gerv 

That's another side effect of e-readers. They will spell the end of remainders.

Artkansas 

I agree with you completely. My local library is about a quarter of a mile away, and really is one of the nicest ones in the state. Its architecture is unashamedly ripped off from Frank Lloyd Wright and is a delightful place on its own. I typically have about 30 books and DVDs checked out to keep me company at home. When I read of an interesting book on the Internet, I immediately check the library's website and if they have it, I reserve it, which ensures I'll get it from whereever in the system it is, but it also saves me hunting through the stacks, all I have to do is to find my name in the reserved stack.

Roody

Maybe not:

https://www.bookbub.com/home/

Ekdog

Indeed. Lots of free stuff out there, including all of these classics: https://www.bartleby.com/

Ekdog

After nearly a quarter century living abroad, one of the few things I truly miss about the United States is its wonderful public library system. (How long before the "free market" religion has them shut down as "socialist"?) The university libraries are another national treasure. I spent many a pleasant hour in this gem when I still lived in my hometown of San Diego.

Neil_B

We are so fortunate we had the government to provide libraries and didn't have to rely on people like, say, Andrew Carnegie, to give them to us.

Roody

I think Carnegie gave the buildings, but it's still up to governments to pay the expenses of running them. My library has millage elections every few years to ask voters for money. They also ask for donations and have fundraising activities like a used book store.

Artkansas 

My grandmother was raised in Japan. The guest bed in her apartment was a 3 section futon. I've still got it. Though I admit, I sleep on an inflatable bed these days. I never understood where those lumpy things with the buttons came from or why they were called futons.

Newspaperguy

As I continue to read the thoughts and suggestions about simple living, I wonder if the money saved is being set aside for a different purpose. Do you have luxuries or small indulgences in your life? Do you donate to charities or causes? Are you saving for the future? It is also possible to use a lower cost of living to be able to afford to work less, thus buying extra personal time.

plustax

None of the above! I make a little over half a grand a month. I'm working on getting a better job in my field though.

Smallwheels

As I get rid of stuff I have no plans to replace it. I don't want to own a house. Right now I don't earn much money. All of it goes to survival and paying off a medical bill. Even when I'm debt free again I won't live with more luxuries. I think I've had my fill of things. There isn't much that I really want these days. More time off and more travel appeal to me. Until I become self employed with a viable portable business I'll just be a worker bee for some corporation.

Boxer

I too find this thread inspiring.

I'm a 23 y/o male and moved out of my parents house 15 months ago after graduating and getting a job in another state. I got an apartment and filled it things because that's what you're supposed to do, right? Well, after a few months of living on my own with a place full of stuff, I walked into my apartment, looked around and felt completely displaced as if I was living in a stranger's home. I saw myself clearly for the first time in that moment. I had been lying to myself my whole life. All of these things were just for show. I only enjoyed them so long as they made me look superior to anyone at all. But the more I had, the more scared I became.

I'm not sure what triggered the realization I had, but clarity to see yourself rightly is nothing more than the grace of God.

And so I gave away and sold most of what I owned.

I now ride a Long Haul Trucker to get around, and sleep on the floor, and eat simple meals, and can fit all of what little I have left into the back of my Honda Fit.

I used to think I was enjoying life before minimalism, but it turns out real joy and happiness comes from thankfulness and understanding that life and all the good things in it are gifts.

If you learn to deny yourself you'll become free.

Roody

Welcome. And thank you for sharing your interesting story.

Zedoo

When I was sick yesterday I thought of checking out, but my life is not ready to end yet. Leaving a mess of stuff for someone else to clean up is not acceptable to me. When I can end it without hours or days of labor to prepare, that is simple enough.

Zedoo

I was overthinking the problem. That's why people write wills.

Smallwheels

The time of one's death is predetermined at the time of one's birth. Nobody gets to go home early.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ2Wsaw4AEI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EZmDBWhouI

I suppose it would be very polite of us to get rid of as much of our stuff and handle our financial affairs before checking out. Unless you get rid of all of your stuff right now, you won't be able to get rid of it if you get squashed by a car. You won't see it coming.

Simple living in a way is a gift to those who survive us. In addition to being less of a burden on the environment our lifestyle would be less of a burden on our families. Chalk up another benefit to simple living.

This week I'm going through as much of my stuff as possible and preparing for a giveaway. I've realized that I've got things that just aren't worth putting in the effort to sell. Just because I'll be giving them away in a garage sale doesn't mean that people will take them. Should I even bother trying to donate things that aren't taken in this giveaway or should I just put them in the trash?

