
How I Simplified My Life - bmaeser
http://www.ridinginshoppingcarts.com/post/33988718367/how-i-simplified-my-life
======
orofino
I don't get it.

As someone currently living out of a 40L bag [1], I don't feel any great
cognitive load or emotional weight lifted. We sold all of our stuff (books,
desks, cars, house) in order to do a round the world trip. The process really
sucked.

You do save money from living without cable or not buying so much 'stuff', but
I find that to be the limit of the benefit. I have no reason to believe that
we won't be buying back many of the things we sold prior to travelling. In all
honesty, living out of a bag makes me want more. I miss having more than three
shirts or two pairs of pants to wear.

Minimalism is fine, but all the proselytizing around it makes no sense to me.

[1] <http://orofino.me/daniels-rtw-packing-list/>

~~~
orangecat
_Minimalism is fine, but all the proselytizing around it makes no sense to
me._

It's just the next iteration of "I don't have a TV", now that not having a TV
doesn't mean much anymore.

~~~
theorique
Obligatory Onion reference: [http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-
constantly-mention...](http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-
mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/)

------
cletus
I think I'm definitely owning "stuff" other than:

\- phone

\- tablet

\- laptop

\- desktop... maybe

\- desk

\- desk lamp

\- desk chair

\- bed

\- clothes

When I moved to New York I got rid of almost all my stuff. I went and bought
some furniture though, which I now regret. Still, at least its Ikea, which I
view as single use (meaning you get rid of it when you move).

New York is a particularly interesting one for this. So many times I see posts
of people moving to here that say something like "Looking for a quiet 2
bedroom apartment in UWS/Chelsea/West Village for $2000/month", which apart
from being completely unrealistic leads to the inevitable exchange:

Me: do you need a 2 bedroom?

Them: yes

Me: why?

Them: err... (I've always had one|for my stuff)

Me: that'll cost you $4000/month in your listed areas. A 1 bedroom will cost
you $3000 or under.

At this point people have to choose between location, money and stuff. Some
choose stuff and move out to Brooklyn, NJ or Queens. Others choose money and
pay it anyway. Many choose location and downsize. NYC forces this choice where
many places don't or at least not to the same degree.

Fight Club said it best: the stuff you own ends up owning you.

Seriously, I hate it.

~~~
barrkel
The hassle of having to purchase replacements for things you've left behind or
thrown away starts to gnaw after a while, unless you have a large
discretionary income and possibly assistants.

Things like tools and a box of bits make all the difference between something
taking 5 minutes or potentially having to wait until after the weekend and a
chunk of a day running around looking for things, or up to a week's wait for
orders to come in from online.

Living in hotels makes it clear to me how much I hate being away from my
stuff. So many simple things turn into major logistical and scheduling
problems.

~~~
grecy
I think many people here are confused as to what constitutes "stuff".

In your example, you find your box of bits and tools extremely useful and they
make your life better with essentially zero maintenance cost or ownership
burden. They take up very little space, and are not big and heavy to move with
you.

This is not "stuff" these are valuable things in your life. Keep them!

"Stuff" are usually physical objects you have that probably get a tick in one
or more of the following boxes:

a) High cost of ownership (monthly fees, or regular maintenance)

b) Requires payments just to keep/use as intended (still paying it off /
satellite radio fee)

b) Big and / or heavy. They take a lot of space to own, and to move with you.

c) You use them infrequently, and don't particularly get enjoyment when you do
(the "good" wine glasses for example)

These items you can remove from your life, and you will be happier for not
having them.

~~~
jamesrcole
> _I think many people here are confused as to what constitutes "stuff"._

I think you're just redefining "stuff" to suit your argument.

In normal terms "stuff" means "physical things".

You're redefining it to mean "physical things that aren't worth keeping".

If "stuff" only means "physical things that aren't worth keeping", what's the
name for the "stuff" that is worth keeping?

~~~
grecy
> You're redefining it to mean "physical things that aren't worth keeping".

Of course, because we're talking about reducing clutter from our lives. So by
definition if something is not worth keeping, you should get rid of it.

> what's the name for the "stuff" that is worth keeping?

