I consider myself a minimalist. I do my best when my life isn’t cluttered. However, if you look at all the things I have own, all the things stacked in my closet and my garage overflowing with crap, you would have a hard time agreeing with me.
100 Thing Challenge
So the big question now is, can I purge the material possessions from my life and reduce the number of things I own to just 100?
I’ll be following the few rules that were outlined by David Bruno when he started his own 100 thing challenge.
Things not included:
- Non-personal stuff, like dishes, cleaning supplies, etc.
- Books.
- Tools.
- Collections count as one item.
I think I can do this and I have a few reasons for wanting to do so:
Packrat Tendency
I really don’t know all the things that I own. I have containers full of electronic parts and broken components that I’ve held onto with the hope of one day fixing them or using them in some spontaneously inspired project in the future. For most of these things, those days never come and the collection just continues to grow and collects dust. I have clothes that no longer fit right or that never have. I look forward to inventorying it all, keeping only the essential and donating/selling what I don’t keep around.
Financial Freedom
I currently am working on freeing myself of all types of debt. I don’t have a lot but starting Reno Collective and Lively Labs in the last couple months required everything to be bootstrapped. I never took any loans or funding from banks but rather used two credit cards and income from web development projects.
Clarity
Most people are more productive and even happier when their environment is sparse or supportive. I find I am most productive at work and most relaxed at home when both places are clear of clutter and distractions. Physical clutter is mental clutter and I don’t need any of it.
Why?
While there are certainly a good number of items that I will rely on, the things I enjoy most are the experiences I have with the people that I love here in Reno and hopefully abroad.
100 Thing Challenge
- Stick to the 100 possession limit. New items will have to mean the replacement of an existing item
- Get rid of cable at home (I never watch TV anyway)
- Get rid of the paper trail – I have A LOT of files and things that should and could be digitized so that I can not only get rid of the clutter but also find things quickly in one place
- My goal list of 100 things
[...] Things Goal List Here is my goal list. The 100 things (I have 11 empty slots) that I hope to limit my personal possessions to by May 10th (1 month from [...]
good luck on the challenge, bro. you won’t regret it. you will soon realize that the benefits of minimalism are far greater than you thought…
What constitutes a collection? Does all my photography gear equal one collection or does each light and lens equal it’s own respective item?
I’d say it’s really up to you. I could probably take all my bike gear and add it as one item to make quite a dent in my list but I’ve opted for counting each item.