I first came across the idea of only owning 100 things last year and it intrigued me. I wondered if I would be able to manage it or for that matter even come close and then I thought about books and the idea was ruined. It came up again the other day and it seems (after a bit of research and discussion*) that while many people are doing/have done it for the required year, each person makes their own rules and hardly anyone keeps to the letter of the 100 things law. The idea of including a library as one item struck me as revolutionary, but also as cheating; I could keep my books and still do the 100 things list. Socks and undies being seen as one item was just another string to my bow, it was starting to look like I could possibly participate and then with horror I realised…miniatures. I play two wargames and for one I would have something like 200 miniatures and the other I don’t even want to start thinking about how many WW2 Germans and Americans I have. It was then suggested that each range of minatures be counted as one list item and it was at that point that I might as well not even bother.
I think I probably could do the 100 things list if I really, really tried and was then forced at gun point to keep to it. My music is on my computer and I could join a library to read books. I hardly play war games anymore, I just like painting the figures these days and DVDs are something I just don’t buy anymore because the kids don’t let me watch them. Having said that, my life doesn’t depend on it so there is no incentive (other than it being an interesting idea) for me to do it.
I started making a list of all the things I would have in my 100 things and when I bundled books as one item and miniatures as another it was quite easy. However, I decided to have a look at the things I considered as essential** and see how I went with a top 20 non furniture related items. So here is my top 20:
Nope, no it isn’t, I got to about 30 and decided I was going crazy and stopped. I think my top few items are my laptop, speakers, woofer, camera, clock radio, bike, helmet and backpack. Those are the absolute must haves. I am curious what other people have as their few must haves are.
* This discussion was right up Alex’s alley.
** Definitions of essential my vary
Um, toothbrush, hairbrush, shampoo, moisturiser … can I just count my toiletries bag (and all its contents) as one thing?
Comment by Soph — July 19, 2010 @ 8:38 pm
Interesting concept. Wondering if you considered money and each single coin and note as part of the 100 things.
Me on the other hand would just count my house as 1 item and sole the dilemma in one fell swoop!
Comment by Dennis — July 19, 2010 @ 9:33 pm
Alex and I discussed this back in Düsseldorf. Interesting concept, but somehow a bit irrelevant if everything that you have more than one of is counted as one. I contemplated not buying anything all year, well nothing new. I dont think I have ever bought so much as this year. It becomes like a diet….. so watch it, you’ll just end up with even more!!
Comment by YveeB — July 19, 2010 @ 10:25 pm
at this point in my life, if I don’t consider something important enough to keep, I get rid of it. this does not necessarily mean I don’t have much stuff – although I don’t think that I do, but that’s not the point – it’s just that I consider everything I own as important to me for some reason or another. this includes things like trinkets that other people may think are stupid or useless.
every thing I own provides me with a mental association that I don’t want to lose (and if anything does provide me with a mental association I don’t want, I get rid of the item). I find visual prompts extremely useful to remember feelings, events, people, situations and ideas that mean something to me, and that I consider have contributed to making me the person I am today. basically, I find that being surrounded by things that remind me of good stuff reminds me of good stuff and that makes me feel good.
then, obviously there are things that are just useful, like furniture. and things I use to entertain myself, such as gaming consoles, drawing implements etc. these are important to my level of comfort and my basic enjoyment of life, which is also directly related to my state of mind.
if I had to flee my home, like in case of war or fire or something, I am positive the amount of things I would deem necessary would be very small. (and I’m sure in such a horrifying situation, my state of mind would be adversely affected anyway). but all things being equal, I am extremely happy with my collection of stuff and things and feel no need to whittle it down to an arbitrary number, in order to perhaps satisfy the socially encouraged stigma that having / buying “too much stuff” makes our lives empty and meaningless.
that said, I do believe that there is likely to be people who have “too much stuff” that don’t feel the way I do, and do feel smothered by the collection of inanimate objects in their life. and something like this article is a great thing to help encourage thought and discussion. however, I think that putting too much stock in something so black and white, and specifically, using someone else’s rules to define what is and isn’t important in your own life (not that I am implying you ZM are doing that, just that many people would) is A Very Bad Thing.
Comment by chelle — July 20, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
i would need a nice mixture of necessities, such as basic clothing and household items, and then superfluous items that make me happy, such as: my joss whedon created items; piano; bass; old cds and movies of my bands over the years; laptop; old photos that aren’t on the computer; my sewing machine; and trinkets that i’ve bought overseas.
So maybe a 50/50 split?
Cool concept…sounds like something squatters do!
Comment by Vanessa — July 20, 2010 @ 4:29 pm
I find the discussion interesting, but bordering on frivolous and self-indulgent. We all know it is possible to live with less than 100 things. Either because you have to (refugees/ victims of political regimes) or because you choose to (I’m thinking of the author Laurie Lee who walked from the uk to Spain with little more than the clothes he stood up in and his violin) To count, for example, all your Warhammer as one item is cheating, imo. That is more an exercise in subdividing the things that you own into 100 catergories.
I do agree with the sentiments of the exercise, however. I am a big fan of decluttering, myself. But ultimately we are in the priveleged position of having the choice to own more than we need. I don’t think it is something that we should be ashamed of, but definitely very very grateful for.
Comment by Helen — July 24, 2010 @ 3:53 pm
Funny how sometimes things happen that make you suddenly change your perspective.
Last week the police called at my door to tell me to vacate the premises in one hour. They had found a second world war bomb in the neighbourhood. It was going to be detonated. I was just about to go out anyway so I already had my rucksack with wallet, passport, keys, camera and phone in it. I suddenly thought “what if this place does fall down whilst I am out, what shall I take?” Obviously there is not time for 100 things then. I was leaving on my bike as well which meant I was limited. All I took was my two external hard drives and my hubby’s & son’s passports. I reckoned all the rest could be replaced with money (the husband was at work, the son at his gramps and the cat was out). If I had had more time and really believed I was ging to loose everything, I would have taken a documents file, my old negatives and my laptop as well. So all in all I would have taken 13 things (apart from the clothes I was wearing): my bike, my two drives, computer, camera, phone, rucksack, wallet (incl. contents), keys, three files of negs and a documents file.
The thing that really hit me, is that it is the people I love that are most important, and then the physical memories of the time I have spent with them (photos) and some keys (phone, laptop, wallet, actual keys) to other places and services that make life a lot easier that are important. The rest you can replace.
Comment by YveeB — July 26, 2010 @ 6:37 pm
I don’t think I could last long without my books. Maybe that sounds self-indulgent, but it’s true: I don’t keep books I won’t re-read, so the ones I have are ones that have provided me with joy over and over again. I rely on them to pick me up when I’m down and to sort my head out when it’s a mess. I guess I could Kindle them all, but apart from my attachment to books-as-objects, I feel like that would be cheating for the purpose of this exercise.
I’ve moved often enough that I’m reasonably good at getting rid of things I don’t want or need, but I also feel that there is value – within reason – in the comfort that one gets from having particular material goods around. The ’security blanket’ has become a cliché, but there’s a reason so many people can identify with it.
Comment by Yoshi — July 28, 2010 @ 10:46 am
Struth I need to get another 98 items because I only have 2.
Block of ground —- 1 item
contents ———– 1 item.
Really makes you think when you can’t reach 100.
Comment by Pop — July 28, 2010 @ 5:19 pm