Extreme Minimalism for Gen Xers: Aging Gracefully with Less

[@MostlyMindful]

Thanks for watching! 👀 We'd love to hear your thoughts on extreme minimalism and how it's impacted your life. Share your stories and tips in the comments below.🌟

[@kfitz192]

Baby Boomer here! I'm so grateful I decided to ditch my former home and radically downsize! Cleaning is a breeze, there's less to repair and my monthly expenses have been reduced. The extra money is like a part-time job I don't have to go to work for. LOL It's really the best thing I've done for myself. No regrets! My mother thinks I'm insane but that's okay. Having less but living and enjoying life more is liberating. Some friends my age are struggling. They're still paying mortgages, making car payments and have credit card debt. They feel trapped and stressed out. I feel for them. I've been there. Stress is not good for your health. The more you reduce in all areas, the more you're able to free yourself from the clutches of stress. Here's to your health! Health is wealth!

[@MostlyMindful]

Health is wealth for sure! We absolutely love this: "The extra money is like a part-time job I don't have to go to work for." As for your Mom, she'll come around when she sees how stress-free and relaxed you are. And if she doesn't, no worries. We're all on our own paths. 😎

[@kfitz192]

@@MostlyMindful Yeah, mom is 89, she loves her stuff. Dad is 90, he gets rid of his things.

[@douglassmith215]

Do you have a family? I’d like to downsize but im outvoted!!

[@MostlyMindful]

@@douglassmith215 Thankfully, in our house of three (Sporty, Ang, and Miles), we're all on the same page. Growing up, my Mom liked her stuff, and my Dad tried to live with less, and it was a constant struggle. We don't have any advice for you, sorry. Perhaps, just focus on keeping your own stuff/areas how you want them, if that's possible? You could also "force" them to watch my TEDx talk (linked in the description). It's been known to motivate😁

[@user-je2lp2iz7e]

I just love you girls . I’m a baby boomer. And I’m down to just what I need . And I mean ONLY WHAT I NEED … 😀👍😉

[@ros8986]

congrats!

[@MostlyMindful]

We love you for being a part of this community! Also, well done on paring down to only what you need! That's amazing. 😃💢💯

[@Joyce_BellyButtonPortalPodcast]

Really enjoying the channel and the info. I'm Gen X and am in the midst of decluttering my home. For the most part I'm doing well getting rid of things, but do have a lot of "sentimental" items, that's my real challenge. I'm selling and donating, trying not to trash anything. Anyway thanks for your videos and encouragement!

[@ros8986]

BBPortal - Gayle Goddard professional organizer encourages her clients to keep a "representative sample" of sentimental items. But the big question for me is "how much is the volume of stuff interfering with my life"

[@MostlyMindful]

Yay, we're so chuffed to hear that you're enjoying content here! 😊 If you haven't already, make sure to check out our video on letting go of sentimental items: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGa0aZiYo6Zjes0

[@MostlyMindful]

@@ros8986 Hmmmm, now that's a super interesting question to ponder. Lately, we've been feeling like it's interfering a lot. Hence, our plan to go extremely minimal. 😁

[@ChevalierCreates]

Agreed. This is the awesomest community on YT 🎉🎉 My tip for book freaks like myself, is opting for digital books whenever possible and making physical copies a very deliberate, intentional choice. For example, while most of my library is digital (200+) I have a small repurposed shoe rack that I use for my special (to me)copies of specific books (10-12) These I reread often, especially when I am enjoying time offline. #MinimalismXer

[@MostlyMindful]

That's such a great tip! There are those books that you want to revisit time and again. We have one of those on Kindle and it's definitely harder to skip to a specific place that if it were a real book.

[@muttmania]

Just found your channel, I really love the content you two make! You both seem like lovely people. I'm Gen Z, I started implementing minimalism into my life after confronting how materialistic I was becoming. In my generation in particular, overconsumption is normalised, even encouraged. I've felt significantly calmer since donating most of my possessions and living on less. My stress levels have gone down, and I have more money to put towards my education. I'm hopeful that these are changes I'm making for life, I can't see myself ever wanting to go back.

[@MostlyMindful]

Wow, your comment really made our day. We're super excited to have someone younger join our community. It's fantastic that you're able to get on this path already. You're experiencing benefits now, but your future self will also benefit big time! Spending your money on experiences (travel, studying) is so much better than buying stuff. If only we'd realized this when we were younger. 🤦😅

[@rochelled7785]

Hi, I just subscribed and loving the content. Looking forward to more videos. Thanks to both of you.

