Though somehow so many people can't seem to be able to hop off the stuff treadmill: buying, collecting, storing (I'm amazed at the self storage business in the U.S.) and trashing. I am not saying I'm always immune either. I think partly it's being aware of stuff collection as a problem (even just for your own sanity).
As of a few years ago those became the words I lived by. I threw out anything that had no sentimental or significant monetary value, and things I thought were ugly or junk. I had very few things left -- all of my furniture was gone except for a chair, a desk and a lamp. Most everything else fit in a trunk. I had exactly a week's worth of clothes. Some cookware, dinnerware and basic kitchen tools. My girlfriend was livid, though honestly I found it a good excuse to break it off with her too.
Now when I look at something, I always ask myself - depending on what it is - how it will be 5 (for non-durables like clothes), 15 or 25 years from now. Would I still want it after that time? If not, there's no way I'd ever buy it.
So when you're an apartment with absolutely nothing, you learn what you can live without, and you develop a deeper appreciation for simple things like chairs. You don't just go buy a new sofa, you lay on every sofa in the city until you find one that looks great, that you'd want to reupholster after 30 years and that you can fall asleep on near instantly. You really examine how your clothes hold up over time because... honestly, you don't any spare shirts or pants around. Simple things like plates... if they're ugly, you'll notice all the more. If you don't have enough, you're not so bombarded by other things you're more aware that you seem to be cleaning them an awful lot. Your place stays clean too. A shirt on the floor in a sea of nothing is very much out of place.
You also don't... buy all that much anymore. I have a bed and nighstands and lamps again. And a dining table, chairs, sofa, coffee table and another lamp or two and my lounge chair... but that's been it aside from 5 or 6 articles of clothing and a pair of shoes in 3 years.
Now I'm sort of at a point - still in my 20s - where there really isn't anything I want to buy anymore. Having been brought up by "gotta-have-this"-trend parents, it's a very peculiar feeling. Almost as if you feel lost.
But there's something that feels so right about living according to a principle seeking things of usefulness or beauty. And I'm very impressed that it truly seems you live this way.
I'd agree I used to shop more to have spare shirts, but now my spare shirts sit unworn and I simply wear the same few shirts over and over so I don't see the point in having the spares.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30258487&l=cf3ff03... http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30632001&l=aeeaed7...
Right now I'm trying to make the mundane pleasing. You know, arrange pots and pans, or bath towels, so it looks nice. Hard to beat $0 interior design ideas.
I guess it stems from growing up as the son of a garbage man with a stay-at-home mom, and despite that, they always seemed to be buying things. When I was 20, I found myself having to send home an awful amount of money to save them from their debt when his job situation took a serious turn for the worse. Everything had seemed fine, until one thing happened - then it unraveled into hell.
I thought about it. We were always out buying something. Sometimes the same thing... again, after a year or two. Before I helped them out I demanded to know their financial situation, and found out how they were sort of skating buy and passing off that things were grand. It never was. We went from a family of clipping coupons and picking change off the ground, to grousing circulars. When I had to help them out again at 25 I told them it was the last time. I also was determined I never suffered the same fate and became trapped by my stuff. "You don't own your things, they end up owning you."
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I wanted to live in the city with lots of natural light (Boston, currently). Without a lot of stuff, it was completely reasonable. I then got a job in the city. My commute is trivial. I could also move to NYC in a week if I needed to - packing would only take an afternoon, and a 400sqft apartment would fit everything very comfortably.
Everyone buys cars larger than they need "just in case". I have my two-seat roadster. I couldn't spend car money on an object that brings me no pleasure. I commute on foot now, so I guess I'll keep the car until the chassis needs re-freshening -- another 18 years I figure.
I didn't want debt. I have none. I do use a credit card, but just to abuse the reward points program and spend that on boring stuff like trash bags and detergent.
I hate cleaning. With few things, the place can be obsessively spotless in under 30 minutes a week. No real cleaning + no real commute = a lot more free time. Compared to coworkers, we're talking 10 to 12 hours a week.
I want to plan for the worst. I save 35-40% of my gross pay a year, though that's increasing as non-food/shelter expenses have basically dropped to 0. My salary could be cut in half and I my lifestyle doesn't have to change. I have a hell of a "screw you" fund, or a lot of money I can burn trying to turn an idea into reality.
Funny how so much of what we have is "just in case": not just space in our cars, but extra clothes, extra linens, extra plates...
The photos of your apartment are great. It looks amazing, not at all like someone trying to "opt out", but something out of a style mag. Though I shouldn't be so surprised as simplicity is an important element to good style, or what I see as that.
