9 ms·

On Minimalism

107 points by chriseidhof 15y ago

revorad 15y ago
When I read posts like these, I can't help but wonder if minimalistic people go around feeling smug and superior all the time. If you think and talk a lot about how great your minimalistic life is, then you're probably suffering from what some call spiritual materialism.
- praptak 15y ago
  There is an alternative explanation for the pro-minimalistic posts: maybe reducing your stuff actually has the benefits the posts speak about? In this case it would be natural to share it so that other people can benefit too.
  - revorad 15y ago
    That's true, hence the probabilistic tone in my comment. I know from personal experience that reducing stuff can simplify your life and make you feel better. But so can having more stuff, just like the author found by getting a Kindle!
    - saraid216 15y ago
      I think that's an important point. Was replacing his book collection with a Kindle an example of "less stuff" or "more stuff"? I don't think it's either. It's an alternative, and in this case, it felt like "less stuff" to him. That was in line with his goal and it worked.
- chico_dusty 15y ago
  You're not alone. I get a definite Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own a Television vibe from posts like this.
- chriseidhof 15y ago
  No, I don't. I've accepted that people are really different. Another minimalist/buddhist thing I try to do is not to judge other people, but just try to understand them and feel compassion.
  - revorad 15y ago
    That's great. My comment above was not directed specifically at your post, but more generally because I've read a lot of similar posts. I find not judging people almost impossible. Isn't judging people, things and events what makes me an intelligent creature? What do you (or Buddhists) think of accepting oneself as a judgmental person?
    - chriseidhof 15y ago
      It is extremely hard. I am very bad at it. However, once you get better at it you'll notice how you can accept people for who they are. This then helps understanding them, and (almost?) everybody has an interesting story to tell, which you wouldn't have heard otherwise.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
- dschobel 15y ago
  reminiscent of: http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention...
  - chriseidhof 15y ago
    Haha, nice :D. I watch TV shows though. BTW, I don't even own a television!
- jh3 15y ago
  People who do something that changes their lives for the better usually enjoy letting other people know how they can try to do the same thing. It's exciting for the person who succeeded, so they want to show others "the way." It may come off as elitist, but I think it's just excitement.
- scythe 15y ago
  >I can't help but wonder if minimalistic people go around feeling smug and superior all the time. Selection bias rears its ugly head again -- you never read blog posts by minimalists who don't write blog posts about their lives.
stygianguest 15y ago
While the idea of minimalism really appeals to me, its practice does not. After moving at about once a year for the last 10 years, I have had many rounds of culling needless stuff (although I could do another round). But there are so many things I would not throw away because I need and use them every day: books, cds, musical instruments, cooking gear, all kinds of tools, wires, parts, etc. for tinkering. This adds up to what I own, and yes, it is quite a lot (moving requires the biggest truck I can get with a normal license). For the books and cds I could go to a library, for the tools to a hackerspace, for my food to a restaurant... The instruments, well, that'd be hard. It seems to me that such a life would be more expensive and require more organisation. In short, it would be far less enjoyable for me.
- chriseidhof 15y ago
  Yes, there is definitely a tension between pleasure and minimalism. I miss my guitar too. I miss cooking a little bit, but the restaurants in Berlin are very good and low prices. However, after this I might consider a furnished apartment, as long as I don't have to own the stuff myself. The point I'm trying to make in my article is that minimalism makes me happier, but I'm not sure whether this will always be true. Too minimalistic and I will probably become less happy. Also, doing it for a long time might also get old. We'll see, so far I like it.
  - mhd 15y ago
    From reading the article, I think that you've went beyond minimalism and into straight-forward asceticism. Any opinion about that?
    - chriseidhof 15y ago
      I'm actually trying to have more fun. Traveling, eating out, having more quality time with people. However, I understand why you think his but I can't identify with it (yet?).
  - danieldk 15y ago
    Yes, there is definitely a tension between pleasure and minimalism. However paradoxical, minimalism can be also an be attachment. As Buddhists would say, take the middle road. Taking cooking as an example: food touches on the outer world (think of everything involved in a simple crop, from the farmer to the sun) and the inner world (physically and mentally). Preparing food is very good for exercising awareness and appreciating life, why would one sacrifice that? Edit: sorry for accidentally downvoting you :(.
