The fashion editor and stylist Carine Roitfeld, Virgo Of Fashion, and avid minimalist talks about her apartment to NY Mag.
On her home: “If I had more time, [my apartment] would be cleaner, fewer books on the table. For me, it’s a bit messy. People say, ‘Are you just coming to this apartment?’ No, I’ve been living here for fifteen years! One time, a burglar came to my apartment, so we called the police. My son was here, so I think they left before they tried to steal something. So the police come to the apartment, and they say, ‘Oh my god, did they steal everything?’ I was like, ‘No, it was like that!'”
This happened to me! I am not a Solar Virgo, but Mars in Virgo is minimalist to the max. I got burgled a few years ago; three police people obligingly turned up & stood there shaking their heads, saying stuff like, “Wow, they really cleaned you out” and “ This is really unusual, they’ve taken everything.” I had to admit that “sparse” was the standard presentation and that the thieves only took an iPod & a laptop. Hands up if you can relate?
Beyond Minimalism – The “Just Burgled” Look
Even when not recently burgled, I am often asked if i am “waiting for some more stuff to arrive” or if I have things in storage.
And then I got out-minimalized last week when talking to a Virgo Rising Libra Yoga-Diva – she had to move house, and I expressed empathy at the task ahead of her. She tossed her patchouli-scented mane and said airily, “it will take me 45 minutes, tops. If I can’t ever pack in under that time, I start lightening the load.”
The trick? One knife/fork/spoon/bowl/plate per person, a wok, and some big wooden things to toss food with one big bowl. Voila – the kitchen. So I totally aspire to this dimension of minimalism; major respect.
Where are you at with it? Are you an avid minimalist? And if so, what is your astrological signature?
UPDATE: There is no public birthtime for Carine Roitfeld which is a pity as her look is so distinctive, I’d love to know her rising sign. However, she has Mars exactly conjunct her North Node in Capricorn which speaks to her self-determination, robust, almost sensual ambition and self-hewn aura.
Also – Venus-Saturn in Scorpio, Mercury conjunct Neptune and Lilith in Libra square that Mars-Node. Mercury-Neptune makes sense for a fashion editor – she has ‘the eye’ – and squares to the Node are often seen in people who quite cheerfully bulldoze the status quo to set new trends. They’re never wedded to the norm.
Wow, it’s interesting that you posted this! I am going through a de-clutter process. What? I’m a Virgo, so clutter isn’t allowed in the house!
Ok, it’s not clutter but it’s stuff I don’t use much anymore (rollerblades, jackets, clothes 2 sizes too big…). I wonder if it has anything to do with the recent Scorpio new moon??
Oh, I am a Virgo but my moon is in Kataka so it’s like a clash of the Titans 🙁 When I have to move out I throw out a ton of things and feel so liberated but as soon as I move in the new place I need to get a ton of new things because it doesn’t scream “ME”.
So I guess I am buying trinkets when I need to feed my moon but when I am feeling fine I throw them away to feed my need for minimalism 🙂
But I have noticed that my Virgo traits have deepened with the years. I also have a much older Virgo friend that is sooo organized and yet, she confessed to have been a mess till her late 20’s. Has anyone else had such an experience?
This Scorpio sun/Taurus rising is really over minimalism (and if she were as Virgoan-perfectionistic in her grammar, she’d say fewer books, not less books).
I much prefer the attitude of artist Nick Cave, as reported in Sunday’s NY Times design magazine: “His sanctum is a triple-height space with two bedrooms, a professionally equipped kitchen and a living area where three distinct seating arrangements suggest the private club car of a train. That allows just enough room to accommodate the paintings, vintage furniture and objects he collects with nearly the same devotion he has toward his own art. “I’ve made decisions to surround myself with what I believe to be my destiny,” he says. “It’s important for me to wake up to the thing I do.”” Would love to know his astro.
Clutter makes me feel uneasy and unhappy. I grew up in a very untidy and disorganised environment, which didn’t suit me at all. As much as I dislike mess, I never learnt to be habitually tidy and have struggled with domestic tidiness most of my life. Recently I realised that I am now on top of it and am actually quite good at de-cluttering. The secret for me has been, “Do To Completion” which means I don’t leave the room until it is completely tidy.
I think for me to live uncluttered minimalistic would be to have one home with all my stuff and collections and another with nothing in it but the bare essentials. Then when I feel overwhelmed I would go stay at the clutter free house, lol. I always admired people who could live like that. I, a taurus started to collect antique jewellery and knick knacks at 30 and amassed quite a bit of stuff now at 40, hmmm…I never thought I would collect old stuff. When my sister moved out she never took her hoard of stuff to set up house and when I visited her new place it was oh so tres minimalistic. I made her come over one day and junk all her household new old stuff that was sitting there for years she never took. Imagine the nerve? so Leo of her.
