When someone gives you a gift say, “thank you.” Once you have done that your obligation to the gift and gift-giver is done..... these words have changed my life
Rose Lounsbury I have already donate a handful of gifts I’ve held on for months or years only because they were gifts. I needed someone to say out loud that doing that is okay. So thank you!
My gift mantra is this: Is given to me to make me happy. In any way the giver wanted me to experience burden. So if it happens to be one im giving a gift to giver by letting it go and remain as they wish me to be-Happy
If I don't like a gift, I will let the gift giver know. Not to be rude, but so they won't give me something I don't like again. Because why would I let them waste their money like that?
I'm the same. I tell my friends what I really want most for birthday or Christmas is to spend time with the people I love. Let's just play games or watch a movie or heck, just hang out. Especially my friends who do not have much money. They always give me stuff every year though...
I don't do the usual holiday and gift giving occasions and neither do my friends, but whenever someone asks me what they should bring when we invite them over, I've learned that saying, 'nothing' or 'just yourself' will lead to flowers, chocolates, sugary drinks, ornaments etc, so I now always make a point of saying, 'some fruit would be lovely, thanks.' That we can use. :)
My Grandma always said ‘One on, one off and one in the wash’. This allows for emergencies and the times you can’t get the washing dry quickly (I live in the Uk where we don’t all use driers). Works for me with bedding and towels.
Linda Tait: If you and your Grandmother want to do laundry to wash those three towels at least twice a week, that's your business. Who are you to tell me how to live?
You don’t know how that blessed me! I just cleaned the linen closet and there were so many towels and sheets I could barely close the door. I will take them to the animal shelter today!
I went shopping with my Mother once and saw some beautiful lingerie I thought she might like for Mother's Day. I asked what she thought of them and she said: I already have one. ONE, she had one nightgown. Her entire life she owned two nightgowns at a time, one for winter and one for summer, well one for the warmer 6 months and one for the colder 6 months. She washed it on Mondays. I had a drawer full of nightgowns, but she had one and she felt that that was enough. That's a great word - ENOUGH - don't you think?
I sweat at night so I like to wear a different one (clean) every night. I have a drawer full of them depending on the weather and/or if I have guests. To me they are useful and necessary.
She's wrong about half the time, tho. Folding all your clothes normally just gives you clothes you forgot about/wrinkled stuff. And we have several seasons where i live. About 2 months of perfect weather where you are neither sweating or freezing all day.
I am so so glad that the tide is finally turning to the way I have been living. Seems the first 48 years I was the “frugal one” but I just preferred to spend my money or other useful ways.........good food, travel and investments.....YAY!
Isn't her motto "does this thing sparkle joy?" Let's be honest, most everyday things are just things, they're necessary, not more not less. Nowadays before buying something new (clothes or bags etc.) I ask myself "do I really want it" or " would I miss it not having it". Or being a huge Amazon fan: put it in your card, d o n ' t buy it, leave it for the next day and then you' ll realize, you don't want it anymore (because you didn't need it in the first place).
Both my husband and myself grew up with parents that loved to hoard things. Now that we are married and have a home of our own, it is so liberating to live with just the essentials. It even helped to cut down anxiety!
I wouldn't say my mom hoards things but she def has way more stuff than she needs or even use. Things that haven't been used in over 10 years. Which is okay that's her decision however it stresses her out that her house is a mess because there's nowhere to put anything cuz space is being taken up by things she doesn't need or use..... I feel bad for her and it stresses me out that she's stressed out but she doesn't let me help her throw stuff away or donate
I firmly believe that overwhelming kids with a lot of "stuff" contributes to attention disorders. Kids with less stuff tend to engage more deeply with items, to exercise more imagination, and to cherish their belongings rather than casting them off in search of the next "thrill." I sure wish someone would undertake a study on this topic.
Prickly Pear I understand What you mean and somewhat agree, but most attention *disorders* You’re Born with. I have ADHD, and only had a few toys growing up, I was an only child and often just sat out in the grass. I really don’t think They Can be connected. But i do belive that, for exsample, constantly having a phone in your face, Will decrease your attention span. Because you’ll be uset to being constantly stimmulated. (Proberbly a lot of spelling errors, Danish autocorrect fucks it up)
There are studies done with rats that show that a more enriched environment with more things developed the rats' brains more than a impoverished environment Gardner, E. B., Boitano, J. J., Mancino, N. S., D'Amico, D. P., & Gardner, E. L. (1975). Environmental enrichment and deprivation: effects on learning, memory and exploration. Physiology & Behavior, 14(3), 321-327.
@@majakofoed3721 My fault, I should have been more precise. I DO believe that ADHD (and other conditions) can occur spontaneously, so I should have said that "overwhelming kids with a lot of 'stuff' contributes" to the PREVALENCE of it. And, by the way, your English is, yes, full of errors but commendable nonetheless, as long as you know that "fucks it up" is maybe not advisable in many situations (even though it's a phrase I often use).
Just depends on the child. I have always had everything I wanted tons of toys growing up and everything I needed. I don't have ADHD or learning disorders. I don't feel sorry for what I did get as a child but I do feel sorry for those who have nothing. They have a more poverty striken life.
Let's be clear - the standard for what is 'needed' is determined by the individual. My husband and I are pretty minimalist, but to be happy, I NEED 9 towels for the 2 of us. Why? Because I like to have 2 just for me (body towel and hair towel), and my husband has one. So, we have 3 towels on the go at any one time. But, I also like to be clean and fresh, so we swap those out regularly. Since I don't want to be constantly rushing to get laundry done, I like to have a buffer, so-to-speak, where I can have towels in laundry but still be safe with the number of towels available. That makes me happy. I define my minimalism. My point here is that you do not have to prescribe to someone else's rules about what qualifies as minimalism. Just because she thinks 2 towels per person is good enough doesn't mean it is the law of minimalism. Live minimally on your own terms, and with the things that you really want.
I agree, see my comment above. We have 16 for 2 people because we don't have a dryer. we each need a couple of towels for the beach, and we regularly have guests who also take towels to the beach. And we're two women who both want a hair towel.
If ur clean and fresh when you come out of the shower, ur towel will stay clean and fresh also for at least a week. It only ever dried off something clean and fresh. Simple logic.
Rachel, I use a sponge to shower so I get most dead skin off there. Way more comes off while you sleep anyway. The Kirby demo always wowwed ppl becuz it sucked out all the dead skin from the mattress. Unless you change your sheets daily too? Lol
It works wonders! I always do it. Other thing I do is take a picture of it, walk a little around, and then see if the momentary emotion of buying it is gone.
My towel wasn't washed often enough and I got MRSA--antibiotic resistant bacteria. So I researched and found in my very humid area that no more than three uses and then our towels are washed, then hung out to dry. And we use hand towels frequently. They work well. And we love thin towels, but quality thin towels are hard to fine. I must have the right number because occasionally I run out. I can't imagine getting rid of Christmas ornaments. Almost all were hand made or gifted by those we love so dearly. Hot cocoa and little hands and such precious memories are shared every year. The best advice I've ever heard was "Do you own your possessions or do they own you?" It's all about the deliberate--and connection.