0x12 15y ago
Try moving to another continent a couple of times, it does wonders for breaking your addictions to 'stuff'. Even so, I find that after moving the 'stuff' creeps back in again and after a couple of years there is just too much of it. It's just different stuff... especially tools, it's hard to get by without them. I couldn't care less about clothes or furniture but tools matter.
sfvisser 15y ago
Although it certainly varies from person to person, very actively making your life 'simpler' seems like a stressful thing to do. Changing my eating habits to reduce my sugar intake will definitely be more complicated than not doing so. The same holds for an information diet. I understand why you're doing this and it'll most probably have a positive effect, but I don't see how this is necessarily simpler.
- drivingmenuts 15y ago
  Type II diabetic here - changing the diet is fucking hell, for me anyway.
- ams6110 15y ago
  I changed my diet to avoid wheat and sugar (something like paleolithic). I just did it cold turkey and didn't find it that hard. Stop eating bread and other baked goods, candy, soda and you're 90% there. I lost close to 50 pounds in less than a year. I have not eliminated sugar in the sense that I still eat fruit, but mostly berries and I think eliminating nearly all the refined sugar is what's important. My diet is now mostly meat, eggs, fish, and salad with some nuts and fruit. There's really nothing complicated about it.
- Revisor 15y ago
  A general tip is not to have a negative goal. A better general tip is to have a positive goal. See what I did there? :) Instead of reducing sugar in your diet, go for increasing the good stuff - vegetables, berries etc.
pinaceae 15y ago
random single guy finds it great to be able to have no obligations, film at 11. emphasis on single. no kids. no obligations, no responsibility. oh how zen you are.
- lkozma 15y ago
  Wife and kid don't necessarily have to change everything, as long as you find someone who thinks similarly to you.
  - ams6110 15y ago
    Good luck
  - r00fus 15y ago
    > Wife and kid don't necessarily have to change everything, as long as you find someone who thinks similarly to you. Sorry, this is quite a naive statement. My wife before pregnancy and childbirth had a different outlook on life... people's personalities change, and having kids often makes this change (large cause of divorces and break-ups). Also, your kid's personality you can't choose. Some kids are very colicky and stubborn and do much better with stable environment. Others are free spirits. If you have a special-needs or disabled child, forget about it. No choice there. My wife's friend roams around with her husband (and their kid) - he does short-term contracts around the world. She had repeated complained about the churn and stress to my wife.
    - lkozma 15y ago
      I agree with you and I have a wife and a son. I didn't say it doesn't change anything, but that it doesn't change everything. What I meant is that there will be things you cannot do anymore and there will be things for which you use the changed circumstances as an excuse not to do anymore. Extreme minimalism in particular gets harder but buying a house/car/TV/expensive furniture/100s of other things, just because that is what society excepts from a settled person is silly.
- chriseidhof 15y ago
Hyena 15y ago
How much software do you have, including regularly visited websites and other ephemeral software?
pseudonym 15y ago
As a personal counterpoint (ish) to this, I've found that minimalism is fine, to a point, but change is the huge thing that makes me feel better about myself. Even something as simple as a different clothing style or different haircut can improve your self-confidence and outlook on life, if you let it.
maneesh 15y ago
Potentially offtopic but relevant for Minimalist fans who live in Berlin: we have a weekly meetup for people doing Four Hour Work Week related businesses, or doing any online business whatsoever. We've had Tim Ferriss and tons of other entrepreneurs come visit us. If you're around, check us out on Mondays at 5pm at Betahaus, Moritzplatz U8 http://www.facebook.com/groups/146524318752855/ http://www.facebook.com/groups/146524318752855/
g-garron 15y ago
One question: Is there a way to continue with that way of life once you have kids? And start to need some more stuff? (Another point this may be off topic) Something about your 30-day-no-candy experiment. If you continue trying to about complex sugars, you'll see that you will not miss carbs at all. For a different reason (I'm a body builder -hobby-) I tried 3 months with no carbs at all, and I really felt good!
- dagw 15y ago
  Kids, at least for the first couple of years, don't really require that much stuff, certainly much less than most people buy. Beyond clothes, bottles and consumables (like diapers), all you really need is a carriage and/or carrying device (I highly recommend getting both) to transport the kid, some sort of crib like thing for the kid to sleep in and some simple toys. Ask me again in a couple of years time and I'll let you know if you need more stuff for older kids.
  - g-garron 15y ago
