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This article, and people posting in this thread are saying that they own 100 or 200 things. I can't believe this at all. My utility room, which basically just

by throwaway22032 3y ago

This article, and people posting in this thread are saying that they own 100 or 200 things. I can't believe this at all. My utility room, which basically just has stuff like cleaning products and rags/cloths etc, has more than 200 items in it. It's all useful, we're talking things like bleach, deodorant, shampoo, handwash, etc. My house probably has 50 or more pieces of art on the walls and then another 50 pieces of furniture. My computery odds and ends bin easily has more than 200 items in it. Either you guys are all just-moved-out kids, single and living in a single room, or we're defining "thing" differently. Which is it?

pacifika 3y ago
I think your house must be a bit bigger than most people, based on 50 pieces of art, compared to a minimalist living in a rented 2 bedroom apartment
- throwaway22032 3y ago
  It sounds like the entire distinction is just renting vs owning to be honest, which makes it all a bit more boring. My house is a fairly normal sized house, there are millions of it in the UK.
FalconSensei 3y ago
exactly. If you just count cutlery, dishes, pans, cleaning products, chargers, cables, etc... it goes up way too fast.
thfuran 3y ago
No kidding. If you own 100 items, a made bed is like 10% of your belongings. That's nonsense.
lifeformed 3y ago
Everything else is in their parents' basement.
rootsudo 3y ago
"Either you guys are all just-moved-out kids, single and living in a single room, or we're defining "thing" differently. Which is it?" It's just a different lifestyle, there are obvious exceptions to it - but I was there once with a house and countless things - most of them I forgot I had and such. The idea is to do inventory and then catalog and see what you need and don't need. But no, I can say with assurance my life right now is basically two suitcases, by choice - and airbnbs/hotels. 20 lb of clothes/about 80 pieces total. Misc electronic stuff takes a ton of space, spare usb - chargers, usb cables, etc - having spares for spares.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
To be fair, I don't think it really makes sense to count consumable items like the bleach, deodorant, shampoo, handwash, etc. examples you gave. I wouldn't expect him to count the milk in his fridge or the olive oil in his pantry, either. Point being that just the natural day-to-day use of that stuff uses it up. But yeah, I agree with the general point.
- timeon 3y ago
  > I don't think it really makes sense to count consumable items On the other hand if I count something it is more likely to be consumable item, so I have track of what is missing. Why bother with other stuff? That sounds like opposite of minimalism.
EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 3y ago
I used to travel for extended times, and I actually counted the items in my backpack. It was about 70 items (if you count a money wad as one item and each sock pair as one item). That's all I needed. Of course, much more items are accumulating while staying stationary. Easily approaches 1000, and I'm not a hoarder type. If some item has not been used for 1 year, out to the garbage it goes.
Noumenon72 3y ago
> This article, and people posting in this thread are saying that they own 100 or 200 things. > I can't believe this at all. > Either you guys are all just-moved-out kids, single and living in a single room, or we're defining "thing" differently. I feel like the assumption in this is that people who are single and living in a single room are not "people", and shouldn't be posting about how much they own? My utility room contains a washer, a dryer, one bottle of Tide, and a paper bag for dryer lint. I'm not posting "people say they have 2000 square feet in their home, I can't believe this. Either you guys live in houses, or we're defining 'feet' differently".
- throwaway22032 3y ago
  So in your house do you have things like - antibacterial spray bleach cleaning cloths washing up liquid floor cleaner dusters etc? They might not be yours, but someone uses these? Maybe the cleaner brings them? I don't think that people who are flatsharing or whatever are not people. I just think that it's a super narrow slice of life. You might do it from 25-35 maybe and then get a partner and like, not do that any more.
  - Noumenon72 3y ago
    I see what you're saying now: "Is everybody here from the single 15%?!" Meanwhile I've never not been single so being single feels like normal conditions to me and not "that slice of life I barely remember after college". I have bleach sometimes during flu season and I have hand soap. Probably my cleaning habits are in the bottom 15% too.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]

pacifika 3y ago

I think your house must be a bit bigger than most people, based on 50 pieces of art, compared to a minimalist living in a rented 2 bedroom apartment

throwaway22032 3y ago
It sounds like the entire distinction is just renting vs owning to be honest, which makes it all a bit more boring. My house is a fairly normal sized house, there are millions of it in the UK.

FalconSensei 3y ago

exactly. If you just count cutlery, dishes, pans, cleaning products, chargers, cables, etc... it goes up way too fast.

thfuran 3y ago

No kidding. If you own 100 items, a made bed is like 10% of your belongings. That's nonsense.

lifeformed 3y ago

Everything else is in their parents' basement.

rootsudo 3y ago

"Either you guys are all just-moved-out kids, single and living in a single room, or we're defining "thing" differently. Which is it?" It's just a different lifestyle, there are obvious exceptions to it - but I was there once with a house and countless things - most of them I forgot I had and such. The idea is to do inventory and then catalog and see what you need and don't need. But no, I can say with assurance my life right now is basically two suitcases, by choice - and airbnbs/hotels. 20 lb of clothes/about 80 pieces total. Misc electronic stuff takes a ton of space, spare usb - chargers, usb cables, etc - having spares for spares.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago

To be fair, I don't think it really makes sense to count consumable items like the bleach, deodorant, shampoo, handwash, etc. examples you gave. I wouldn't expect him to count the milk in his fridge or the olive oil in his pantry, either. Point being that just the natural day-to-day use of that stuff uses it up. But yeah, I agree with the general point.

timeon 3y ago
> I don't think it really makes sense to count consumable items On the other hand if I count something it is more likely to be consumable item, so I have track of what is missing. Why bother with other stuff? That sounds like opposite of minimalism.

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 3y ago

I used to travel for extended times, and I actually counted the items in my backpack. It was about 70 items (if you count a money wad as one item and each sock pair as one item). That's all I needed. Of course, much more items are accumulating while staying stationary. Easily approaches 1000, and I'm not a hoarder type. If some item has not been used for 1 year, out to the garbage it goes.

Noumenon72 3y ago

> This article, and people posting in this thread are saying that they own 100 or 200 things. > I can't believe this at all. > Either you guys are all just-moved-out kids, single and living in a single room, or we're defining "thing" differently. I feel like the assumption in this is that people who are single and living in a single room are not "people", and shouldn't be posting about how much they own? My utility room contains a washer, a dryer, one bottle of Tide, and a paper bag for dryer lint. I'm not posting "people say they have 2000 square feet in their home, I can't believe this. Either you guys live in houses, or we're defining 'feet' differently".

throwaway22032 3y ago
So in your house do you have things like - antibacterial spray bleach cleaning cloths washing up liquid floor cleaner dusters etc? They might not be yours, but someone uses these? Maybe the cleaner brings them? I don't think that people who are flatsharing or whatever are not people. I just think that it's a super narrow slice of life. You might do it from 25-35 maybe and then get a partner and like, not do that any more.
- Noumenon72 3y ago
  I see what you're saying now: "Is everybody here from the single 15%?!" Meanwhile I've never not been single so being single feels like normal conditions to me and not "that slice of life I barely remember after college". I have bleach sometimes during flu season and I have hand soap. Probably my cleaning habits are in the bottom 15% too.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]