All year I am undertaking "12 Months of Simplicity" as a part of my Project 2010. January's project, inspired by one of my favorite blogs, has been "100 Things." All month I have downsized and eliminated, minimizing my personal possessions to 100 or less.
And I made it. I now own 100 91 92 91 things.
Before I jump into a list of everything I now own, let me explain the back story and rules behind this project:
The original spark came from a book: Jayber Crow by Wendel Berry. There is a scene where Jayber is leaving the city where he had been working at the horse track, heading to Port Williams. He's walking. And he's carrying everything he owns in a box.
Jes and I were reading this book with a group of friends and we were all perplexed by Jayber's box. Of all the things in the world, this box contained that which he deemed as most valuable and most important. Imagine the freedom and simplicity in being able to carry the possessions that enrich and make up your entire life in a single box, in your two hands.
Years after reading Jayber Crow (if you haven't read it, I seriously recommend it), I began absorbing everything written by Leo Babatua. From simplicity to productivity to minimalism, nearly everything he writes connects with who I am and who I am becoming. One day I stumbled across his 100 Things post. And I knew I wanted to try it out for myself.
And so I did. For the past month I have been clearing closets and drawers, digging up things I don't want and don't need. If I haven't used it or worn it in the past year, I probably don't need it. And slowly boxes were filled with shoes and shirts and ties and trinkets. (My dreams for my own Craigslist alternative - Jimslist - was thwarted by a Kast-Keat drop off to Goodwill.)
But in the end, I made it. I personally own less than 100 things. Look out Jayber Crow.
Now, here are my self-imposed rules in landing on my 100 things.
- I didn't count things that I share with Jes (like furniture, appliances, and all of our books)
- I didn't count "heirlooms" (because technically these belong to my heirs)
- Some things are grouped, each group counting as "one" (like socks, boxers, backpacking gear, office toys, golf discs, and the few things I collect)
- Cords don't count, just the thing they connect too. (Laptop, yes; power cord, no. iPod yes, iPod cord, no; etc.)
- Everything else counts.
So here it is, as of January 29, 2010 January 31, 2010, my 100 Things:
- Tie - black, paisley Tie - black, cloth (Gave it away to Paul Hile!)
- Tie - black, textured
- Tie - black with white stripes
- Tie - black with navy blue/silver stripes
- Tie - brown, argyle
- Tie - red, argyle
- Tie - brown/blue, argyle
- Tie - red
- Tie - white
- Tie - turquoise
- Tie - dark brown
- Tie - gray with red stripes
- Tie - light red with blue stripes
- Long Sleeve Button Down - black, plain
- Long Sleeve Button Down - black, plain
- Long Sleeve Button Down - black, extra buttons on sleeve
- Long Sleeve Button Down - black, snaps and black vertical stripes
- Long Sleeve Button Down - black, tux front
- Long Sleeve Button Down - charcoal
- Long Sleeve Button Down - brown
- Long Sleeve Button Down - white, tux front
- Long Sleeve Button Down - white, black buttons
- Long Sleeve Button Down - white, plain with front pocket
- Long Sleeve Button Down - white, texture
- T-shirt - black, DARE
- T-shirt - black, Field of Dreams
- T-shirt - blue, Mutemath
- T-shirt - dark green, U2
- T-shirt - gray, tree
- T-shirt - light blue, measles suck
- T-shirt - black
- T-shirt - brown
- T-shirt - maroon
- T-shirt - white
- T-shirt - white
- Polo - light blue, Okoboji
- Socks
- Boxers
- Belt - brown, diamond pattern
- Belt - black/brown, reversible
- Jeans - light blue
- Jeans - blue
- Jeans - dark blue
- Khakis
- Pants - black
- Shorts - black mesh (Technically these belong to Vince Corcoran, but he hasn't worn them since we lived across the hall from each other at Cornerstone.)
- Shorts - black
- Shorts - brown
- Shorts - orange, swim
- Suit - black
- Suit - charcoal
- Chacos - black
- Shoes - black
- Shoes - brown
- Shoes - running (Let's be honest, these aren't used too often.)
