Do I really need it?! - About minimalism and possessions

00:00:00: Music.

00:00:06: Hello and welcome to the children and books podcast.

00:00:09: And it's the first it's the first episode we are recording in 2021 and so we can say happy new year to all listeners from now and I'm very mad

00:00:20: I mean 20-22 yeah and I'm happy that Rachel is doing now with me today hello from.

00:00:29: La lubina nice topic today we like to talk about with you because we all have experience with it

00:00:40: are good or not so good we like to talk about minimalism and stuff how much or how many do we really need.

00:00:49: Great topic.

00:00:52: Especially you no specially at the moment when we are being more kind of thoughtful about you know.

00:01:00: The kind of impact that we make on the planet yeah you know and how we want to live our lives.

00:01:09: A n tin the home office we are all the time surround it with our stuff

00:01:16: everyday every minutes I know and we need more stuff as well don't worry we'll always find out that you know

00:01:27: you know for this electronic thing to work it works better if you have this other little thing that you add onto it as well yes.

00:01:38: I guess also that buying things you know.

00:01:44: Consuming things and consumables are so much readily available to us because they're at the tips of our fingers now

00:01:52: yes line and look at something and say all I love that and Wrekin and we can hide on the last place at favourites somewhere on an island

00:02:04: weekend by the things and they will come to us

00:02:14: don't we need to control ourselves because there are no borders or no Limits anymore to buy things.

00:02:22: You have the track my question what was your journey north of you from being more thoughtful about what you consume would you buy and what you need home.

00:02:36: I wasn't deteriorate with your family was so children time and all that.

00:02:41: Well interestingly when I was a child we didn't have a lot of money.

00:02:49: And so we used to reuse things a lot and so and I was the youngest so I would always.

00:02:57: The hand-me-down clothes and yeah because I had three brothers I had a lot of boys clothes so I was.

00:03:05: It wasn't for my long hair when I was a child I quite often get mistaken for a boy but my mum was very good at sewing.

00:03:14: And so she would make me clothes as well and yeah and I really like that because they were always a bit kind of.

00:03:25: Yeah the sort of a bit flamboyant a bit sort of sort of out there and a little bit different.

00:03:36: Which was a good and it was a good thing most of the time but sometimes you know other children at school could be cruel about there being different and that I had children of my own.

00:03:49: I I really wanted to give them the things that I couldn't have when I was a child.

00:03:57: And then and so as a result I think they had much more than I did and you know and I wouldn't I've never think twice about buying and books.

00:04:10: Yeah and.

00:04:13: Not necessarily new books but you know we would we would look at kind of second-hand books but would go to the library as well and borrow books no.

00:04:22: In a bit but we do have an awful lot of books you know I've got a I've got a big bookshelf they're full of books you know I living room has a whole wall which has books on it.

00:04:35: Because Tom is a record dealer we have.

00:04:41: Thousands of vinyl records I've made him take out of the house now so they're all in his end of outdoor office.

00:04:56: It was Pony truck do you use the furniture from your interest us or yes takes in you every 10 years or something

00:05:07: I know a lot of you know a lot of our furniture is

00:05:12: is old that we've that I've inherited so either it's come from you know from my side of the family or Tom side of the family and I really love those pieces of furniture

00:05:24: you know we have a big chest of drawers in our bedroom which was belong to Tom's granny and it's big and

00:05:33: shark an it's you know it's it's not it's not what you'd call minimalist furniture but I love you I know that it's got a history of know and the people use it.

00:05:46: You know I've known the people who've use that and you know and so

00:05:50: sometimes you know I think of I think of granny eyes are as I open the drawer in the morning to get my knickers out and it is it just the other side off the minimalism we need that we used the same switch are there

00:06:07: already so don't yeah this is a side of the minimalism I sing.

00:06:13: Yeah I think that's a really important part of it and so I like to I was just saying to blank I like to upcycle things.

00:06:22: And say to you know find something that perhaps no no longer has a use so for instance I made a.

00:06:32: Had an old picture frame which was really beautiful but didn't have a picture the right size to fit in it

00:06:40: so I made it into a kind of storage thing for my.

00:06:49: Earrings on my necklaces and Maya and my bangles and it's on so it's out of the way because it hangs on the wall.

00:06:57: And you know it actually you know it's repurposed very pleased with that.

00:07:04: That was just one thing that I did recently but yeah yeah it's.

00:07:13: I don't like the idea of throwing things away.

00:07:17: They aren't going to be reused so I'm you know so when I get rid of stuff I like to take it to a place that will be able to reuse it or a charity shop that will.