I have been in an ‘acquiring’ phase for the last few years– acquiring extra undies, socks, toiletries etc. Now I am not chucking them all away but I’m consciously USING them, working my way through all those facial masks, bath gels, deliberately wearing ALL my stuff so the old stuff gets worn out and can be chucked. Hope this counts as uncluttering!!
I agree that you are uncluttering. By using the items, they are by definition no longer clutter. I think of clutter as extra stuff you don’t use, don’t need or don’t have a home for.
After having to deal with the contents of my brother’s unit after he died – it was a 90 square metre unit with about 150 square metres of stuff in it – I am over clutter and stuff FOR EVER! It was all very lovely stuff – he studied architecture and design and earned very good money – but you know what, after you go it’s all just stuff that someone else has to deal with. Never again. If you don’t use it/wear it in a year, or less, out it goes.
Virgo Rising Cancer Moon.
Mars in Virgo here also. I am afraid I am letting the Team down MM!
I still have small kids so there are toys and baby clothes filling the cupboards, boxes of papers, audio parts that should be in the garage (that we don’t possess) and clothes I am heading towards fitting into or will go to my niece.
I notice as people get past the kiddy years there is a natural shedding of things that occurs. All extraneous items and objects that require excessive maintenance are thrown to the wind.
Hopefully I will be able to become a minimalist fresh skinned serpent with glossy green skin and smiley golden eyes sooner than later!
At the moment I have not one clear spot on any surface. Oh wait, there is the two inches between my laptop and table edge….
OMG I’ve just had an amazing aha moment. Thanks to Mystic and all of you here I realise why I have been feeling suffocated in my new shared house. THE CLUTTER. Both flatemates are crap leaving clutter hoarders. CLUTTER BE GONE. Or else I will be. And there is such great potential here. Huge windows,it’s a warehouse space, wooden floors…
I’ve got Mars in Taurus, and when I think about it, my cleaning style is exactly what you’d expect. I enjoy not having any clutter, and being rather minimalist- clutter and mess stress me out. But I hate cleaning. Hate hate hate. So I binge clean- I’ll let the mess pile up until I can’t stand it, then spend an entire weekend cleaning my apartment from top to bottom, with very little resting or relaxing until it’s all done. And when it’s done, I’ll go back to the couch until the mess “appears” again 😛
Have Uranus-Pluto conjunct in Virgo (gem Sun, Aq rising) and had two major bouts of uncluttering this year which involved chucking out stuff from previous career – very refreshing.
Also: wardrobe editing seasonally is highly recommended.
Only feline diva is allowed to clutter the house – her toys, boxes, her little hideaways are out in the living room. Other than that, the rule is Zen minimalism – if something is in, something else is out. I inspect the house routinely to see if anything is in excessive quantity.
Perhaps it is related to Saturn – Venus aspects; I have Saturn Venus conjunction in 2nd house.
I always aspire to keep uncluttered. I love the minimalist theme! Venus in Virgo and Mars in Libra. Scorp Moon. I dig looking at modern minimalist magazines. I have an actual decluttering schedule I keep to. I love throwing out un-useful stuff.
I would be thrilled to read what Mystic thinks the astrology of people who hoard are like. I know 2 super-bad hoarders: One is Gem with Toro Stellium and the other is an Aqua with lot of Leo. When I say bad hoarders I mean….their houses are a fire/mold/living hazard. Are there astrological placements that make it worse?
oh that gem/toro would be me. i hoard in spurts- food for the end of civilization, things possibly useful on sale, garage sale pretties… when i moved i left it almost all behind and felt really good- clear, clean. then the crazy alchie hoarder virgo auntie came to visit and EVERY SINGLE SURFACE is now full of her stuff. argh!!!!
Fascinating! So you have a Virgo Asc too? She has one and I always associate Virgo Asc with wanting to decorate shelves with too many knick-knacks. Because Arian co-worker with Virgo Asc likes to put crap all over her shelves. It looks like a thrift market threw up in there. :3
nah, i’m gem rising. blaming it on toro venus/moon. i like texture, layers, opulence, color, warmth. actually, maybe the earth mixed with a mercurial sense of speaking to/through stuff? i have a total love/hate relationship with virgos… maybe we are actually quite similar. hmmm, interesting. the virgo auntie has gem moon, scorp rising. her hoarding is actually out of a sense of helpfulness- she thinks of herself as a distributer of goods (which of course stay with her for months or years before finding their proper home…).
actually, actually, actually… blergh! sorry!