- Boots - hiking (They've hiked Alaska, part of the AT, the Grand Canyon, and more.)
- Boots - winter (As much as I wish I could get rid of these, I still live in West Michigan. #boycottwinter)
- Zip-up - black
- Zip-up - light blue, hood
- Zip-up - navy blue, hood
- Jacket - green, spring (I bought this jacket in 2001 and still wear it. The zipper stopped working somewhere in 2006. Anyone know how to fix that?)
- Jacket - dark green, fall
- Jacket - brown, winter
- Winter gloves
- *Backpack - Timbuk2 Q
- External Hard Drive - 500gb FreeAgent Go
- *Laptop - Dell Latitude D420 (After five years and a handful of Mars Hill employees, this is the world's most lethargic computer. It's great at single tasking, but good luck doing much more than one thing. It's not like I wish it were a macbook or anything...)
- *Mouse - Logitech, wireless
- *Earbuds
- *iPod Touch (Don't carry it in your back pocket. Sitting can crack the screen.)
- *Everything Notebook(s) (I've been filling notebooks with my thoughts and ideas for nearly ten years. But I've intentionally refocused my efforts in the past year, filling ten notebooks with thoughts, ideas, and everything over the course of 2009. I wonder how many 2010 will fill!)
- *Pen - Sarasa or G2 (I prefer G2s, Mars Hill prefers Sarasas.)
- *Blank Notecards (These are the backup to my Everything Notebook.)
- *Leather Book Weight (Thank you Prof. Duff for introducing me to this ingenious invention.)
- *25 oz Water Bottle - Lemonjello's
- *Glasses
- *Wedding Ring (Ever since January 14, 2006!)
- Accordion (Technically this belongs to my dad. But I "borrowed" it from him over a year ago with no intent on returning it.)
- Acoustic Guitar
- Drumsticks (I own more than a single drumstick, but I consider them - and the stick bag - a single collection.)
- Practice Pad (I received this as a gift from the drumline I used to teach.)
- Hand Drums (I have a small collection of hand drums from around the world. One of them needs a to a new drum head - anyone know how to work a rope skinned ashiko?)
- Nintendo DS (I bought this so I could play Tetris with Andy. I still don't own Tetris.)
- Mario Kart DS (Because sometimes I just want to throw red shells)
- Scribblenauts (Amazing interactive creativity infused game!)
- The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Current game I'm playing. When I finish, I sell it to GameStop for something new.)
- Board Games (I consider this a collection. While they are technically mine, I like to think of them as shared with myself and whoever is playing them!)
- Golf Discs (I unofficially donated most of them to MHS and keep the ones I actually use)
- Tennis Racket (same one I used when I played in High School!)
- Office Toys (magnetic yo-yo, figurines, and other trinkets to entertain students and volunteers)
- Backpacking Gear (Survived the Smokey Mountains, Alaska, and the Grand Canyon with this!)
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And there you have it. 100 Things with room to spare (which means I can get new things without having to replace everything at a one-to-one ratio!). Ideally I'd love to fill the nine open slots with a DSLR camera, something with an apple on it (but not an iDisappoint, I mean iPad), and maybe a new tie or two.
I plan on keeping this list updated throughout the year, replacing things as needed and adding things on occasion. And if all goes as planned with my "12 Months of Simplicity" I will continue to realize simplicity and minimalism, not as an idealized and esoteric destination, but as the journey along the way. Simplicity is the means, not the end.
But speaking of an "end," it's time for this post to end. If you're into stats, here's a few (as of January 30, 2010) to wrap things up:
- 71% of my possessions are clothes. Ouch.
- 22% of my clothes are ties. And I'm proud of it.
- 15% of my possessions are ties. Doubly proud.
- 14 is the most I own of any one thing. And yes, they're ties.
- 13% of my possessions are nearly always with me - marked above with an *asterisk.
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