Sometimes I use the word "possessions", or more verbose, the things I own that
I get great enjoyment from.

People seem to think this is all black and white - i.e. OMG, you need to get
rid of your bed and toothbrush and soap otherwise you have too much "stuff".
Move over into the grey area.

------
ZanderEarth32
I still never understood how having cable or a tv complicates people's lives.
Besides the inconvenience on the day it was installed, it has essentially been
no hassle. The money comes out every month, I schedule some shows I like and
watch them when I can and that's it.

All the purging and living with no items type of lifestyle is nice for me to
think about but I have hobbies that require stuff like rock climbing,
backpacking, play guitar, etc. so I can't really just live in an empty room.

Instead of trying not have stuff in general, I try to not have things I don't
need or want.

~~~
ry0ohki
I think mainly because it either becomes a time drain, that once you go
without you usually realize you don't miss, or it's a waste of money (you only
watch one or two things but are paying $100 a month). This whole simplify
philosophy usually involves getting rid of anything with a yearly commitment,
which cable often has (to get teaser rates).

~~~
ZanderEarth32
I understand, I've just never thought of tv complicating my life. I was once
considering "cutting the cord" and my life got more complicated trying to
figure out what services to use to subscribe to my shows I wanted to watch,
managing downloads and trying to see if it made financial sense.

I do agree with the general consensus that people should try to simplify their
lives if they feel they are bogged down with unnecessary things though. So,
I'm glad the OP could find something that worked for him.

------
eduardordm
What living like a nomad really is:

One of the reasons I quit being a pilot was because of that lifestyle: my life
consisted of 2 bags and hotel rooms. If you don't stay at least in a couple of
places, you will have no friends. You will be alone, always. You will never
develop true connections to another human being. Being alone will affect your
personality and judgement. Co-workers do not count, just as you diablo 3
friends. When you talk to me on IRC you create a distorted version of me,
based upon your life experience. Specially in poor languages like english.
Understanding others is way harder than it seems. It envolves much more than
just conversations.

My father was a pilot for 37 years, he currently does not have one single
friend except me. Not because he can't make friends, but I think people
realize that his feelings against others are superficial. He wont care because
having friends never changed his life, he is just fine, but: He experienced
very little fulfilling moments in all that period of his life.

Life is not simple. Throwing away stuff will not make life better, or worse.

TLDR, How the hell are you going to solve human problems if you don't develop
deep human relations?

~~~
ido

        Specially in poor languages like english.
    

How is English poor?

~~~
unwind
My interpretation is that the grandparent either has poor English skills
himself, or is describing the difficulty of socializing with people who have
poor English skills.

------
InfinityX0
Comments like "cancel your gym membership" make me think of something like
"use a PC from 1995" as an equivalent idea. I like the idea of minimalism but
in general downgrading your ability to function (such as using less productive
tools/working out in an environment that is less efficient/less likely to
promote productivity) is not the right way to go about it. I understand the
POV as stated, but it could be mis-applied and cause many people to get lazy
and float along/use less sophisticated tools.

~~~
slackson
It also depends on the circumstances, though. And I've found the problem with
gym memberships is that it adds a small obstacle to keeping up exercise habits
if you're moving around as often as this guy, and that can make a significant
difference. If you've got to find a good gym and sign up to it and potentially
have the hassle of only using it for a few months so you can't get the benefit
of a 6 month contract, etc, then it's easy to decide to not get a gym
membership. Running can provide a lot of the benefits with a lot less hassle.

~~~
dagw
Aren't there gyms with a national presence. The gym I used to be a member of
had either locations or deals with other gyms basically all though Europe.

------
susanhi
Before getting married, my husband spent several years getting rid of most of
his stuff. By the time we got married, he literally had one suitcase of
clothes, a car, laptop, and golf clubs. As for me, I had shelves full of
books, old papers, yearbooks, photos, drums, costumes, snowboard, etc. You get
the idea.

So, I asked my then-fiance for some help. Here's what we did.

