Thread: Minimalising the minimalist (the final cut)

I'm back in NZ until Saturday - add here that friends think me leaving on April Fool's Day is most appropriate.

This is the 'final push' and I'm returning with one up-to-30kg suitcase of the remnants of my early life here.


They flutter behind you your possible pasts
Some bright-eyed and crazy, some frightened and lost

2014 I returned after six years away and reviewed what I'd put in a storage lockup. Six years of monthly rental payments. Looked at it all and thought 'why?'.

Sold or gave away 3/4 of it; cut back to a smaller quantity of items I decided had some sentimental value, stored securely at a friend's house.

Now I've sold the Wellington house, cashed up and exit NZ with no need to return. Looked over what I'd kept and once again decided it's time to let go of the past. Donated 90% to a local charity shop.

This morning I've filled the suitcase, but now I'm thinking of a second purge. Some things have a memory attached, but these things fade over time. Culled a stack of photo albums down to about 150 photos.

My Thai lifestyle has always been quite minimalist, Ms P (mantra on keeping things: "for what") isn't one for hoarding anything that's not useful, clothes from her and the girls get passed on to people she knows through work, I recently saw a road worker wearing one of my old NZ polo shirts. One exception applies though - her office work clothes wardrobe is exempt, which results in the morning 'what shall i waer today' saga.

I've read of expats shipping containers here with their household furniture/possessions. What's the point.

Rate yourself: Minimalist or Hoarder

Minimalist.

Though I find it difficult to let go of my “stuff” it is folly to keep useless items for years. It just takes up space. And, why drag useless items to another continent?

Family photos. Such emotional attachment. Sit down and take a photo of the photo with your phone camera and let the paper stay with family.

I feel like I transitioned to a minimalist lifestyle with my recent move to Thailand but think it would be cheating to make that claim. Even though the move was with just one large and one small suitcase of clothes, and a few items of sentimental value, the fact is I basically just walked away from my condo with the possibility I’ll never see it or the possessions in it again.

We got rid of a ton of stuff before we left. Things of sentimental value were divvied up amongst several folks. But in the end I left one chest of drawers full of stuff I just wasn’t willing to trash and my wife left her double closet full of her clothes.

Originally Posted by prawnograph

I'm back in NZ until Saturday - add here that friends think me leaving on April Fool's Day is most appropriate.

This is the 'final push' and I'm returning with one up-to-30kg suitcase of the remnants of my early life here.


They flutter behind you your possible pasts
Some bright-eyed and crazy, some frightened and lost

2014 I returned after six years away and reviewed what I'd put in a storage lockup. Six years of monthly rental payments. Looked at it all and thought 'why?'.

Sold or gave away 3/4 of it; cut back to a smaller quantity of items I decided had some sentimental value, stored securely at a friend's house.

Now I've sold the Wellington house, cashed up and exit NZ with no need to return. Looked over what I'd kept and once again decided it's time to let go of the past. Donated 90% to a local charity shop.

This morning I've filled the suitcase, but now I'm thinking of a second purge. Some things have a memory attached, but these things fade over time. Culled a stack of photo albums down to about 150 photos.

My Thai lifestyle has always been quite minimalist, Ms P (mantra on keeping things: "for what") isn't one for hoarding anything that's not useful, clothes from her and the girls get passed on to people she knows through work, I recently saw a road worker wearing one of my old NZ polo shirts. One exception applies though - her office work clothes wardrobe is exempt, which results in the morning 'what shall i waer today' saga.

I've read of expats shipping containers here with their household furniture/possessions. What's the point.

Rate yourself: Minimalist or Hoarder

I'm definitely a minimalist. Done the same as you ,had a storage unit in Perth paid monthly for 3 or 4 years while I was in Lao . then I figured out fuck it I'm not likely to need all this shit. So sold some. gave away some . But the T 140 v Triumph bonnieville was stashed in there to and I had it over 15 years, hated to sell it but wasn't practical to keep it. Damn

I departed New Zealand accompanied by my baggage limits 30kg + 7kg carry-on.
All that's left there now is a bank account and my private superannuation for when I'm eligible to cash that in.

But - NZ had the last laugh; and possibly I tempted fate by booking to leave on April Fools' Day; booked Air NZ/Thai Air.

