7 ms·

How I Simplified My Life

95 points by bmaeser 14y ago

guylhem 14y ago
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 :-)
- ZanderEarth32 14y ago
  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.
  - guylhem 14y ago
    It's easy : - 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.
    - rb2k_ 14y ago
      > I know it's a weird diet. Not at all, sounds pretty close to what could be considered Paleo/Keto (bsides the rice)
  - ahoge 14y ago
    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.
    - guylhem 14y ago
      had one of these dual things for a time - they are a pain to clean
      - ahoge 14y ago
        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.
        guylhem 14y ago
        :-) I lived with the burnt stuff for a while too, but decided that the next one would be a 100% microwave to avoid any cleaning issues
graeme 14y ago
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.
cletus 14y ago
I think I'm definitely owning "stuff" other than: - phone - tablet - laptop - desktop... maybe - desk - desk lamp - desk chair - bed - clothes 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. Seriously, I hate it.
- iamdann 14y ago
  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.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- barrkel 14y ago
  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.
desireco42 14y ago
Check in comments how they celebrate not having kids... If you can't live simply with kids, then simple is not good way to live :).
- rlt3 14y ago
  What do you mean by this?
- alwaysinshade 14y ago
  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.
  - trhtrsh 14y ago
    > 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.
    - alwaysinshade 14y ago
      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.
aMoniker 14y ago
Everything I own right now fits in a backpack. I don't feel any different than when I had an apartment full of stuff, save for a greater sense of freedom.
gingerlime 14y ago
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?
- thirdtruck 14y ago
  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.
  - mcdowall 14y ago
    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.
- icebraining 14y ago
  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.
  - trhtrsh 14y ago
    > 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.
Sirupsen 14y ago
My favorite trick is asking myself before buying something whether I would buy it again if I lost it.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
thirdtruck 14y ago
I plan to hold a "get gifts from me" birthday event this year.
ZanderEarth32 14y ago
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.
- wpietri 14y ago
  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.
- ry0ohki 14y ago
  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).
  - ZanderEarth32 14y ago
    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.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - dagw 14y ago
mcrittenden 14y ago
There is a reddit dedicated to this at http://minimalism.reddit.com 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.
fatbird 14y ago
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.
tathagatadg 14y ago
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.
- CoolGuySteve 14y ago
  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.
  - grecy 14y ago
    I assure you, you didn't need to buy dvd shit, you only wanted to. As someone that hasn't had a TV for over 6 years, it's amazing how much more time you have for the things you actually want to do in life.
    - CoolGuySteve 14y ago
      Uh huh. http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention... Sometimes the things you want to do in life are things you can do with a significant other, where your mutual interests converge. I hope you find someone who is as interested in smug one-upmanship as yourself.
      - grecy 14y ago
        > I hope you find someone who is as interested in smug one-upmanship as yourself. Thanks for the kind words. My girlfriend loves hiking, camping, walking to the library, knitting and hand crafts. We honestly don't have time for "dvd shit" in our lives.
        14y ago
ChristianMarks 14y ago
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.
- alwaysinshade 14y ago
  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.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
sergiotapia 14y ago
So basically you live like a leech or a hobo, bumming on other peoples couches. How "Zen" of you, "dude".
- goblin89 14y ago
  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.
madiator 14y ago
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?
- woah 14y ago
  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.
  - madiator 14y ago
    I do events and cannot send iPhone photos to people who pay me.
  - larrywright 14y ago
    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.
shmageggy 14y ago
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.
Hawkee 14y ago
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.
orofino 14y ago
I don't get it. 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/ http://orofino.me/daniels-rtw-packing-list/
- orangecat 14y ago
  Minimalism is fine, but all the proselytizing around it makes no sense to me. It's just the next iteration of "I don't have a TV", now that not having a TV doesn't mean much anymore.
  - theorique 14y ago
    Obligatory Onion reference: http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention...
- wpietri 14y ago
  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." [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_aversion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_aversion
- 14y ago
skrebbel 14y ago
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.
- Splines 14y ago
  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.
- qznc 14y ago
  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.
elliott99 14y ago
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!
InfinityX0 14y ago
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.
- slackson 14y ago
  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.
  - dagw 14y ago
    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.
susanhi 14y ago
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.
- tisme 14y ago
  Something about this story makes me uncomfortable but I can't put my finger on it.
  - rimantas 14y ago
    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.
waxjar 14y ago
"Be as mobile as possible" is what this guy is saying. How do you do that? Avoid responsibilities in one particular place and only buy products you can't live without. Big deal. I don't see what's so special about it.
lnanek2 14y ago
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.
gavanwoolery 14y ago
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.
eduardordm 14y ago
What living like a nomad really is: 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?
- ams6110 14y ago
  Most human problems are the result of human relations
- ido 14y ago
  Specially in poor languages like english. How is English poor?
  - unwind 14y ago
    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.
qwerta 14y ago
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.

