What can be a revolutionary new life, if we are used to measuring all changes for the better with the amount of money spent? Oddly enough, right now the fashionable method will come in handy. So what’s it like to minimize life to 50 things will explain today’s hero- Andrew.
1. Computer
I have a four-year-old Macbook Air, it gives everything the average person could need from a computer. If you clean the disc at least once a month, I think it will last another ten years. I store the archive on the cloud.
2. USB flash drive
Titanium SanDisk 8 GB, it is a hundred years old but works without problems, enough for working documents.
3. Backpack
Caterpillar urban backpack with laptop compartment. Hard enough, if you don’t carry bricks in it, it began to wear out in my third year of constant wearing. With it, I go everywhere.
4, 5. Glasses
Two IKEA transparent glasses. They are made of tempered glass, in any case, they can withstand boiling water when brewing tea, I also make cocktails in them. Two glasses are enough to have a drink with a friend or girlfriend at home, but for a large company, you have to get disposable tableware. But it’s even more fun.
6. Cookware pot
A three-liter IKEA pot is the most convenient volume. You can mix salad or cook soup in it so that you can eat it for three days. I left the frying pan to my friend and do not miss her at all.
7. Aluminum bowl
For eggs, sausages, porridge, and other little things, there is a bowl with thin walls, it heats up quickly.
8, 9. Dinnerware set with 12 items
In IKEA I bought it when I was waiting for my mother to visit – my habit of using disposable forks and spoons would horrify her. 12 items at once is not a scam, I will still leave them to the landlord when I move out, but for now, I use only two.
10. Knife
Victorinox – knife, corkscrew, beer opener. Doesn’t rust, doesn’t dull, the best gift I’ve ever received.
11, 12. Two deep bowls
IKEA again. Previously, I took for granted all this size-shaped row of plates, dishes, and bowls, but now I understand that this is all a useless multiplication of entities.
13. Towel
The big stupid camel towel that my ex and I bought while on vacation in Egypt seems to be the only thing that reminds me of her. I get by with them alone, paper towels in a roll are more convenient in the kitchen.
14-17. Phone, cord, charging case, headphones
I have an iPhone XS, with the latest update, the power saving mode finally began to save the battery, but in general, I travel a lot, no smartphone lasts so long without recharging. A friend presented a case with a built-in battery, it makes the phone a little heavier, but it doubles its life and serves as a bumper. Apple headphones, their price is absolutely justified by the lifespan and sound quality.
The phone and the computer replace my library (I bought the Kindle, but did not use it, I gave it to my sister), so there are no books in my apartment at all.
18, 19, 20. Panties
3-pack Marks & Spencer, they have the best value for money that I have tried.
21, 22. Jeans
Montana, blue, warm, and dark gray Jack & Jones. In general, the fewer things you have, the more universal they should be so that you do not look like a poor man. I used to have two more.
23. Underpants
Uniqlo, their textile is cheap and feels good on the body.
24-28. Socks
5 pairs of black socks.
29. Winter boots
Rieker – the quality is acceptable, the price is right.
30. Demi-season low shoes
Skechers – I buy the same model every year, it wears out in a year (spring, summer, and autumn), but it is convenient and there is no need to accumulate a collection in a closet. For the gym, of course, you need sneakers and at least pants, but now I run a lot at work and there is no time for fitness.
31-33. Three black t-shirts
Mustang is dense, does not stretch, does not wrinkle, does not fade. In general, eternal.
34-38. Five T-shirts with prints
Zara, Jack & Jones. I try to avoid huge letters and catchy pictures on the whole chest, only Superman can do that.
39. Shorts
Camouflage shorts for the summer and for the house – it’s easy for a single man to be cattle, so I keep myself in frames and do walk at home in my underpants.
40. White shirt
Zara, sometimes you have to go to business meetings with people who respect the dress code.
41-42. Two hoodies
Old Navy with warm lining for winter and Pull & Bear lighter.
43. Warm wool sweater
Dark gray, with a high neck, of unknown origin and weighs a kilogram and a half, but it fully justifies itself in the cold and when I am sick.
44. Turtleneck
Uniqlo is good to wear in cold weather.
45. Demi-season jacket
Black Jack & Jones windproof with liner.
46. Winter jacket
Uniqlo’s green down jacket is one of the tightest they’ve got.
47-49. Hat, scarf and gloves
Springfield and leather with an unrecognizable label.
50.2 sets of bed linen
One IKEA, the second – some fashionable satin from friends as a hint that it’s time for me to think about a new girl.
How has my life changed since my way to minimalism?
At first, I was afraid that I would become poor and I would sit in an empty room like an orphan. Nothing of the kind happened, on the contrary – I stopped procrastinating staring at all sorts of rubbish, stopped getting annoyed at the sight of a dump of things, began to read more, fall asleep faster and concentrate better on what I want to do. When there is the Internet, it replaces most offline entertainment, and a person progresses or degrades in it – this is only his decision.
A separate point of pleasure is moving. Friends rush about, pack, load their belongings in U-HAUL, lose and break something, get upset because they are so overgrown with rubbish that it is a pity to throw away. And I take a backpack, two garbage bags of 120 liters each and sit with them in a regular taxi.
How do I spend the money I save?
For healthier food and travel, I buy e-books on my specialty through Amazon. I go to concerts, help my parents, postpone something.
What advice can I give to those wishing to try minimalism?
If you have ever rented an apartment through Airbnb, remember what items were there in the kitchen and in the bathroom usually, the owners leave only the essentials.
It is clear that living in your own house, you will accumulate more things: I rent an apartment with an electric kettle, a washing machine, lamps, that is, I do not have to transport all this. But even in the process, when you furnish your home, try to emerge from the euphoria of spending and think: is this thing what you have long wanted, or is it just a “good buy” at a sale? How often will you use it? For example, you are used to a classic stove with an oven but use the oven at least once a month. Wouldn’t it be better to save three hundred dollars and space by buying a cooktop and an air fryer instead, or even one multicooker?
It is easier for us men to live than girls, who are uncomfortable without decor and a lot of little functional things. I would advise them to Marie Kondo book “Magic Cleaning”, which, among other things, says: if a thing pleases you, leave it, if it does not warm – throw it away. Or don’t buy. This is a very correct principle.
On the subject of clothing, trust a marketer who has upgraded consumer psychology courses – the number of rags and shoes in your home is directly proportional to the amount of neurosis in your head. Superman, Steve Jobs, and Zuckerberg didn’t wear the same thing for the sake of image or minimizing the number of decisions – they just had more logical recipes for how to fulfill themselves and impress the world.
