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10/25/05

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EndedBen

EndedBen

Grand Rapids, MI
August 2004

OCT 25, 2005 11:14 AM

I'm thinking of getting rid of all the extraneous items (iPods, playstations, movies, various electronics and clothes) in my life, keeping only the things that I need to get by (car, books, bed, my fancy dress up clothes) for the most part. Has anyone ever done anything similar?

MrStitches

MrStitches

Brooklyn, NY
November 2003

OCT 25, 2005 11:16 AM

What do you expect to accomplish by doing this?

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

OCT 25, 2005 11:16 AM

I did. I gave them all to a stranger on the internet (an older, handsomer one). It was a great move. You should do the same. I'll pay for shipping.

Serious answer-I have, but i tended to accumulate shit all over again.

EndedBen

EndedBen

Grand Rapids, MI
August 2004

OCT 25, 2005 11:18 AM

PointBlank said:

Serious answer-I have, but i tended to accumulate shit all over again.



I'm not looking to simplify my life forever, just get closer to my minimalist nature and cut some of ties to the shit I feel I want but don't actually need, like the video game systems or the televisions or what have you.

Idjit

Idjit

HOPEFUL

I'm lost

OCT 25, 2005 11:23 AM

I take it you watched Fight Club for the nth time last night?

walkswithbears

walkswithbears

United Kingdom
March 2003

OCT 25, 2005 11:23 AM

Yup, Henry David Thoreau. I don't think he has an account though.

MrStitches

MrStitches

Brooklyn, NY
November 2003

OCT 25, 2005 11:24 AM

Wouldn't just. . .not buying more crap be just as good?
I think that just not being obscessed with material shit is as good as avoiding it completely. There's nothing wrong with a little luxury.

Roger_Camden

Roger_Camden

Wyandotte, MI
December 2003

OCT 25, 2005 11:24 AM

I found that I didn't really miss my stuff all that much.

However, the better plan than just giving stuff away is to find a place where you can stash your stuff like a library. Then all you have to do is pay a visit and make deposits or withdrawls.

EndedBen

EndedBen

Grand Rapids, MI
August 2004

OCT 25, 2005 11:26 AM

Idjiit said:
I take it you watched Fight Club for the nth time last night?



That movie is simply too popular.

Roger_Camden

Roger_Camden

Wyandotte, MI
December 2003

OCT 25, 2005 11:27 AM

One byproduct is that you'll feel like a hobo when everyone else whips out their gadgets.

Extra question: What kind of stuff would you be unwilling to give away?

[Edited on Oct 25, 2005 by Roger_Camden]

EndedBen

EndedBen

Grand Rapids, MI
August 2004

OCT 25, 2005 11:28 AM

EnfantTerrible said:
Your habitual time filling routines will have to change b/c you won't be able to reach for the old pass times anymore. I think it's a good thing.



That's exactly what I want to happen. I fall back on the same routines, over and over again.

Roger_Camden said:
Extra question: What kind of stuff would you be unwilling to give away?



My car, which I need to deliver pizzas and myself places.
My record player, stereo, speakers and record collection.
A few DVDs, copies of my most cherished movies.

[Edited on Oct 25, 2005 by SuperNintendo]

Elijah

Elijah

SUICIDEGIRL

New York, USA

OCT 25, 2005 11:50 AM

hi, my name is elijah, and im writing on behalf of my son, who is very sick, and will die in a short few weeks unless he recieves an emergency IPOD transplant. that is, unless, a kind stranger is willing to help.

please dont let my son die. his life is in your hands!

i wonder if sally struthers is hiring. i believe if found my special talent.
or maybe write for a soap opera....

Smuffy

Smuffy

I'm lost
December 2003

OCT 25, 2005 11:51 AM

and your powerbook!?

Blueberries

Blueberries

I'm lost
September 2005

OCT 25, 2005 11:52 AM

Oh my goodness someone please help Elijah and her poor sick son!

desidia

desidia

Reunion
September 2002

OCT 25, 2005 11:54 AM

I'm her poor sick son but from the future! Give me more IPODS!

Although for getting rid of things... I seem to move a lot and I always try to leave with fewer things than I moved in with.

Elijah

Elijah

SUICIDEGIRL

New York, USA

OCT 25, 2005 11:59 AM

desidia said:
I'm her poor sick son but from the future! Give me more IPODS!

Although for getting rid of things... I seem to move a lot and I always try to leave with fewer things than I moved in with.


imposter!! how dare you try to gain things in my poor sick sons name???

commonman

commonman

USA
August 2003

OCT 25, 2005 12:01 PM

I think the key to keeping yourself free from stuff is to limit the size of your living space. The less space you have, the less stuff you can fill it up with. Now that I have two whole floors instead of one in my abode, I seem to have more stuff. I just bought some storage containers so I could hide some of my stuff under beds and whatnot.

