As someone currently living out of a 40L bag [1], I don't feel any great cognitive load or emotional weight lifted. We sold all of our stuff (books, desks, cars, house) in order to do a round the world trip. The process really sucked.
You do save money from living without cable or not buying so much 'stuff', but I find that to be the limit of the benefit. I have no reason to believe that we won't be buying back many of the things we sold prior to travelling. In all honesty, living out of a bag makes me want more. I miss having more than three shirts or two pairs of pants to wear.
Minimalism is fine, but all the proselytizing around it makes no sense to me.
Makes plenty of sense to me. For a lot of people, me included, it's easier to buy things than it is to get rid of them. Getting rid of something takes you into loss aversion[1]. Plus, objects at rest in your closet tend to remain at rest.
Basically, I find that maintaining a minimal set of stuff requires regular mental effort. So I enjoy reading about people who are especially aware of the benefits.
I imagine it's like the various weight loss tricks. If you are naturally skinny and have an ok diet, then you might say, "Why are all these people talking so much about the awesomeness of fresh vegetables? Sure, they're fine, but I don't get why people need to talk about them so much."
I've never understood why so many simple-living advocates (caveat: I consider myself one) feel such a need to convert others, but I've also never understood why people get so defensive in the face of such proselytizing. If this makes sense to you, consider doing it yourself. If it doesn't, ignore it. No one is forcing you to do anything, nor even to read this stuff.
When I moved to New York I got rid of almost all my stuff. I went and bought some furniture though, which I now regret. Still, at least its Ikea, which I view as single use (meaning you get rid of it when you move).
New York is a particularly interesting one for this. So many times I see posts of people moving to here that say something like "Looking for a quiet 2 bedroom apartment in UWS/Chelsea/West Village for $2000/month", which apart from being completely unrealistic leads to the inevitable exchange:
Me: do you need a 2 bedroom?
Them: yes
Me: why?
Them: err... (I've always had one|for my stuff)
Me: that'll cost you $4000/month in your listed areas. A 1 bedroom will cost you $3000 or under.
At this point people have to choose between location, money and stuff. Some choose stuff and move out to Brooklyn, NJ or Queens. Others choose money and pay it anyway. Many choose location and downsize. NYC forces this choice where many places don't or at least not to the same degree.
Fight Club said it best: the stuff you own ends up owning you.
The hassle of having to purchase replacements for things you've left behind or thrown away starts to gnaw after a while, unless you have a large discretionary income and possibly assistants.
Things like tools and a box of bits make all the difference between something taking 5 minutes or potentially having to wait until after the weekend and a chunk of a day running around looking for things, or up to a week's wait for orders to come in from online.
Living in hotels makes it clear to me how much I hate being away from my stuff. So many simple things turn into major logistical and scheduling problems.
I think many people here are confused as to what constitutes "stuff".
In your example, you find your box of bits and tools extremely useful and they make your life better with essentially zero maintenance cost or ownership burden. They take up very little space, and are not big and heavy to move with you.
This is not "stuff" these are valuable things in your life. Keep them!
"Stuff" are usually physical objects you have that probably get a tick in one or more of the following boxes:
a) High cost of ownership (monthly fees, or regular maintenance)
b) Requires payments just to keep/use as intended (still paying it off / satellite radio fee)
b) Big and / or heavy. They take a lot of space to own, and to move with you.
c) You use them infrequently, and don't particularly get enjoyment when you do (the "good" wine glasses for example)
These items you can remove from your life, and you will be happier for not having them.
> You're redefining it to mean "physical things that aren't worth keeping".
Of course, because we're talking about reducing clutter from our lives. So by definition if something is not worth keeping, you should get rid of it.
> what's the name for the "stuff" that is worth keeping?
Sometimes I use the word "possessions", or more verbose, the things I own that I get great enjoyment from.
People seem to think this is all black and white - i.e. OMG, you need to get rid of your bed and toothbrush and soap otherwise you have too much "stuff". Move over into the grey area.
And that's why the self storage business in NYC is booming.
I had to quickly move out of my Brooklyn apartment a few years back, and just had everything I owned tossed into a storage unit, except what fit in my car, and stayed with friends for a couple weeks. When I got a new place, I was surprised to realize I didn't really need, or even want, 90% of that stuff. I ended up waiting a year and then just junking all of it.
It was really liberating to realize I didn't need it, then actually get rid of all of it. Regardless of what I buy or own in the future, I'll never forget the freedom of not having anything, and I'll never get too attached.
