Veganism and Minimalism

Hog

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  1. Vegan newbie
At about the time I became vegan, I started to embrace minimalism. Nowadays, I feel much less of a need to spend money on much of anything. Are there other people who just go "I am not going to buy anything to prove a point." I am not sure what point I am proving by being so cheap. But, gosh it feels good to say, "I don't need or want _____."

Are there other vegans like me who became super cheap after they went vegan?

Please keep in mind that I am still very new to the vegan lifestyle.
 
We like to combine in elements of Mustachianism that is pretty minimalist. There's tons of benefits for everyone. Less consumption in the world creates less demand for raw materials, creates less pollution, etc. We're already doing it with our diet and some lifestyle choices, so why not take a step further? This lessened demand for materials amplifies the impact we have when it comes to natural resources and our last remaining wilds.
 
I would not call myself "cheap" because I'm a typical Millennial seeking experiences.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I am a lot like my grandparents. Or more severe.


1) I don't believe in owning a car unless it's hybrid/electric. I walk, bike, run, bus or take the train everywhere. I occasionally hitch rides with others but haven't owned a car since age 24.

2) I eat or drink with reusable items 97% of the time. Wish I could say 99 but I occasionally forget my Mason jar or wooden spoon.

3) I aquire a lot of items second hand. I have a magic bullet juicer in my closet just awaiten' to wash after this final paper week is over. Took it from the mailbox. My clothes are largely second hand besides underwear, tights, tee shirts and socks. I live in the Pacific Northwest. We need a lot of over clothes.

4) I try to use bags and boxes and containers, I try. I also recycle. Extensively. And compost.

5) Right now my toothbrush is sustainable bamboo and my toothpaste homemade.

6) We Don't Use Heat...unless it gets in the 30s. Before that we take personal responsibility with clothes and blankets. In California, even in NorCal, this is only moderately challenging.

7) We unplug everything not in use.

8) I sleep on the floor on my shikibuton mat. I also only believe in one screen. Two screens is greed. So no TV just computer or phone.

9) My grandparents only had one screen in the living room, grew their own vegetables, had one phone line and made or canned as many things as they could. I follow that lead, and eat leftovers.

10) I don't fly. I only take a train when very important. My goal is ultimately to use the least fossil fuels and animal ag as possible...while staying connected with the modern world.

I know I could do more. I know people who are zero waste. But they're usually making up for a family of children, or apologizing for some hipster ******** like flying a lot or having a big house. I only take what I need.


Are people more minimalist than me? Yes, there are WFPB Zero Waste people who follow all of my rules about showers every two days and hair washing once or twice a week, no shaving, and all listed prior. But they're usually very stable happy married family people (I'm not) and sober (I'm not).

There are better minimalists than me no doubt. But most average people think I belong in a monastery. I've had a roommate who kept their four month trash in a small pickle jar and was WFPB....but she sleeps on a bed and owns a truck AND owns expensive Lulu Lemon clothes. But I also had a roommate who ate fish and chickens who was so severe in fossil fuels use and is a Wildlife rehabilitation person.

Minimalist is weird. I shop at the co op, some people think that's excessive. I think having a car is excessive.
 
I made a foray into minimalism some months ago – which basically meant learning about it and changing some of my habits. From what I learned it’s highly relative to your individual lifestyle and as such is basically guided by the following principles:

Don’t purchase what you don’t use.

Don’t store what what you aren’t likely to use.

Discard items that fit the 2 above especially if they take up too much space/require some sort of
maintenance.

...and not necessarily about living as cheaply as one can.


Now I do many things that make my life cheaper such as:

  • Growing some of my own food/making most of my own dishes and sauces
  • Changing the oil and plugs on my car
  • Using plant products instead of store bought (for instance, I make my own shaving gel from flax)
  • Reducing waste by finding uses for things otherwise discarded (for instance – wood ash from fires for the garden, coffee grounds, vegetable scraps).

But those are individual choices related to my current lifestyle and don’t necessarily make me
a minimalist, as someone who does none of these things may nevertheless be practicing their
own version of minimalism that is correlated to their own lifestyle.
 
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Forest Nymph and Nekodaidan your efforts to embrace minimalism inspires me to search for more ways to cut back on my unnecessary expenses.

