Getting Rid of All Your Stuff

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?

What do you expect to accomplish by doing this?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

That movie is simply too popular.

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]

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

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]

and your powerbook!?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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).