I still never understood how having cable or a tv complicates people's lives. Besides the inconvenience on the day it was installed, it has essentially been no hassle. The money comes out every month, I schedule some shows I like and watch them when I can and that's it.
All the purging and living with no items type of lifestyle is nice for me to think about but I have hobbies that require stuff like rock climbing, backpacking, play guitar, etc. so I can't really just live in an empty room.
Instead of trying not have stuff in general, I try to not have things I don't need or want.
I think mainly because it either becomes a time drain, that once you go without you usually realize you don't miss, or it's a waste of money (you only watch one or two things but are paying $100 a month). This whole simplify philosophy usually involves getting rid of anything with a yearly commitment, which cable often has (to get teaser rates).
I understand, I've just never thought of tv complicating my life. I was once considering "cutting the cord" and my life got more complicated trying to figure out what services to use to subscribe to my shows I wanted to watch, managing downloads and trying to see if it made financial sense.
I do agree with the general consensus that people should try to simplify their lives if they feel they are bogged down with unnecessary things though. So, I'm glad the OP could find something that worked for him.
- watch very judiciously (save time, spend $ anyway)
- watch very profligately (spend time, get your $ worth)
My roommates and I spend the minimum on cable TV to get the discounted internet package (we ran the numbers, it's more worthwhile to get cheap cable than internet alone). And we don't feel bad that we have a crappy living room TV that no one ever actually watches.
I think you should differentiate between getting rid of TV and getting rid of cable. Personally I've never paid extra for channels, but have also never seriously considered getting rid of my TV. It's a handy device for playing games and watching DVDs, stuff I've downloaded, and streaming content.
Others have pointed out the time and money drain, and while those are true, I don't have a TV for another reason.
More than any other single item that I'm aware of, a TV is a device to indoctrinate you into a certain way of thinking, and that thinking is consumerism. Everything you watch is an ad for something you don't actually need, and as time drags on, you'll slowly find yourself buying yet more stuff.
I find it extremely liberating to not have a TV and be able to think for myself about the things I do or don't want to buy, rather than have someone else tell me about it.
In my country, they are commonly referred to as "The Idiot Box". (And it's not because of the people you see on it...)
TVs with cable make it very easy to flip it on, channel surf, and watch some random shit. Suddenly hours are gone. My productivity dives and my sleep debt zooms when I'm staying in a hotel unless I unplug the TV.
I know for me getting cable is around at least a $50 expense, maybe more. Which isn't a bank breaker but its big enough to be on the fence about it when you can watch most shows online for free. My setup currently is an Xbox hooked up for Netflix and Hulu with the occasional game and I got a bit faster Internet instead of cable and it works out well.
One of the reasons I quit being a pilot was because of that lifestyle: my life consisted of 2 bags and hotel rooms. If you don't stay at least in a couple of places, you will have no friends. You will be alone, always. You will never develop true connections to another human being. Being alone will affect your personality and judgement. Co-workers do not count, just as you diablo 3 friends. When you talk to me on IRC you create a distorted version of me, based upon your life experience. Specially in poor languages like english. Understanding others is way harder than it seems. It envolves much more than just conversations.
My father was a pilot for 37 years, he currently does not have one single friend except me. Not because he can't make friends, but I think people realize that his feelings against others are superficial. He wont care because having friends never changed his life, he is just fine, but: He experienced very little fulfilling moments in all that period of his life.
Life is not simple. Throwing away stuff will not make life better, or worse.
TLDR, How the hell are you going to solve human problems if you don't develop deep human relations?
My interpretation is that the grandparent either has poor English skills himself, or is describing the difficulty of socializing with people who have poor English skills.
Comments like "cancel your gym membership" make me think of something like "use a PC from 1995" as an equivalent idea. I like the idea of minimalism but in general downgrading your ability to function (such as using less productive tools/working out in an environment that is less efficient/less likely to promote productivity) is not the right way to go about it. I understand the POV as stated, but it could be mis-applied and cause many people to get lazy and float along/use less sophisticated tools.
It also depends on the circumstances, though. And I've found the problem with gym memberships is that it adds a small obstacle to keeping up exercise habits if you're moving around as often as this guy, and that can make a significant difference. If you've got to find a good gym and sign up to it and potentially have the hassle of only using it for a few months so you can't get the benefit of a 6 month contract, etc, then it's easy to decide to not get a gym membership. Running can provide a lot of the benefits with a lot less hassle.
Aren't there gyms with a national presence. The gym I used to be a member of had either locations or deals with other gyms basically all though Europe.
