Survey #248—Full Response from rowan
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| What useful decluttering or organizing strategies or methods did you take away from the book? | - (aside from literally all of them) the overall strategy of looking at every object and every assumption (e.g. "well of course everyone needs to have a (fill in the blank)") about necessities. - Evaluating objects by how much work they require to keep clean (the owl sculpture example). - Overall not just askign "should I keep this?" but "WHY should I keep this?" |
| What parts or aspects of the book did you find difficult to grasp or challenging to apply to your home or situation? | - I did not relate to Sasaki's emphasis on holding on to collections as evidence of personal attributes (being an intellectual, creative, etc) |
| Please share your favorite quotations or key takeaways from this book. | - "The things you own end up owning you" from Fight Club movie - At a certain point in your decluttering your should question "why am I getting rid of this item?" in the same way that at first you should as yourself "why am I keeping this item?" - some people develop " 'get rid of everything' disease' " - "Minimalism is a method, and a beginning." |
| When you hear the word “minimalism” used to describe a lifestyle, what do you think of? | I think I first thought of it as an aesthetic, or living out of a backpack. But I think the important thing is that I don't feel Sasaki is advocating that everyone live as he lives, or even that everyone should be a minimalist, more that everyone should examine their stuff (while saying that probably most of our stuff hinders, rather than supports, our current life). |
| “The things you own end up owning you.”* To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? How is it relevant to your stuff? | I totally agree. Even though I have always had far less stuff than anyone else I knew, in the past the volume was still a burden (especially to the friends and acquaintances I got to help me move - I feel particularly bad about that. I had not thought to examine my assumption that everyone loves to help people (as I do)). But (for anyone who is reading this) please do not think I am living with any material deprivation (I have plenty of clothes and bedding to keep me warm, wonderful books to read, computers to watch tv/movies and useful videos, lectures, audiobooks, etc). |
| Future topics | Discovering a life beyond: |
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