    I've a nine years old girl, and a three years old boy. They own some 60% of the stuff in the house. I would like to get rid of 80% of that 60% :)
    - ams6110 15y ago
      And its not just a matter of what you get them. Birthdays, Christmas, random gifts from grandparents and other relatives and friends, and before you know it you can't walk across their bedroom for all the crap that's accumulated. Good plan is to say "ok now that you have this new thing we need to get rid of one of your old things" but good luck getting them to accept that happily.
      - saraid216 15y ago
        One suggestion I'd make (that I haven't seen implemented, so it's only an idea) is a regular cull. Every few months or a year, depending on your preference / tolerance, just sit them down and ask them to choose what they're willing to throw away or give away. You could explain it in terms of your philosophy, or frame it as giving their lovely things to other kids who would also like to play with wonderful toys, or so on. Kids can be a lot more reasonable than people give them credit for.
bignoggins 15y ago
I'm not sure if this qualifies as minimalist, but 5 months ago I moved out of my apartment, put everything in storage, packed a week worth of clothes, a macbook air, ipad, ipod and set off around the world. I used to have quite a bit of "stuff": home theater, nice car, video games, etc. But I don't find I miss it very much at all. If anything, the only thing I really miss is my dog. Right now I'm working on my iPad app at an amazing cafe in Budapest. There really is no other place I'd rather be.
- enobrev 15y ago
  I hope you didn't leave the dog in storage.
- jh3 15y ago
  If you don't mine me asking, how old are you and how are you currently making money? I'm assuming you saved some for a bit before you left wherever you used to live. I'd actually be interested in anything you have to say.
  - bignoggins 15y ago
    28 and married. I'm own a mobile app business so I can work from anywhere in the world. I didn't need to save up any money as my earnings are enough to cover all of my expenses.
  - Harkins 15y ago
    There's a bunch of us nomads here on HN, search for threads about location-independent businesses.
- orenmazor 15y ago
  I consider this occasionally (as I have mostly the same options of travel), but I can't handle the idea of not hanging out with my dog regularly. I'd just miss the stupid quadruped all the time.
  - bignoggins 15y ago
twidlit 15y ago
Good for him but i find this kind of free-wheeling and 'zen' lifestyle very selfish at its core. Go minimalism to what end? Why don't you do something that contributes to tree of human knowledge or something makes humanity more efficient?
- chriseidhof 15y ago
  I try to add value to the world as well. I don't see how those things are exclusive? And yes, it is very selfish. I try to optimize for my own happiness. Which includes helping others, being nice, adding value, doing things that make life less fun in the short term but better in the long term.
Udo 15y ago
Anecdotal (read: personal) experience suggests that rich people are more likely to be minimalists. Case in point, my brother is extremely wealthy and even though he likes nice things, his houses are always very sparsely outfitted, his cars never have any personal stuff in them, everything is extremely clean and besides his laptop, he doesn't carry around any personal possessions. Compared to that, I hardly scrape by in an absurdly small apartment, and until recently it was stuffed to the brim. My car is full of things. I'm a slob. And all the poor people I know are too. Recently, I have started to throw away or auction off a huge part of my stuff and it feels really liberating (how many computers does a person need, anyway). I wonder if being poor triggers people to hoard and/or to prefer complicated items. For example, I observed that rich people tend to have really simple furniture that is reduced to its core function, whereas poor people tend to have complicated-looking things and a lot of them. Poor households are absolutely cluttered.
- bignoggins 15y ago
  interesting anecdote. Though not as extreme as your example, my wife comes from a lower middle class background, and my parents are a bit more well to do. Her parent's house is much more cluttered than mine.
- vacri 15y ago
  To some degree, to get ahead in business you must personally present as clean. This would carry over somewhat into your personal life - it's hard to be wearing thousand dollar suits to work while living in a rat's nest, I guess. Personally, I like clutter. Random toys people give you, buildup of projects and jobs and whatnot. It personalises a place. I understand the appeal of not caring about items - I don't particularly care about most of my clutter - but minimalism is so... sterile. Walk into a minimalist's house and there's nothing really there of their personality, nothing particularly different from any other minimalist's house. I don't have a problem with other people living that way, but for me, it's just so sterile and sometimes even feels unwelcoming. EDIT: I wonder if part of your rich/poor thing is that the rich have the opportunity to move around a lot for both business and pleasure and so can get a variety of memories and backdrops, whereas the poor see the same thing day in day out, and so personalisation of spaces (or making them more varied) is more important to them?
