May 16, 2010
What you need
Over on miss minimalist, there is a recent post about the 100 things that most people own that she and her partner do not. It includes common items like a sofa, a TV, a dining table, and what I would consider more esoteric items like an air conditioner, a coffee maker, and a fondue set (I really don’t know anyone who owns a fondue set!)
There are also lots of posts knocking around about the 100 (or 50) things challenge, in which you try and keep your personal possessions below an arbitrary amount. I don’t think the amount actually matters too much, or how you categorise them (individual books or ‘the library’) so much as simply restricting yourself and thereby forcing yourself to really consider which items make the cut and which ones don’t.
At Unclutterer, they talk about the Red Velvet Rope technique, in which only the most valuable possessions are allowed into your home. Over at Early Retirement Extreme, he notes that depending on what your hobbies and passions are will dictate the amount of stuff you want to own.
The idea is to get your list down to just what you need to survive, be happy and be productive. There’s a number of things I don’t own that are relatively common (a car, a smartphone, a laptop, a bedframe – I just sleep on a mattress on the floor) but I also own a lot of quite frivolous items (two digital cameras, a Nintendo DS, a garlic mincer, a television, and a snow-globe).
What do you need to survive?
Food. Shelter. Clean water. That’s basically it. If you’ve ever done any long-distance hiking/camping, you’ll know that these needs can be met with a minimum of lightweight equipment.
What do you need to be happy?
I think everyone has a few key things they need to be happy. Significant relationships with other people – be they family or friends. A sense of safety and security. Well-being and good health, which is usually achieved by eating well, enjoying exercise and getting lots of sunlight.
What do you need to be productive?
By productive I don’t mean engaging in mindless busy-work, I mean producing something of benefit. I think we all co-exist by volunteering our time and efforts towards activities that benefit each other (growing a surplus of food and sharing it, teaching skills and ideas, entertaining the group, protecting the vulnerable, and looking after the sick).
Everybody needs the same basic things for survival, but once you move on to happiness and productivity, the material items required are extremely varied. A farmer, for example, will definitely need more land, equipment and storage space than that of a yoga teacher. Both are producing benefits to the group, but they do so in different ways. The items they need to be productive are completely unrelated.
Being a minimalist is not about owning less than fifty things – being a minimalist is about not owning, or consuming, more than you need to survive, be happy, and be productive.
This is an excellent explanation of how living simply may be different for different people based on what they need, want, and do. Trying to say living simply is based on how little you have ignores that people are different. Living by a set of concepts that provide guidance is far better than sticking to too many hard and fast rules. Kudos
Have to agree with Early Retirement Extreme – your hobbies dictate your possessions to a large extent. For example, I’m into camping and hiking. There’s a fair bit of kit involved in that, including wet weather gear. It’s not convenient to hire all of the equipment, and not cost effective too. Also, running adds some items too – I have some dedicated running clothes, shoes, lights etc. Where it makes sense to do so I own certain items – I don’t worry about some arbitrary limit. But in some cases owning the equipment is not necessary. I love scuba diving, but don’t own any scuba gear at all – it makes perfect sense to just hire the equipment when needed. This is cheap and convenient at PADI dive shops around the world.
Absolutely agree with your last paragraph!
@floslib – thank you!
I always think understanding the ‘theory’ is better than just trying to follow a set of ‘rules’.
@Tony – Some great examples there. Sometimes you need equipment to carry out what you want to do, and sometimes renting isn’t the answer.