If I were going to clean house and simplify, I would get rid of a LOT of things. But the irony is that it would cost a lot to replace my many old things with a few useful new things, so I may as well keep tho old things for a while more.

hotcurry

hotcurry

Los Angeles, CA
June 2004

OCT 25, 2005 12:03 PM

I have an uncle who lives like this. He goes off on crazy trips around the world like hunting bear in Siberia and surfing in Fiji. It sounds like he has a grand old time and certainly has much more money to spend on experiences rather than on state of the art consumer goods.

Side note---- if you're really giving stuff away, I am materialistic and need these things to survive. That is all.

MissNomer

MissNomer

San Francisco, CA
September 2005

OCT 25, 2005 12:06 PM

I did this. Sort of. I had a bunch of stuff stolen when I was moving. Whoever did it just grabbed boxes indiscriminately, so I lost stuff from my childhood as well as, like, my food processor and almost all my CDs.
It wasn't all that upsetting. When I realized that I couldn't list half the stuff that those boxes contained, I knew I was better off without all the clutter.
I still have lots of junk, but I try to keep it to stuff I actually use. What I don't have, I borrow.

pygmy

pygmy

Portland, OR
July 2004

OCT 25, 2005 12:12 PM

if you're mostly just looking to interrupt your routine, go to you circuit breaker and turn off your electricity for a day, seeing as all the stuff you mentioned (besides clothes) is electronic. Then you can decide what to keep or what to get rid of. It takes just as much willpower to put it in a corner and not use it as it takes to not buy another whatever-it-is to replace it when you see a new shiny one on sale in a store. Of course, the bulkier things like clothes, it's always a good idea to get rid of those things, because those things actually start to take over your living space, not just your time.

SnakePlissken

SnakePlissken

Corvallis, OR
December 2002

OCT 25, 2005 12:14 PM

Afterwards are you gonna wander the earth and help people solve a problem start to finish with your kung-fu skills all in the space of an hour minus commercials?

Roger_Camden

Roger_Camden

Wyandotte, MI
December 2003

OCT 25, 2005 12:14 PM

I once condensed down to a single medium-sized suitcase and a backpack. I kept my laptop, a sleeve of DVDs. Didn't take any cds with me because I used my laptop. I think three books that I hadn't read (I tend to jettison books that I've read into the hands of anyone who will take them). The pair of shoes I was wearing, a few shirts (including a white collared button-down to appear fancy), a couple pairs of pants. Socks, boxers.
Yeah, it was minimal, to be sure.
Can't say I was happier, per se. What was more important to learn was that I was pretty much the same person without all my stuff as I had been with all the stuff. I passed the time by different means, but it wasn't better or worse.

Elijah

Elijah

SUICIDEGIRL

New York, USA

OCT 25, 2005 12:38 PM

Roger_Camden said:
(I tend to jettison books that I've read into the hands of anyone who will take them)


irrelivant elijah fact of the day-
i would be happier if someone gave me a bunch of books than jewelry. seriously.
well unless it is a big giant diamond. or a movado.
ok- let me rephrase-
say someone was going to by me a gift of jewelry, approximate retail value of $300.00. id rather have $300.00 worth of good books.
end irrelivant elijah fact of the day

sorry to interupt your thread. carry on.

Toole

Toole

United Kingdom
October 2005

OCT 25, 2005 05:11 PM

I hoard like a bitch, so every year I do a throw out to the charity shop, and now I'm left with just the good stuff, PC, TV, CD's, Movies, Clothes, paintballing gear, art stuff, games and books. That tends to be about it, other than some really expensive shit I can't justify giving away (like the platinum & black sapphire necklace I bought for an ex's bday right before she ditched me)... but most stuff goes smile

Archi

Archi

Austin, TX
January 2005

OCT 25, 2005 05:28 PM

When my wife and I split I told her to take everything except for a very short list of things, and she did. I slept on the floor for a few weeks even until a friend gave me a matress and bedspring he had (I was quite content sleeping on the floor, but he was divesting himself of extra stuff).

It's been a year and for the most part I haven't replaced very many things. I still have no TV and most of the furniture I now have I came into by accident. Over time I plan to replace or aquire a few select things, but I know exactly what I want and I don't want any more than that.

I am extremely pleased with my life at the moment, so divesting myself of stuff was a good thing. I'm actually in the process of divesting myself of more stuff (mostly old clothes and misc. junk).

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