Before getting married, my husband spent several years getting rid of most of his stuff. By the time we got married, he literally had one suitcase of clothes, a car, laptop, and golf clubs. As for me, I had shelves full of books, old papers, yearbooks, photos, drums, costumes, snowboard, etc. You get the idea.
So, I asked my then-fiance for some help. Here's what we did.
Phase 1 - Sorting:
My fiancé came over and took all of my possessions and dumped everything onto my living room floor. The pile looked like a big ugly hill. I never imagined that I had so much stuff because when it was all so organized back then. He also brought a bunch of file-sided boxes with handles from Staples, and brought in the large outdoor garbage can (the huge one that you put out on the curb every week).
We then got to work. We had boxes for things to keep, things to give away and the large trashcan for things to throw away. I sorted through everything until the floor was clear.
Phase 2 - Digitizing:
We then went through a digitized everything that could be digitized. Photos were sent to a photo scanning service. Yearbooks, journals, birthday cards, important books, etc were torn apart and put through a fujitsu scanner. For things that couldn't be fed through a scanner, like my drums and gifts that had sentimental value, I took a picture of it and donated it. This was a large project that took several months.
Phase 3 - Detaching:
There were things from phase 1 that I knew I didn't want to keep, but that I didn't want to get rid of either. So I kept those things in boxes in my closet until I was ready to get rid of it. It took probably several months to a year to get rid of some of those boxes. Keeping those items in boxes helped me to detach from them emotionally until I was ready to get rid of them. However, there were some items that even after a year and a half, I still was attached to. So my husband took them out and put them in our living room again so that I could face it. I eventually got rid of those things too, but I took a picture of those items so that I could still keep the memories of what those things represented before donating them.
For me, it was the digitizing phase. Tearing apart a yearbook, page by page, and feeding it through a scanner? Taking a picture of something you got as a gift and donating the actual thing?
Sometimes an item exists just to be itself. A yearbook doesn't have any value if it isn't yours, or if you don't invest it with some. If you decide you don't want something, fine – but it seems very strange to keep around a formless simulacra of it.
I lost my HS yearbooks before I could digitize them. Its freaking impossible to find another of those things.
A fujitsu sheet feeding scanner has been the single most liberating device I've ever owned.
When you cut apart something like a yearbook to scan it, its almost a religious experience. In faith, you sacrifice the book's corporeal form so that its essence can ascend into the cloud and live forever.
My HS yearbooks were destroyed in a flood. I felt bad and nostalgic for a couple of days. Now it's just a cocktail party story about how I lost my yearbooks.
I digitized a bunch of stuff as well, and was very pleased with it. Objects were keys to memories for me, so throwing away the object felt like throwing away the memory. Looking through the photos makes me really happy, and I don't miss not having the physical objects.
Digitizing was probably my favorite part of this process. I actually look at my photos a lot more now than I ever did before when they were stuck in photo albums because they're in folders in my computer now. And the same goes for my old papers, cards, etc. It's not that I look at these items very often now, but I never looked at them before.
For me it was the lack of a resolution. We're put in an uneasy state as we the protagonist describes separating herself away from things she cared about, and then the story ends without knowing whether everything worked out.
I should have explained more of why I wanted to downsize during that time.
My main reason for wanting to downsize was because I didn't want to bring a bunch of clutter and stuff into my new home and life because I was starting a new life in a way. There was something appealing about having a fresh start. I still have this where when we have moved homes, I get very interested in downsizing again. It's the lure of the fresh start and getting rid of the clutter.
Another reason was because I wanted clear up some personal mental and emotional energy. I think in a way I was tired of how attached I was to some of my stuff because I recognized that I was still getting my identity from what I used to do. When the reality was, those things were not a part of my life anymore. For example, one of my first jobs was as an editor for a very small publication. I held onto every single magazine I was a part of. I think I was sick of holding on to my past and I wanted to move on. It isn't that I wanted to forget my past experiences, I just didn't want to find my identity in it anymore. Getting rid of the stuff helped me tremendously with that.
Well, it is your stuff, so I can only wish you the best of luck. And I sincerely hope that you will not come to regret this at a later age, as someone who 'lost all his stuff' on two occasions I can tell you that even after two decades you can still miss physical objects with no real value beyond the sentimental. Memories can be triggered in powerful ways by objects, both good and bad. Living without such triggers will make your memories fade, as though erasing not just a part of your past, but also of yourself.
For me there were two things: first the feeling that this was forced (for the very broad definition of the word) on her by her SO. Second, that there was a very little point of doing that.
I really need to read a woman's reaction to this article (will share with a few friends right away). If you can achieve this beyond a bachelor pad, the weed that you are smoking is indeed of very high quality.
