Minimalist
Crafties
Every day I read a selection of frugality based Personal Finance blogs, besides the general topics of getting out of debt, building wealth and preparing for a financially sounder future, they usually write about their leisure pursuits and philosophies. The authors seem to fall into two separate philosophical camps the Minimalists and the Crafties.
The Minimalists are all for de-cluttering their homes and their lives. They are very Zen. I imagine their homes to be very white and hyper tidy. In the Minimalist camp there are several great blogs/websites that will help you figure out how to get rid of your clutter, such as Unclutterer. Zen Habits can guide you through how to work more efficiently with less stuff. And for you Minimalists in training, there is Becoming Minimalist for all your minimalism questions.
The Crafties are a slightly different group in my eyes. They are into using their spare time to put their talents to good use, by making jewellery, vintage hunting, knitting and sewing then selling their wares on Etsy and the like. I think of their homes as been warm and comfy, possibly with pets running around. Being a Crafty person is now on trend and fits well into the Personal Finance realm because you can make money from your skills. Sian at Walletpop UK has just written a great series of posts about opening her Etsy shop. There are several other great crafty, DIY websites such as Craftster, Make it and Mend it and if you are interested in learning to be a Crafty then try Create Boutique.
My big question is can a Crafty ever be Minimalist and vice versa? I would love to live a life of a Minimalist but I am afraid that I have the soul of a Crafty. I have an Etsy store, where I sell my handmade crystal earrings, vintage buttons and any other vintage stuff that comes my way. The problem is deep inside I would like to be a Minimalist but it is nearly impossible with all the paraphernalia I have.
Which side of the fence are you sitting on? Do you like all your surfaces clean with no clutter or are you someone that always has a project on the go?
If you’re the crafty sort (or even if you’re not), you definitely have to come visit us at The Make Lounge in London!
BTW, I’m an ex NYCer myself! 🙂
I would love to come to the Make Lounge! I wrote about you guys a while ago in Make Do and Mend.
Great question! I don’t know if I should categorize myself as minimalist or crafty. Is there a happy medium? I dislike clutter and so I have bins and bins of ribbons, embellishments, etc. I picked all my supplies at a great price and sell my creations and excess supplies on Etsy as well. It don’t expect to make a living off Etsy but it’s a great way to generate a little money to pay for my hobbies.
Great post! Very thought provoking actually. I’ve just written a post about why so many of us are hooked on decluttering at the moment. I’m not particularly crafty but I’m definitely not a zen minimalist either! For me, the difference is between cosy clutter (picture frames, pretty bowls, stacks of novels) and clutter that must go (old boxes, weird bits of plastic and stuff I don’t actually like).
Hello and thanks for commenting. I am trying to be a happy medium but sometimes my projects take over and the clutter builds up.
It is great to hear from another Etsy person. I hope you are taking your precious time into consideration when doing you pricing. I have found so many Etsy sellers only take the cost of their supplies into consideration when pricing their items. Our time and talent is very valuable and we should charge accordingly.
Thanks for commenting! Do you think by all this decluttering we are looking for a simpler life? Or I do think many of the decluttering clan are looking to sell their stuff to make a bit of money just like all the Etsy sellers?
I am now finding myself, very oddly, caught between the two. I am probably minimal by nature, as hate living in clutter and don’t possess or like a lot of stuff. However, I am also a romantic, love cottages and was bought up in countryside, my ideal would be a clean, but softly romantic cottage – which by definition is simple. I teach textiles to degree level, was taught at art school that nostaglia is backward looking and cute is sickly sweet manufactured sentiment, not real or taking us anywhere. Most of my students have come from an amateur background and want a pretty look to their work (not all though, some are violently modern). I find myself now collecting vintage stuff, and thinking about ways to rework it to look modern – the positive is, it is recycling too.
Hello and thanks for commenting. I love your idea of recycling vintage stuff and making it look modern. I am working to get to grips with my abundance of stuff and everytime I get rid of something I feel good about it. My new thing is to get rid of the novels I will not reread so I can have more space for my PF, craft and fashion books.
I’m both. I like my home and my art minimalist. Simple, clean modern lines.
Then I’m crafty though so I’m always trying to hide all my materials out of sight. All my secret stashes of metal, beads, wrapping paper, ribbon and vintage treasures need to get hidden in minimal looking storage.
I think I sell my jewelry just so I can have an outlet for that crafty side.
Hi Valerie, I think I am of similar mind set to you, I like my flat to look tidy but I also like to have my craft/eBay things. Thanks for commenting!