Newspaperguy

Yesterday, I opened a tax-free savings account. This is something which can be set up at any bank or financial institution in Canada. One can contribute up to $5,500 a year to this account and one can have term deposits within it if desired. As with other money-saving measures, I plan to put money into this account and then leave it there. If I need to withdraw at a later date, the tax-free savings account offers considerably more flexibility than a Registered Retirement Savings Plan.

Jared.

Is it directly taken from your check? I've come to learn that banking is definitely not as "simple" in Canada as it is in the US. Moving back there this week, and I have to sort that stuff out for myself.

wolfchild

I have both TSFA's and RRSP's. I also opened a mutual fund account which keeps going up/down, up/down depending on how the stock markets are doing... I really like TSFA's , am glad our banks started it few years ago.

Newspaperguy

I have an automatic transfer schedule for my RRSP contributions and one other regularly scheduled transaction. This doesn't come off my cheque directly, but once the money is in my account, it is transferred automatically, I could set it up to do this for my tax-free account as well if I chose to do so. It would take me a couple of minutes online.

Smallwheels

On the first of June I'll be living in a new place. One of my coworkers will be renting a room in his house to me. This will drop my monthly expenses by a lot of money. It also means I'll be sharing things I haven't shared in a long time. I'll also have to shop more often because I can't fill the freezer with my food. The amount of money I would have been sending to pay for my apartment, the energy costs, and the internet/phone will go to paying my one medical debt. After that is paid I'll be free.

I'm being laid off from my bus driving job in the second week of June. I intend to spend the summer selling all of the things I couldn't sell or give away before making the move. Those items will be put into a storage facility. I hope that by the end of August everything will be gone. I've got several ads planned for the internet and newspaper. I will have one "Everything Is Free" garage sale. I recognize that many of the items I own that have very little value would probably take a long time to sell with ads. I don't want to spend weeks on ebay trying to get $2-$5 for these items individually. Thus I would rather be free of them quickly and give them away. I only hope enough people want them to actually take them.

I'll be running a Craigslist ad with a similar theme. Only with this ad I'll let people come by when I'm home to just look over everything and take whatever they want. This way they won't be restricted to the one weekend when everything will be listed. My strategy for the Craigslist ads is to withhold a few good artistic things back. Then when each person comes to see everything there will be at least one pretty item for them to take. Sure there is no guarantee that it will be picked up but at least they'll be able to say there were worthy items available. That might entice their friends to visit.

In the next couple of weeks I must sort all of my possessions into groups; keep, sell, and give away. I wonder just how many boxes of items I'll end up keeping. The room I'm renting has furniture. It could use a better chair. I'll miss my bed, though the new one might be more comfortable. I haven't tried it yet.

This will be a big change but it is the direction I want to go. By the end of the summer I will have achieved my goal of owning no more than would fit into a small moving van. The next goal will be to find a way to live with no more things than will fit into a small car. I will never get down to just owning what will fit into a couple of suitcases or a single back pack. I'm not trying to be an ascetic.

On the first post of this thread iBarna wrote, "My cookware consists of a tried and true cast iron pan, a medium sized pot, one excellent chef's knife and a cutting board." I'll need a few more kitchen items but not many. Without needing a full complement of kitchen items I'll save a huge amount of space. With a couple of special purpose blenders added to this list (Vitamix & stick) I think I will do fine.

I-Like-To-Bike

Wouldn't it be a lot faster and simpler to just take anything that is not broken to Goodwill, Salvation Army or some other thrift shop and give it away all at once?

Stuff that the Goodwill doesn't want? Throw it in a dumpster and be done with your excess baggage already. Seems like you've been getting rid of stuff for a long, long time.

Artkansas 

I'm not so sure you were overthinking it. Seems to me that if you are going to choose how you go out, that you ought to take care of as many details as you can as a courtesy to others. You need a will of course, but box up things for easy distribution, give your landlord notice and clean the place, give away things before-hand so that they are not part of the estate, choose a method that's not going to cause a big mess that has to be cleaned up. Just imagine the work someone else may have to do to settle things, and relieve them of that burden. And the work preparing for the event, forces you to take time in making such an important decision. Doing it rashly and in haste is wrong.

Here's an hour long video by Discworld author Terry Pratchett, exploring the topic. He got involved with it when he was diagnosed with Alzheimers.

Smallwheels

If I owned a truck or car the answer would be maybe. It would depend on the amount of items. One local thrift shop charges a fee to come and take donations. Really!

I-Like-To-Bike

If you have a DL, I believe a Uhaul van can be rented for $20 for an hour or two, might be cheaper than spending months of your time agonizing over getting rid of this stuff.

Perhaps a friend with a car or pickup would help you out for a six pack or some other small gift. Maybe for first choice on all the stuff.