Personality traits of people who practice voluntary simplicity?

[Ultralight]

I think you need a sample size greater than two. I also think you're making a mistake many people make in statistics. Association is not causation.

I am aware of all this. But thank you for pointing it out.

I am just musing and mulling over some ideas I have had, some observations.

[Tammy]

The answer is probably unique to each person - for me minimalism is attractive because:

It’s cheaper
It’s cleaner
It’s less work to clean
It’s less stress producing to look at
It’s easier on the earth

So in my world, your dog would be a deal breaker. Definite deal breaker because of asthma and allergies - it would kill me over time. Possible deal breaker because of clean and neat not being met - animals belong in the barn.

[JaneV2.0]

Yeah--not liking animals--in or out of the house--would be an absolute deal-breaker for me. It's one way I separate the sheep from the goats, so to speak. I couldn't care less if a potential mate is a minimalist (mine definitely was) or not, but I care about his capacity for compassion.

[Teacher Terry]

I have allergies and asthma and 3 dogs. They are not dirty. Dogs are pack animals and need to be in the house with their family unless of course they are strictly working dogs which is mean. Not valuing animals is a huge deal breaker for me.

[JaneV2.0]

I'm a laissez-faire housekeeper and firm believer in the hygiene hypothesis anyway, but if even if I were a germophobe, I'd still have companion animals.

The driving force behind Tiny Kittens, a feral TNRM support organization in BC, is a woman with allergies to cats. She just sucks it up and carries on, snuffling as she goes.

[Teacher Terry]

My pulmonary doctor said when the 80lb shedding machine dies do not replace. No problem as he was my son’s. One Maltese preferably but 2 max if he is too lonely. Dogs do not sleep in our bed.

[Teacher Terry]

However, cats send me to the ER.

[Zoe Girl]

How about mellow, live and let live, slower moving,

The comments you made about controlling don't resonate with me at all. I have been a voluntary simplicity person for as long as I can recall. However I don't truly care what anyone else does. Sometimes in another person's house that is very full and nice I get overwhelmed, other times I kinda like it (I really like full fridges, love to eat). I also don't stress about what people think of me or my space that much. Voluntary simplicity is partially because I don't want to take care of a lot of stuff, except yarn.

Maybe that is also a Colorado value. After moving from the mid-west I found it was refreshing that no one really cared that much what I did. You can wear cowgirl boots and jeans to a nice event, or dress up because you feel like it.

[iris lilies]

I was thinking about this at work just a little while ago, before I arrived home for lunch.

A coworker of mine lives very minimally. She does not have a TV, she has no clutter anywhere in her condo or her cube at work or her car. She is neat and organized. She lives as a minimalist, but does not claim the title.

She lives this way so she can take part in her hobbies -- rock climbing and skydiving. She saves money and is always ready to grab a rucksack and go to a cliff or drop zone.

I think that minimalists are drawn to certain hobbies and/or those engaged in certain hobbies tend to be minimalists.

Rock climber, traveling nomads, sky divers, trout bums, backpackers, and such -- these folks tend to live their daily lives minimally so they can maximize their hobby time.

But these people are not minimal when it comes to gear.