Y'all fail Big Time!

[AbyssalPlains]

One of the things my fiancee says she loved about me from the start was that my apartment was uncluttered. I don't think I've owned 100 things in my life.

It's what I've always strived for but never achieved. I'm curious how you can own less than 100 things as an underwater photographer? I'm seriously asking, because being an UW photog myself, my scuba and photo equipment alone amounts to more than that. Maybe, just maybe, I could trim my equipment down to less than a hundred things, but then I'd have nothing left to brush my teeth with.

 

[gbray]

I've always admired those who are neat and organized and have nothing in their garage. In my experience the only way to achieve this is to dispose of everything that has no immediate use. I cannot bring myself to throw things away because it is too wasteful. It is rare I do not use something sooner or later. Case in point, just ask my wife how much extra scuba gear I have.My save a dive kit consist of a rolling tool box full of parts. Life with only 100 items is fantasy for me.

 

[Kingpatzer]

I have 100 things in one drawer of my wood shop. The only way I could get down to 100 things would be if I stopped doing the things I use the things for. Which would sort of mess with my idea that life is for doing stuff.

I don't have junk or clutter. But when you need a 9/16 box wrench, that's what you need.

 

[Damselfish]

If 100 things works for you, cool. Personally, while I'm all for simplifying, I think that's taking it a bit far. I take more than 100 things camping. Unless I count all my camping gear as 1 "item."

I'm a big fan of Freecycle. It's easier, not to mention more environmentally conscious, to send something to a good home than just throw it out.

 

[elmer fudd]

I'm in agreement with gbray on this one. There's a certain wastefulness involved with not having enough stuff.

I have a certain admiration for some of the rural farmers out there who have accumulated a ton of stuff in their barns and outbuildings and make use of it to keep the whole place running and functioning. I know an old guy who used to be a machinist and I swear, you could give him a rock and an old plastic bottle and he could make a light bulb out of them. He's got a little of everything tucked away at his place and none of it goes to waste.

Most of those guys manage to live very frugally and very well at the same time and most of them seem to really enjoy it too.

 

[Sas]

Sounds horrible for someone like me. I love stuff. I collect things and enjoy that a lot and have never felt burdened by it. On the contrary I grew up with little as my family ended up very poor whilst I was a child and we mainly got by with charitable handouts. Having been poor with no stuff and now well off with lots of stuff, I can say that I enjoy being well off with lots of stuff a million times better.

Anyway, I have lots and lots of books, and because it took up too much room, now I am mainly collecting ebooks. I have a huge music collection too. And I love all sorts of electronic gadgets such as my phone, cameras, many computers and laptops, etc. Then there is the dive gear and I don't have nearly enough dive gear yet.

To each their own really I try to be environmentally conscious in other areas such as having a car that doesn't need much fuel, recycling anything I can, using freecycle to give away things I would throw in the trash normally, not using more power than I need and I use very little water (a severe shortage of water where I live so I am well used to saving that!)

 

[SCUBASailor]

My father in law has accumulated so many parts and tools over his lifetime that he has at least one of just about anything you could need. Torque wrench, electric appliance cord, you name it. Accumulating all that stuff has kept it out of a landfill, and hopefully, much of it will be put to good use eventually. It's like his own personal recycling program. Despite his accumulation of things, I would say he still leads a relatively uncomplicated life. I applaud the desire to simplify, but I don't think it's as simple as cutting down one's possessions to a certain number. (p.s. all the stuff drives my mother in law crazy!)

 

[Diver0001]

There used to be a time that everything I owned fit in the back seat of my car. When I first moved to Holland it all fit in a duffel bag. 13 years later I can't even find my duffel bag without a full scale search.... LOL

If I had to make a list of 100 things today it simply wouldn't be possible. I'd have to work with 1000 items and not 100 unless I counted stuff like "music" as one thing and not 257 CD's (I acutally never counted them, that's just a guess).

I am pretty sure I could do with about 1/2 of stuff I own without making any changes to my life style, though, and I don't even think of myself as a pack-rat.

R..

 

[letterboy]

I havr trimmed down my "treasure" in the last year, moving a bunch helped with this, I would love to have just 100 things. I have half the clothes I started the year with, and still can go 2 weeks before doing laundry... I have more dive gear then any human will ever use... Between my doubles and singles setups...

I do drive a truck with almost 200k miles on it though...

I am moving again soon, more of my treasure will be donated or given away, not the dive gear though more like the clutter of army excess I have obtained...

My goal is to trim down so everything I own can fit in the bed of my tacoma, with the cap on.

As far as other green things I do, I have started shopping at organic food markets, and attempting to not eat fast food god is that hard to do...



Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Seaduced]

How to Live With Just 100 Things - TIME

Read the article... one lady is counting 20 pairs of shoes as one item. Hmmmm

Doesn't seem so tough using those rules.