mkr-hn 15y ago
The best thing I've done recently was move aggregators like Techmeme and Sphinn out of Reader and into a bookmark folder. I later realized most of the stuff in the aggregators was not only useless, but even skimming took so much time and energy away from the post-a-day/week blogs where I drew most of my inspiration from. I also did this with all the news sites I read. Most of it was filler anyway. I end up not reading much news, but somehow I still hear about the important stuff.
radicalbyte 15y ago
I had a similar experience when I moved from the UK to the Netherlands in 2006. You gather a lot of hubris over the years and it feels nice to be able to dispatch a big load of it. Also it's an interesting point you make about dutchies and their agenda's. No wonder people think I'm crazy. I've never had an agenda (or used calendars either for that matter).
MrFoof 15y ago
I've gone towards minimalism -- or at least as far as I feel is reasonable -- for the purpose of eliminating parts of my life that were pure maintenance, such as cleaning and commuting. In 2008 I got rid of what I thought were "most of my possessions". The big thing was every piece of furniture I owned except for a desk, a small lamp and am Eames molded chair. I did, however, have a walk-in closet full of clothes and boxes. I also kept the computer, and the TV. By having no furniture -- not even a mattress -- for months, it really changed my perspective on what I valued about furniture. Sleeping and sitting on the floor tends to do that to you. It really made me think about what I wanted in a bed, or in a couch, or whether I even wanted certain things at all. It also forced me to focus on the space. By most measures I lived in a very large apartment, but I started to notice how awful the floor plan was, how much room was wasted by an excessively large kitchen, oversized bathroom and tons of useless hallway... it was "big", but not in ways that were useful considering how you actually live in the space. So 8 months later I downsized. Over that period of time I got rid of more things. Useless baubles and kitsch. Clothes I never wore. Books I never needed again. I had purchased a nice bed, nightstands and two lamps, but hadn't acquired anything else, so I brought far fewer things into a considerably smaller space. However, that smaller space was MUCH nicer than the larger one, for a bit less money, and in a ridiculously good location (subway across the street, in the city instead of 10 miles out). My commute went from an hour a day to being able to stumble out of bed at the last minute and walk across the street. Cleaning was just getting easier and easier. With no junk around, you can just power steam, vacuum, or wipe down every surface very quickly. I also seemed to have to clean less often, in addition to reducing it to maybe 30 minutes a week. Insects? What are those? I think I've seen only a fruit fly and a spider in nearly 3 years. Despite losing 250sqft, I think I only lost 20sqft of usable living space. But I wasn't done. If I spent an hour going through everything, I'd still finish with a 15-gallon garbage bag full of things to throw out. The former walk-in closet of boxes? It's down to just one box (as of this weekend). Two of the (three) reach-in closets are now empty, so I'm turning one into my office (which reclaims a lot of floor space). I could probably downsize again and still have tons of room, as even with a few more pieces of furniture (partial living room) the place is feeling a bit gargantuan, and I'm worried I might just buy furniture to eliminate the seemingly empty space.
- 15y ago
schiptsov 15y ago
'Less is more' is a thousand years old general maxim. And of course, there is nothing from Buddhism or stoicism in cutting some costs and undoing some bad habits. One also should watch the Fight Club movie. ^_^
gnijholt 15y ago
Reminds me of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLoge6QzcGY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLoge6QzcGY
motyar 15y ago
Minimalism is not about "less", its about "just enough"
getp 15y ago
Very interesting article, I can see some of our discussions in there. I think it's indeed fair to say most people could use less stuff in their lives (minimalism). Furthermore, it's honorable to strive for a simpler life in this age of the Internet and globalization. However, I also agree with the comments that the audience for this article is probably individualistic, unbound, single young men. Both minimalism and stoicism are about constraints. Therefore, I do not agree with replacing books with a Kindle. A Kindle - like most Internet-connected mobile devices - represents abundance: an abundance of information. Hence I find this point a bit at odds with an information diet. Having physical books puts a constraint on what you can carry around with you (especially important when traveling). Also, which is an argument not heard enough, reading from books - especially hardcovers - has aesthetic value, and it's easier to remember the contents of the book.

