How I live: My 115 things

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This post is part of a larger attempt to share my personal “systems” that help me organize my life. By sharing my system, I hope to get feedback and inspire others to share as well.

Minimalism: Living with Nothing

I started becoming a minimalist two years ago, inspired by sites like The Minimalists and Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I quickly got addicted to reducing my possessions, and found more and more ways to declutter. I now have only 115 items! There are three main reasons I’m a minimalist fanboy:

My room (Basically the size of a walk-in closet)

Reduced cognitive overload — I don’t have messes anymore and I rarely worry about losing items.

— I don’t have messes anymore and I rarely worry about losing items. Focusing on experience-based happiness as opposed to material-based happiness. I seldom found long-term joy in the physical items I purchased for myself.

as opposed to material-based happiness. I seldom found long-term joy in the physical items I purchased for myself. Being a minimalist has allowed me much more financial freedom, for example, freeing up the money I would have spent on a new bed frame so that I can invest the money.

I’ve outlined exactly the 115 items that I own now, although I’m still working on decreasing this number. I hope this inspires others to share their material systems, and I want to highlight some key multi-purpose items that allow my list to be so short.

My three favorite minimalist items

These items are great because they’re multi-purpose, compact, and very cheap, so I don’t worry about damaging or losing them.

Radix One Slim Wallet (Amazon Link)

Curious what’s inside my wallet? Check out my financial break-down article.

Foldable Storage Ottoman (Amazon Link)

Swiss Army Pocket Knife (Amazon Link)

My full 115 items

Methodology: This list is a list of items that I would take with me if I were moving. It does NOT include shared items (e.g. common room couch) and it counts pairs of items as one (e.g. a pair of socks). Otherwise, I generally try to count items as separate unless they’re clearly in a “bundle” (I’ve labeled these items with “[bundle]” to clarify I’m counting them as one item).

Clothing (60)

Note: not all clothing pictured

Toiletries (17)

On-the-go (7)

Osprey Packs Quasar Daypack (great for running with)

Radix One Slim Wallet [bundle, including 5 cards]

House Key

U.S. Passport

Sleeping Bag

Sleeping Bag Case

Tote Bags [bundle]

Electronics (11)

Furniture (13)

Twin-XL Mattress

Allergy Mattress Cover (to put the mattress directly on the floor)

Gray Fitted Sheet

Gray Bed Sheet

Navy Comforter

Pillow

Pillow Cover

Masai Mara Blanket (from my travels in Kenya)

Two Foldable Storage Ottomans (~$20 on Amazon)

EMOOR Japanese Traditional Futon Mattress, Twin (can be made into a couch on the floor, or can be slept in as an extra bed)

EMOOR Japanese Traditional Futon Gray Cover

IKEA Laundry Basket

Miscellaneous (7)

Not included in this list

Shared Kitchenware (borrowed from roommates)

Shared Furniture (borrowed from roommates)

Consumable Items (I cycle through these on a biweekly basis)

Books (I’ll donate them when I move, and I mostly use e-books — if you’re curious for more, here’s a post about my reading organization system)

If you found this interesting, you can follow me on Twitter at @stervyc. Check out some of my other articles below:

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