this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2025
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[โ€“] rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world 88 points 1 day ago (7 children)

I mean, to be fair, I get that this is a joke... But I look at all the shit in my flat I think 90% of this is clutter. I'm still trying to get rid of my sofa, but it's hard to do for cheap when I don't drive.

I've seen so many flats full of so many little tchotchkes and doodads and superfluous whatevers, and it sort of makes me feel that some people decorate their homes for other people - which is absolutely fine - whereas some people decorate their homes for themselves - which is also fine.

Nothing wrong with a simple life. Maybe get a stand for the fleshlight though, I feel like it would pick up dirt and dust and hair from the carpet like that. ๐Ÿซก

[โ€“] tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 41 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Man, learning my house should be for me is something I wish I'd known sooner.

For years I had a spare bedroom that was barely used, maybe slept in 15 nights a year.

I had it only because I felt like that's the normal thing to do if you have a space for a spare room. That's what people expect of you.

Meanwhile I'm doing soldering projects on my kitchen table as the only suitable surface in the house, shoving resistors and electronic components out of the way every evening so I can make space to eat.

And then I finally realised, I need to prioritise my utility, not that of other people. I have a massive couch - when a friend wants to stay over they can sleep on there, and be perfectly comfortable!

So I donated the spare bed to charity, turned the room into a space for projects with a huge desk, and I'm so much happier for it.

[โ€“] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You could always set up the spare room as a hobby space that also has a bed. That's what I did with my spare room.

Alternatively to that, you could also just have a cot folded and tucked away

[โ€“] tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I thought long and hard about the best approach, but that just wasn't feasible.

My couch may be big, but the house in general is very small, and is 120 years old so it comes with architectural oddities and features that must be worked around.

The room in question has a chimney breast against one long wall, at one side of which is a built-in wardrobe which also houses my central heating boiler and plumbing, and at the other side of which are integrated shelves and storage.

Of the other three walls, the room is quite narrow, so the "short ends" (one of which has the window anyway) are too short to do anything with, leaving only one wall left to go at - which also has the door on it, further cutting down on usable space.

So it was really a choice - a bed, or a desk.

My couch genuinely is comfy to sleep on though. You can lie totally flat on it even if you're six-foot-some :)

if you can manage it, murphy beds are great for hobby rooms

[โ€“] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

It is difficult to escape one's social programming.

[โ€“] Zink@programming.dev 2 points 1 day ago

Hell yes, friend. And off you aren't already, apply that to everything and everyone in your life!

After living in a mostly untouched house for over a decade, now in the past few years I've been going nuts making it suit the personalities and habits of my family.

In my case, I think the old bullshit attitude was driven both by our hyper capitalist greedy individualistic conservative culture (why yes I'm in the USA) and wholesome traditional catholic guilt and self-denial.

How truly fucked it is that we live in a world where people will limit their life experiences in their own home for decades, just so that they can believe that after they die their home sells for 10% more.

Meanwhile I'm over here having my back yard turned into an active construction site all year, but that hasn't hurt the enjoyment of my family or my numerous pets, and the next decade in that yard is going to be awesome.

[โ€“] ameancow@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Minimalism isn't the same as laziness or unseriousness, which is what the comic is making fun of, the way a lot of guys especially are so unable to take anything seriously that they don't know how to even go into a target and pick out a nightstand and a lamp.

You can get by with very few possessions, and should, but you still need to take enough pride in your living space that you are doing it with intentionality and focus on the essentials, which again, isn't the same as "I can make do."

[โ€“] rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe this is a language barrier, I genuinely don't understand what is "unserious" about not having a bedside table/lamp. I haven't had nor have I needed or missed a bedside table/lamp in four years. I don't think that either of those are essentials, honestly! I can take pride in my living space without filling it with things I don't want, need, or use.

[โ€“] ameancow@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

So there is a prevalent attitude in guys growing up and around friend groups where displays of genuine feeling are often made fun of and sincerity is considered "cringe" and this attitude often stays with guys through adulthood. This leads to avoidance of "domestic" interests, from interpersonal issues with displaying affection to people they care about, to becoming entire personas of "cool" men who don't say much or seem detached. (But in reality just come off as aloof and with hangups.)

This is often reflected in how they live. Again, "minimalism" is not the same as just not giving a fuck. It takes giving a fuck to create a minimalism environment that is also pleasing to the eye. As a species, we do often feel happier living in a space we have personalized with our own expression of comfort and style, whatever that may be, and that takes some level of effort.

If you're fine with sitting on a lawn-chair and having a cardboard box for a nightstand, that's FINE. You can do that, you can be whatever you want. But you also have to understand that if you plan on sharing that space with anyone, ever, they WILL make judgements on you based on this aesthetic, whether you deliberately chose it or not.

[โ€“] rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh I see, so it's "unserious" because they are uncomfortable being serious about what they want?

[โ€“] ameancow@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Sure, that's accurate, it takes some level of sincerity (sincerity = seriousness) to have preferences like what kind of coffee table you want and having say, the desire to keep said table clean, or getting curtains for your window. It's domestic habits that many boys are never taught to care about, and there is an idea that it's "not masculine" to care about your furniture or decor so they feel awkward or silly going through the deliberate process of picking out things like that and then caring for those things.

[โ€“] rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ah, I think that's where I was getting confused - "serious" to me isn't quite the same as "sincere", so I understood "unserious" to mean like, "silly" but in a goofy kinda way. I get what you're saying now!

[โ€“] ameancow@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I appreciate you asking questions! A lot of people just react to things without asking for clarification.

[โ€“] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Actually, a little hair on the fleshlight makes it more realistic, fyi.

[โ€“] Mpatch@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

If your getting rid of sofa. Just break it up with a hammer and saw into small pieces and send it out a bit at a time with the regular trash.

why destroy a functional sofa??

[โ€“] BaroqueInMind@piefed.social 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah, just like how Jeffrey Dahmer did it.

[โ€“] snooggums@piefed.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I wouldn't recommend eating the couch tho.

JD Vance recommends impregnating one instead.

[โ€“] LittleBorat3@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

I am at a point where I say don't gift me anything anymore. I don't want to buy anything either.

I just want to throw half the crap in the cellar. Maybe I will.

[โ€“] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

you got an active freecycle board in your location? or a thrift store you can call and ask them if they'd pick up a couch because you are not a bicycle?

[โ€“] rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I've put it up on nextdoor! But no takers. The charity places I've tried won't take it, it's missing a fire safety label and it's upholstered ๐Ÿ˜ฌ

[โ€“] Sabata11792@ani.social 5 points 1 day ago

My decorations are too embarrassing to be seen by others. The rest is junk.