Phase 1 - Sorting: My fiancé came over and took all of my possessions and
dumped everything onto my living room floor. The pile looked like a big ugly
hill. I never imagined that I had so much stuff because when it was all so
organized back then. He also brought a bunch of file-sided boxes with handles
from Staples, and brought in the large outdoor garbage can (the huge one that
you put out on the curb every week).

We then got to work. We had boxes for things to keep, things to give away and
the large trashcan for things to throw away. I sorted through everything until
the floor was clear.

Phase 2 - Digitizing: We then went through a digitized everything that could
be digitized. Photos were sent to a photo scanning service. Yearbooks,
journals, birthday cards, important books, etc were torn apart and put through
a fujitsu scanner. For things that couldn't be fed through a scanner, like my
drums and gifts that had sentimental value, I took a picture of it and donated
it. This was a large project that took several months.

Phase 3 - Detaching: There were things from phase 1 that I knew I didn't want
to keep, but that I didn't want to get rid of either. So I kept those things
in boxes in my closet until I was ready to get rid of it. It took probably
several months to a year to get rid of some of those boxes. Keeping those
items in boxes helped me to detach from them emotionally until I was ready to
get rid of them. However, there were some items that even after a year and a
half, I still was attached to. So my husband took them out and put them in our
living room again so that I could face it. I eventually got rid of those
things too, but I took a picture of those items so that I could still keep the
memories of what those things represented before donating them.

~~~
tisme
Something about this story makes me uncomfortable but I can't put my finger on
it.

~~~
kyleowen212
For me, it was the digitizing phase. Tearing apart a yearbook, page by page,
and feeding it through a scanner? Taking a picture of something you got as a
gift and donating the actual thing?

Sometimes an item exists just to be itself. A yearbook doesn't have any value
if it isn't yours, or if you don't invest it with some. If you decide you
don't want something, fine – but it seems very strange to keep around a
formless simulacra of it.

~~~
noonespecial
I lost my HS yearbooks before I could digitize them. Its freaking impossible
to find another of those things.

A fujitsu sheet feeding scanner has been the single most liberating device
I've ever owned.

When you cut apart something like a yearbook to scan it, its almost a
religious experience. In faith, you sacrifice the book's corporeal form so
that its essence can ascend into the cloud and live forever.

~~~
theorique
My HS yearbooks were destroyed in a flood. I felt bad and nostalgic for a
couple of days. Now it's just a cocktail party story about how I lost my
yearbooks.

------
tathagatadg
I really need to read a woman's reaction to this article (will share with a
few friends right away). _If you can achieve this beyond a bachelor pad, the
weed that you are smoking is indeed of very high quality._

~~~
CoolGuySteve
Concur. I lived out of a suitcase for years. It was quite handy back when I
was a student and moving from place to place every 4 months.

But then I moved in with a girl after school and all that went away, we needed
to buy kitchen shit, dvd shit, bedroom shit, shit to hang on the walls,
stuffed animals from thinkgeek that look like sushi, etc.

~~~
grecy
I assure you, you didn't _need_ to buy dvd shit, you only wanted to.

As someone that hasn't had a TV for over 6 years, it's amazing how much more
time you have for the things you actually want to do in life.

~~~
CoolGuySteve
Uh huh. [http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-
mention...](http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-
he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/)

Sometimes the things you want to do in life are things you can do with a
significant other, where your mutual interests converge.

I hope you find someone who is as interested in smug one-upmanship as
yourself.

~~~
grecy
> I hope you find someone who is as interested in smug one-upmanship as
> yourself.

Thanks for the kind words.

My girlfriend loves hiking, camping, walking to the library, knitting and hand
crafts. We honestly don't have time for "dvd shit" in our lives.

~~~
davidandgoliath
Congrats. Awesome! I'm glad you still find ample time to tell other people
about it on the internet though. Without you, no one would ever know what it
is to escape the grips of a television and experience a real life.

~~~
grecy
You're in the comments thread of an article about simplifying your life and
having less stuff, and you sarcastically criticize me for suggesting you
remove TV from your life. I offered that advice because I honestly think it's
helpful.

What were you expecting to find when you came to these comments?