107 points by chriseidhof 15y ago

When I read posts like these, I can't help but wonder if minimalistic people go around feeling smug and superior all the time. If you think and talk a lot about how great your minimalistic life is, then you're probably suffering from what some call spiritual materialism.

praptak 15y ago
There is an alternative explanation for the pro-minimalistic posts: maybe reducing your stuff actually has the benefits the posts speak about? In this case it would be natural to share it so that other people can benefit too.
- revorad 15y ago
  That's true, hence the probabilistic tone in my comment. I know from personal experience that reducing stuff can simplify your life and make you feel better. But so can having more stuff, just like the author found by getting a Kindle!
  - saraid216 15y ago
    I think that's an important point. Was replacing his book collection with a Kindle an example of "less stuff" or "more stuff"? I don't think it's either. It's an alternative, and in this case, it felt like "less stuff" to him. That was in line with his goal and it worked.
chico_dusty 15y ago
You're not alone. I get a definite Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own a Television vibe from posts like this.
chriseidhof 15y ago
No, I don't. I've accepted that people are really different. Another minimalist/buddhist thing I try to do is not to judge other people, but just try to understand them and feel compassion.
- revorad 15y ago
  That's great. My comment above was not directed specifically at your post, but more generally because I've read a lot of similar posts. I find not judging people almost impossible. Isn't judging people, things and events what makes me an intelligent creature? What do you (or Buddhists) think of accepting oneself as a judgmental person?
  - chriseidhof 15y ago
    It is extremely hard. I am very bad at it. However, once you get better at it you'll notice how you can accept people for who they are. This then helps understanding them, and (almost?) everybody has an interesting story to tell, which you wouldn't have heard otherwise.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
dschobel 15y ago
reminiscent of: http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention...
- chriseidhof 15y ago
  Haha, nice :D. I watch TV shows though. BTW, I don't even own a television!
jh3 15y ago
People who do something that changes their lives for the better usually enjoy letting other people know how they can try to do the same thing. It's exciting for the person who succeeded, so they want to show others "the way." It may come off as elitist, but I think it's just excitement.
scythe 15y ago
>I can't help but wonder if minimalistic people go around feeling smug and superior all the time. Selection bias rears its ugly head again -- you never read blog posts by minimalists who don't write blog posts about their lives.

stygianguest 15y ago

While the idea of minimalism really appeals to me, its practice does not. After moving at about once a year for the last 10 years, I have had many rounds of culling needless stuff (although I could do another round). But there are so many things I would not throw away because I need and use them every day: books, cds, musical instruments, cooking gear, all kinds of tools, wires, parts, etc. for tinkering. This adds up to what I own, and yes, it is quite a lot (moving requires the biggest truck I can get with a normal license). For the books and cds I could go to a library, for the tools to a hackerspace, for my food to a restaurant... The instruments, well, that'd be hard. It seems to me that such a life would be more expensive and require more organisation. In short, it would be far less enjoyable for me.

chriseidhof 15y ago
Yes, there is definitely a tension between pleasure and minimalism. I miss my guitar too. I miss cooking a little bit, but the restaurants in Berlin are very good and low prices. However, after this I might consider a furnished apartment, as long as I don't have to own the stuff myself. The point I'm trying to make in my article is that minimalism makes me happier, but I'm not sure whether this will always be true. Too minimalistic and I will probably become less happy. Also, doing it for a long time might also get old. We'll see, so far I like it.
- mhd 15y ago
  From reading the article, I think that you've went beyond minimalism and into straight-forward asceticism. Any opinion about that?
  - chriseidhof 15y ago
    I'm actually trying to have more fun. Traveling, eating out, having more quality time with people. However, I understand why you think his but I can't identify with it (yet?).
- danieldk 15y ago
  Yes, there is definitely a tension between pleasure and minimalism. However paradoxical, minimalism can be also an be attachment. As Buddhists would say, take the middle road. Taking cooking as an example: food touches on the outer world (think of everything involved in a simple crop, from the farmer to the sun) and the inner world (physically and mentally). Preparing food is very good for exercising awareness and appreciating life, why would one sacrifice that? Edit: sorry for accidentally downvoting you :(.