I have achieved simplicity with my significant other (female). It is important to address the need to nest, while also focusing on preventing/removing cluttering. Ensure her nesting needs are met, while focusing on minimalism, and it is achievable.
Also, go for the smallest living space that is needed, or the need to nest will fill it. Quality, in what you do have, also helps.
The caveat is we are not planning on children, which simplifies this.
Concur. I lived out of a suitcase for years. It was quite handy back when I was a student and moving from place to place every 4 months.
But then I moved in with a girl after school and all that went away, we needed to buy kitchen shit, dvd shit, bedroom shit, shit to hang on the walls, stuffed animals from thinkgeek that look like sushi, etc.
Congrats. Awesome! I'm glad you still find ample time to tell other people about it on the internet though. Without you, no one would ever know what it is to escape the grips of a television and experience a real life.
You're in the comments thread of an article about simplifying your life and having less stuff, and you sarcastically criticize me for suggesting you remove TV from your life. I offered that advice because I honestly think it's helpful.
What were you expecting to find when you came to these comments?
The people I know who are really into minimalism in a quasi-spiritual way are actually married or long-term partnered couples. It can take either a hippie-ish sort of form, or an upscale-but-minimalist, sleek modernism type of form.
I think of bachelor pads as really more defined by "stuff". Most single guys I know have huge piles of entertainment stuff especially: big-screen TVs, videogame systems, a wall of videogames and DVDs, miscellaneous electronic gadgets that seemed cool at the time, etc.
We know different bachelors. Most of the non-fratboy pads I have seen that are truly depressing are an inflatable mattress/pile of yogamats/camping mattress on the floor and a pile of books (sometimes a laptop). I've been in 4 bedroom houses which other than a thin layer of dust had nothing but the mentioned items in them. Some view their lifestyle as minimalist, others just don't see the need for owning anything. 'I don't need a fridge because I don't cook', 'the washing lady comes once a week, so I don't need a washing machine', 'I've never opened that cupboard'. Those sort of statements are signs that you need to help your friends get some serious help. If someone can't come round to your house because of your 'minimalist' lifestyle that is a serious problem. Humans are social creatures, if you can't socialise something is wrong.
That sort of lifestyle is just as damaged as the sort that compels people to store every pizza box and newspaper in the corner and prevents them from throwing anything away.
There is a reddit dedicated to this at http://minimalism.reddit.com but sadly it has become more of a "look how cool I am because I only own 4 things!" type of community in recent months.
Beside the fact that OP “just moved to a new apartment in Tel Aviv”, could you name any way in which nomadic lifestyle would be un-“Zen”? Do you mean it's morally questionable?
I'd argue with that, as hosts probably offer their place after weighing cost/benefit ratio (e.g., inconvenience and risk vs. acquiring new connections), but I'd like to know an alternative opinion.
I have the impression tha for many people writing these kinds of posts, much of their world (hobby, work, etc) is actually online. Then I wonder, did these people cut down on software, too? How many webapps do they use? How much of a mess is their Dropbox?
I, for one, have had a very chaotic period of life or a very simple and structured one, best visible by how much a mess my computer was. Only regarding material goods seems a bit half-assed then, imho.
The difference is that physical goods have a much higher cost of maintenance than does digital ones.
I have way too many games in Steam and other digital storefronts, but I catalog the ones I care about and have come to the understanding that there are probably some games I will never play/finish. Those ones I just hide and never look at again. It's harder to do that with a boxed game on a shelf, which you need to keep room for, pack away when you move, and ensure it stays in reasonable condition.
My current software minimalism project: Stay with Ubuntu LTS. Do not upgrade every half year.
Upgrading Ubuntu usually means a few nice features, some things break, some new workarounds. For someone who is not using Unity there is probably no new feature in 12.10 anyways. While 12.04 has its quirks and bugs, at least my workarounds need no change for two years.
It depends on the lifestyle you want to lead - my wife and I aren't interested in having kids so we're able to get away with having less stuff. On the other hand, her sister has a son and it's quite obvious that you need a lot of stuff to make things easier - pram, cot, changing table, toys, books, etc.
As an aside, having an ipad seems to help keep the baby entertained with interactive books, music, TV shows, musical instruments like drums and pianos. I can see apps do away with many physical items the way digital music has done away with the CD - which I think is a positive thing as it reduces waste.
> As an aside, having an ipad seems to help keep the baby entertained with interactive books, music, TV shows, musical instruments like drums and pianos.
I hope you change your mind if you have kids. Living life in a 7" box is sad.