------
mcrittenden
There is a reddit dedicated to this at <http://minimalism.reddit.com> but
sadly it has become more of a "look how cool I am because I only own 4
things!" type of community in recent months.

------
sergiotapia
So basically you live like a leech or a hobo, bumming on other peoples
couches. How "Zen" of you, "dude".

~~~
goblin89
Beside the fact that OP “just moved to a new apartment in Tel Aviv”, could you
name any way in which nomadic lifestyle would be un-“Zen”? Do you mean it's
morally questionable?

I'd argue with that, as hosts probably offer their place after weighing
cost/benefit ratio (e.g., inconvenience and risk vs. acquiring new
connections), but I'd like to know an alternative opinion.

------
skrebbel
I have the impression tha for many people writing these kinds of posts, much
of their world (hobby, work, etc) is actually online. Then I wonder, did these
people cut down on software, too? How many webapps do they use? How much of a
mess is their Dropbox?

I, for one, have had a very chaotic period of life or a very simple and
structured one, best visible by how much a mess my computer was. Only
regarding material goods seems a bit half-assed then, imho.

~~~
Splines
The difference is that physical goods have a much higher cost of maintenance
than does digital ones.

I have way too many games in Steam and other digital storefronts, but I
catalog the ones I care about and have come to the understanding that there
are probably some games I will never play/finish. Those ones I just hide and
never look at again. It's harder to do that with a boxed game on a shelf,
which you need to keep room for, pack away when you move, and ensure it stays
in reasonable condition.

------
desireco42
Check in comments how they celebrate not having kids... If you can't live
simply with kids, then simple is not good way to live :).

~~~
alwaysinshade
It depends on the lifestyle you want to lead - my wife and I aren't interested
in having kids so we're able to get away with having less stuff. On the other
hand, her sister has a son and it's quite obvious that you need a lot of stuff
to make things easier - pram, cot, changing table, toys, books, etc.

As an aside, having an ipad seems to help keep the baby entertained with
interactive books, music, TV shows, musical instruments like drums and pianos.
I can see apps do away with many physical items the way digital music has done
away with the CD - which I think is a positive thing as it reduces waste.

~~~
trhtrsh
> As an aside, having an ipad seems to help keep the baby entertained with
> interactive books, music, TV shows, musical instruments like drums and
> pianos.

I hope you change your mind if you have kids. Living life in a 7" box is sad.

~~~
alwaysinshade
The crux of my message was that my sister-in-law's son gets to enjoy a
plethora of different toys (and he really does love them) that aren't
injection-molded fossil fuel by-products.

Another way to look at it is that he wouldn't have most of those toys if they
were physical items - a free piano app beats that $20 toy piano that his mum
glanced at in the shop and decided not to buy because she needs to buy more
nappies.

It's also interesting how, because touch-input results in a direct and near-
instant output, that it can be understood by an infant quite rapidly. To them
an app is a real mechanical object.

~~~
icebraining
But shapes, textures, smells, etc are important too. A cheap rubber toy piano
might very well be better than an app. Not to mention that they're easier to
share with other kids.