0x12 15y ago

Try moving to another continent a couple of times, it does wonders for breaking your addictions to 'stuff'. Even so, I find that after moving the 'stuff' creeps back in again and after a couple of years there is just too much of it. It's just different stuff... especially tools, it's hard to get by without them. I couldn't care less about clothes or furniture but tools matter.

sfvisser 15y ago

Although it certainly varies from person to person, very actively making your life 'simpler' seems like a stressful thing to do. Changing my eating habits to reduce my sugar intake will definitely be more complicated than not doing so. The same holds for an information diet. I understand why you're doing this and it'll most probably have a positive effect, but I don't see how this is necessarily simpler.

drivingmenuts 15y ago
Type II diabetic here - changing the diet is fucking hell, for me anyway.
ams6110 15y ago
I changed my diet to avoid wheat and sugar (something like paleolithic). I just did it cold turkey and didn't find it that hard. Stop eating bread and other baked goods, candy, soda and you're 90% there. I lost close to 50 pounds in less than a year. I have not eliminated sugar in the sense that I still eat fruit, but mostly berries and I think eliminating nearly all the refined sugar is what's important. My diet is now mostly meat, eggs, fish, and salad with some nuts and fruit. There's really nothing complicated about it.
Revisor 15y ago
A general tip is not to have a negative goal. A better general tip is to have a positive goal. See what I did there? :) Instead of reducing sugar in your diet, go for increasing the good stuff - vegetables, berries etc.

pinaceae 15y ago

random single guy finds it great to be able to have no obligations, film at 11. emphasis on single. no kids. no obligations, no responsibility. oh how zen you are.

lkozma 15y ago
Wife and kid don't necessarily have to change everything, as long as you find someone who thinks similarly to you.
- ams6110 15y ago
  Good luck
- r00fus 15y ago
  > Wife and kid don't necessarily have to change everything, as long as you find someone who thinks similarly to you. Sorry, this is quite a naive statement. My wife before pregnancy and childbirth had a different outlook on life... people's personalities change, and having kids often makes this change (large cause of divorces and break-ups). Also, your kid's personality you can't choose. Some kids are very colicky and stubborn and do much better with stable environment. Others are free spirits. If you have a special-needs or disabled child, forget about it. No choice there. My wife's friend roams around with her husband (and their kid) - he does short-term contracts around the world. She had repeated complained about the churn and stress to my wife.
  - lkozma 15y ago
    I agree with you and I have a wife and a son. I didn't say it doesn't change anything, but that it doesn't change everything. What I meant is that there will be things you cannot do anymore and there will be things for which you use the changed circumstances as an excuse not to do anymore. Extreme minimalism in particular gets harder but buying a house/car/TV/expensive furniture/100s of other things, just because that is what society excepts from a settled person is silly.
chriseidhof 15y ago

Hyena 15y ago

How much software do you have, including regularly visited websites and other ephemeral software?

pseudonym 15y ago

As a personal counterpoint (ish) to this, I've found that minimalism is fine, to a point, but change is the huge thing that makes me feel better about myself. Even something as simple as a different clothing style or different haircut can improve your self-confidence and outlook on life, if you let it.

maneesh 15y ago

Potentially offtopic but relevant for Minimalist fans who live in Berlin: we have a weekly meetup for people doing Four Hour Work Week related businesses, or doing any online business whatsoever. We've had Tim Ferriss and tons of other entrepreneurs come visit us. If you're around, check us out on Mondays at 5pm at Betahaus, Moritzplatz U8 http://www.facebook.com/groups/146524318752855/ http://www.facebook.com/groups/146524318752855/

g-garron 15y ago

One question: Is there a way to continue with that way of life once you have kids? And start to need some more stuff? (Another point this may be off topic) Something about your 30-day-no-candy experiment. If you continue trying to about complex sugars, you'll see that you will not miss carbs at all. For a different reason (I'm a body builder -hobby-) I tried 3 months with no carbs at all, and I really felt good!

