamas
Please join and start threads and/or contribute to existing ones.
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