The silliest little things give me the greatest pleasure. For example, I love kite flying, watching trains, watching airplanes, and looking at the clouds. I also like the occasional beer. But, I can get a killer hangover from drinking just two beers. Thus, I do not drink alcohol very often.
 
At about the time I became vegan, I started to embrace minimalism. Nowadays, I feel much less of a need to spend money on much of anything. Are there other people who just go "I am not going to buy anything to prove a point." I am not sure what point I am proving by being so cheap. But, gosh it feels good to say, "I don't need or want _____."

Are there other vegans like me who became super cheap after they went vegan?

Please keep in mind that I am still very new to the vegan lifestyle.

I have certainly been a cheapscate and a minimalist, ever since childhood. I didn't need much, so I was content with what I had. I liked to wear the same outfit everyday, the minimalist would call that a "uniform", and I still do use the same clothes almost everyday. But to reduce the smell, I of course have multiples of the same shirt and pants. I also have other clothes that are similar, but not exactly the same.

But even though I was a minimalist, and I didn't have much earthly possessions when I moved out, I was apparently also a sort of hoarder, because I had a huge collection of paper. Just boxes full of blank paper. That was a weird discovery. Supposedly, I was worried that I would run out of drawing paper. A rule in minimalism is that what you value, you keep. To some it is books, to some drawing equipment. Some don't need furniture, others do...

As a child, I had very veganish thoughts, about how humans shouldn't kill other animals. Also, always got immensely upset when ever I did see a dead animal. But I wasn't a vegan yet. And now... I am a vegan.

So the answer to your question is no, I didn't became super cheap after veganism. The cheaponess and minimalism came first as a natural thing for me, because I need to keep things as simple as possible, in order to decrease stress...
veganism developed much later.

Borrowing, exchanging and giving forward, helps to protect nature from more harm. I think this aspect is important to most environmentalist, and thus also to vegans. Maybe this is why some vegans lean towards freeconomy and minimalism?

...I don't think that there is anything wrong with materialism, balance in everything makes more sense to me.
If I could find something otter-related: plushies, figurines or books about otters, I would probably fill my small 24,5 square meter apartment fairly quickly.

Actually, can you be a minimalist and a collector at the same time? I think yes, since the rule is: you can keep that which you value.
I don't value excessive clothing or a variety of clothing, so I have just a few that are similar. I don't value furniture, so I don't have much, just a coffee table and a bed.
I value drawing equipment, so I have all that I need. And in order to value those art supplies that I have, I must use those as well, instead of accumulating mindlessly and wasting money. As a child, when I collected paper, that wasn't being used, I basically just filled the empty space in my closet. Keeping my surroundings clean, simple and almost empty, having only what I need suits me.

I just watched 4 minutes into the video that @Lou sent and am unable to finish it. Was way too anxiety inducing experience with all those noises and flashing pictures..
I think we humans collect things to remind us that we are here.... or when we die and someone has to throw our things away, that we were here. Things are part of our identity. And mark our private territory. Thankfully, we don't mark our territory like otters (but then again it would be more eco-friendly).
And what is left when we die? Things. Huge amounts of things. Without meaning, purpose, or value, that someone has to get rid of and that probably ends up in a landfill.

When we have nothing, and we are alone without distractions, we have to face our mortality and try to come into terms with it. You either reach enlightenment or go crazy or both.
In minimalism we try to value people and life over things. It's passing, and over soon. Some people don't want to be reminded of inevitable change, so it's easier to just surround ourselves with stuff.

This YouTuber is precious.



 
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Although I am a minimalist, I decided I would make no compromises on what I want.

For example, instead of traveling the world on foot, I travel virtually on my laptop. Instead of buying model airplanes and drones, I purchase a 99 cent kite from the dollar store that can do all kinds of stunts. In fact, kites are even more exciting in my opinion.

I like to look at diesel trains rushing by, high powered jets take off, and fancy motorcycles roar off. All that stuff is free.

I also like to look at 5 million dollar watches and learn how they work. I feel like I own many of the watches. The only difference is that I do not need to worry about protecting them or purchasing insurance on them.

I like fancy, expensive, luxurious buildings. I recall being amazed as I walked through the Art Institute of Chicago. Everything about that place is luxurious and top tier. The 500-year-old priceless paintings are not bad either. The service staff (guards) there are attentive and friendly. I got the white-glove service all the way.
 
