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>192 makes no sense to me. I've probably got 192 items in my kitchen alone, just from wanting to be able to cook and serve a meal for 4 people because it's nice

>192 makes no sense to me. I've probably got 192 items in my kitchen alone, just from wanting to be able to cook and serve a meal for 4 people because it's nice to eat with friends. A fork is a worldly possession, after all. You're assuming people are the same as you - I follow the same but I live out of suitcases and can travel at a moments notice for the best flights and pick up an airbnb somewhere. But this is the life I want - literally 95% of my things fit in 2 suit cases, a third is my bike and a bike is a bike thought if you want to get really technical you can count the wheels, the brakes, the brake rotors, the frame, chain, groupset, etc as different but together it's a bike (and a bike bag!) but I do count the clothes/water bottles, etc. It's also so cool because you can use pivot tables to group items into necessary or not - so if you want to wing just a one backpack 25-40l trip, you know what to grab and also the rolling cost of items associated too - and for more fun, deprecation, purchase cost, etc. I enjoy it, but thats the spirit, a pair of socks = 1 or do you have 12 socks?

mazugrin2 3y ago
Can't people who live out of chests of drawers and closets also "travel at a moments [sic] notice for the best flights"?
- rootsudo 3y ago
  Suitcase, chest, drawers, yes - it's just the thinking and not having "possessions." The bigger takeaway is learning what keeps you grounded or anchored. Nothing is wrong with that - can be family, can be cars, can be real estate/houses, can be business, etc. The idea is you inventory your life and see what is the most minimal you need (haha, MVP basically.) and go from there. You can do it for spending, you can do it for consumption via money, diet - eating/consumption/purchasing,etc. It's fun, I enjoy keeping an inventory list, knowing what I have where and for larger valued items, e.g. $500+ I can put in last time usage so if I don't need it, I sell it - lower value items giveaway/free. For me, I've live in the PNW too - and it's quite fun to just have a suitcase/duffel bag, and just camp out in my car or drive somewhere new and do that - or like I said above, hop on a flight and have everything I need for the duration of my stay. I get it can sound boring or non-exciting to many people, but once you get into it - it really is fascinating. What things do you need for everyday life? Up in the air had a great segment about it, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsRP9EUrXjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsRP9EUrXjo I haven't read the book, but I should - I've been seeing it quite a bit.
throwaway22032 3y ago
Is the idea that you're renting apartments and counting the pots and pans, toilet brush etc as not being yours because you leave them with the house? So my bath mat is "mine" because I own the house and had to buy it myself, but yours isn't because it's rented? Because if we can cut that out then yeah, now I own far fewer things. It seems like a weird distinction to make.
- rootsudo 3y ago
  It can be - if you do a STR/Airbnb/Hotel, the pots and pans should come with the place and they're not yours. Many hotels do include the above, especially mid to higher end ones. If you're renting on a standard long term lease - not short term rental, and it isn't furnished with them, yes they're yours because you bought them. It's up to you what you want to "count", but toiletries are like petty cash. Pots/Pans can have realistic value, and the rabbit hole for them goes deep from cheap iron, stainless steel, ikea standard purchase, etc. The idea is to take a break, catalog what you have and go from there. You can catalog 1000+ items and just get rid of ten but then you know "oh just ten items were fluff" vs not knowing or getting rid of 200. The idea is the exercise.
  - cortesoft 3y ago
    So if I rent everything, I can live my exact same lifestyle but be called a minimalist?
    - TheDong 3y ago
      Minimalist is just a self-identified label, so you're welcome to call yourself a minimalist if you feel that it fits. You don't have to look for some technical workaround to some exact definition here, and pedantically arguing about descriptive terms can get tiring real quick. Maybe you're not trying to be pedantic and are coming from a place of curiosity, and I do apologize for my tone if that's the case. It is coming off as sounding a little "debate-bro" though.
    - valleyer 3y ago

mazugrin2 3y ago

Can't people who live out of chests of drawers and closets also "travel at a moments [sic] notice for the best flights"?

rootsudo 3y ago
Suitcase, chest, drawers, yes - it's just the thinking and not having "possessions." The bigger takeaway is learning what keeps you grounded or anchored. Nothing is wrong with that - can be family, can be cars, can be real estate/houses, can be business, etc. The idea is you inventory your life and see what is the most minimal you need (haha, MVP basically.) and go from there. You can do it for spending, you can do it for consumption via money, diet - eating/consumption/purchasing,etc. It's fun, I enjoy keeping an inventory list, knowing what I have where and for larger valued items, e.g. $500+ I can put in last time usage so if I don't need it, I sell it - lower value items giveaway/free. For me, I've live in the PNW too - and it's quite fun to just have a suitcase/duffel bag, and just camp out in my car or drive somewhere new and do that - or like I said above, hop on a flight and have everything I need for the duration of my stay. I get it can sound boring or non-exciting to many people, but once you get into it - it really is fascinating. What things do you need for everyday life? Up in the air had a great segment about it, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsRP9EUrXjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsRP9EUrXjo I haven't read the book, but I should - I've been seeing it quite a bit.

throwaway22032 3y ago

Is the idea that you're renting apartments and counting the pots and pans, toilet brush etc as not being yours because you leave them with the house? So my bath mat is "mine" because I own the house and had to buy it myself, but yours isn't because it's rented? Because if we can cut that out then yeah, now I own far fewer things. It seems like a weird distinction to make.

rootsudo 3y ago
It can be - if you do a STR/Airbnb/Hotel, the pots and pans should come with the place and they're not yours. Many hotels do include the above, especially mid to higher end ones. If you're renting on a standard long term lease - not short term rental, and it isn't furnished with them, yes they're yours because you bought them. It's up to you what you want to "count", but toiletries are like petty cash. Pots/Pans can have realistic value, and the rabbit hole for them goes deep from cheap iron, stainless steel, ikea standard purchase, etc. The idea is to take a break, catalog what you have and go from there. You can catalog 1000+ items and just get rid of ten but then you know "oh just ten items were fluff" vs not knowing or getting rid of 200. The idea is the exercise.
- cortesoft 3y ago
  So if I rent everything, I can live my exact same lifestyle but be called a minimalist?
  - TheDong 3y ago
    Minimalist is just a self-identified label, so you're welcome to call yourself a minimalist if you feel that it fits. You don't have to look for some technical workaround to some exact definition here, and pedantically arguing about descriptive terms can get tiring real quick. Maybe you're not trying to be pedantic and are coming from a place of curiosity, and I do apologize for my tone if that's the case. It is coming off as sounding a little "debate-bro" though.
  - valleyer 3y ago