Minimalist lifestyle?

[Mike Kavanagh]

I want to cut down to a certain number of items I physically own and I'm wondering if anyone else leads this kind of lifestyle


I want cut down to:

• The amount of cloths I have to - two pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of basketball shorts, 2 pairs of Khaki pants, 7 tee shirts 2 polos and my work shirts and 2 pairs of shoes(work and casual)
• My Laptop
• My phone
• Car

I don't want anything else aside from a few blankets to sleep on

Essentially the goal is to be able to pick up and take everything with move quickly whenever I want. (Minus the work shirts of course)

The reason I want to know if anyone else lives this kind of lifestyle is because I don't know where to begin the elimination process.

 

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[brycer9]

Think to yourself, "What is going to help me get to where I want to be", and then keep that stuff

 

[Determined2012]

I like that idea--- but to start- for a starter like me that seems too severe to only have a couple pair of jeans! (You know I need all 60 pair I currently have but don't wear!)

A lot of people have a lot of pointless things- me being one of the main people I am talking about--- but I am also a person who has a lot of worldly and loving, irreplaceable experiences and memories as well- so I feel I have a balance of both, I love the best of both worlds.

Its those producers! They are geniuses in getting us to consume! We think we NEED and WANT all of this JUNK!

For the longest I wouldn't buy expensive things for myself, even when I felt I could afford it or deserved it- because I wanted all of my money to go to international travel and over the top adventures- like Sky Diving and other activities that cost over $100 and $200 plus.

The older I get, knowing that I am destined to be a nomad once my twins are grown, I can def see me maintaining a nice home for them to come to if needed, but me living light and on the go until the day I die, ready to go to each and every corner of this world at a moments notice.

I think many people go through the minimalist phase. I'm looking to move out of a 2,800 sq. foot apartment that I have been renting for the past 3 years, into a 2 bedroom 1300 sq ft. apartment. I plan to get me a nice sectional with a chaise and sleeper attached to it, and give my twins the 2 bedrooms. I want to really succeed as an entrepreneur, and I have walked the side walk to the max. Its time for to me to make significant changes with how I spend my money- and thats exactly what I am going to do.

But being a food minimalist- I would totally struggle with that. I spend more money on food, eating GOOD- not crap food- than I spend on clothes, shoes, etc.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Everything I own fits in 2 suitcases.

Just throw out/sell whatever you don't use. Get rid of any knicknack crap. If you're renting, rent furnished. If you're living at home, move out and rent furnished.

I suggest you don't physically count the number of items. I have no idea how many things I have, but I do know that I use them.

 

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[Mike Kavanagh]

See I want to cut down every redundant task I do.

Laundry is one of them. I would be willing to do loads more often in smaller batches than one large batch every two weeks.
I have so many clothes I don't fold them, just leave them in the laundry bag.

 

[liquidglass]

A tip I read years ago that I used to eliminate my pack-rat tendencies was look at something. Clothes:if you haven't worn it the last time it was in season, donate it. Items: if you can't remember using it in 6 months, donate it. Keep-sakes: if you can't remember the significance associated with it, donate it.

Simple.

 

[splok]

I want to cut down to a certain number of items I physically own ... I don't know where to begin the elimination process.

It seems like sort of a silly question when you could just toss out everything except the things you mentioned, so I'll assume that the problem isn't logical but it's more of a unreasonable attachment to your stuff. So, here's a couple of things I've done (repeatedly) that really simplifies things, whether you like it or not:

- Move somewhere far away, and only take whatever you can fit in your car (no repeat trips).

- Move to a different country, and only take whatever you can fit in two suitcases.

Of course, after the move, I tend to accumulate things, but imo, the trick isn't learning to live without things, it's considering those things disposable. I have an apartment full of stuff at the moment, but when it's time to move again, life will get stripped down to whatever fits in two suitcases again with not a F*ck given about the stuff that doesn't fit.

You don't have to live like a monk to keep your stuff from tying you down, just don't place any more importance on it than it deserves. I like sleeping in a comfy bed. I think it makes me healthier and more productive and generally improves life, so I bought one. When it's time to leave, someone else gets a comfy bed at a considerably reduced price (or free).

 

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[Roland]

This thread sounds weird to me. Maybe it is due to culture differences or because I almost don't own anything of my own but unless it is because you need money right now, why do you want to get rid of all this stuff? To make a comparison, to me, this sounds like trying to save money instead of trying to increase your income. If you don't need money, selling your stuff will give you less money than what you invested to buy it so you are loosing and as it is already paid and amortized, why not just keep it?
And in the case you just have too much, I am sure a lot of people around where you are living need clothes, food, etc... to reach a minimalist lifestyle level.
Maybe it is me but I struggle to understand why you want to do that and why you don't know how to get rid of what you no longer want.