The crux of my message was that my sister-in-law's son gets to enjoy a plethora of different toys (and he really does love them) that aren't injection-molded fossil fuel by-products.
Another way to look at it is that he wouldn't have most of those toys if they were physical items - a free piano app beats that $20 toy piano that his mum glanced at in the shop and decided not to buy because she needs to buy more nappies.
It's also interesting how, because touch-input results in a direct and near-instant output, that it can be understood by an infant quite rapidly. To them an app is a real mechanical object.
But shapes, textures, smells, etc are important too. A cheap rubber toy piano might very well be better than an app. Not to mention that they're easier to share with other kids.
Personally, I can't picture my childhood without those "injection-molded fossil fuel by-products" called LEGO.
> But shapes, textures, smells, etc are important too.
He lives in a three-dimensional world, so I don't think he's missing out on any of those things. I'm not arguing for the elimination of physical toys - merely observing that apps have their utility and are less wasteful, resource wise.
> A cheap rubber toy piano might very well be better than an app.
Depends - physical things have a certain barrier to ownership: money. The toy he never had is easily beaten by the free/99c one off the app store. The fact that a tablet is expensive isn't lost on me, but for the amount of utility it has served it's basically paid for itself (it's his dad's tablet).
> Not to mention that they're easier to share with other kids.
Sharing is important, but it's worth noting that with apps you can have collaboration - he and I can play instruments together (like the free split screen piano or guitar apps) or play basic games all on a single screen. Of course physical things do this as well - my intent is to show that apps can be treated like physical objects.
> Personally, I can't picture my childhood without those "injection-moulded fossil fuel by-products" called LEGO.
My nickname is Uncle LEGO - he won't be missing out on that stuff. He's stuck with DUPLO until he's older though.
It's hard to understand how far you're suggesting going with this. Many people in child development would disagree with how far you seem to want to take this concept of abstracting away real-world objects.
My kid's preschool had an idea of "loose parts" (for example: http://progressiveearlychildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2010/...) in which a selection of physical objects (buckets, balls, tables, blocks, boxes, ramps, branches) was placed in a large play yard for open-ended construction. The kids were allowed to do whatever they decided to do with the parts. They would build some things up across several days (without being directed).
It's important to understand that, to make this work, you don't put out everything at once. For a week, you put out a few things that go together. Then they go in to storage, and you take out a different assortment. It has to rotate, or else it becomes part of the landscape and is not used.
To do this, you need to have a considerable amount of storage space, and a staff that is energetic enough to wrangle the stuff. But the stuff itself is rather inexpensive and, by design, simple.
The same kind of ideas hold, on a smaller scale, in households.
> Many people in child development would disagree with how far you seem to want to take this concept of abstracting away real-world objects.
I didn't suggest abstracting away toys. I made a prediction/observation that apps could "do away with many physical items [...]" and that it might be a positive thing if it reduces waste.
In my following responses, the implication was that touch interfaces are perhaps seen as mechanical by infants as they can touch something and it produces an immediate and repeatable result, mimicking how real world objects work. Again, I was making an observation (right or wrong), not a statement.
Lastly, with virtual toys being cheap and varied, it allows an infant to explore many different concepts that they normally wouldn't be exposed to because of economic factors (e.g. $20 toy vs free/99c app).
At no point have I suggested getting rid of toys - which would be both outlandish and impossible.
I agree with your point of view and respect your choice, what I was suggesting is that point of view in article is really skewed toward kind of not healthy and obsessive.
Ipad is wonderful educational device, I am amazed with what my kids are doing with it. And I am all for simpler life in my life as well, within reason of course. And kids :).
I have been thinking about this issue a lot recently. Sometimes clutter seems unavoidable, such as when you want to learn or do something new. When I first got into photography, I started off with one DSLR and one lens. Then I kept adding lenses. Turns out I also need to clean the sensor since dust accumulates when you change lenses, so I ended up getting lens cleaning kit. Next, I had to upgrade my camera, because it was not sufficient for photoshoots (got invited to a few events non-professionally). Then you got to pay for websites, online storage, this and that. And then you get a bag, a tripod and the list is endless (I have been postponing buying the tripod). There was also a ripple effect. My laptop display was not only short for image editing, but it was displaying colors incorrectly. So I had to get a new monitor, and I had to spend extra time researching whether the colors will display correctly or not. All these add up. Sometimes I just want to sell everything and get one camera and one prime lens, but I am afraid of "missing out". May be thats not true. I haven't found the alternative. But for what its worth, I have had a good journey so far.