95 points by bmaeser 14y ago

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 :-)

ZanderEarth32 14y ago
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.
- guylhem 14y ago
  It's easy : - 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.
  - rb2k_ 14y ago
    > I know it's a weird diet. Not at all, sounds pretty close to what could be considered Paleo/Keto (bsides the rice)
- ahoge 14y ago
  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.
  - guylhem 14y ago
    had one of these dual things for a time - they are a pain to clean
    - ahoge 14y ago
      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.
      - guylhem 14y ago
        :-) I lived with the burnt stuff for a while too, but decided that the next one would be a 100% microwave to avoid any cleaning issues

graeme 14y ago

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.

cletus 14y ago

I think I'm definitely owning "stuff" other than: - phone - tablet - laptop - desktop... maybe - desk - desk lamp - desk chair - bed - clothes 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. Seriously, I hate it.

iamdann 14y ago
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.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
barrkel 14y ago
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.

desireco42 14y ago

Check in comments how they celebrate not having kids... If you can't live simply with kids, then simple is not good way to live :).

rlt3 14y ago
What do you mean by this?
alwaysinshade 14y ago
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.
- trhtrsh 14y ago
  > 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.
  - alwaysinshade 14y ago
    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.

aMoniker 14y ago

Everything I own right now fits in a backpack. I don't feel any different than when I had an apartment full of stuff, save for a greater sense of freedom.

gingerlime 14y ago

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?

thirdtruck 14y ago
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.
- mcdowall 14y ago
  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.
icebraining 14y ago
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.
- trhtrsh 14y ago
  > 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.

Sirupsen 14y ago

My favorite trick is asking myself before buying something whether I would buy it again if I lost it.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

thirdtruck 14y ago

I plan to hold a "get gifts from me" birthday event this year.

ZanderEarth32 14y ago

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.

wpietri 14y ago
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.
ry0ohki 14y ago
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).
- ZanderEarth32 14y ago
  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.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- dagw 14y ago

mcrittenden 14y ago

There is a reddit dedicated to this at http://minimalism.reddit.com 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.

fatbird 14y ago

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.

tathagatadg 14y ago

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.

CoolGuySteve 14y ago
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.
- grecy 14y ago
  I assure you, you didn't need to buy dvd shit, you only wanted to. As someone that hasn't had a TV for over 6 years, it's amazing how much more time you have for the things you actually want to do in life.
  - CoolGuySteve 14y ago
    Uh huh. http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention... Sometimes the things you want to do in life are things you can do with a significant other, where your mutual interests converge. I hope you find someone who is as interested in smug one-upmanship as yourself.
    - grecy 14y ago
      > I hope you find someone who is as interested in smug one-upmanship as yourself. Thanks for the kind words. My girlfriend loves hiking, camping, walking to the library, knitting and hand crafts. We honestly don't have time for "dvd shit" in our lives.
      - 14y ago

ChristianMarks 14y ago

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.

alwaysinshade 14y ago
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.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

sergiotapia 14y ago

So basically you live like a leech or a hobo, bumming on other peoples couches. How "Zen" of you, "dude".

goblin89 14y ago
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.

madiator 14y ago

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?

woah 14y ago
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.
- madiator 14y ago
  I do events and cannot send iPhone photos to people who pay me.
- larrywright 14y ago
  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.

shmageggy 14y ago

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.

Hawkee 14y ago

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.

orofino 14y ago

I don't get it. 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/ http://orofino.me/daniels-rtw-packing-list/

orangecat 14y ago
Minimalism is fine, but all the proselytizing around it makes no sense to me. It's just the next iteration of "I don't have a TV", now that not having a TV doesn't mean much anymore.
- theorique 14y ago
  Obligatory Onion reference: http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention...
wpietri 14y ago
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." [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_aversion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_aversion
14y ago

skrebbel 14y ago

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.

Splines 14y ago
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.
qznc 14y ago
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.

elliott99 14y ago

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!

InfinityX0 14y ago

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.

slackson 14y ago
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.
- dagw 14y ago
  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.

susanhi 14y ago

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.

tisme 14y ago
Something about this story makes me uncomfortable but I can't put my finger on it.
- rimantas 14y ago
  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.

waxjar 14y ago

"Be as mobile as possible" is what this guy is saying. How do you do that? Avoid responsibilities in one particular place and only buy products you can't live without. Big deal. I don't see what's so special about it.

lnanek2 14y ago

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.

gavanwoolery 14y ago

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.

eduardordm 14y ago

What living like a nomad really is: 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?

ams6110 14y ago
Most human problems are the result of human relations
ido 14y ago
Specially in poor languages like english. How is English poor?
- unwind 14y ago
  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.

qwerta 14y ago

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.