 

[Shack]

Many people own stuff that they do not use and that's not a problem until you travel or move around often.
I suggest you put in a pile all the important things you can't live without and start dealing with the rest of the items one by one.

 

[JohnnFour]

Related: I like to collect things.

It's a personality flaw.

If I get one thing in a series and like it, I'll quest for the rest.

How do I de-program myself?

 

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[FastLearner]

Do what works for you. Everyone is going to have a different take based on their experiences, you just have to make the minimalist lifestyle your own and see what works for you. Don't think anyone can really answer this question for you, man. Just gotta see for yourself and use what you think is most important to you and your survival.

 

[biophase]

Related: I like to collect things.

It's a personality flaw.

If I get one thing in a series and like it, I'll quest for the rest.

How do I de-program myself?

This is easy.

Look at something that you collected a few years ago, then go look it up on eBay. See what it's worth. See how much people are selling them for as a collection. Did you just spend alot of money on something that is going down in value? Realize that they aren't really worth anything in the long run.

 

[Mike Kavanagh]

why do you want to get rid of all this stuff?

I feel cluttered to be honest.
I hate having more stuff than what is needed. It allows me to put things off that are important to get done.

Honestly most of my personal stuff doesn't have much resell value in it.

I really just hate being a slave to my things.

 

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[The-J]

Related: I like to collect things.

It's a personality flaw.

If I get one thing in a series and like it, I'll quest for the rest.

How do I de-program myself?

Dude, collecting isn't a personality flaw. It's a hobby. If you like to collect, then collect!

Collecting and hoarding are not the same thing. Collectors have a specific collection (or collections) of something, like stamps, coins, video games, paintings, among others. Hoarders attach themselves to the stuff around them and the stuff ends up owning them.

Not everyone is fit for a minimalist lifestyle.

 

[HackVenture]

I think the main point here is, do you hate yourself for having all this junk?

Lol, cos I have tons of junk too, though I organize them fairly well and my space is pretty neat if I do say so myself, and I love all the junk I have.

All this talk about minimalism is cool, but I don't see a point going there unless you don't like where you're at right now.

 

[Mike Kavanagh]

do you hate yourself for having all this junk?

No, I could never hate myself.

organize

This is where my problem lies. Organizing is just something I don't do.
I would like to have a little as possible, leaving nothing to rely on me being there. Anti-commitment I suppose.

 

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[buckmajor]

See I want to cut down every redundant task I do.

Laundry is one of them. I would be willing to do loads more often in smaller batches than one large batch every two weeks.
I have so many clothes I don't fold them, just leave them in the laundry bag.

I have a habit of making my bed every morning. I do my laundry once a week on this account:
- I train almost everyday and use a set of skins per training session. On top of that I have my normal or casual clothing per week.
My load might be different to yours but I surely don't have the habit to double up for a 2week load otherwise the following week I might not have enough set of skins to train in. I do have spare ones so its really no issue for me. So I guess I can't afford to.

Interesting, I like the idea of minimizing stuff I don't use or need. I might need to clean out my closet it is cluttered with a lot of stuff lol.

Thanks

 

[Runum]

This thread sounds weird to me. Maybe it is due to culture differences or because I almost don't own anything of my own but unless it is because you need money right now, why do you want to get rid of all this stuff? To make a comparison, to me, this sounds like trying to save money instead of trying to increase your income. If you don't need money, selling your stuff will give you less money than what you invested to buy it so you are loosing and as it is already paid and amortized, why not just keep it?
And in the case you just have too much, I am sure a lot of people around where you are living need clothes, food, etc... to reach a minimalist lifestyle level.
Maybe it is me but I struggle to understand why you want to do that and why you don't know how to get rid of what you no longer want.

It is absolutely cultural. In the US we are inundated with messages that you have to own something or be something to feel good about yourself. We love stuff so much that we will work at jobs we hate to pay to store stuff we don't use. We will build a bigger house to get more stuff inside of. We will go into bad debt to buy a gizmo to impress people that do not care about our stuff.

After many years of accumulating stuff you will come to realize that your stuff owns you. You can't quit the job and you can't move because of stuff. Your life choices have been limited because of prior decisions about stuff.

Stuff can be cool but stuff can also be toxic.

However, when considering stuff, I never thought about the guy in the culture that never had the opportunity to buy stuff. I guess this is a lesson that has to be learned with experience and each person must decide were their comfort level is with stuff.

