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Living without "stuff"

Is it possible?

Starting a few years ago, I started thinking about this more and more. First, it was mostly vague ideas. Then those ideas became increasingly concrete. Eventually I came to realize that owning things was a significant source of stress for me, and that ultimately, it made me unhappy.

I'm not just talking about having piles of junk and old boxes gathering dust in every corner of every room, but just owning things in general - even furniture and hardware. The stress came mostly from feeling bound to those things; needing a space to store them, having to maintain that space and protect it, wondering if I would ever come to need them if I threw them away, feeling a sense of economic responsibility due to having paid money for them, etc.

I recently started downsizing everything, throwing tons of stuff away, selling whatever I could, giving away the rest. It's been hard at times due to some pretty irrational emotional attachements I'd formed, but overall it feels incredibly satisfying and even liberating to some extent.

An ideal situation would be one where I could go about my life carring everything I own in my pants pockets. Of course, that's not realisticly attainable (unless I were filthy rich), so I aim to get as close to that as possible. I only have one pair of shoes, a few sets of clothes that I wear out quickly and then replace, a computer and miscellaneous things. I don't own a cellphone or a car. So far, everything I own (not counting furniture) could potentially be stored in a few carton boxes. I aim to reduce the ammount and size of those boxes as much as possible.

Short term goals:

-Finish filtering out those "miscelaneous" things. Old CDs, random objects, stuff I don't use.

-Focus on purchasing next to nothing other than consumable goods (food, toothpaste, meds, etc)

Mid-long term goals:

-Get rid of most of my furniture (save the bed of course, and for the moment my computer desk). Clothes can be stored in baskets - one for clean, one for dirty. My music collection can reside in a box that takes up less space.

-Eventually get rid of the desktop PC in favor of a more portable laptop (it's bound to become obsolete eventually, and when that happends, I'll just refrain from buying another desktop). This will probably be the biggest and most difficult step, but I've already been steering in that direction. I barely have any interest in video games anymore (mostly because they're all shit), and most of my PC use has been reduced to browsing, text processing and listening to music (all things I can do just as well on a decent laptop).

So, what do you think - crazy?


... or crazy cool!

So, you're basically planning on becoming a bum

quote:

Originally posted by woscar99 So, you're basically planning on becoming a bum

I prefer the term "nomad".

Here's what my ideal dwellings would look like

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonrus...57601972095307/

How Buddhist of you!

that bedroom looks like a jail cell. yeah they don't give you much "stuff" to own in jail

quote:

Originally posted by Project-K Here's what my ideal dwellings would look like http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonrus...57601972095307/

Car keys would never get lost again

quote:

Originally posted by StanVoid that bedroom looks like a jail cell. yeah they don't give you much "stuff" to own in jail

Hey that's not a bad idea!

since studying abroad and moving to a smaall east village apartment i learned how to deal without too much "stuff"...it is liberating actually

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

quote:

Originally posted by Project-K Here's what my ideal dwellings would look like http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonrus...57601972095307/

That kind of looks like my old house. I moved from a studio apt. to a 5 bedroom house and didn't buy much of anything new to take up all the space, so most rooms were empty or only had a couple of things in them.

I think it's an interesting concept. I don't know if I'd want to take it as far as you seem to want to, but moving seven times in four years has definitely taught me the value of not having a lot of belongings.

I actually don't own any furniture anymore either. Granted, that has more than a little to do with having moved into a furnished apartment. It's great that when I leave I won't have to worry about moving any of that stuff, though. Although I could really go for a better chair for my computer desk.

http://books.google.com/books?id=hE...num=1&ct=result

read that page and the one under it, pick n choose which one you like most :P, but the idea behind it is that the more we attach ourselves to, the more we have to oversee

that doesn't necessarily mean to cast everything off, but worry about what's important. not ipod peripherals (unless that's what you find important)

what about porn?

quote:

Originally posted by StanVoid what about porn?

Luckily, 21th century porn has become an intangible good.

quote:

Originally posted by Project-K Luckily, 21th century porn has become an intangible good.

not if you're serious about it. i still rock the mags & VHS tapes.

Its called "being poor"

What you say in your original post is a common feeling for many north americans who feel that the over-obsession with compulsive consumerism gives them what some would call a "golden prison cell".

It is a fact that the more things you own, the more problems you have with those things, and the more stressful owning those things get. As George Carlin once said in one of his routines, "houses are only made to hold our stuff, and when we buy more stuff, we get a bigger house, so we can put our stuff in it and lock it so we can go buy more stuff".

Voluntary simplicity is an old concept (partly pioneered by a Quebecois named Serge Mongeau) which is rapidly gaining supporters all around the world.

You may want to read about it.

When I build my first house, I just want to make it a giant, windowless structure, with all storage being concealed in automated, motorized drawer/shelf systems that go back inside the wall--including the bed. The only things I plan on having in the open are a few chairs & tables and audio equipment.

new avatar related.

Sorry..cant live without my stuff. It's nice to be able to get drunk on weekends and pass out on the lazyboy or couch. Or to pop in a PS2 game for a few hours of fun when people come over.

I like listening to music on a decent 5 speaker surround system, rather than crappy 2.1 computer speakers.

I like having a dresser for clothes, rather than throwing everything into a random pile in the corner.

I like being able to grill burgers out on my charcoal grill, rather than giving them the bland taste of pan frying.

A comfortable seat to lean back and read a book or magazine...a little pre-lit Christmas tree around Christmas... It's nice to have stuff sometimes.

As long as you don't buy crap you'll never use, stuff rules.

Re: Living without "stuff"

quote:

Originally posted by Project-K Of course, that's not realisticly attainable (unless I were filthy rich), so I aim to get as close to that as possible.

or completely destitute. I think it's a lot easier to attain the goal of owning nothing except what can fit into your pockets if you're broke as hell. When I used to rent a place, I would think "dammit I want to own my own place... fuck throwing away my money on rent." But now that I own a house I think, "man it was a lot easier when I was renting... so much less responsibility and less stress."

I commend you though if that's what you want to do and if that's what's going to make you happy. I have no idea how you manage without a cell phone in this day and age though. I guess I'm just a slave to technology. You should move to some southeast asian country and live in a hut on the beach where it's cheap and you don't need a lot of money.

Those pictures reminded me of Moby's apartment on MTV Cribs. I couldn't find a video of it

yeah, but moby went to the expensive part of ikea.

quote:

Originally posted by Project-K Here's what my ideal dwellings would look like http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonrus...57601972095307/

did you get the idea of mnml living from that pic or is it actually your own?

i need stuff, i'm a packrat (for example when moving recently, i packed everything, even shit that i could probably assume that i wouldn't need, "just in case"). you never know when you might need some random cable or adapter, or whatever.

i actually had a pretty similar idea as yours, but i was 19, and tripping on mushrooms. the next day i scrapped it. the reason we have "stuff" is to make our lives more convenient, so get rid of the shit that makes your life more difficult and keep the shit that makes life easier.

i suppose in the longrun you'll save a ton of money

quote:

Originally posted by Omega_Blue you never know when you might need some random cable or adapter, or whatever.

The greatest thing about "nothing" is that it doesn't run on electricity.

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