dagw 15y ago
Kids, at least for the first couple of years, don't really require that much stuff, certainly much less than most people buy. Beyond clothes, bottles and consumables (like diapers), all you really need is a carriage and/or carrying device (I highly recommend getting both) to transport the kid, some sort of crib like thing for the kid to sleep in and some simple toys. Ask me again in a couple of years time and I'll let you know if you need more stuff for older kids.
- g-garron 15y ago
  I've a nine years old girl, and a three years old boy. They own some 60% of the stuff in the house. I would like to get rid of 80% of that 60% :)
  - ams6110 15y ago
    And its not just a matter of what you get them. Birthdays, Christmas, random gifts from grandparents and other relatives and friends, and before you know it you can't walk across their bedroom for all the crap that's accumulated. Good plan is to say "ok now that you have this new thing we need to get rid of one of your old things" but good luck getting them to accept that happily.
    - saraid216 15y ago
      One suggestion I'd make (that I haven't seen implemented, so it's only an idea) is a regular cull. Every few months or a year, depending on your preference / tolerance, just sit them down and ask them to choose what they're willing to throw away or give away. You could explain it in terms of your philosophy, or frame it as giving their lovely things to other kids who would also like to play with wonderful toys, or so on. Kids can be a lot more reasonable than people give them credit for.

bignoggins 15y ago

I'm not sure if this qualifies as minimalist, but 5 months ago I moved out of my apartment, put everything in storage, packed a week worth of clothes, a macbook air, ipad, ipod and set off around the world. I used to have quite a bit of "stuff": home theater, nice car, video games, etc. But I don't find I miss it very much at all. If anything, the only thing I really miss is my dog. Right now I'm working on my iPad app at an amazing cafe in Budapest. There really is no other place I'd rather be.

enobrev 15y ago
I hope you didn't leave the dog in storage.
jh3 15y ago
If you don't mine me asking, how old are you and how are you currently making money? I'm assuming you saved some for a bit before you left wherever you used to live. I'd actually be interested in anything you have to say.
- bignoggins 15y ago
  28 and married. I'm own a mobile app business so I can work from anywhere in the world. I didn't need to save up any money as my earnings are enough to cover all of my expenses.
- Harkins 15y ago
  There's a bunch of us nomads here on HN, search for threads about location-independent businesses.
orenmazor 15y ago
I consider this occasionally (as I have mostly the same options of travel), but I can't handle the idea of not hanging out with my dog regularly. I'd just miss the stupid quadruped all the time.
- bignoggins 15y ago

twidlit 15y ago

Good for him but i find this kind of free-wheeling and 'zen' lifestyle very selfish at its core. Go minimalism to what end? Why don't you do something that contributes to tree of human knowledge or something makes humanity more efficient?

chriseidhof 15y ago
I try to add value to the world as well. I don't see how those things are exclusive? And yes, it is very selfish. I try to optimize for my own happiness. Which includes helping others, being nice, adding value, doing things that make life less fun in the short term but better in the long term.

Udo 15y ago

Anecdotal (read: personal) experience suggests that rich people are more likely to be minimalists. Case in point, my brother is extremely wealthy and even though he likes nice things, his houses are always very sparsely outfitted, his cars never have any personal stuff in them, everything is extremely clean and besides his laptop, he doesn't carry around any personal possessions. Compared to that, I hardly scrape by in an absurdly small apartment, and until recently it was stuffed to the brim. My car is full of things. I'm a slob. And all the poor people I know are too. Recently, I have started to throw away or auction off a huge part of my stuff and it feels really liberating (how many computers does a person need, anyway). I wonder if being poor triggers people to hoard and/or to prefer complicated items. For example, I observed that rich people tend to have really simple furniture that is reduced to its core function, whereas poor people tend to have complicated-looking things and a lot of them. Poor households are absolutely cluttered.

bignoggins 15y ago
interesting anecdote. Though not as extreme as your example, my wife comes from a lower middle class background, and my parents are a bit more well to do. Her parent's house is much more cluttered than mine.
vacri 15y ago
To some degree, to get ahead in business you must personally present as clean. This would carry over somewhat into your personal life - it's hard to be wearing thousand dollar suits to work while living in a rat's nest, I guess. Personally, I like clutter. Random toys people give you, buildup of projects and jobs and whatnot. It personalises a place. I understand the appeal of not caring about items - I don't particularly care about most of my clutter - but minimalism is so... sterile. Walk into a minimalist's house and there's nothing really there of their personality, nothing particularly different from any other minimalist's house. I don't have a problem with other people living that way, but for me, it's just so sterile and sometimes even feels unwelcoming. EDIT: I wonder if part of your rich/poor thing is that the rich have the opportunity to move around a lot for both business and pleasure and so can get a variety of memories and backdrops, whereas the poor see the same thing day in day out, and so personalisation of spaces (or making them more varied) is more important to them?