Jane Crowe, my mother had MRSA. Her doctor told her that she should use a clean towel every time she bathed. Doesn’t matter it was contracted; clean towels should be used every time.
It goes either way where i live. Winter, you can dry stuff on the radiator. Summer can be a bit humid. I give it the sniff test, hang outside and wash once a week unless something doesn't look, feel or smell right.
Ok I'm sorry , did your Doctor explain what MRSA is and how you could get it? You could indeed get it from a (contaminated) towel! Meaning one of you was already infected with it and contaminated the towel...
A few months ago, a gipsy came to my house looking for scrap metal. The guy was making a living for him, his wife, & his young child, by collecting iron to be sold by the weight. In addition, he was a christian & a sympathic man. So, i decided to give him every metalic things that could be found in my workshop ( tools included). I kept the minimun things necessary to do my daily maintenance of my property, and gave him all the rest: washing machine, drillers, hammer, saws, engines, nails, lader, iron bars, metal chains, cables, car engine pieces, old cast-iron radiators... he got about 600 kgs of metallic objects, that he could sell for around 100 €. So quite a good day for him and for me : exactly what i wanted. I told him : " Is it God who sent you ?" Thanx. And nothing of the given things have been missing.
Agree, I also developed a pleasure through donating, selling and throwing out stuff from home. Every time I empty a space, drawer or shelf it feels great to look at it each time so empty and clean mostly after being used to it crowded.
I can relate so much to the Christmas bit. I used to almost dread Christmas because our family would open gifts until 11pm! There would be Ikea sized bags of stuff sitting around our house that we had to go through and sent a majority of it to charity. Thankfully we have minimalized.
Very inspiring! You've caused me to stop and think about the steady stream of stuff coming into our home and how much of it we really don't use or need. The quote about having nothing in your home that isn't useful or beautiful is a great rule to live by. I'm going to start using that.
Rose is right about the benefits of letting go of things: free time, peace of mind and clarity. But also: knowing where things are!! Not rebuying what you can't find and wasting precious time looking, looking, looking!! ;-)
Great talk infused with the right amount of humor and candor to get me thinking about nooks and crannies to clean out around the house (and thus inside my head)!
My grand-daughter painted me a picture. When she comes to visit, she is proud and happy to see it displayed. I don't like the picture, but I love her, so...
when my grandson died, the daughter of a dear friend painted a lovely picture and they had it custom framed. I don't care for the painting, I can't find a place to put it, and I am not sure how to deal with this. They keep asking when I am going to hang it. It is VERY large, it cost them a small fortune to frame it and it does not work into my color scheme (pink and red roses). What to do....what to do
@@gailgrooms997 Maybe you could say, 'I really appreciate your kindness in giving it me, but I'm afraid it really doesn't work for us/me. Is there someone else who would be able to give it the love it deserves?'
gail grooms - I think you’re going to have to just hang it. Knowing as much as you do about it (effort, cost etc) it would be a very hard heart that could get rid of it. Meanwhile, if you have somewhere such as “on the stairs” where you see it once or twice a day, but it doesn’t take over a room, that would be ideal. Then in due course, you could say that much as you love the thought behind it, the reminder is just too constant, would they mind if you gave it to a local .... hospital, hospice, somewhere where it can go on the wall and someone will love to see it? I’m terribly sorry to hear about your grandson, and wish you peace.
@@gailgrooms997 donate it to something your grandson would have appreciated? Action it and give it to a cause that related to your grandson? Put it up for a year then take it down?
Obviously the whole point here is to figure out what works for you but also to be really honest with yourself. Here's an exercise: Try and pack away things as if to say you're going to throw them away. Then, once you really need something, go and grab it from the box/bag you put it in. By the end of 3 months you truly get rid of everything that hasn't been taken out and used. I did this with our plates and mugs and it surprisingly worked really well!
Where's the super like button? XD I have always believed that our surroundings mirror our internal state of being. The stuff you have, the friends you keep, the places you go. Amazing Talk
Fantastic talk, Rose! Thank you! My wife and I are in the middle of doing just what you wisely offer. We know we’ll feel so much freer when we’ve decluttered and purged the unnecessary and the non-beautiful. Very daunting but I know it will be very worth it.
Great presentation! When people take the time to get to know your likes, i.e., favorite restaurants, jewelry, etc, then giving a gift they will appreciate, and use won't be hit or miss. If baking is your talent, a cake, pie or cookies that you know someone really enjoys will be even more meaningful to them. Giving "vouchers" for baby-sitting so a friend can have a date night can be an inexpensive gift from you, but priceless to them. There are countless ways to give gifts that mean so much, and most of all, the recipient knows you took the time to put thought into what they like before you gifted them.
I've been a minimalist for a while, but I certainly enjoyed her delivery of this subject. It's an excellent reminder to re-visit my closets and make sure all the old towels left when the new ones arrived!
My husband and I have four towels. I wash them on the weekends and put fresh ones out half way thru the week. We hang them up after using them every night. All are white, fluffy and big (making them feel good but are washed & bleached all together). 👍
5 лет назад+31
I enjoy bare walls, tired of dusting, have soem plants on plant stand. Can't stand mirrors either (except in bathroom. I have regifted items and many do.
People are making this too much about towels. Everyone’s going to want to keep more of this or that and that’s okay. As long as your cutting back on others items...
Tip #1: get rid of belongings you don’t need before you move to reduce packing. If you never move, then declutter in the spring. Tip #2: inventory your children’s clothing and shoes at each growth spurt. Sell or Donate. Tip #3: donate old towels to local animal shelters, or use them as cleaning rags.
With some exceptions, I expect that 2 towels and 2 washcloths per week per person should be enough. Unfortunately, when American friends come to visit longer than just a few days, I gently have to initiate them into this habit. Most are used to just dumping their wet but still clean towels on the floor and expect to be given fresh ones every day, not out of malice but just out of unconscious habit from living in a wasteful, convenience-filled society. I live in Europe, energy is expensive, I don´t have a dryer nor do I enjoy being anyone´s maid or having racks of laundry cluttering up our living space for days on end. As much as I love my friends and we get along very well, I have weeded out the persistent clueless ones and suggest they stay in a hotel during our next wonderful, planned visit together.
They are not really good people if they are throwing their towels on the floor and expecting you to pick up after them. I don't even do this when I stay in a hotel. But I do prefer to stay in hotels than with friends and/or family.
My stepdaughter does this. We've been known to find 5 towels in her room even though she only stays with us every other weekend. If we only had 2 towels each myself and my husband would find no towels to use. Yes, she does have her own, personal pink towels to use but she'll still use fresh ones every time and not put hers in the wash.