If one wants to reach a higher level than an amateur, it looks like extra items are unavoidable. Similar arguments go with say learning oil painting or say charcoal sketching. When you are a programmer, would you prefer to work with a single laptop or with an external keyboard+mouse+large monitor?
The post and your comment resonate somehow, as I recently set on to travel across a country and live out of a backpack. I used to own a DSLR for three years, but thinking it would be a bit bulky to travel I ended up getting a Fujifilm X100 (and I suspect any equivalent mirrorless with a prime lens would be about the same effect). It's a step up ISO-wise, but apart from that it's basically all downsides: sensor not as good as an equally-priced DSLR would be, fixed 20mm lens, somewhat slow operations...
But really, all of this doesn't matter. It's so small I take it everywhere. I love the pictures it takes. Creativity loves constraints. :)
Caveat emptor, I probably wouldn't use it as a pro tool, but then again I'm not a photographer so it doesn't matter.
Honestly, you can take good photos with a phone. It's about composition and timing. If you are a professional photographer, better than 98% of people in the world, an expensive kit might take you to 99%. As an amateur, the gap between your ability and a pro's will never be filled by the 1% improvement nice gear will make. So many of these "hobbies" are actually rich people giving themselves a reason to buy expensive toys.
Your percents are way off.
Sure you can take OK photos with a phone—maybe 2% of the time you can take a good photos with decent camera. As the name implies, photography is first about light. A good camera and lens immensly expands the definition of what acceptable light is. An off-camera flash
will make a night and day (pun intended) difference in your photos.
You mention timging. Autofocus speed and accuracy, shutter lag of DSLR and phone camera are not even comparable.
In short: moving from phone camera to an entry level DSLR with kit lenses will already be a huge step up in quality of your photos. If you understand what you are doing buying expensive lenses will add a noticeable increase to that as well. Then if you understand what are you doing and do it a lot buing a professional body will get you durability and the maximum control over the process (and ability to control aperture, shutter speed and ISO does matter too).
Yes, if you "get it" you can take a good photos with the phone if you are if conditions are favourable. But if you get it, then using DSLR will let you take more good photos, because the limits of favourable conditions are expanded a lot.
There is some truth in your last sentence, however from technical point of view, even is someone "does not get it" and would take crappy pictures on the phone then with an expensive kit he can have pictures of the same crap but with much higher quality.
You can take good phone pictures if you are outside in the daytime or are shooting stationary subjects. Any motion combined with less than daylight guarantees blurry pictures or that lovely cell-phone-flash look.
That being said: The big jump is from cell-phone to DSLR (even an inexpensive one). The jump from $400 DSLR to $4000 is less noticeable.
Sort of. You can take photos with a phone that look decent at small resolutions, but if you want to use them for anything else they're largely unusable.
I'm definitely not arguing that you need a high end DSLR, but even a relatively inexpensive Canon or Nikon will run circles around a camera phone.
I've gone through the same thing with photography and other hobbies, and for me, at least, that stage of acquiring lots of stuff is necessary. During that time I'll use all the new things -- I end up learning how it all works by making good use of it all. Later, after having more experience and perspective, I'm much better able to decide what's worth keeping and what's worth getting rid of.
And in case of photography it is the expensive stuff that is worth keeping. Actually it would save some money to skip the cheap stuff. Case in point—tripods. There is a good piece about it: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm
My personal test for whether or not a possession is worth keeping is "do I know immediately why I haven't thrown in out?" If I struggle for even a few seconds to justify owning something, it goes on the first-to-go list when I do a purge or just feel like tidying.
I really like the idea, and it came at the right time when I just moved and it's time to throw away stuff, but I keep wondering about things like:
Books - Chances of me reading the same book again are slim. But it's really hard to let go of them. I now own an e-reader, but even if I could get all of those books on it (which seems impossible, if not very expensive and for no good reason), I would feel something missing. Then again, they do take much space, gather dust and are likely to be left untouched.
Gifts from people - whilst I can relatively easily throw away stuff I bought, it's so much harder with gifts people gave me. It almost feels like betraying them.
Any practical or (pop)-psychology suggestions on how to get over these hurdles?
Books:
Book are expensive, voluminous, heavy and costly to move about. There is absolutely no benefit to actually owning your own copy when you can borrow it from your local library with extremely little effort. Get rid of them.
Gifts:
My friends and family have a new policy for gifts:
"No stuff, only experiences".
I don't want a DVD or a book, but I'd be grateful for some French lessons, or yoga classes, or a cooking class, or... (insert experience here)
What's the use of cooking class if you have no pan to cook in?
Honestly, this is such an artificial separation. Watching a DVD or reading the book is an experience. What if it is an educational DVD? What if the thing is a telescope which can provide many nights of an amazing experience?