4am at Wellington airport for their 6.30am flight to Sydney (btw if there's a rating for 'worst international airport' here's my nomination) in the queue to check-in, and a text message from Air NZ to say my flight was cancelled.

Not postponed, cancelled. And a link to their website 'Flight disruption - Customer rights'. Air NZ staff disappeared, nothing to do but wait.

Around 8am another text message saying option of Qantas to Melbourne instead of Sydney at 4pm, connecting to Thai Airways 12.30am the next morning. At least this is progress, but with no secure luggage storage facility I couldn't go anywhere, having checked out of my accomm at 3.30am. 11.30am Qantas opened check-in i was able to send the suitcase on its way, walked to a suburban cafe about 30 minutes away just to calm down/get out of the airport.

Pleased to be flying, arrived at a very quiet Tullamarine/Melbourne, 6.5 hours there passed slowly but at least comfortable seating and warm (take note Wellington Airport, a ffffing chiller that place is), got my preferred rh window seat through to Suvarnabhumi. Ages since I'd flown with Thai, nice.

Suvarnabhumi early on a Sunday morning; landed earlier than planned 5.20am, through immigration and I was in a taxi to Ekkamai at 5.58am. Record time. No meter, 400 baht I didn't care, too weary to negotiate. Originally I was to arrive Saturday 4.20pm and had booked airport pickup and a hotel in Lat Krabang, cancelled without penalty.


20 seater bus at 7.15am - not a minivan, these ones have two seats rh side, singles on left, direct from Ekkamai with just two short stops no pickups, to Chanthaburi bus terminal around 11am and the family welcome home.

This Is Your Life
Remnants of NZ - 37kg

The Final Cut episode #4 or #5

Selling up in NZ - property gone; I listed mountain/hiking gear, bike and cycling gear on TradeMe (local version of eBay) and all sold within 3 days, low start prices and a 'make me an offer'. Winter (required all year round in Wellington) clothes split between Jack the mildly impaired gardener and a charity shop Opportunity for Animals I'll have no need for more formal attire and already have sets for any emergency dress-up funeral or wedding.

Very satisfying deleting work-related contacts, site bookmarks, my self-employment gmail account, notifying NZ accountant this is their last year of them completing my tax claims - NZ end of year 31 March, my departure 1 April.

Cancelling a gmail account was time-consuming as forgot how many links it had, auto log-ins etc, but all gone now.

Five years in this house - moved in on 18 April 2018 - not immediately needed but intend to repaint it. But not right now.

I was in a bookshop yesterday, B2S, daughter buying her Yr 13 textbooks, saw they had an HR section. Ha ha, it never really was 'work' was it?

I can't be a minimalist at the moment - maybe I will, later in life. I have lots of clothes!!! Mostly office wear but I have loads of casual clothes too, as well as those for hiking/ exercise. Yes, I go through that "what shall I wear today" phase. I don't repeat tops/ blouses in 2 weeks and for sure I have more than 10 tops. Sometimes I plan what I wear for the week (esp if they need ironing) but sometimes I don't follow it if I feel differently - i.e. I'll wear warm colors to feel happy if I'm feeling sh****. I've bought new ones when I gained weight previously but now that I've lost weight, I can again wear clothes from 10+ years ago- so even more choices of clothes! For leisure travel/ holidays, I can be a minimalist - just a 7 kg carryon suitcase or backpack.

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don't start me!
I had to count - Ms P has just 52 work tops/blouses, on Mondays all staff wear company polo shirts for whatever reason, I don't know if there's any rotation system for what she wears the rest of the week, but there's often a 'stare at the wardrobe' time each morning making and re-making that decision.

Some things are best not questioned.

^oh, for me the company polo shirts are not included in the count yet! We were given polo shirts for various events through the years and we can wear them (optional) during Fridays or more casual days. Including the polo shirts, I probably also have 50-plus tops for work! I probably had 30 usable ones at my heavier weight, but since I've unearthed my "skinnier" blouses, my usable tops (just for work) are probably 50+. I have maybe 10+ slacks & skirts, so I can wear 100+ different outfits! That's not counting yet my T-shirts and jeans. Que horror!

I've just realised that I can go for a whole month without repeating a blouse. I'll try to do that next month. Haha!