I am American Hispanic. We’ve never used a towel a day. 1-2 washes in the winter per week, 2-3 in humid summer weather. Always hung to dry and we shower twice a day quick.
Beatrice Karbaumer-Jones wow; I live in Australia where the sun is free and I can dry my towels every day on the washing line.. but even I don’t get new towels each day.. 3 days usually and then they get washed.
This has been such a funny and entertaining speech, yet did clearly outline the benefits of living simply /minimally. Thank you for that great inspiration!
After losing a lot of my belongings due to Hurricane Katrina, I felt remarkably light. Unfortunately, well meaning friends and family members gave me many of the things I’d lost. I appreciated their need to do something in the face of such loss.
@Monique Lehnhardt I have heard that from many people when 'nature' decluttered for them. I believe fire, air and water are great cleansers and if we don't voluntary declutter nature will do it for us.
So true. The thing most people don’t understand who know me is that despite all the pain, Katrina moved me to live where I wanted to live and how I wanted to live. I left the city for a small college town I love. I would not wish that heartache on anyone. I lost one cousin in the aftermath of the storm. But some good did come from it for me because I chose to not look back.
@@nikkil764 I'm sorry for the loss of your loved one but I totally get what you are saying about the feeling of lightness when something like that happens.
Great talk Rose! You've helped us so much to think better about how we treat our stuff...and more importantly how we treat stuff we receive from others. Good luck to you and all the best!
Thank you for this important message. Loved the talk and am thrilled to have great resources like this, your book, emails, and talks to push me along. You’re awesome and doing incredible work!
Not all old house a have small closets, just to point that out, I live in an 1810 colonial, and we have rather large closets both in our bedrooms and then in the adjoining closets to two bedrooms on either side of the house, on both floors.
My wife and I just bought a cape cod style home from 1925. Very limited closet space, indeed. In fact, the previous owners had turned part of the upstairs hallway into an additional closet, but we're going to knock it down. We have no need for it, so we'd rather have the extra space in the hallway!
I've realized that minimalism is a great way to live. Well I have 3 towels, so that's a bit more than necessary, but I'm getting there. Nice talk on minimalism & towels though!
I recently lost a dear friend who was a truely free spirit who refused to bend to government or religious rule! A brilliant, world class artist who was my dear friend - Frank Harrod - and his motto was - one pot, one bowl, one spoon!!! I miss him so!!
We have one and a half towels each for the tow of us now as I never got around to replacing the one the neighbour's dog decided was her chew toy. My word of the year for 2017 and 2018 was Declutter. I have been decluttering for twenty plus years...well I was probably just playing tetris with my stuff for half of that time. Karen Kingston's Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui set me in motion, Peter Walsh's Enough Already refocused me, Marie Kondo telling me to ask if it sparks joy was a game changer and Margareta Magnusson's Swedish Death Cleaning has got me closer to Minimalism. But each spring clean and declutter session is getting me closer to the Essentialism that I aspire to. I like to remember the Pareto Principle where it is said we use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time so in effect we can get rid of 50% and still have more than enough. I guesstimate that 80% of what we have is for guests, and the remaining 20% is 20% Sweeties and 80% mine. I have decided I prefer not to have anything too precious so I can use 80% of my stuff 80% of the time. My word for this year is Enough.
As soon as you understand that you can live with less than you think you can.... then I have been able to find that I am better at keeping things that only add value to my life... sometimes that means obvious minimalism and sometimes it means keeping something that adds to my emotional life and probably adds nothing else to anyone else....I have started asking to give to charity in my name for my gift.... I have so much more than I need.... and I have a limited time to enjoy things... I will enjoy knowing someone or some dog is happier today.
LOL! I just moved and realized how many bath sheets I owned! I literally donated 20 and still filled my new linen cupboard. How ironic this pops into my inbox!
As someone that lives close to a beach and has a pool, I definitely need more than 2 towels. I use 2 for a shower as I have a lot of hair. I think I could live with 3 if I did laundry more often but I don't. So I'm going to see if I could live with 9-10 for both my husband and myself. Sometimes towels won't dry for the next day's swim so we'd need 4 beach towels and 6 bath to cycle and wash properly. We regularly have guests visit as all of our family lives out of state, we have a guest room and...we live near a stunning beach. Lol. So when my sister, her husband and their 10 year old daughter come to visit and swim, they'd probably need an additional 5 bath towels and 6 beach towels. Okay, I need a lot of towels. 🤷♀️
Years ago a friend said I was the only person she knew who kept all her Christmas decorations in a shoe box. And it was true!! I was a minimalist, at least in that area, before the term was used. Thinking about towels - I don't have that many but only having two would mean more regular washing of them and quicker wearing out. I may do four. ;)
@@sustillman they're precious. They truly give me joy every year. "your daddy made this when he was in second grade" -"remember when we painted these?" "that's aunt Haley when she was four" these are hand blown glass... My only home decorating tradition, lol!
Rose, you get my thumbs up! ...However, wonder what you do when you have guests/company?... hopefully, you have clean towels to share :)... I am basically a minimalist, but bought white cotton towels, for the luxury of 1.) not having to do laundry every day... 2.) they are easy to wash/bleach to be available, as we use towels/wash cloths for showers, shaving (DH), hot wash cloths for face, and whatever... Our friends know we do not need 'stuff' with material gifts... and a better way to 'gift somebody' is by sharing a meal or snacks and fellowship. The 'memories' do not take up space in the house, but fills the heart long after...
Great stuff. I don't personally have this problem as whenever I purchase more towels they mysteriously disappear. I have bought one beach towel per year, and 6 purple towels, and 4 grey and started out with 4 of my original ones from the house before this one and I now have... 3. And no I am not throwing them away or losing them at the laundry mat. But my Mom did collect towels, we had about 60 at one time. Thanks for this wonderful talk, it made me think of MOM>
lol 😆 I HAD a 1250 Sq ft home with a 800 ft back porch plus a 200sq ft shed. (I went from husband and wife and 3 sons to being a widow alone.) A place for everything and everything in its place. (My son sold or gave away 90% of my stuff.) Now I live in a 420sq ft apartment (no porch or storage unit)!!!!! In 5 years of apartment living and others giving to me and my yard sale purchases, I am overwhelmed with things !!!! Stress,embarrassment !!!! Another widow and I are planning to do a yard sale or two in the fall (99+ for past 90 days in TX) but lately I have been just ENJOYING JUST GIVING THINGS TO OTHERS at church !!!!!
When I grew up we didn't have a set of towels for each person... we had enough towels that we all used at different times and in different sizes, and clean towels that were waiting to be used while the others were to be cleaned.
I read an essay long ago by Theodore Roszak about traditional Japanese culture. The title was something like “A Few Good Things”. This was his point back in the 60’s - early minimalist.
One thing about moving around a lot and renting rooms only I never had the space to overwhelm my self with stuff. Now that I have a one bedroom apartment to myself I can gather a bit more. I moved into my new place 8 months ago and it still looks like I just moved in.