Offer the books to your local library. You can always visit them ;)
That's what I did, anyway. I don't own an ebook reader (yet), but I'm pretty sure I won't be reading them again any time soon (if ever, for many), so I just kept a dozen of my favorites and gave away the rest.
> Offer the books to your local library. You can always visit them ;)
Incorrect. Donating is nearly the same as selling them.
Libraries don't lend donated books (in the common case), they dump them to a resell wholesaler for pennies on the dollar.
But still, better to pass your book along to someone who might read it, then to have it collect dust.
Photographs can help. They capture a lot of the mnemonic value of an old belonging, but prove easier to transport, to find later, to back up against loss, and to accommodate in terms of space.
I've just had all my boxes of photos digitised and synced to Dropbox and stored the originals at my mums. It was quite satisfying to know I don't need to worry about losing them.
I run periodic purges of my possessions. Often, in 3-4 months, my situation may have changed and things that were once useful are no longer needed. Fortunately there is a charity just down the block.
You don't notice how excess stuff gets in your way, until it's gone. You can start with one area at a time. Zenhabits was surprisingly motivational for me in this respect.
Books are the only possession I have many of, and that's by choice.
One quibble: If a gym membership can be replaced by jogging, then you aren't using the gym correctly. Strength training is a very different beast. You can get a pretty good strength workout with bodyweight and home dumbbells, but it's tough to match barbells.
We just moved across the country from California to Virginia. We didn't have much in the way of furniture before, but we did give everything away that didn't fit into the bed of our truck.
When we arrived we made it a point not to buy a single piece of furniture. We relied entirely on unwanted furniture of friends and the Craigslist free section. With the help of our pickup truck we had a fully furnished home within a month for nothing more than the cost of gas. Next time we move a long distance we'll just give it all away and collect all new furniture at our next home. Its really liberating not being attached to anything in our home.
We don't pay for anything more than cable internet, pre-pay data and basic utilities. We don't even have a TV. We get all our movies and entertainment at the library for free. They allow for up to 6 DVDs for each of us, so we really don't miss TV or cable.
We also use Google Voice for all our phone calls and texting. We have a single Android phone and a $30 pre-pay plan with T-Mobile for going out. We use a couple voip apps so we can have both of our numbers available on the phone. Most of our calls and text messaging happen on our computers anyway.
We save on water by leaving the bathtub plugged up after our showers. This water goes into buckets throughout the day to flush the toilets. We never use the dishwasher and we wash laundry by hand when it's not a heavy load. This saves us as much as $40/mo on our water bill.
We aren't poor and could live much more luxuriously, but we choose to live this way in order to gain a richer experience of life.
Not sure about the car idea. It's quite useful to have one.
Alternative hints :
- thumb rule "if you have had this stuff for 6 months but have not used it yet/removed it from its box and installed it/repaired it, then it's a waste of time and space - throw it/give it/sell it."
- then try to remove "things" from your life to measure how you feel about not having them. You'll be surprised about how many things are not really making you more or less happy. Hint: the really important things are what you usually take with you when you travel, like a toothbrush - and by improving these things you use daily you can create a much better experience for yourself
- when you move to a new place - only take 2 bags worth of stuff. Pareto law- the rest is certainly not that important to you
- in this new place only buy stuff you need - and after needing it twice, without writing down a list. If you can't remember to buy it, you don't really need it.
- experiment! Each person has "important things". What is applicable to me may not be to you. I mostly eat fresh food at home, and only cook with a microwave. I don't need any other "cooking paraphernalia".
OTOH, the most important thing to me is shower gel - I buy a bottle with a different smell each week :-]
For the author - if you want a tropical place with friendly people and great coffee shops, come to the FWI :-)
How are you preparing your fresh food solely with a microwave? Do you follow a raw diet? Or do you steam vegetables in a microwave? Interested to hear.
- I eat all my vegetables raw: apple, lettuce, tomatoes, red pepper... The only "non fresh" vegetables I buy (for convenience - can't find it raw where I live) is frozen broccoli which is perfectly unfrozen in the microwave, not steamed.
- besides vegetables, I mostly eat rice, eggs, fish and meat. Rice provides some glucids - and it cooks quite well in a microwave.
Fish is also easy to cook in a microwave - I loved boiled salmon with pastas, olive oil and goat cheese, but now most of the time I prefer canned mackerels because they come with a variety of sauces so I don't have to prepare them.
