Comment by fembot__ | Hacker News Reader

Comment by fembot__ | Hacker News Reader

I am a millenial that makes decent money and lives in manhattan. The following are true of me:

1) I sold my car when I moved here, and I usually walk or take Uber.

2) I sold many of my clothes when I got here (because my closet is small) and now use Rent the Runway Unlimited to have a revolving supply of designer clothes.

3) I do not have a washer or dryer so I use an app called Cleanly to pick up my clothes, wash, and return them.

4) I do not have a dishwasher or a microwave, so I never bought many dishes/utensils, and I order most meals I eat at home from seamless or PostMates.

5) I don't have a vaccum, a broom, a mop, a dustpan, cleaning supplies, etc so I use an app called Handy that sends a cleaner that has these things to my apartment every two weeks.

So, technically I own less things. But only because I can afford to pay to rent them (uber, rent the runway) or pay someone else to make up for not owning them (postmates/cleanly/handy). I imagine that the same is true for many of the people who live the lifestyle the author is describing. So in a way, I can see her point: we're not really minimalist, we're just rich enough to not have to own stuff.

But on the other hand, isn't it cool that technology has created a world where I don't have to own all this stuff to have a convenient, clean, fashionable life? I am not even a minimalist but I do think that the aesthetic idea of minimalism has influenced some of the technological advances that have led to some of the most innovative "shared economy" and peer to peer service companies. And if the people who came up with the ideas for these apps want to live in a white apartment with succulents, who cares?

Hey; honest question for you (don't mean this in the pejorative sense)

How much does that cost you on a month to month basis? I have no point of reference due to living out in the burbs but my knee jerk is "jesus that must cost so much overhead" and I'd like to see if that's a false assumption or not.

For level playing field/full disclosure, my list looks something like: 1. Car costs: ~40$/month for gas (mostly bus), 20k amortized over 10 years of ownership ~160$/month (assuming no major maitanance, given how little I drive) 2. Clothes: ~20$/month (assuming I spend <100$ yearly on clothes which is probably accurate, probably avg. 1 pair of shoes + one full outfit a year, and that's likely a high estimate) 3. Washer/dryer: This one is hard since it's merged with the water/power bill, but as a point of reference I pay about 100$ water and 120$ power monthly for a 3b2b house. 4. See above re: utilities, food probably comes to ~200$ per month buying at costco (two trips monthly of ~150-200 each for the wife and I) 5. Cleaning: "free" (time isn't free yadda yadda)

All together probably between 650-700$ monthly on non-mortgage necessities, the largest portions of which are car+utilities+groceries in relatively even thirds, which is a hard bar to push lower for me so I'm looking for ways to be creative. :)

1. Uber: ~$250-300 a month

2. Rent the Runway: $150 a month

3. Laundry: ~$40 a month + Dry cleaning (can be the in 100s)

4. Water is payed for by the building, electricity averages $100 a month.

5. Food: This one is tougher. If I order pad thai, I can eat it for two days and its $6 a day. If I order lobster pasta, its $40 and I eat it all right then! According to mint I spend $500 a month on average. But some of what I pay for is in cash so it could be more.

It's definitely not cheaper to live like this but it's much less friction! :)

thanks for the candid answer; I can certainly see the appeal, and the laundry bill is _surprisingly good_ + would add a big convenience factor too, that's one I might have taken up on if I were still in a city.

Food I can definitely see, and if I would splurge this is probably where I'd do it. Those uber costs though, - not having your own car as well seems like a much harder trade.

Ha ha - you remind me of myself back in the day. Almost.

You're not a 'minimalist' - you're 'lazy'. Ha - sorry, I'm kidding. A 'Millenialminimal' ... ha.

You will one day (soon) discover that food is part of life, and you'll enjoy making it, and having it around. Eating and preparing food is as old as time, it's part of what living is for, many cultures revolve around that. I think it's embedded in our nature, so my bet is that you'll feel that pull within a couple of years.

What you're doing is related to - but not quite - 'minimalism' - you should invent a word for it :).

Haha! Millenialminimal...I like it.

Don't forsee the cooking enjoyment thing, particularly with travel schedule, lack of dishwasher, excess of stairs (5th floor walkup + grocery bags=sad), and the fact that I literally can only make scrambled eggs, but maybe you're right.

I think the lifestyle is definitely related to minimalism--I'm not outsourcing all of these things because I don't have time, but I also wouldn't consider myself a particularly lazy person. I simply like the feeling that my life is a well-oiled machine--everything is handled, no laundry folding necessary. It gives me less things to worry about so I can spend more time working, reading, exercising, writing... (and yes, sometimes, watching netflix).

I think my point was that the concept of minimalism (owning less things, being responsible for less choice, etc) has led to a bevy of innovations that are actively freeing up time for me to use my brain more, if I so choose--and isn't that the dream of technology, in the first place?

Let's see here...Cleanly is $1.5/lb for regular laundry.[1] A random GE top-load washer+dryer pair at Lowes is $900[2], which works out to be 600lbs of laundry to a first approximation.

As it happens, I have a laundry basket and a scale handy, so I'll call one load 10lbs and I do, oh, 3 loads a week. That makes the washer/dryer 20 weeks.

Our current washer and dryer are 8 years old. I'd say that amortizes pretty well.

[1] https://cleanly.com/pricing/

[2] https://www.lowes.com/pl/Popular-ge-tl-energy-star-pair/4294...

If an apartment in Manhattan doesn't already have a washer/dryer hookup, it is not getting a washer/dryer hookup, no matter the economics of buying a washer and dryer vs using a laundry service.

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