Comment by rootsudo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rootsudo | Hacker News Reader

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>192 makes no sense to me. I've probably got 192 items in my kitchen alone, just from wanting to be able to cook and serve a meal for 4 people because it's nice to eat with friends. A fork is a worldly possession, after all.

You're assuming people are the same as you - I follow the same but I live out of suitcases and can travel at a moments notice for the best flights and pick up an airbnb somewhere.

But this is the life I want - literally 95% of my things fit in 2 suit cases, a third is my bike and a bike is a bike thought if you want to get really technical you can count the wheels, the brakes, the brake rotors, the frame, chain, groupset, etc as different but together it's a bike (and a bike bag!) but I do count the clothes/water bottles, etc.

It's also so cool because you can use pivot tables to group items into necessary or not - so if you want to wing just a one backpack 25-40l trip, you know what to grab and also the rolling cost of items associated too - and for more fun, deprecation, purchase cost, etc.

I enjoy it, but thats the spirit, a pair of socks = 1 or do you have 12 socks?

Is the idea that you're renting apartments and counting the pots and pans, toilet brush etc as not being yours because you leave them with the house?

So my bath mat is "mine" because I own the house and had to buy it myself, but yours isn't because it's rented?

Because if we can cut that out then yeah, now I own far fewer things. It seems like a weird distinction to make.

It can be - if you do a STR/Airbnb/Hotel, the pots and pans should come with the place and they're not yours. Many hotels do include the above, especially mid to higher end ones.

If you're renting on a standard long term lease - not short term rental, and it isn't furnished with them, yes they're yours because you bought them.

It's up to you what you want to "count", but toiletries are like petty cash. Pots/Pans can have realistic value, and the rabbit hole for them goes deep from cheap iron, stainless steel, ikea standard purchase, etc.

The idea is to take a break, catalog what you have and go from there. You can catalog 1000+ items and just get rid of ten but then you know "oh just ten items were fluff" vs not knowing or getting rid of 200.

The idea is the exercise.

So if I rent everything, I can live my exact same lifestyle but be called a minimalist?

Minimalist is just a self-identified label, so you're welcome to call yourself a minimalist if you feel that it fits.

You don't have to look for some technical workaround to some exact definition here, and pedantically arguing about descriptive terms can get tiring real quick.

Maybe you're not trying to be pedantic and are coming from a place of curiosity, and I do apologize for my tone if that's the case. It is coming off as sounding a little "debate-bro" though.

And, really, don't we all rent everything?

Most people buy everything, even their homes, using rented money!

You don't own it - its furniture, comes with the house - it's the lifestyle itself. While you technically seem correct on it, you're missing the point.

I make a distinction between things I have sentimental attachment to, important or expensive to replace vs things that are not.

I wouldn’t count all my dinner plates and cutlery as “possessions” as such, but I’d count my good knives.

Those are "prized possessions". Possession means property. If you own it, and would have to pack it up and take it with you when you moved, it's a possession.

Well you see I have a mortgage and if I walked away they would take everything within the house thus I don't own anything other than the clothing on my back.

Same with the cars.

Can't people who live out of chests of drawers and closets also "travel at a moments [sic] notice for the best flights"?

Suitcase, chest, drawers, yes - it's just the thinking and not having "possessions."

The bigger takeaway is learning what keeps you grounded or anchored. Nothing is wrong with that - can be family, can be cars, can be real estate/houses, can be business, etc.

The idea is you inventory your life and see what is the most minimal you need (haha, MVP basically.) and go from there.

You can do it for spending, you can do it for consumption via money, diet - eating/consumption/purchasing,etc.

It's fun, I enjoy keeping an inventory list, knowing what I have where and for larger valued items, e.g. $500+ I can put in last time usage so if I don't need it, I sell it - lower value items giveaway/free.

For me, I've live in the PNW too - and it's quite fun to just have a suitcase/duffel bag, and just camp out in my car or drive somewhere new and do that - or like I said above, hop on a flight and have everything I need for the duration of my stay.

I get it can sound boring or non-exciting to many people, but once you get into it - it really is fascinating. What things do you need for everyday life?

Up in the air had a great segment about it, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsRP9EUrXjo I haven't read the book, but I should - I've been seeing it quite a bit.

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