The manic declutter I’ve been on for a while now is the closest thing to a spiritual experience I’ve had in years. It is totes helping w clarity and getting in the now, and making my space fit with my intent. I can highly recommend getting brave about anything you think you can’t live without.
Ho hum. Getting drunk on my own tonight. Classy huh? Hello Neptune.
Had an officious email from some drone at uni going on about my delay in completion. Because obvs, I needed it pointed out to me. Veiled threats in case I’m too dumb to understand. I did not vibe Zen. I fired back a rocket: articluate, sharp, well argued. Some of my best work all year actually. Fuq them.
Plus, I don’t think my job is going beyond the end of the year, and my bloke gets back on Fri, am dreading it but shit scared of opening the discussion. Yet how can I not?
There is a strong sense that I have nothing to lose by chucking a match in. How exactly can it be worse than it is now? I have to hope that by standing up for my self-respect – guzzling red wine on a school night notwithstanding, lol – the universe will see me right. I wish I knew.
Had a dream last night that I was feng shui consultant-interior designer. I was rearranging furniture and recommending colors. The client’s den was particularly challenging and I was chanting to myself, “Look at it a different way, look at it a different way…” Then bam: the answer came to me.
I am not a minimalist, and I’m not at the other pole, either: I’m nicely balanced inbetween extremes.
My greatest love + force + connection is on her way. I hope I do not disappoint.
In my pre-marital years I could pack it all into a back-pack & walk out & yes that included 7 years of being a single parent.
OK except my books – they would be boxed & put in my mothers loft/attic & maybe a binbag full of items I just couldn’t quite let go yet.
Now…………well it took several years for me to unpack, that always ready to go feeling took a long time to leave. I’ve always been a ‘just-in’ case person and having itchy feet always overrode my need to horde……………..Not anymore 🙁 Though this past year has been interesting, learning to declutter & stay put.
Feel like I’m letting the side down Libra Sun & Mercury (BOOKS) – Virgo Mars, Moon, Pluto, Jupiter, MC – Recovering Delusional Environmentalist i.e I could make something out of that junk…………………………..
Books are my addictions. i collect old first editions etc..hardbound my true love. i have a lot of paperbacks that I hide in a trunk. Trying to make the switch to kindle for newer books.
Absolutely love minialism otherwise.
minimalism ftw!!.
all my music and movies are on a hard drive.
all my books are on my kindle.
i only ever travel with carry-on luggage.
all the “stuff” i have (except clothes) fits in 2x 85L storage containers.
i just cleaned out my wardrobe of half of my clothes that i never wore.
feels great!
Astro, please?
pisces, virgo rising.
pisces, virgo rising.
Shit! You win! I can’t get past not having an actual DVD or CD physically in my possession.
Also I love your icon!
Impulsive as I am, I read the first sentence then decided to comment, reading no further. I LOVE Carine Roitfeld interviews / profiles as much as I am repelled by the same for the US Vogue editor whose name has slipped my mind atm.
Also, fuq minimalism.
Lastly, and yes I have been for a swim in the cranky pond in case you were wondering, is anyone else other than me getting a bit sick of those “home beautiful” spreads where someone crows about their dolled-up abode and talks about their cat collection / voyage around Sri Lanka by sea kayak and the charming Suresh who took them to the most CHARMING village and look here is the wall hanging his DIVINE wife made for the occasion… yesh it’s all SHO lovely thanks for asking simper simper etc MWWAHHGHHG
feel better now.
PS. My sister just advised that I am not supposed to swallow the water when I take a dip in the cranky pond. Noted.
I’ve finally started decluttering in past few weeks …. and I got me a whizz-bang shredder – I feel *SO* much lighter …. nothing can stop me now 🙂
Too funny! I just happened to pop over into the vault and read Artemis Absinthe!! The name caught my attention as I called my house in Ireland Artemis House cause over there in this tiny village I lived in you just give your house a name and magically the post man knows where you are cause other wise its like three bridges past the old Dingles place…. any hoo I thought it was interesting as we are talking about cleansing and clearing and the other thing in that post was Mugwort which is the herb I use all day in my acupuncture treatments and have bags of the stuff! So I think a bit of house naming and moxa (mugwort) burning will be in order tomorrow. Just so all this new fab abundance (and santa) will be able to easily find me!
Oh my goodness yes. What’s happening up there?
I am decluttering like a maniac. Old furniture – gone (or earmarked for immediate departure), art fenged, papers culled, linen audited, photos culled (that was brutal, and I am still having processing dreams about the people in them that I have finally let go). Wardrobe is next and I have a strong visual of what it will look like when I’m done.
