Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

andrewhy.de

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 197 posts

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#81

Post by rufibarbatus »

DanBC wrote: post #21

Curious that he doesn't mention "big bank balance" which makes life a lot more comfortable for him. He needs food? He buys food. He needs emergency accommodation? (Because his friend's house burns down or some such) He can buy that accommodation for the nights he needs it. Having just become homeless[1] myself (not through choice) I've whittled down my possessions to something that's easy to carry. Following his rule…

I'm not sure if Mr Hyde's definition of a personal possession was a (well-played) PR trick or simply a certain lack of accounting intuition. Which is a shame, because his putative balance sheet should be a fascinating thing to think about.

If we were to take a look at his assets and guess reasonable values for each category of asset, I wouldn't be surprised if all 15 items he listed (give or take his wallet and computer) ended up in a catch-all 1%-of-total-value "other assets" category.

In reality, Mr Hyde's own description of how he lives (and how he manages to get around with so few 'objects') suggests that the most valuable things he has, by far, are (and probably in that order): his contacts, his reputation, and his cash.

Close to these three, his clothes, iPod and sneakers, however annoying to replace he imagines them to be, should be next to meaningless.

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#82

Post by nandemo »

vae77 wrote: post #41

In terms of software... very bloated.

Indeed. If you own a device running a modern processor and OS, you got extreme miniaturization hiding in (skimpy) minimalism's clothes.

A sheepherder in Afghanistan might own a hundred items more than this guy, yet he lives a simpler life by any reasonable definition.

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#83

Post by engblaze »

keiferski wrote: post #71

Having been a "minimalism-addict", I've come to the conclusion that the best part is the act of getting rid of things , not the act of having few things . Getting rid of junk is liberating; living with 15 things is just a pain in the ass.

Absolutely... the spirit of reducing waste and consumerism is admirable, but this guy is being ridiculous by claiming that he only owns "15 things". Not only is he missing the point, but his hyperbole is out of control. A toiletry kit is 1 item? Right.

Bike Snob NYC has a hilarious post on Hyde if you haven't seen it: http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2011/05/paring-down-and-pair...

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#84

Post by arethuza »

dirtyaura wrote: post #62
arethuza wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the 15 things were meant to keep you alive in a wilderness area for a couple of months then I'd find the whole thing a lot more interesting - living "minimally" in an urban environment with a healthy bank balance doesn't seem that much of a challenge.

I don't think people are after "a challenge" with this minimalist urban life style. It just feels good to be free of stuff. At least for me it was one of the greatest periods of my life. Around 10 years ago, after a breakup with a girl I was living with, I got rid of most of my stuff, mainly kept a few clothes and things that I couldn't replace somehow like letters from my friends and photographs. But furniture, uten…

"It just feels good to be free of stuff"

I would agree that there isn't much point having stuff that you don't use - but I like having stuff that lets me do activities easily when I want to (bike, skis, assorted mountain gear...). I don't feel a huge amount of attachment to these items as possessions - only for what they let me do.

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#86

Post by dpark »

engblaze wrote: post #83
keiferski wrote: post #71

Having been a "minimalism-addict", I've come to the conclusion that the best part is the act of getting rid of things , not the act of having few things . Getting rid of junk is liberating; living with 15 things is just a pain in the ass.

Absolutely... the spirit of reducing waste and consumerism is admirable, but this guy is being ridiculous by claiming that he only owns "15 things". Not only is he missing the point, but his hyperbole is out of control. A toiletry kit is 1 item? Right. Bike Snob NYC has a hilarious post on Hyde if you haven't seen it: http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2011/05/paring-down-and-pair...

> A toiletry kit is 1 item? Right.

Pft. I only own one item. A house. In fact, I'm married, so I really own half an item. Pretty minimalist, right?

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#87

Post by Retric »

arethuza wrote: post #46
waitwhat wrote: post #34

There is also the hipster version of this: http://theburninghouse.com/ "If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental."

If our home was burning the only things I'd be bothered about getting to safety would by my wife and son, then our cats. Nothing else matters in that context.

It's situational. Outside of a major emergency, taking an extra 15 seconds to get your cellphone, wallet, and key's would probably would probably be worth it, come home and your house is on fire just let it burn. Also, as long as the fire is contained in a single room simply closing the door can do a lot to save your home.

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#88

Post by driverdan »

In May 2011 I sold nearly everything I owned and traveled for 6 months with just a small backpack. My list was similar to Andrew's with a few more clothing items.

I should write a blog post but DL;DR version is that it was well worth it. I don't want to live that way continuously but it made me think a lot more about consumerism.

For the most part I lived in hostels and cooked my own food. My living expenses stayed about the same since I wasn't paying rent or maintaining a car.

The biggest problem with owning so few items is convenience. You sacrifice the convenience of doing laundry once a week (or less) and having everything you need at hand.

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#89

Post by nhangen »

epo wrote: post #4

I had a boss once who went on at great length about the benefits of the paperless office. His office was indeed devoid of paper storage, his secretary's office however, had loads of filing cabinets stuffed full of papers. Self-regarding parasites like this just offload all their support systems onto other people and then brag about how minimal and self sufficient they are.

That's exactly it - many 'minimalists' I know live just like this, but never have any money, always need a place to stay or a ride, never want to chip in at the nice restaurants because of point #1, and make it extremely uncomfortable for the rest of us 'consumerists.'

I get it, having less can be good, but not at the cost of friendships and a healthy lifestyle. Oh, and did I mention that many of these clothing items, which get re-used often, get nasty fast.

Re: Extreme Minimalism: this guy owns just 15 things

#90

Post by fady »

jdietrich wrote: post #80

This isn't minimalism in any sense of the word, it's just a consumerist vanity. OP's 'minimalism' is sustained by a reliance upon huge amounts of infrastructure, most of it environmentally unsustainable. He doesn't carry stuff with him, but uses money to access what he needs. It's like claiming to be a minimalist because you own a second house where you keep all your stuff. OP outsources the burden of sustaining his…

wow. way to put that in perspective. when you really think about it, it makes sense. i'm a raw vegan and feel like i am more of a minimalist than the OP and i own 100+ things.

at first when reading this article, i was imagining my life with only 15 items. then after reading jdietrich post, it made me think a little more..

i would say, i'm very eco-friendly and very aware of my actions. i would not say i'm a minimalist. nothing in my apt is unnatural. no toxic chemicals. from the soap, to the tooth-paste, all the way down to the cleaning products. i compost, recycle, etc..i bike everywhere, use a carshare service (citycarshare), etc etc..

either way, interesting read.

Post reply on HN