Personally, I can't picture my childhood without those "injection-molded
fossil fuel by-products" called LEGO.

~~~
alwaysinshade
> But shapes, textures, smells, etc are important too.

He lives in a three-dimensional world, so I don't think he's missing out on
any of those things. I'm not arguing for the elimination of physical toys -
merely observing that apps have their utility and are less wasteful, resource
wise.

> A cheap rubber toy piano might very well be better than an app.

Depends - physical things have a certain barrier to ownership: money. The toy
he never had is easily beaten by the free/99c one off the app store. The fact
that a tablet is expensive isn't lost on me, but for the amount of utility it
has served it's basically paid for itself (it's his dad's tablet).

> Not to mention that they're easier to share with other kids.

Sharing is important, but it's worth noting that with apps you can have
collaboration - he and I can play instruments together (like the free split
screen piano or guitar apps) or play basic games all on a single screen. Of
course physical things do this as well - my intent is to show that apps can be
treated like physical objects.

> Personally, I can't picture my childhood without those "injection-moulded
> fossil fuel by-products" called LEGO.

My nickname is Uncle LEGO - he won't be missing out on that stuff. He's stuck
with DUPLO until he's older though.

------
madiator
I have been thinking about this issue a lot recently. Sometimes clutter seems
unavoidable, such as when you want to learn or do something new. When I first
got into photography, I started off with one DSLR and one lens. Then I kept
adding lenses. Turns out I also need to clean the sensor since dust
accumulates when you change lenses, so I ended up getting lens cleaning kit.
Next, I had to upgrade my camera, because it was not sufficient for
photoshoots (got invited to a few events non-professionally). Then you got to
pay for websites, online storage, this and that. And then you get a bag, a
tripod and the list is endless (I have been postponing buying the tripod).
There was also a ripple effect. My laptop display was not only short for image
editing, but it was displaying colors incorrectly. So I had to get a new
monitor, and I had to spend extra time researching whether the colors will
display correctly or not. All these add up. Sometimes I just want to sell
everything and get one camera and one prime lens, but I am afraid of "missing
out". May be thats not true. I haven't found the alternative. But for what its
worth, I have had a good journey so far.

If one wants to reach a higher level than an amateur, it looks like extra
items are unavoidable. Similar arguments go with say learning oil painting or
say charcoal sketching. When you are a programmer, would you prefer to work
with a single laptop or with an external keyboard+mouse+large monitor?

~~~
woah
Honestly, you can take good photos with a phone. It's about composition and
timing. If you are a professional photographer, better than 98% of people in
the world, an expensive kit might take you to 99%. As an amateur, the gap
between your ability and a pro's will never be filled by the 1% improvement
nice gear will make. So many of these "hobbies" are actually rich people
giving themselves a reason to buy expensive toys.

~~~
rimantas
Your percents are way off. Sure you can take OK photos with a phone—maybe 2%
of the time you can take a good photos with decent camera. As the name
implies, photography is first about light. A good camera and lens immensly
expands the definition of what acceptable light is. An off-camera flash will
make a night and day (pun intended) difference in your photos.

You mention timging. Autofocus speed and accuracy, shutter lag of DSLR and
phone camera are not even comparable.

In short: moving from phone camera to an entry level DSLR with kit lenses will
already be a huge step up in quality of your photos. If you understand what
you are doing buying expensive lenses will add a noticeable increase to that
as well. Then if you understand what are you doing and do it a lot buing a
professional body will get you durability and the maximum control over the
process (and ability to control aperture, shutter speed and ISO does matter
too).

Yes, if you "get it" you can take a good photos with the phone if you are if
conditions are favourable. But if you get it, then using DSLR will let you
take more good photos, because the limits of favourable conditions are
expanded a lot.

There is some truth in your last sentence, however from technical point of
view, even is someone "does not get it" and would take crappy pictures on the
phone then with an expensive kit he can have pictures of the same crap but
with much higher quality.

------
fatbird
My personal test for whether or not a possession is worth keeping is "do I
know immediately why I haven't thrown in out?" If I struggle for even a few
seconds to justify owning something, it goes on the first-to-go list when I do
a purge or just feel like tidying.

------
Sirupsen
My favorite trick is asking myself before buying something whether I would buy
it again if I lost it.

------
gingerlime
I really like the idea, and it came at the right time when I just moved and
it's time to throw away stuff, but I keep wondering about things like:

Books - Chances of me reading the same book again are slim. But it's really
hard to let go of them. I now own an e-reader, but even if I could get all of
those books on it (which seems impossible, if not very expensive and for no
good reason), I would feel something missing. Then again, they do take much
space, gather dust and are likely to be left untouched.

Gifts from people - whilst I can relatively easily throw away stuff I bought,
it's so much harder with gifts people gave me. It almost feels like betraying
them.

Any practical or (pop)-psychology suggestions on how to get over these
hurdles?

~~~
grecy
Books: Book are expensive, voluminous, heavy and costly to move about. There
is absolutely no benefit to actually owning your own copy when you can borrow
it from your local library with extremely little effort. Get rid of them.