Your note about not being immune to the "stuff treadmill" (great term, btw) rings true to me, too, though. Because of our cultural upbringing, it's incredibly easy to get caught up by the consumerist undertow.
I was inspired by George Carlin's rant on "stuff," which someone transcribed here:
http://www.writers-free-reference.com/funny/story085.htm
It's less endearing without his delivery, but the idea is the same: we get emotionally connected to our stuff, and in many cases, that isn't conducive to removing stress from our lives. I think he also touches on the (somewhat pernicious) assumption that Americans grow up believing, which is the assumption that everyone is "supposed" to want and have a big giant house filled with all kinds of tchotchkes. I may some day own a house, like I said in my OP, but I never want to have so much stuff that I couldn't fit as much at least half of everything that isn't furniture into the back of my station wagon. No specific reason for that particular measure of proportion... it just feels right.
Other than the "6-month rule," I just try to be brutal about every individual object I come in contact with. I try to occasionally remind myself to ask, "How does this thing improve my life and make me happier?" The answer could be as simple as, "Looking at it makes me smile," but if it really doesn't do anything for me, I put it in a box, and--as with before--if I don't think about it for 6 months, it fails the test and I get rid of it.
In many ways I think when we get too much stuff the same thing happens that happens to kids when they have too many toys. They seem to lose interest in all of them. So we put most of them away in drawers and pull them out a few at a time. It's as if without all the clutter of lots of toys around our daughter enjoys herself, and the few toys, much more.
I would also repeat my comment to MrFoof that if you're interested in contributing to my documentary, I'd love to see some visuals of your de-cluttered lifestyle.
While at first it was an environmental consideration, now I'm realizing I'm actually happier without all the moving around. My husband calls it my family's "pack-and-go" mentality. I'm not saying everyone would be happier this way- as I definitely had my share of years exploring the world/my country a bit-, but for now, I like staying in one place a bit more. And the curious thing is, I doubt I would have discovered that if I hadn't thought about carbon footprint stuff. I mean, the "pack-and-go" mentality is a part of my family culture: I live in Spain, my sister lives in Sydney, another sibling lives in the South, another in Seattle, my parents in San Francisco, another is married to a Canadian... it's tough to avoid, but possible to cut down a bit I suppose.
And now that my income is drastically reduced from what it used to be, flying really isn't an option like it used to be either. So I am grateful that I don't feel the need to move about like I used to. Though, that's not to say, I don't fly. I live abroad so every year we take one trip home. And that in itself is more than the majority of people. So all I can say is I've reduced my moving about, just a bit, and am happier for it. For now.
Also, for what it's worth, when I referred to travelling, I had more short vacation-like trips in mind, as opposed to extended relocations or migrations for years at a time. I would never argue that such bite-sized travels could let someone sample variety in the way that a long-term immersion would, but it would still be a real learning experience.
Interesting point about the carbon emissions... I never really thought about what a technological indulgence air travel is. I suppose that when my social circle splintered and moved all over the place, I felt entitled to see everyone as often as possible, but maybe conquering the distance costs more than just the price of a few plane tickets.
* Learn and improve myself
* Contribute to and improve the world around me
* Spend time with friends, loved ones, and interesting people
* Travel the world, because the three prior goals: self-improvement, world-improvement and socializing; seem to be different everywhere we go, and I think the variety would be enlightening in many ways.
I view this as a goal that will be achieved gradually, rather than in one fell swoop. While I still have a 9-to-5 job, I make time to improve myself--physically and mentally--by reading, drawing, fencing, and lifting weights. I endeavor to contribute to my surroundings by volunteering when I can, and always lending an ear to someone who needs to be listened to. I use the money from my 9-to-5 to pay for gas and plane tickets so I may visit friends and they may visit me.
My financial goals are mostly to get out of debt (I have $30k in student loans; I never carry a credit card balance). I make less than $60k/year and live quite comfortably on it, even paying $600-$1,000/mo. in student loans. In the 2 - 8 year term, I plan to save up a buffer of 1 year's living expenses so I don't need to worry about unemployment. In the longer term, I plan to start some form of business that will generate "passive income" (ugh, I hate that term) to the extent that my living expenses will be taken care of, and I no longer need to concern myself with employment to stay afloat. That will free up massive chunks of my most important asset: time.
In terms of "stuff"... I would eventually like a place where I can have a studio and fitness room, but I endeavor to have as small an amount of "stuff" as possible, as I find clutter exhausting.