 

[GlobalWealth]

For me minimalism was a pretty emotional and very difficult choice. Like Runum stated, my stuff owned me, not the other way around so I decided that collecting life experiences was much more important than collecting stuff.

In order to do that I chose the minimalist lifestyle. I wrote an article about this about a year ago that you may like:

http://www.globalwealthprotection.com/minimalist-manifesto/

 

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[Guest3722A]

[video=youtube;MvgN5gCuLac]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

 

[Mike Kavanagh]

Topherea - I saw that video in another thread. It is pretty much what planted the seed in my head. That and watching fight club again. (Watched it because of biophase, INSIDERS will know what I mean)

Fight Club is a little excessive with the removal process though, don't expect me to go that extreme.

 

[Breaking Free]

It's funny because I've tried to be minimalist, and I regularly get rid of stuff that is old and worn out, or I just don't need.

But, that being said, I've taken inventory of my things since starting the fastlane and, well, I actually use a lot of my stuff that fills my closets.

I hike, camp, backpack, and hunt regularly, and that all takes a lot of gear.

We regularly have family around, so I have excessive amounts of blankets and towels.

I brew beer, and make my own cider and wine. Anyone that does that knows the amount of stuff that can be used.

I'm a man of hobbies, and wish I had an actual workshop in my backyard. But, that's one of my fastlane goals, to have the funds to do what I want, and not revolve around the forty+ hour work week... it's all about what drives you. For me, when i see my gear for my hobbies, it makes me more, so I can do what I love more often.

 

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[Kak]

Why???

I enjoy my king size bed, golf clubs, my firearm collection and my growing cigar collection. Id buy another boat if I had the time to use it. I want to join my nearby country club and am planning to get a house on the golf course. Maybe im crazy, but im trading in my truck for a luxury car next month after I get back from China. Why? because i can.

I understand the whole stuff not owning you thing, but come on. I can say with 100% certainty that I have a happier life than someone that counts their clothing items and sleeps on a few blankets.

 

[GymMemberHelper]

I want to cut down to a certain number of items I physically own and I'm wondering if anyone else leads this kind of lifestyle............

The reason I want to know if anyone else lives this kind of lifestyle is because I don't know where to begin the elimination process.

A great idea! Have you ever watched Ted Talks? There is a 5 minute Ted Talk about this EXACT idea. Maybe it can give you some thoughts for how to approach the minimalist lifestyle? "Less is more!" I hope this helps

http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_less_stuff_more_happiness.html

 

[DeletedUser394]

Why???

I enjoy my king size bed, golf clubs, my firearm collection and my growing cigar collection. Id buy another boat if I had the time to use it. I want to join my nearby country club and would like to get a house on the golf course. Maybe im crazy, but im trading in my truck for a luxury car next month after I get back from China. Why? because i can.

I understand the whole stuff not owning you thing, but come on. I can say with 100% certainty that I have a happier life than someone that counts their clothing items and sleeps on a few blankets.

Different strokes for different folks.

It's a question of opportunity cost, at least for me.

Would I rather that shit box car/money pit, or would I rather take that money and spend a month in Nicaragua, etc?

The only interest I have other than accumulating money, is to accumulate experiences, all over the world. Nothing wrong with material things. I'm gunning for a sexy a$$ 458 italia (that I plan to transport with me to any destination I stay at for more than a week or two), and a penthouse or two, among other things.

I like the fact that I'm extremely mobile. Mobility is important to me, to be able to drop everything and just go.

 

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[Kak]

Gotcha. I have no problem traveling. Going to be in Asia for about 2 weeks at the end of this month. So I just leave the stuff at home.

I would much rather live a life of abundance inside of my means.

 

[stranger]

I was a real collector all my life almost. I started collecting postage stamps when i was 6yrs old. Then I collected coins, antique postcards, African masks and seashell specimens.
Over 2rs ago, I lost any interest to collectibles. And it happened in one day, just like someone turned out something inside of me. I don't know why but since that sadly day i stopped being a collector. I still buy some collectibles to re-sell them. Really, I was happy to be a collector and never sorry about it. I still cannot believe i dropped my good habit.
I don't know if a minimalist lifestyle is good or bad. Anyway, I always surprised and don't understand people who spend their last money or even lend money for buying the newest gadget; the gadget, which will cost nothing almost within a year.

 

[Get Right]

For me - its about control. If I control the "stuff" it can stay. If it starts to control me, it has to go.

Example - I have a collector car that has slowly turned into a maintenance nightmare. It is now controlling my time and money. The enjoyment factor has diminished so it has to go.