Gifts: My friends and family have a new policy for gifts: "No stuff, only
experiences". I don't want a DVD or a book, but I'd be grateful for some
French lessons, or yoga classes, or a cooking class, or... (insert
_experience_ here)

~~~
rimantas
What's the use of cooking class if you have no pan to cook in? Honestly, this
is such an artificial separation. Watching a DVD or reading the book is an
experience. What if it is an educational DVD? What if the thing is a telescope
which can provide many nights of an amazing experience?

------
graeme
I run periodic purges of my possessions. Often, in 3-4 months, my situation
may have changed and things that were once useful are no longer needed.
Fortunately there is a charity just down the block.

You don't notice how excess stuff gets in your way, until it's gone. You can
start with one area at a time. Zenhabits was surprisingly motivational for me
in this respect.

Books are the only possession I have many of, and that's by choice.

One quibble: If a gym membership can be replaced by jogging, then you aren't
using the gym correctly. Strength training is a very different beast. You can
get a pretty good strength workout with bodyweight and home dumbbells, but
it's tough to match barbells.

------
Hawkee
We just moved across the country from California to Virginia. We didn't have
much in the way of furniture before, but we did give everything away that
didn't fit into the bed of our truck.

When we arrived we made it a point not to buy a single piece of furniture. We
relied entirely on unwanted furniture of friends and the Craigslist free
section. With the help of our pickup truck we had a fully furnished home
within a month for nothing more than the cost of gas. Next time we move a long
distance we'll just give it all away and collect all new furniture at our next
home. Its really liberating not being attached to anything in our home.

We don't pay for anything more than cable internet, pre-pay data and basic
utilities. We don't even have a TV. We get all our movies and entertainment at
the library for free. They allow for up to 6 DVDs for each of us, so we really
don't miss TV or cable.

We also use Google Voice for all our phone calls and texting. We have a single
Android phone and a $30 pre-pay plan with T-Mobile for going out. We use a
couple voip apps so we can have both of our numbers available on the phone.
Most of our calls and text messaging happen on our computers anyway.

We save on water by leaving the bathtub plugged up after our showers. This
water goes into buckets throughout the day to flush the toilets. We never use
the dishwasher and we wash laundry by hand when it's not a heavy load. This
saves us as much as $40/mo on our water bill.

We aren't poor and could live much more luxuriously, but we choose to live
this way in order to gain a richer experience of life.

------
guylhem
Not sure about the car idea. It's quite useful to have one.

Alternative hints :

\- thumb rule "if you have had this stuff for 6 months but have not used it
yet/removed it from its box and installed it/repaired it, then it's a waste of
time and space - throw it/give it/sell it."

\- then try to remove "things" from your life to measure how you feel about
not having them. You'll be surprised about how many things are not really
making you more or less happy. Hint: the really important things are what you
usually take with you when you travel, like a toothbrush - and by improving
these things you use daily you can create a much better experience for
yourself

\- when you move to a new place - only take 2 bags worth of stuff. Pareto law-
the rest is certainly not that important to you

\- in this new place only buy stuff you need - and after needing it twice,
without writing down a list. If you can't remember to buy it, you don't really
need it.

\- experiment! Each person has "important things". What is applicable to me
may not be to you. I mostly eat fresh food at home, and only cook with a
microwave. I don't need any other "cooking paraphernalia".

OTOH, the most important thing to me is shower gel - I buy a bottle with a
different smell each week :-]

For the author - if you want a tropical place with friendly people and great
coffee shops, come to the FWI :-)