I'm cleaning out my Hoarder Mom's house. It's exhausting. It's soooooooooo much stuff. She had so much stuff that she didn't know how much she had so she would just more. People, please think of your kids when you die. They will be burdened cleaning up your stuff. Help them. PLEASE.
It’s one place I’m okay having extra. Even though we live in a small apartment, we have a cat and a toddler and no washing machine. Things just have to wait until laundry day. No washing stuff in the middle of the night if someone pukes everywhere. I would hate to run out of towels during that!
But then that’s something you do need in your life. You use the extra towels and your life would be worse without them and the independence from washing machines that they provide. Therefore it’s not necessarily un-minimalist to have extra towels in your case. To you, they’re not extra.
I have a washer but I'm busy during the week. I work full time and help care for my elderly father. I wait until I have enough to do a full load and then I wash them. To me having a few extras is a good thing.
That’s why the question is “how many towels do YOU need?” The answer was 2 per person for her family. It may be 3 per person for your family. It’s not really about towels. It’s about asking yourself how many things do you really need, as in, you in particular.
Having 10 towels for a family of 5 may sound nice and all but I believe it's also based in a very self centered vision of the "self" and the "us". No wonder isolation,loneliness and depression are so abundant in developed western societies. In my household it's just me and my kid, but I have a big family living in other cities and countries in europe which comes to visit a few times a year and friends who also come visit and stay a few days with us. I'm happy to have extra towels and bed linen and other stuff to offer to my guests and to share with them. This makes me incredibly happy, being in the company of my beloved ones and not forcing them to bring their own towels or bed linen or whatever. So all in all I agree that the number of things is not the most important for being a minimalist, I believe it's rather your vision of the world and how you show what really matters to you that makes the difference. I love sharing meaningful moments with my friends and family at home instead of just meeting up for a coffee in a neutral place. We live in a 650sf apartment and we have a tiny guest room.
I need lots of towels the bigger the better during heavy rainstorms I get some flooding in the basement and also some leaking on the first floor ceiling above the sunroom windows. So until I can save up several thousand dollars to replace my roof or even part of the roof I'm going to keep my towels. Plus the basement leaks are coming in somewhere else. All my towels are old, even my shower towel is about 20 years. old
So true!! I don't think I'm going to live with just 2 towels, but I can (and will) get rid of a few extras!! And the sentiment applies to so many things in our houses - after all - we can only wear 1 shirt at a time (or maybe 2, if they're layered :-))
I had only two for a while and I had to constantly wash them. And then, you don't have a load of towels to wash so its very inefficient. If you have a bigger family, 2 per person is fine but if you have only 1 person, I think you need a few more.
For the last three years my husband and I have had two bath towels each plus one beach towel each, it has never been a problem and I don't own a dryer.
4. if you have bidet, you use 1 for intimate parts. 1 for face (this is handy for people with delicate or problematic skin), one for hands and one for the body
I use face washers after using my bidet. I got the idea to use face washers as hand towels from a 5 star hotel so when we have a party I put out washers for my guests. And I may transition to them when our hand towels need replacing.
When my mum passed away we sold her house, I was living with her at that time to, and with it came a lot of stuff. We got rid of 80% of it and the rest is stored in boxes. That was 2 years ago and since that time me and my brother we never looked at those boxes. The only thing from the whole house that we regret getting rid of and that we would like to have are the LOTR extended version DVD boxes :')
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When someone gives you a gift say, “thank you.” Once you have done that your obligation to the gift and gift-giver is done..... these words have changed my life
Awesome, Emma! So glad this helped you! How are you incorporating it into your life?
Rose Lounsbury I have already donate a handful of gifts I’ve held on for months or years only because they were gifts. I needed someone to say out loud that doing that is okay. So thank you!
@Simply Mindfulness so glad this phrase is helpful to you! :)
My gift mantra is this: Is given to me to make me happy. In any way the giver wanted me to experience burden. So if it happens to be one im giving a gift to giver by letting it go and remain as they wish me to be-Happy
If I don't like a gift, I will let the gift giver know.
Not to be rude, but so they won't give me something I don't like again.
Because why would I let them waste their money like that?
I've always told people not to give me stuff. Buy me lunch, take me to dinner. I don't want things, I never have.
I'm the same. I tell my friends what I really want most for birthday or Christmas is to spend time with the people I love. Let's just play games or watch a movie or heck, just hang out. Especially my friends who do not have much money. They always give me stuff every year though...
I don't do the usual holiday and gift giving occasions and neither do my friends, but whenever someone asks me what they should bring when we invite them over, I've learned that saying, 'nothing' or 'just yourself' will lead to flowers, chocolates, sugary drinks, ornaments etc, so I now always make a point of saying, 'some fruit would be lovely, thanks.' That we can use. :)
I've had the same problem with people still giving me stuff , I will have to use this line ! Just some __certian type of foood_ thanks.
I like receiving things because Its an opportunity to sell or regift lol
I say that to my kids too!!
My Grandma always said ‘One on, one off and one in the wash’. This allows for emergencies and the times you can’t get the washing dry quickly (I live in the Uk where we don’t all use driers). Works for me with bedding and towels.
Linda Tait: If you and your Grandmother want to do laundry to wash those three towels at least twice a week, that's your business. Who are you to tell me how to live?
@@robinlillian9471she specifically said "it works for me" she wasn't telling anyone what to do...
@@robinlillian9471 wow. You're such a troll moving from one commenter to the next trying to rile people up. Good job by you.
My mum says the same!!! 8D
Clarice where r u from? (Im in Santiago Spain n here it happens the same).
Give your extra towels, sheets, throws, blankets to your local animal shelter. They need them👍🏻
Carolyn Everett YES! Great point
Carolyn Everett. Or to organizations that give clothing to low-income families in need.
Or homeless shelter
Or put them into a fire and use mirrors to direct the light into a sort of virtue signal.
You don’t know how that blessed me! I just cleaned the linen closet and there were so many towels and sheets I could barely close the door. I will take them to the animal shelter today!
I went shopping with my Mother once and saw some beautiful lingerie I thought she might like for Mother's Day. I asked what she thought of them and she said: I already have one. ONE, she had one nightgown. Her entire life she owned two nightgowns at a time, one for winter and one for summer, well one for the warmer 6 months and one for the colder 6 months. She washed it on Mondays. I had a drawer full of nightgowns, but she had one and she felt that that was enough. That's a great word - ENOUGH - don't you think?
I sweat at night so I like to wear a different one (clean) every night. I have a drawer full of them depending on the weather and/or if I have guests. To me they are useful and necessary.
💔
@@lisa9867 i'm a sweater. it's obnoxiously bad! But I've found that not wearing anything to bed helps immensely.
I own a week supply of undershirts because when I wear them just once they stink to high heaven. Some folks aren't cut out for minimalism lol
This is so interesting! It just shows that people are so different in terms of what we consider ENOUGH. Thanks for sharing this!