 

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[GlobalWealth]

I can say with 100% certainty that I have a happier life than someone that counts their clothing items and sleeps on a few blankets.

The fallacy here is the definitive nature of your statement. The problem is you are framing the world within your own set of lenses.

Can you really say you are 100% certain you are happier than someone else who has minimal stuff? I think not.

I personally have very little "stuff". I don't have the car, motorcycles, golf clubs, big house, or cigar collection. Does that make you happier than me?

I choose to not have this stuff. I have intentionally chosen to eliminate unnecessary clutter in my life. The things you have mentioned I deem to be unnecessary because they are detractors from my own happiness.

I do own an apartment in the city where I live. I just bought it 2 weeks ago. It was purely a financial decision. Two days after I put it under contract, the seller got an offer for eur40k higher than what I paid. Another apartment is for sale in the same building (same floorplan) for eur170k more.

For me, it was about opportunity cost. I can easily rent this place for a net 10% yield if I choose to move somewhere else. Most likely I will live at least part of next year in either Portugal or Croatia. I know I can rent this place for positive cash flow.

But the furniture is what I consider to be "disposable". I would rather toss it than move it. I don't have a car. I have a minimal wardrobe that is pruned every 2-3 months. I could easily move in 1 week if I want.

I chose the minimalist lifestyle because it frees my mind and my time for things that matter - life experiences and spending time with friends and family.

If I want to play golf, I rent the clubs. If I want a nice cigar, I buy it when I want to smoke. If I want to live at the country club, I will rent a house for a month at the country club - furnished. If I want to drive a nice car for a few days, I will rent one.

But I refuse to clutter my life with the stuff that detracts from what is important.

For you, it seems this stuff is important. Great. But you cannot definitively say you are 100% certain you are happier than someone who chooses the minimalist lifestyle.

 

[Kak]

The fallacy here is the definitive nature of your statement. The problem is you are framing the world within your own set of lenses.

Can you really say you are 100% certain you are happier than someone else who has minimal stuff? I think not.

I personally have very little "stuff". I don't have the car, motorcycles, golf clubs, big house, or cigar collection. Does that make you happier than me?

I choose to not have this stuff. I have intentionally chosen to eliminate unnecessary clutter in my life. The things you have mentioned I deem to be unnecessary because they are detractors from my own happiness.

I do own an apartment in the city where I live. I just bought it 2 weeks ago. It was purely a financial decision. Two days after I put it under contract, the seller got an offer for eur40k higher than what I paid. Another apartment is for sale in the same building (same floorplan) for eur170k more.

For me, it was about opportunity cost. I can easily rent this place for a net 10% yield if I choose to move somewhere else. Most likely I will live at least part of next year in either Portugal or Croatia. I know I can rent this place for positive cash flow.

But the furniture is what I consider to be "disposable". I would rather toss it than move it. I don't have a car. I have a minimal wardrobe that is pruned every 2-3 months. I could easily move in 1 week if I want.

I chose the minimalist lifestyle because it frees my mind and my time for things that matter - life experiences and spending time with friends and family.

If I want to play golf, I rent the clubs. If I want a nice cigar, I buy it when I want to smoke. If I want to live at the country club, I will rent a house for a month at the country club - furnished. If I want to drive a nice car for a few days, I will rent one.

But I refuse to clutter my life with the stuff that detracts from what is important.

For you, it seems this stuff is important. Great. But you cannot definitively say you are 100% certain you are happier than someone who chooses the minimalist lifestyle.

Ok I understand what you are saying. Someone could be happier and I would have no idea. Sleeping on some blankets, crashing in peoples houses with your only suitcase of possessions sounds like living hell to me and it isnt what I work for.

I am not some hoarding shithead. I dont keep that much stuff around. I like my cigars and I dont want to rent golf clubs. I never let things own me. I could get rid of it all very quickly too by throwing it in the trash, I am unattached. But why choose inconvenience? Fitting your whole life into a suitcase? Come on. (some of these guys not necessarily you)

I absolutely need a car. Given the choice between a shit a$$ car and a nice luxury car I pick the luxury car. This is not because I need it, but because I can and I want it.

I need a place to live. Given the choice between a shit a$$ apartment and a house on the golf course with a pool I prefer a house on the golf course with a pool. This is not because I need it either, it is because I can and I want it.

Given the choice between a king size bed and a yoga mat? BED

Do I want a TV in my house? Sure I like to watch movies with the girlfriend.

I get being minimalistic. What I dont get is the extreme some people take it to. It is like they are on some bullshit self righteous mission to excuse their inability to go after something more.