~~~
ZanderEarth32
How are you preparing your fresh food solely with a microwave? Do you follow a
raw diet? Or do you steam vegetables in a microwave? Interested to hear.

~~~
guylhem
It's easy :

\- I eat all my vegetables raw: apple, lettuce, tomatoes, red pepper... The
only "non fresh" vegetables I buy (for convenience - can't find it raw where I
live) is frozen broccoli which is perfectly unfrozen in the microwave, not
steamed.

\- besides vegetables, I mostly eat rice, eggs, fish and meat. Rice provides
some glucids - and it cooks quite well in a microwave.

Fish is also easy to cook in a microwave - I loved boiled salmon with pastas,
olive oil and goat cheese, but now most of the time I prefer canned mackerels
because they come with a variety of sauces so I don't have to prepare them.

For meat, I've had decent result with frozen "cheap" (high fat) ground beef. I
put it in a bowl- it releases grease when it's cooking in the microwave in a
way that make it tasty to me (and the grease is left at the bottom of the bowl
so it's easy to remove). It's not quite like boiled meat - closer to what a
hamburger meat taste, and it's quick to prepare.

I know it's a weird diet.

In fact, I came to this diet not by any specific health concern but by time
optimization. I like my meals to be quick and easy to prepare - if they need
more than 6 minutes to prepare, I'm not interested. Cooking stuff takes time
(heat transfer, etc), so most of the "cooking" was removed.

I then made my diet healthier, tweaking here and there (a bag of pop corn is
quick to prepare, but maybe not that healthy) following various ideas. This
caused some interesting changes - like raw eggs.

At the moment, I still keep the 6 minutes maximum limit every day, while
eating was is generally considered healthy - basically it's a raw diet with
varied vegetables each week, only with rice and meat being cooked. I add
canned oily fish + frozen broccoli for the convenience, and I still do a bag
of popcorn time to time.

~~~
rb2k_
> I know it's a weird diet.

Not at all, sounds pretty close to what could be considered Paleo/Keto (bsides
the rice)

------
ChristianMarks
I've gotten rid of cable. But the biggest time saver has been to reduce the
number of my acquaintances to the minimum. I have no kids. A cat is more than
enough.

~~~
alwaysinshade
I've gone the other way - done away with TV and collecting things so that I
can spend more time being social. I have more money and time to spend on going
out for dinner and drinks with friends, time to play online video games
(social to a very fine degree I guess, but better than passively watching
something on TV), and time to take my dog to the park every night (rain, hail
or shine) where I talk to other doggy people and my dog gets some Doggie
Facebook time in (sniffing other dogs behinds).

To me, being social is a huge driver of happiness and contentment. If you want
to escape the pursuit of owning things - turn off your TV for starters.

------
gavanwoolery
I have lived in both worlds: having lots of stuff and having next to nothing.
The latter is better, IMHO. I do not really care about minimalism or
environmentalism or anything like that, it's just that less stuff = less
stress for me, and more freedom. Having accumulated a buttload of stuff
(mostly thanks to my girlfriend! :D), it now costs me about $1000 and a solid
two days of work to move (if movers are hired, which is almost required unless
I can get external help for free). I used to own just some clothes and a
computer, and moving was stupidly easy. I have moved over 20 times in the past
12 years or so, which means quickly learning how to not get attached to junk.

------
waxjar
"Be as mobile as possible" is what this guy is saying.

How do you do that? Avoid responsibilities in one particular place and only
buy products you can't live without.

Big deal. I don't see what's so special about it.

------
qwerta
I always loved when Jamie on Mythbusters pulls out some stuff from his
workshop. I have TONS of "junk" and it makes huge difference in my life.
Otherwise I would spend 50% of my time searching for stuff I already had, but
throw away a few months ago.

This also applies to IT geeks. What would you do when your cool Macbook dies?
Do your work on Iphone until the replacement arrives? I would just take
replacement from drawer, restore backup and be back online in 30 minutes.

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thirdtruck
I plan to hold a "get gifts from me" birthday event this year.

------
shmageggy
Shouldn't the last sentence, "The benefits of telling the truth far outweigh
the cost of lies" read "the ratio of benefit to cost of telling the truth far
outweigh the same ratio for lying"? Weighing the benefit of one thing against
the cost of another seems like a non-sequitur.

------
lnanek2
Guess I'm there. All I own is a backpack full of dev hardware and a carry on
roller bag full of clothes, shoes, and toiletries. Have been renting cheap
shared places off airbnb past 3 months instead of always paying to have a
private place too.

------
elliott99
am I the only one that stocks up on paper towels, toilet paper, tissues,
household cleaning items, spare towels, another pair of sheets, different
sorts of toiletries and backs of those toiletries so that I'm not going to the
store all the time. This stuff takes up room!