A surprising finding from my decluttering adventure is that I have become more efficient with more space to move. More visual space = more mental space = more clarity.
I am reading Karen Kingston’s ‘Clear your clutter with Feng Shui’ right now to reinforce the vibe.
My strong intuition is that I am making way for the new. I don’t feel deprived of anything and in fact the empty space feels like the ultimate in luxury.
Have always loved loved loved having a big ol chuck out. Quite alot of moving overseas and back again in the last 15 years so plenty of opportunities to literally wipe the slate and start from scratch!!! Last three years have seen lots of shedding. My first place on my own in 09 was a tiny cute little 2 bed place and my ‘dining table’ was a wicker chest that doubled as hoover storage hilarious! I’ve only just bought a bed after 2 years with a mattress on the floor. Always textures cushions art candles and owls though 🙂 I’m still averaging at least 3 things sold per week at the mo. This week was an old ipod a bike i never ride and a chest of drawers! Leo sun Pisces rising Venus in Virgo Mars in Taurus. Not sure what would apply ?
I declutter and rearrange on a regular basis, i find it cathartic, it helps me think clearly. I also collect as I’m a texture lover and maker of jewellery and sculpture so it comes in and goes out. Ive recently purchased an old shop counter with many drawers to neatly organise what is currently in, before it goes out…Im a Pisces, moon in Scorpio, Pisces rising, i don’t think that equals lover of declutter however i grew up with an aesthetic Virgoan Mother who cleaned for sanity, we called her Hygiene Lilly. It was said that if you went to the toilet at night, she would make the bed while you were up!
As long as she didn’t sell it!
I’m Pisces sun, too, but i need space, clean space. Ritual arrangement, which gets changed.
Though i have ‘things’ with attachment invested i don’t display them all, maybe choose certain ones, or none.
Forgot about a recleansing arrangement the other day and thought someone had broken in when i returned home…what was against that blank wall? Made myself laugh.
Mystic once commented that declutter sacred rearrangement is Piscean. That was nice to hear.
And i think i get attached also to some texture, some colour or form for a bit, like you, though i’m not an artist (more’s the pity).
I am addicted to ridding myself of everything unused or uncherished … unfortunately I am prosperity bound so things attract to me like I was a large magnet !
Cap sun so my shedding is very organised… and if a belonging registers zero emotional or practical connection … its history … literally ..Been drastically shedding for over a year now …. Friends with an Aqua hoarder so its a good arrangement 🙂
What makes you say you’re prosperity bound? And is this material thing possession, or linked to personal success in some endeavour, say creative? Curious, me.
Impressive. I can only aspire to such fashionista minimalism. Meanwhile decluttering the fridge of a bottle of peach blossom and brioche flavour notes, I have been astrobating the Oracle and appreciating the results. Tres hilarious.
Should get my own Mars in Virgo opposite Vesta in 4th on and dedicate this weekend to a proper domestic declutter and let this Mars square Neptune thang evaporate.
I do love the look of her apartment. it’s exquisitely styled. There’s a fair bit going on though: lots of flowers, books, photos, candle, rugs and art work on the floor. It’s got enormous rooms, which makes it look spacious despite the objects. The yogini would take a lot longer than 45 mins to pack up just the living room.
I don’t like this idea of packing up a house in 45 mins. The yogini sounds like she is aspiring more to non-attachment. And that’s a fine choice for some people, but if you can pack up in 45 mins then what roots are you putting down and how are you expressing your sense of beauty in your home? And what about cutlery for other people? Creating a sense of home is important for ourselves and our relationship with others.
I don’t see minimalism as spouting non-attachment but rather asking people to ensure that what they consume has some value. It’s not about having as little as possible so as to flee the shelter like a hare carrying a knapsack or something. And de-cluttering can just be throwing things out if it’s not done with heart and commitment to valuing what you have. You can put all your food crap in the bin (today, value = zero), but you can just as easily go and buy it all again (tomorrow, value of same things = $236).
I think Michelle B is Libran
May 7 birthday?
Mars in Virgo too but have always been a massive hoarder – want to change though, starting to. Love minimalist design.
Now… This is me all the time. I’d really love to know what drives it? I’m a Taurus with Gemini ascending, Leo moon; über minimalist yet homely. Interior designer by trade and gifted declutterer.
Also a Taurus with Gem asc and will toss anything out if I don’t have some sort of emotional attach to it. If it’s been in my closet for a year and I haven’t worn it, it’s gone to charity. Like cozy but not cluttered.
oh if ONLY! I find it very hard to declutter – its pretty ordered and well stored, but I would love to have LESS of it!