Minimalism + Marie Kondo method = peace of mind and less stress.
yesss
She's wrong about half the time, tho. Folding all your clothes normally just gives you clothes you forgot about/wrinkled stuff. And we have several seasons where i live. About 2 months of perfect weather where you are neither sweating or freezing all day.
marie is overrated and very shallow
I am so so glad that the tide is finally turning to the way I have been living. Seems the first 48 years I was the “frugal one” but I just preferred to spend my money or other useful ways.........good food, travel and investments.....YAY!
Isn't her motto "does this thing sparkle joy?"
Let's be honest, most everyday things are just things, they're necessary, not more not less. Nowadays before buying something new (clothes or bags etc.) I ask myself
"do I really want it" or " would I miss it not having it". Or being a huge Amazon fan: put it in your card, d o n ' t buy it, leave it for the next day and then you' ll realize, you don't want it anymore (because you didn't need it in the first place).
Both my husband and myself grew up with parents that loved to hoard things. Now that we are married and have a home of our own, it is so liberating to live with just the essentials. It even helped to cut down anxiety!
I wouldn't say my mom hoards things but she def has way more stuff than she needs or even use. Things that haven't been used in over 10 years. Which is okay that's her decision however it stresses her out that her house is a mess because there's nowhere to put anything cuz space is being taken up by things she doesn't need or use..... I feel bad for her and it stresses me out that she's stressed out but she doesn't let me help her throw stuff away or donate
I firmly believe that overwhelming kids with a lot of "stuff" contributes to attention disorders. Kids with less stuff tend to engage more deeply with items, to exercise more imagination, and to cherish their belongings rather than casting them off in search of the next "thrill." I sure wish someone would undertake a study on this topic.
Prickly Pear I understand What you mean and somewhat agree, but most attention *disorders* You’re Born with. I have ADHD, and only had a few toys growing up, I was an only child and often just sat out in the grass. I really don’t think They Can be connected. But i do belive that, for exsample, constantly having a phone in your face, Will decrease your attention span. Because you’ll be uset to being constantly stimmulated. (Proberbly a lot of spelling errors, Danish autocorrect fucks it up)
There are studies done with rats that show that a more enriched environment with more things developed the rats' brains more than a impoverished environment
Gardner, E. B., Boitano, J. J., Mancino, N. S., D'Amico, D. P., & Gardner, E. L. (1975). Environmental enrichment and deprivation: effects on learning, memory and exploration. Physiology & Behavior, 14(3), 321-327.
There has been several studies on this. That's why quarterly I ask my son if he wants to keep the toys he hasn't played with in a while.
@@majakofoed3721 My fault, I should have been more precise. I DO believe that ADHD (and other conditions) can occur spontaneously, so I should have said that "overwhelming kids with a lot of 'stuff' contributes" to the PREVALENCE of it. And, by the way, your English is, yes, full of errors but commendable nonetheless, as long as you know that "fucks it up" is maybe not advisable in many situations (even though it's a phrase I often use).
Just depends on the child. I have always had everything I wanted tons of toys growing up and everything I needed. I don't have ADHD or learning disorders. I don't feel sorry for what I did get as a child but I do feel sorry for those who have nothing. They have a more poverty striken life.
Let's be clear - the standard for what is 'needed' is determined by the individual. My husband and I are pretty minimalist, but to be happy, I NEED 9 towels for the 2 of us. Why? Because I like to have 2 just for me (body towel and hair towel), and my husband has one. So, we have 3 towels on the go at any one time. But, I also like to be clean and fresh, so we swap those out regularly. Since I don't want to be constantly rushing to get laundry done, I like to have a buffer, so-to-speak, where I can have towels in laundry but still be safe with the number of towels available. That makes me happy. I define my minimalism.
My point here is that you do not have to prescribe to someone else's rules about what qualifies as minimalism. Just because she thinks 2 towels per person is good enough doesn't mean it is the law of minimalism. Live minimally on your own terms, and with the things that you really want.
I agree. It's all about being mindful of what serves you!
I agree, see my comment above. We have 16 for 2 people because we don't have a dryer. we each need a couple of towels for the beach, and we regularly have guests who also take towels to the beach. And we're two women who both want a hair towel.
If ur clean and fresh when you come out of the shower, ur towel will stay clean and fresh also for at least a week. It only ever dried off something clean and fresh. Simple logic.
Rachel, I use a sponge to shower so I get most dead skin off there. Way more comes off while you sleep anyway. The Kirby demo always wowwed ppl becuz it sucked out all the dead skin from the mattress. Unless you change your sheets daily too? Lol
@Trickius That is a great comment, thank you
I like her intonation and everything
Thank you!
... what's 'everything'? :D
A very good, short explanation of minimalism.
Whenever shopping & you pick up an item , ask yourself......do I NEED this or do I just WANT it! It has helped me time & time again!
Pay cash, that's the other half. Only bring enough to get the things you need.
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 Absolutely! Got rid of credit cards years ago.
It works wonders! I always do it. Other thing I do is take a picture of it, walk a little around, and then see if the momentary emotion of buying it is gone.
You can still have things you want, as long as they bring you joy. That’s where the “beautiful” comes in.
Allison Allison 💁🏽♀️It REALLY does work!👍🏽
One of the best minimalist/decluttering talks ever. "Keep nothing that isn't useful or beautiful." Easier said than done, but very well said.
The book ‘Goodbye, Things’ is great for changing your mindset about ‘stuff’.
Love that book!
A great read
My towel wasn't washed often enough and I got MRSA--antibiotic resistant bacteria. So I researched and found in my very humid area that no more than three uses and then our towels are washed, then hung out to dry. And we use hand towels frequently. They work well. And we love thin towels, but quality thin towels are hard to fine. I must have the right number because occasionally I run out. I can't imagine getting rid of Christmas ornaments. Almost all were hand made or gifted by those we love so dearly. Hot cocoa and little hands and such precious memories are shared every year. The best advice I've ever heard was "Do you own your possessions or do they own you?" It's all about the deliberate--and connection.
Do you know you got MRSA from a towel?
Please look up Japanese Tenugui towels, they dry incredibly quickly and are often very beautiful
Jane Crowe, my mother had MRSA. Her doctor told her that she should use a clean towel every time she bathed. Doesn’t matter it was contracted; clean towels should be used every time.
It goes either way where i live. Winter, you can dry stuff on the radiator. Summer can be a bit humid. I give it the sniff test, hang outside and wash once a week unless something doesn't look, feel or smell right.
Ok I'm sorry , did your Doctor explain what MRSA is and how you could get it? You could indeed get it from a (contaminated) towel! Meaning one of you was already infected with it and contaminated the towel...