[@MostlyMindful]

Yay! Thank you for subscribing. We're chuffed to hear you enjoy the videos..we'll do our best to keep putting out watchable vids. 🤩

[@traceyjane4288]

iam 56 i have been on my minimal journey for a few years now but i live with two other adults who dont share my views so if i was on my own i would be more extreme x

[@MostlyMindful]

Ha! Same age as me (Ang). 🥳 We realise how fortunate we are to be on the same page when it comes to lifestyle choices. It must be tricky to live with people who aren't on the same page. Hopefully they have many other redeeming qualities. 😬 Sorry for the delayed response btw. I've been relying on the emails notifications that KZbin sends and apparently they don't alert us to all comments. 🤦

[@jayathome2898]

I have a sincere question for you. Do you entertain people in your home? For example my 94 year old father comes for dinner once a week at least. Friends drop by for coffee or to chat. I love the simplicity of your lifestyle but I wouldn’t want my friends or family to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. Maybe you could do a video about being an extreme minimalist but having a welcoming space for guests that are not?

[@MostlyMindful]

We don't entertain at home. We find it easier to meet for coffee, a meal, a hike, etc. It works for us, but we get that it's not for everyone. I think we touched on entertaining in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooWykIGmrpmkY6M. 😀

[@Julie-nx9qy]

Hello Ang and Sporty Absolutely love your videos They are the highlight of my day 😂 I always look forward to the bloopers too..ha ha Keep up the great work Greetings and blessings From Jules in Australia 🇦🇺 ❤

[@MostlyMindful]

Hi Jules Down Under. Wow, what a great compliment, we're super chuffed to hear our videos are the highlight of your day! Thanks for letting us know. ❤️🌻😎 Sorry for the delayed response btw. I've been relying on the emails notifications that KZbin sends and apparently they don't alert us to all comments. 🤦

[@vesnakovacic8286]

Girls, you are getting better and better! Keep the great work!

[@MostlyMindful]

Thank you!! It means so much to receive these comments. Reviving this channel has been fun and immensely gratifying, but it's also a crazy amount of work with a pretty steep learning curve. Without this super engaged and supportive community, we'd probably have given up ages ago. ❤🧡💛💚

[@pamwilson7805]

Great video! Thank you.

[@MostlyMindful]

You're so welcome - thank you for stopping by! 😁

[@jed86515]

Brilliant video x

[@MostlyMindful]

Thank you! 😁💥❤

[@a.i.919]

I love you seeing working together on these videos!! Keep It Up with the same Joy and fun as it is now. Thanks!

[@MostlyMindful]

Yay, we're sooo happy to hear that! We definitely plan on keeping this going with all the happy vibes we can muster. ❤️😎 Sorry for the delayed response btw. I've been relying on the emails notifications that KZbin sends and apparently they don't alert us to all comments. 🤦

[@emmamertens2634]

Greetings again from Australia! Loved this video, so much so that Im thinking of downsizing my book colkection. I have so many books and most probably wont read them again so its time to say goodbye. Thinking of a few other areas that I can declutter. Very inspiring thankyou! Hope Miles is going well. You two are amazing.

[@MostlyMindful]

Aaaaah thank you for the kind words! ❤️🌻 Wrt your books, if you're not reading them then parting with them makes perfect sense. There are plenty of people who'd love to read them. Your local library would probably love them too.

[@emmamertens2634]

@MostlyMindful Absolutely. We have a book shed here and plenty of op shops that take books which is great. That way other people can get joy out of reading them.

[@MostlyMindful]

@@emmamertens2634 Brilliant! 👏

[@trekkie-cat]

Don't get rid of all sentimental items. Keep a few most precious.

[@MostlyMindful]

Yes, absolutely. If you have some things that mean a lot to you, then definitely hold onto them. We're not sentimental in the usual "stuff" approach. You can watch this video to see what we do instead 😍kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGa0aZiYo6Zjes0

[@ros8986]

"the things you own end up owning you" Fight Club movie as quoted in Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki.

[@MostlyMindful]

Yup, that is so true. They really do. What we've noticed lately is that the more you have, the harder it is to let go. Video on that topic coming soon. 😂

[@vicke200]

Another enjoyable video 😊 Curious to hear about your experiences with SELLING items as part of your decluttering journey, as that's usually difficult and time consuming. And storing salable items at home can prolong clutter. On the other hand, who doesn't want to make some money from junk?

[@kfitz192]

I hate selling things. I'd rather give it away if somebody wants it. But had the opportunity to make money with a huge moving sale. It was well worth the effort. But whatever goes into the sale does not go back into the house.

[@MostlyMindful]

Totally agree, it can be quite a schlep to sell things. We do sell some stuff, but not the bits and bobs. I actually just took pics of a bunch of things to advertise for free on our neighbour group. 😎 Sorry for the delayed response btw. I've been relying on the emails notifications that KZbin sends and apparently they don't alert us to all comments. 🤦

[@MostlyMindful]

Thanks, happy to hear you enjoyed the video! We do sell things like bicycles, furniture (when we had), etc. But often we just give things away to someone in need. Recently we donated a bed for example. It really all depends. 😎🌻

[@SargNickFury]

"Aging Gracefully" gross...are you sure you're not Boomers?

[@MostlyMindful]

We're very early Gen Xers, so close to the Boomer gen. Not sure why you think aging gracefully is gross, though? Can you explain? 😃 What generation are you btw?