00:07:30: It is good when we something don't like anymore we put it down at the front door of this big house will be living in

00:07:39: anybody who comes the straight to wok a can take it and takes.

00:07:45: Yeah so the things are going again to let things go when you have got this circle yes absolutely we don't do that here.

00:07:59: But we did we did do that when we lived in the city

00:08:02: you know it would it works in a city Village when you're living in Ireland and put it outside.

00:08:11: But you can wait a long time takes you find pieces of.

00:08:20: Scattered.

00:08:24: What we do here we have a community Facebook page and so in something.

00:08:30: You no longer need you can put it on there if you want something and you haven't got it so me no say you no like at Christmas time there was somebody said anyone got a high chair for a child.

00:08:45: High chair upstairs in the Attic so it was like yeah let's get rid of the high chair

00:08:53: branko I what's about minimalism I really enjoy Blanco your flat because you have got the room as a room you don't fill it so much.

00:09:03: That's quite interesting because my childhood we had like a lot of toys in a lot of things and so on but now as I am moved out I decided to not have too many things anymore

00:09:16: can you just buy

00:09:18: the furniture and accessory I really want to use an hour's by the really good things and I think it's just such a free.

00:09:29: Cream experience to not have that many things and also in my in my living room for example I only have the sofa and carpet a.

00:09:40: TV my

00:09:42: desk 44 Wilkins awesome I working room and a big and that's it and it's so nice cos it's also the flights on the south so I always have some

00:09:56: and the sun comes into through my windows and everything is like dropping it's just it's just a really nice feeling and kind of foods like 3 and is staying in Germany that's like

00:10:06: I can come for free stat which is kind of like if you own something you do have to care about it you have to.

00:10:14: Think about it and if you don't have too many things in your and you don't have to think about everything.

00:10:21: Yeah every little thing you need to care about yes I love that philosophy of yours branko because

00:10:31: it's it's about investing in something that of quality.

00:10:38: Assume it's not going to break in a couple of years you're not going to have to replace it it's their fault for a length of time but I guess

00:10:48: in order to do that you've got to be really certain when you decide to make that investment initially is that that is the thing that you want that

00:10:59: but I think that's great you know if you buy quality then you'll know it lasts longer and you know there's no need to replace it.

00:11:08: Also interesting fact if you I mean it's logical if you buy things that are

00:11:18: more expensive you value the more so you UK more about

00:11:23: interesting I was born in the gdr where you couldn't buy things we had the garden to have some vegetable sore

00:11:32: we had small shop to buy butter and milk but it was very complicated to buy clothes or to buy.

00:11:41: Or nice clothes which you like or furniture was complicated to when I was

00:11:48: and then when I was 14 it's changed then we have got the ceremony the big Germany and the capitalism in I think about 20 I brought some things

00:12:00: used now I like more than since I don't like so much old furniture from the past but.

00:12:08: I think now was in the 40s I go back to this feeling it is necessary to value things and two

00:12:16: use them so long as it is possible so if they have got something it's a little bit broken or you have got not so nice little little it doesn't matter

00:12:30: it is ok because we get older and we have got some doesn't some methods to the time.

00:12:38: Yeah it was interesting I mean 4 years ago I think.

00:12:43: You you wanted to buy a new kitchen cos you thought like the old one isn't that good in song that was kind of excited to to see the new kitchen and everything but the plan.

00:12:55: You had the store don't need a new kitchen the kitchen we have this is great and we don't have to consume that much it's not necessary to have another kid

00:13:06: and this was like a remark at the moment from you I'm thinking of the couple times.

00:13:12: And it's interesting that you don't have to always get something new in consume that much but it's also just have them

00:13:21: what's there and maybe maybe upcycled wood Rachel said or tomorrow repair something and don't need.

00:13:29: To get anything new every 2-years or 3 years.

00:13:35: Yeah I think this is a great a great point and I think we could talk now 4 hours because we have got so much experience with this topic.

00:13:47: I think I could know it was really interesting to talk and hole in our about this then too yeah

00:13:56: the experiences wizard that think maybe we can talk once again about it shall I give the last to you yes I would like to talk 4 hours on this as well because you know the other part of it which.

00:14:11: Speak up a little bit before we started recording was about collecting things as well as a topic for the next podcast all our listeners have a look at your

00:14:27: flight of a lift what do you have how much things do you have and what do you do with them.

00:14:35: Do love them and so yeah thank you thank you Rachel thank you Branco to be so open.

00:14:42: Interior time.

00:14:46: Music.