A few months ago, a gipsy came to my house looking for scrap metal. The guy was making a living for him, his wife, & his young child, by collecting iron to be sold by the weight. In addition, he was a christian & a sympathic man. So, i decided to give him every metalic things that could be found in my workshop ( tools included). I kept the minimun things necessary to do my daily maintenance of my property, and gave him all the rest: washing machine, drillers, hammer, saws, engines, nails, lader, iron bars, metal chains, cables, car engine pieces, old cast-iron radiators... he got about 600 kgs of metallic objects, that he could sell for around 100 €. So quite a good day for him and for me : exactly what i wanted. I told him : " Is it God who sent you ?" Thanx. And nothing of the given things have been missing.
living a vanlife exsisitance makes you realise exactly how much you NEED! never been happier ever
I'm in the middle of it, decluttering. This talk is very encouraging! I can see how my clutter has weighed me down. Thank you!
I always am getting rid of things. It feels great.
Agree, I also developed a pleasure through donating, selling and throwing out stuff from home. Every time I empty a space, drawer or shelf it feels great to look at it each time so empty and clean mostly after being used to it crowded.
@@AnnakiVEVO I love you!
This talk is both very useful and very beautiful! Lady, well done!
Thanks! :)
She nailed it!
I can relate so much to the Christmas bit. I used to almost dread Christmas because our family would open gifts until 11pm! There would be Ikea sized bags of stuff sitting around our house that we had to go through and sent a majority of it to charity. Thankfully we have minimalized.
Very inspiring! You've caused me to stop and think about the steady stream of stuff coming into our home and how much of it we really don't use or need. The quote about having nothing in your home that isn't useful or beautiful is a great rule to live by. I'm going to start using that.
Awesome, Karen! So glad you found this helpful! :)
is it so nice to live with a simple home with nothing but beautiful and useful things sorrounding you?
I'm a fan of borrowing and using it once and sending it back like brand new. Haven't bought a book. Cd or dvd in a queen's age (library).
"If our homes are full of things we don't need, use or love, our minds are full of them too".
Rose is right about the benefits of letting go of things: free time, peace of mind and clarity. But also: knowing where things are!! Not rebuying what you can't find and wasting precious time looking, looking, looking!! ;-)
I have just cleaned up my office and organised everything. It felt great to only keep what I needed.
Pauline Follett I did that last month and it’s the best thing ever!!
I'm doing it now. Lol
Great talk infused with the right amount of humor and candor to get me thinking about nooks and crannies to clean out around the house (and thus inside my head)!
LOVED THIS! One of the most amusing talks on minimalism I’ve ever heard
I quit giving holiday gifts a good 20 years ago.
Never regretted it once.
What a great talk! It’s about so much more than towels. Now to go take a look in my linen closet...
The answer is 2 per person! Great lady and very nice talk!
Reducing and donating so much of our stuff in the last year. I imagine that someone will love it more than me. It makes it much easier.
Cindy-lou Hi love you from morocco my dream to meet you
My grand-daughter painted me a picture. When she comes to visit, she is proud and happy to see it displayed. I don't like the picture, but I love her, so...
when my grandson died, the daughter of a dear friend painted a lovely picture and they had it custom framed. I don't care for the painting, I can't find a place to put it, and I am not sure how to deal with this. They keep asking when I am going to hang it. It is VERY large, it cost them a small fortune to frame it and it does not work into my color scheme (pink and red roses). What to do....what to do
Judith Stuart sounds to me like that picture brings you joy. By the guidelines given, keep it.
@@gailgrooms997 Maybe you could say, 'I really appreciate your kindness in giving it me, but I'm afraid it really doesn't work for us/me. Is there someone else who would be able to give it the love it deserves?'
gail grooms - I think you’re going to have to just hang it. Knowing as much as you do about it (effort, cost etc) it would be a very hard heart that could get rid of it. Meanwhile, if you have somewhere such as “on the stairs” where you see it once or twice a day, but it doesn’t take over a room, that would be ideal. Then in due course, you could say that much as you love the thought behind it, the reminder is just too constant, would they mind if you gave it to a local .... hospital, hospice, somewhere where it can go on the wall and someone will love to see it? I’m terribly sorry to hear about your grandson, and wish you peace.
@@gailgrooms997 donate it to something your grandson would have appreciated? Action it and give it to a cause that related to your grandson? Put it up for a year then take it down?
Obviously the whole point here is to figure out what works for you but also to be really honest with yourself.
Here's an exercise: Try and pack away things as if to say you're going to throw them away. Then, once you really need something, go and grab it from the box/bag you put it in.
By the end of 3 months you truly get rid of everything that hasn't been taken out and used.
I did this with our plates and mugs and it surprisingly worked really well!
What a gifted speaker you are! Loved your talk. Thank you.
Where's the super like button? XD
I have always believed that our surroundings mirror our internal state of being. The stuff you have, the friends you keep, the places you go.
Amazing Talk
Fantastic talk, Rose! Thank you! My wife and I are in the middle of doing just what you wisely offer. We know we’ll feel so much freer when we’ve decluttered and purged the unnecessary and the non-beautiful. Very daunting but I know it will be very worth it.
Great presentation! When people take the time to get to know your likes, i.e., favorite restaurants, jewelry, etc, then giving a gift they will appreciate, and use won't be hit or miss. If baking is your talent, a cake, pie or cookies that you know someone really enjoys will be even more meaningful to them. Giving "vouchers" for baby-sitting so a friend can have a date night can be an inexpensive gift from you, but priceless to them. There are countless ways to give gifts that mean so much, and most of all, the recipient knows you took the time to put thought into what they like before you gifted them.
Well done, Rose!!! Such good and thoughtful food for thought here! And I enjoy your wit, humour, and lightness you bring to the subject.
Love love love this! Amazing presentation and message that literally everyone can apply to their own lives. Great job Rose!
I love her style of speaking! Two towels for everyone unless you have your own personal infrared sauna.
I've been a minimalist for a while, but I certainly enjoyed her delivery of this subject. It's an excellent reminder to re-visit my closets and make sure all the old towels left when the new ones arrived!
My husband and I have four towels. I wash them on the weekends and put fresh ones out half way thru the week. We hang them up after using them every night. All are white, fluffy and big (making them feel good but are washed & bleached all together). 👍
I enjoy bare walls, tired of dusting, have soem plants on plant stand. Can't stand mirrors either (except in bathroom. I have regifted items and many do.
L. A. McDonough me too!!
Me too
Excellent talk. So many valuable takeaway lessons. - if it's not beautiful or useful let - it- go.
People are making this too much about towels. Everyone’s going to want to keep more of this or that and that’s okay. As long as your cutting back on others items...
Loved how she focused on the essence of her talk. so minimalist indeed
I like towels and sheets and clean ones BUT definitely the point is having what you need and living more simply. Well done!
Tip #1: get rid of belongings you don’t need before you move to reduce packing. If you never move, then declutter in the spring.
Tip #2: inventory your children’s clothing and shoes at each growth spurt. Sell or Donate.