mkr-hn 15y ago

The best thing I've done recently was move aggregators like Techmeme and Sphinn out of Reader and into a bookmark folder. I later realized most of the stuff in the aggregators was not only useless, but even skimming took so much time and energy away from the post-a-day/week blogs where I drew most of my inspiration from. I also did this with all the news sites I read. Most of it was filler anyway. I end up not reading much news, but somehow I still hear about the important stuff.

radicalbyte 15y ago

I had a similar experience when I moved from the UK to the Netherlands in 2006. You gather a lot of hubris over the years and it feels nice to be able to dispatch a big load of it. Also it's an interesting point you make about dutchies and their agenda's. No wonder people think I'm crazy. I've never had an agenda (or used calendars either for that matter).

MrFoof 15y ago

I've gone towards minimalism -- or at least as far as I feel is reasonable -- for the purpose of eliminating parts of my life that were pure maintenance, such as cleaning and commuting. In 2008 I got rid of what I thought were "most of my possessions". The big thing was every piece of furniture I owned except for a desk, a small lamp and am Eames molded chair. I did, however, have a walk-in closet full of clothes and boxes. I also kept the computer, and the TV. By having no furniture -- not even a mattress -- for months, it really changed my perspective on what I valued about furniture. Sleeping and sitting on the floor tends to do that to you. It really made me think about what I wanted in a bed, or in a couch, or whether I even wanted certain things at all. It also forced me to focus on the space. By most measures I lived in a very large apartment, but I started to notice how awful the floor plan was, how much room was wasted by an excessively large kitchen, oversized bathroom and tons of useless hallway... it was "big", but not in ways that were useful considering how you actually live in the space. So 8 months later I downsized. Over that period of time I got rid of more things. Useless baubles and kitsch. Clothes I never wore. Books I never needed again. I had purchased a nice bed, nightstands and two lamps, but hadn't acquired anything else, so I brought far fewer things into a considerably smaller space. However, that smaller space was MUCH nicer than the larger one, for a bit less money, and in a ridiculously good location (subway across the street, in the city instead of 10 miles out). My commute went from an hour a day to being able to stumble out of bed at the last minute and walk across the street. Cleaning was just getting easier and easier. With no junk around, you can just power steam, vacuum, or wipe down every surface very quickly. I also seemed to have to clean less often, in addition to reducing it to maybe 30 minutes a week. Insects? What are those? I think I've seen only a fruit fly and a spider in nearly 3 years. Despite losing 250sqft, I think I only lost 20sqft of usable living space. But I wasn't done. If I spent an hour going through everything, I'd still finish with a 15-gallon garbage bag full of things to throw out. The former walk-in closet of boxes? It's down to just one box (as of this weekend). Two of the (three) reach-in closets are now empty, so I'm turning one into my office (which reclaims a lot of floor space). I could probably downsize again and still have tons of room, as even with a few more pieces of furniture (partial living room) the place is feeling a bit gargantuan, and I'm worried I might just buy furniture to eliminate the seemingly empty space.

15y ago

schiptsov 15y ago

'Less is more' is a thousand years old general maxim. And of course, there is nothing from Buddhism or stoicism in cutting some costs and undoing some bad habits. One also should watch the Fight Club movie. ^_^

gnijholt 15y ago

Reminds me of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLoge6QzcGY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLoge6QzcGY

motyar 15y ago

Minimalism is not about "less", its about "just enough"

getp 15y ago

Very interesting article, I can see some of our discussions in there. I think it's indeed fair to say most people could use less stuff in their lives (minimalism). Furthermore, it's honorable to strive for a simpler life in this age of the Internet and globalization. However, I also agree with the comments that the audience for this article is probably individualistic, unbound, single young men. Both minimalism and stoicism are about constraints. Therefore, I do not agree with replacing books with a Kindle. A Kindle - like most Internet-connected mobile devices - represents abundance: an abundance of information. Hence I find this point a bit at odds with an information diet. Having physical books puts a constraint on what you can carry around with you (especially important when traveling). Also, which is an argument not heard enough, reading from books - especially hardcovers - has aesthetic value, and it's easier to remember the contents of the book.