Could you live with just 100 things?
 

. . . get rid of all the stuff you (we) collect, and pare down to the minimum? Would you want to?

Think of how free you would be. If that one thing were a largish vehicle, could you fit everything in there? What constitutes one "thing." One pair of shoes? or all your shoes.

Here's a Time article: How to Live With Just 100 Things


and here's the guy who's trying it: The 100 Thing Challenge

of course I could. But I wouldn't want to.

I'm a habitual purger--actually, it could probably be classified as a compulsion in my case, Mr. Clod has had to rein me in on occasion because I just want to throw it all out. The downside of this is I never have enough to warrant a real garage sale.

People who want to live on a minimum are filling our landfills. Live with less if you must, but give your discards to those less fortunate, even if it means shipping it to Africa or Haiti.

I need this lamp.

Living with just 100 things could pose a problem if those 100 things were bottles of beer on the wall. I mean, what would happen if one should fall?

Nuts! I hadn't thought of that!

One must always be prepared for 100 things suddenly becoming 99 things.

Id just get all OCD over it. Id have to be constantly counting my things to make sure I have exactly 100.

I have to purge regularly these days (Mum), and EVERYTHING goes to charity.

I'm not sure if people here know, but charities get a value from everything donated. Torn or stained clothing? Sold for "rag" value. Ripped and coverless books? Sold by weight to recylers. Old towels and bedding? If given to animal charities will be used as bedding.

I'm a hoarder. I hold onto too much. But at least I'm confident that what I do reduce is either re-used or recycled.

Pretty much my only regular addition to landfill is cat litter.
Sorry guys.
Once I'm working I'll go back to the bio-degradable stuff.

Cat litter in the landfill is ok.

It soaks up odors :D

The bin-men spilled it on the path the other week. I was mortified.
I can't even work out how it happened - it was in a binbag in a wheelie-bin that should be loaded intact into the bin lorry!

Obviously no-one knew it was "mine" - even the 'rents didn't notice.
But I went out with a broom and swept it all up, then dustpan-and-brushed the litter into a bag back into the bin and shook the poop onto the bark coated tree area (it's all dried up anyway) and not an accessible are for walking/ playing.
I then washed all the various accoutrements in the garden.
Bloody binmen.

Which is to say - I felt so ashamed...

If they don't start doing a better job, they'll become has-bin-men. :lol:

LOL! This has happened to me before too. Also, I feel your pain about plastic-bagging used litter. When I was growing up we had a undeveloped lot behind our back yard. The used litter went into the ditch that separated us. Never had a problem with odor or anything that I can remember. Maybe I will just start putting it in paper bags. That way the litter could biodegrade quicker in the landfills.

I like the idea of it. The implementation, not so much.

I'm pretty sure I've done that a couple of times in my life, although I didn't count everything at the time.

Most recently was a decade ago when my two children and I went on the run from an abusive husband. We lived in a motel room for three months, with nothing much more than a change of clothes each, a swim suit, a nintendo game, along with my laptop and cell phone.

Of course now, we have an entire 3 bedroom house crammed full of "things". :o

I've done that, too, (twice) and still miss some of the items. I submit it's far better to do it methodically, at your own choice, than out of necessity.

Flint and I went from one room and a storage unit to out growing 2100 sq... we got rid of tons of stuff... and I have no intention of having that much clutter again... but I don't think I want to pair down THAT extremely... I bet Flint could do it much easier... he is a bit more practical than I am.

I could do it, but it would be tough to battle all of the screaming from my parents about all the inherited junk I have from relatives. And they don't want it all in their basement!

We use dirt from the outer lots for litter. then, we go dump the used litter back in an unused area. It is free and since we do it every day, it isn't much trouble. Plus, we usually make the kids do it. ("They are your cats, so you do the litter.")

And keep my life style no, I use at lest 300 sheets of paper a year.

I have hundreds of books alone, so no.

It depends on how you define the things. If I can have laptop with net access and a library card, then yes.

or a Nook which replaces books; and similar downsizing

It would certainly avoid situations like "Honey, where in the hell are the scissors?"

I'd be curious is EVERY single item is counted. Take you bed for example. Is everything lumped together as ONE item or is it counted as ten (bed frame, box spring, mattress, fitted sheet, sheet, blanket, 2 pillows and two pillow cases)?

The Hundred Things Police won't be confiscating your second pillowcase, it's just supposed to be a personal experiment (and likely only a thought experiment, at that) guided by your conscience. The guy in the link who is actually doing it explains in detail what he counts as "one thing" on a case-by-case basis.

This is the minimum number of items to have a drum kit (a basic "Ringo Starr" drum kit) assuming that drums include drumheads, etc.

1. Hi-Hat stand
2. Top Hi-Hat cymbal
3. Top cymbal felt
4. Top Hi-Hat clutch
5. Bottom Hi-Hat cymbal
6. Bottom cymbal felt
7. Snare stand
8. Snare drum
9. Bass drum pedal
10. Bass drum
11. Floor tom
12. Rack tom
13. Rack tom stand
14. Cymbal stand
15. Top cymbal felt
16. Bottom cymbal felt
17. Wing nut
18. Cymbal
19. Cymbal stand
20. Top cymbal felt
21. Bottom cymbal felt
22. Wing nut
23. Cymbal
24. Left drum stick
25. Right drum stick
26. Drum throne

ok so thats 1.

Here is why I cannot agree with that. The two drum kits shown below would have to be "equal" if the drum kit was considered "one unit of" measurement. That would defeat the purpose of minimalism, wouldn't it?

I need one holodeck, and one replicator (for food, and anything I might need when I venture outside).

Make it fifty of each, for backups in case of malfunction.