Tip #3: donate old towels to local animal shelters, or use them as cleaning rags.
With some exceptions, I expect that 2 towels and 2 washcloths per week per person should be enough. Unfortunately, when American friends come to visit longer than just a few days, I gently have to initiate them into this habit. Most are used to just dumping their wet but still clean towels on the floor and expect to be given fresh ones every day, not out of malice but just out of unconscious habit from living in a wasteful, convenience-filled society. I live in Europe, energy is expensive, I don´t have a dryer nor do I enjoy being anyone´s maid or having racks of laundry cluttering up our living space for days on end. As much as I love my friends and we get along very well, I have weeded out the persistent clueless ones and suggest they stay in a hotel during our next wonderful, planned visit together.
Beatrice Karbaumer-Jones you're right..we have become too spoiled and wasteful out of habit....one that I have now broken out of.
They are not really good people if they are throwing their towels on the floor and expecting you to pick up after them. I don't even do this when I stay in a hotel. But I do prefer to stay in hotels than with friends and/or family.
My stepdaughter does this. We've been known to find 5 towels in her room even though she only stays with us every other weekend. If we only had 2 towels each myself and my husband would find no towels to use. Yes, she does have her own, personal pink towels to use but she'll still use fresh ones every time and not put hers in the wash.
I am American Hispanic. We’ve never used a towel a day. 1-2 washes in the winter per week, 2-3 in humid summer weather. Always hung to dry and we shower twice a day quick.
Beatrice Karbaumer-Jones wow; I live in Australia where the sun is free and I can dry my towels every day on the washing line.. but even I don’t get new towels each day.. 3 days usually and then they get washed.
I need to watch this every week until I’m done clearing stuff out of my space.
This has been such a funny and entertaining speech, yet did clearly outline the benefits of living simply /minimally. Thank you for that great inspiration!
After losing a lot of my belongings due to Hurricane Katrina, I felt remarkably light. Unfortunately, well meaning friends and family members gave me many of the things I’d lost. I appreciated their need to do something in the face of such loss.
@Monique Lehnhardt I have heard that from many people when 'nature' decluttered for them. I believe fire, air and water are great cleansers and if we don't voluntary declutter nature will do it for us.
So true. The thing most people don’t understand who know me is that despite all the pain, Katrina moved me to live where I wanted to live and how I wanted to live. I left the city for a small college town I love. I would not wish that heartache on anyone. I lost one cousin in the aftermath of the storm. But some good did come from it for me because I chose to not look back.
@@nikkil764 I'm sorry for the loss of your loved one but I totally get what you are saying about the feeling of lightness when something like that happens.
Monique Lehnhardt hi BOH
Great talk Rose! You've helped us so much to think better about how we treat our stuff...and more importantly how we treat stuff we receive from others. Good luck to you and all the best!
Thank you for this important message. Loved the talk and am thrilled to have great resources like this, your book, emails, and talks to push me along. You’re awesome and doing incredible work!
Even this woman's outfit is tailor made. Love the enthusiasm, great delivery!
Towels count changes if you live near water.... but she has a good point to apply to other items!
Thank you, Rose...As I am cleaning out my linen closet
I love this talk. For sure, minimalism is about how you feel.
Closets in old houses are small for a reason.
Because they are pre over-consumerist ..Not for the reason of minimalism.
Not all old house a have small closets, just to point that out, I live in an 1810 colonial, and we have rather large closets both in our bedrooms and then in the adjoining closets to two bedrooms on either side of the house, on both floors.
My wife and I just bought a cape cod style home from 1925. Very limited closet space, indeed. In fact, the previous owners had turned part of the upstairs hallway into an additional closet, but we're going to knock it down. We have no need for it, so we'd rather have the extra space in the hallway!
@@zacpohlenz5252 have you made your hallway bigger yet? If you knock the other wall down won't the room be bigger
I've realized that minimalism is a great way to live. Well I have 3 towels, so that's a bit more than necessary, but I'm getting there. Nice talk on minimalism & towels though!
what a great speaker! and yes, she is so right.
I recently lost a dear friend who was a truely free spirit who refused to bend to government or religious rule! A brilliant, world class artist who was my dear friend - Frank Harrod - and his motto was - one pot, one bowl, one spoon!!! I miss him so!!
I didn't know it at the time i joined your Facebook group that i was seeing your talk. I recently made the connection. Live it
Things that bring you joy!! After usefulness of course!!
We have one and a half towels each for the tow of us now as I never got around to replacing the one the neighbour's dog decided was her chew toy.
My word of the year for 2017 and 2018 was Declutter.
I have been decluttering for twenty plus years...well I was probably just playing tetris with my stuff for half of that time. Karen Kingston's Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui set me in motion, Peter Walsh's Enough Already refocused me, Marie Kondo telling me to ask if it sparks joy was a game changer and Margareta Magnusson's Swedish Death Cleaning has got me closer to Minimalism. But each spring clean and declutter session is getting me closer to the Essentialism that I aspire to.
I like to remember the Pareto Principle where it is said we use 20% of our stuff 80% of the time so in effect we can get rid of 50% and still have more than enough. I guesstimate that 80% of what we have is for guests, and the remaining 20% is 20% Sweeties and 80% mine. I have decided I prefer not to have anything too precious so I can use 80% of my stuff 80% of the time.
My word for this year is Enough.
Oh my. I really needed to hear this today. Thank you, Rose Lounsbury.
As soon as you understand that you can live with less than you think you can.... then I have been able to find that I am better at keeping things that only add value to my life... sometimes that means obvious minimalism and sometimes it means keeping something that adds to my emotional life and probably adds nothing else to anyone else....I have started asking to give to charity in my name for my gift.... I have so much more than I need.... and I have a limited time to enjoy things... I will enjoy knowing someone or some dog is happier today.
I honestly watched this and chucked a tonne of towels
Fantastic! It was inspiring, thoughtful, and entertaining! Thank you Rose!
LOL! I just moved and realized how many bath sheets I owned! I literally donated 20 and still filled my new linen cupboard. How ironic this pops into my inbox!
This woman is an awesome speaker. Wow
As someone that lives close to a beach and has a pool, I definitely need more than 2 towels. I use 2 for a shower as I have a lot of hair. I think I could live with 3 if I did laundry more often but I don't. So I'm going to see if I could live with 9-10 for both my husband and myself. Sometimes towels won't dry for the next day's swim so we'd need 4 beach towels and 6 bath to cycle and wash properly. We regularly have guests visit as all of our family lives out of state, we have a guest room and...we live near a stunning beach. Lol. So when my sister, her husband and their 10 year old daughter come to visit and swim, they'd probably need an additional 5 bath towels and 6 beach towels. Okay, I need a lot of towels. 🤷♀️
Go long distance backpacking -- I cut my toothbrush handle in half on the PCT to save space and weight.