This YouTuber is very skilled and I really like her as a person. Her channel is about death, but now she also made very good video about minimalism.

 
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Hello Strange Otter

I may be a bit odd, but, I enjoyed that, thank you. Hmm, 'Swedish Death Cleaning'.

I could do with that, wouldn't want to horrify the relatives with all the crap carefully acquired items I have hoarded gained, when I fall off the perch... 😁
 
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Hello Strange Otter

I may be a bit odd, but, I enjoyed that, thank you. Hmm, 'Swedish Death Cleaning'.

I could do with that, wouldn't want to horrify the relatives with all the crap carefully acquired items I have hoarded gained, when I fall off the perch... 😁
The swedish death cleaning is a great idea. I'll probably do that as well, meaning that I have to go through my diaries and destroy everything that I don't want others to know about.
But I hope that you won't go too soon.
 
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The silliest little things give me the greatest pleasure. For example, I love kite flying, watching trains, watching airplanes, and looking at the clouds. I also like the occasional beer. But, I can get a killer hangover from drinking just two beers. Thus, I do not drink alcohol very often.

Hog, do you have photos of your kite flying?

I used to make my own kites when I was age 10-14. Kites are amazing - they're a 2,000+ year old flight technology, really.

Alexander Graham Bell - the inventor of the telephone - was involved in kite design (with the goal of inventing the first powered, piloted aircraft):

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.
 
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@ David3

Those are very cool pictures of kite flying.

"I used to make my own kites when I was age 10-14." - David3

I am impressed that you made kites at such a young age! I have made minor modifications to premade kites. But, I have never attempted to make my own kite. I feel intimidated by kite making instructions that talk about "balancing a kite." I have visions homemade kites spinning in rapid circles and crashing into a tree. My other concern is making something so heavy that I could never get it off the ground. I would love nothing more than to build my own delta kite with a huge wingspan of six feet or more.

I have watched videos of people in third world countries make their own kites with materials that probably costed less than a few cents. The kites were beautiful high performance kites. Those kites were the ultimate of minimalism.
 
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@ David3

Those are very cool pictures of kite flying.

"I used to make my own kites when I was age 10-14." - David3

I am impressed that you made kites at such a young age! I have made minor modifications to premade kites. But, I have never attempted to make my own kite. I feel intimidated by kite making instructions that talk about "balancing a kite." I have visions homemade kites spinning in rapid circles and crashing into a tree. My other concern is making something so heavy that I could never get it off the ground. I would love nothing more than to build my own delta kite with a huge wingspan of six feet or more.

I have watched videos of people in third world countries make their own kites with materials that probably costed less than a few cents. The kites were beautiful high performance kites. Those kites were the ultimate of minimalism.
Every summer I make a trip to Erie PA Presque Isle and my favorite beach is the kite beach
 
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I have watched videos of people in third world countries make their own kites with materials that probably costed less than a few cents. The kites were beautiful high performance kites. Those kites were the ultimate of minimalism.


Do you have a photo of one of your kites? Please post!
.
 
I keep an emergency kite in the trunk of my car. You never know when the wind will be good. Thus, I like to stay prepared. This kite was 99 cents.

The other kites are ones that I have owned in the past. I got the last three pictures off the internet.
Kite.jpg
hata.jpgwala.jpginto the breeze.jpg
 
I have considered myself a minimalist for a few years now. Staying indoors with the virus is making me realise I have a lot of stuff I barely use. I have far too many things like moisturisers and body butters etc... I'm trying to make my way through them while I'm indoors so much. I'm going to keep a more careful eye on what comes into my home after this is over.
 
When I have too much stuff, I make a stop at Goodwill. It is the ultimate form of recycling.

Example:

01. I donate clothing that my son outgrows to Goodwill.
02. This declutters my home.
03. Higher income people get a tax deduction for the donation.
04. The donations need to be prepared and distributed by workers.
05. The workers who prepare and distribute the clothing get work experience and earn a paycheck.
06. These workers pay taxes.
07. Customers come in to Goodwill to buy stuff at the fraction of the price of buying gently used instead of brand new.
08. The environment benefits from people recycling.