For meat, I've had decent result with frozen "cheap" (high fat) ground beef. I put it in a bowl- it releases grease when it's cooking in the microwave in a way that make it tasty to me (and the grease is left at the bottom of the bowl so it's easy to remove). It's not quite like boiled meat - closer to what a hamburger meat taste, and it's quick to prepare.
I know it's a weird diet.
In fact, I came to this diet not by any specific health concern but by time optimization. I like my meals to be quick and easy to prepare - if they need more than 6 minutes to prepare, I'm not interested. Cooking stuff takes time (heat transfer, etc), so most of the "cooking" was removed.
I then made my diet healthier, tweaking here and there (a bag of pop corn is quick to prepare, but maybe not that healthy) following various ideas. This caused some interesting changes - like raw eggs.
At the moment, I still keep the 6 minutes maximum limit every day, while eating was is generally considered healthy - basically it's a raw diet with varied vegetables each week, only with rice and meat being cooked. I add canned oily fish + frozen broccoli for the convenience, and I still do a bag of popcorn time to time.
There are microwave/oven combos. Haven't seen one with hotplates on top yet. I have seen microwave-sized ovens with 2 hotplates on top though. I used one of those for a couple of years.
Okay, after looking around at Amazon for a bit, there also are microwave/oven thingies with 2 hot plates on top (like the Steba KB 52). They are somewhat expensive though.
I didn't notice any difference when compared to regular small ovens. Well, I guess there is some accelerated crust build up if you let your microwaved food splatter around and then bake it in. If you repeat that cycle a few times, it will look really filthy.
Fortunately, that problem is fairly easy to solve. Use a cover if you microwave stuff which might splatter around.
Well, to be honest, you don't actually have to clear an oven regularly. That stuff has been burnt to a crisp ages ago. Heating it up won't produce any smoke or smell anymore. All of that was burnt away.
I've gotten rid of cable. But the biggest time saver has been to reduce the number of my acquaintances to the minimum. I have no kids. A cat is more than enough.
I've gone the other way - done away with TV and collecting things so that I can spend more time being social. I have more money and time to spend on going out for dinner and drinks with friends, time to play online video games (social to a very fine degree I guess, but better than passively watching something on TV), and time to take my dog to the park every night (rain, hail or shine) where I talk to other doggy people and my dog gets some Doggie Facebook time in (sniffing other dogs behinds).
To me, being social is a huge driver of happiness and contentment. If you want to escape the pursuit of owning things - turn off your TV for starters.
I have lived in both worlds: having lots of stuff and having next to nothing. The latter is better, IMHO. I do not really care about minimalism or environmentalism or anything like that, it's just that less stuff = less stress for me, and more freedom. Having accumulated a buttload of stuff (mostly thanks to my girlfriend! :D), it now costs me about $1000 and a solid two days of work to move (if movers are hired, which is almost required unless I can get external help for free). I used to own just some clothes and a computer, and moving was stupidly easy. I have moved over 20 times in the past 12 years or so, which means quickly learning how to not get attached to junk.
I always loved when Jamie on Mythbusters pulls out some stuff from his workshop. I have TONS of "junk" and it makes huge difference in my life. Otherwise I would spend 50% of my time searching for stuff I already had, but throw away a few months ago.
This also applies to IT geeks. What would you do when your cool Macbook dies? Do your work on Iphone until the replacement arrives? I would just take replacement from drawer, restore backup and be back online in 30 minutes.
Shouldn't the last sentence, "The benefits of telling the truth far outweigh the cost of lies" read "the ratio of benefit to cost of telling the truth far outweigh the same ratio for lying"? Weighing the benefit of one thing against the cost of another seems like a non-sequitur.
Guess I'm there. All I own is a backpack full of dev hardware and a carry on roller bag full of clothes, shoes, and toiletries. Have been renting cheap shared places off airbnb past 3 months instead of always paying to have a private place too.
am I the only one that stocks up on paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, household cleaning items, spare towels, another pair of sheets, different sorts of toiletries and backs of those toiletries so that I'm not going to the store all the time. This stuff takes up room!
As someone currently living out of a 40L bag [1], I don't feel any great cognitive load or emotional weight lifted. We sold all of our stuff (books, desks, cars, house) in order to do a round the world trip. The process really sucked.
You do save money from living without cable or not buying so much 'stuff', but I find that to be the limit of the benefit. I have no reason to believe that we won't be buying back many of the things we sold prior to travelling. In all honesty, living out of a bag makes me want more. I miss having more than three shirts or two pairs of pants to wear.
Minimalism is fine, but all the proselytizing around it makes no sense to me.
[1] http://orofino.me/daniels-rtw-packing-list/