Years ago a friend said I was the only person she knew who kept all her Christmas decorations in a shoe box. And it was true!! I was a minimalist, at least in that area, before the term was used. Thinking about towels - I don't have that many but only having two would mean more regular washing of them and quicker wearing out. I may do four. ;)
I will never give up my boxes of Christmas stuff!
Lorrie If you think they are beautiful, you’re good to go!
@@sustillman they're precious. They truly give me joy every year. "your daddy made this when he was in second grade" -"remember when we painted these?" "that's aunt Haley when she was four" these are hand blown glass...
My only home decorating tradition, lol!
Rose, you get my thumbs up! ...However, wonder what you do when you have guests/company?... hopefully, you have clean towels to share :)... I am basically a minimalist, but bought white cotton towels, for the luxury of 1.) not having to do laundry every day... 2.) they are easy to wash/bleach to be available, as we use towels/wash cloths for showers, shaving (DH), hot wash cloths for face, and whatever... Our friends know we do not need 'stuff' with material gifts... and a better way to 'gift somebody' is by sharing a meal or snacks and fellowship. The 'memories' do not take up space in the house, but fills the heart long after...
Fun and inspiring talk. I know the clutter in our boat is messing with my head. Thanks for giving me a push to fix it!!!
Great stuff. I don't personally have this problem as whenever I purchase more towels they mysteriously disappear. I have bought one beach towel per year, and 6 purple towels, and 4 grey and started out with 4 of my original ones from the house before this one and I now have... 3. And no I am not throwing them away or losing them at the laundry mat. But my Mom did collect towels, we had about 60 at one time. Thanks for this wonderful talk, it made me think of MOM>
lol 😆 I HAD a 1250 Sq ft home with a 800 ft back porch plus a 200sq ft shed. (I went from husband and wife and 3 sons to being a widow alone.) A place for everything and everything in its place. (My son sold or gave away 90% of my stuff.) Now I live in a 420sq ft apartment (no porch or storage unit)!!!!! In 5 years of apartment living and others giving to me and my yard sale purchases, I am overwhelmed with things !!!! Stress,embarrassment !!!! Another widow and I are planning to do a yard sale or two in the fall (99+ for past 90 days in TX) but lately I have been just ENJOYING JUST GIVING THINGS TO OTHERS at church !!!!!
I wrote a book even with all of my stuff.
But I would love to try being a minimalist.
When I grew up we didn't have a set of towels for each person... we had enough towels that we all used at different times and in different sizes, and clean towels that were waiting to be used while the others were to be cleaned.
THIS WAS AMAZING. Life changing and mind blowing for me.
I thought the painting was pretty. Great talk.
Thanks! I'll tell my mom she has a fan. :)
@@roselounsbury430 Make that two, it's a lovely painting!
Mônica thanks!! My mom will be glad to know. 😊👍
I need -- and have -- 4 towels. 2 that are in use and 2 on standby for when the in-use towels need to go into the laundry.
I read an essay long ago by Theodore Roszak about traditional Japanese culture. The title was something like “A Few Good Things”. This was his point back in the 60’s - early minimalist.
One thing about moving around a lot and renting rooms only I never had the space to overwhelm my self with stuff. Now that I have a one bedroom apartment to myself I can gather a bit more. I moved into my new place 8 months ago and it still looks like I just moved in.
Very well said. I agree very much
Amazing speech, loved it!
I'm cleaning out my Hoarder Mom's house. It's exhausting. It's soooooooooo much stuff. She had so much stuff that she didn't know how much she had so she would just more. People, please think of your kids when you die. They will be burdened cleaning up your stuff. Help them. PLEASE.
It’s one place I’m okay having extra. Even though we live in a small apartment, we have a cat and a toddler and no washing machine. Things just have to wait until laundry day.
No washing stuff in the middle of the night if someone pukes everywhere. I would hate to run out of towels during that!
But then that’s something you do need in your life. You use the extra towels and your life would be worse without them and the independence from washing machines that they provide. Therefore it’s not necessarily un-minimalist to have extra towels in your case. To you, they’re not extra.
I have a washer but I'm busy during the week. I work full time and help care for my elderly father. I wait until I have enough to do a full load and then I wash them. To me having a few extras is a good thing.
@@lisa9867 me too
That’s why the question is “how many towels do YOU need?” The answer was 2 per person for her family. It may be 3 per person for your family. It’s not really about towels. It’s about asking yourself how many things do you really need, as in, you in particular.
Having 10 towels for a family of 5 may sound nice and all but I believe it's also based in a very self centered vision of the "self" and the "us". No wonder isolation,loneliness and depression are so abundant in developed western societies. In my household it's just me and my kid, but I have a big family living in other cities and countries in europe which comes to visit a few times a year and friends who also come visit and stay a few days with us. I'm happy to have extra towels and bed linen and other stuff to offer to my guests and to share with them. This makes me incredibly happy, being in the company of my beloved ones and not forcing them to bring their own towels or bed linen or whatever. So all in all I agree that the number of things is not the most important for being a minimalist, I believe it's rather your vision of the world and how you show what really matters to you that makes the difference. I love sharing meaningful moments with my friends and family at home instead of just meeting up for a coffee in a neutral place. We live in a 650sf apartment and we have a tiny guest room.
Really great talk Rose, funny and sensible. Thanks very much. David 😎 xxx
I need lots of towels the bigger the better during heavy rainstorms I get some flooding in the basement and also some leaking on the first floor ceiling above the sunroom windows. So until I can save up several thousand dollars to replace my roof or even part of the roof I'm going to keep my towels. Plus the basement leaks are coming in somewhere else. All my towels are old, even my shower towel is about 20 years. old
So true!! I don't think I'm going to live with just 2 towels, but I can (and will) get rid of a few extras!! And the sentiment applies to so many things in our houses - after all - we can only wear 1 shirt at a time (or maybe 2, if they're layered :-))
I had only two for a while and I had to constantly wash them. And then, you don't have a load of towels to wash so its very inefficient. If you have a bigger family, 2 per person is fine but if you have only 1 person, I think you need a few more.
For the last three years my husband and I have had two bath towels each plus one beach towel each, it has never been a problem and I don't own a dryer.
It really surprised me when she was shocked that you only needed two towels per person.
I own two towels and a hand towel, why would I need more????
very good and humorous!!! Great lesson
4. if you have bidet, you use 1 for intimate parts. 1 for face (this is handy for people with delicate or problematic skin), one for hands and one for the body
I use face washers after using my bidet. I got the idea to use face washers as hand towels from a 5 star hotel so when we have a party I put out washers for my guests. And I may transition to them when our hand towels need replacing.
Aaaahhhh loved this so much!!!
When my mum passed away we sold her house, I was living with her at that time to, and with it came a lot of stuff. We got rid of 80% of it and the rest is stored in boxes. That was 2 years ago and since that time me and my brother we never looked at those boxes. The only thing from the whole house that we regret getting rid of and that we would like to have are the LOTR extended version DVD boxes :')
Give people your time, not things.