How I live: My 115 things

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 and Marie Kondo’s . 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: The Minimalists The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up — I don’t have messes anymore and I rarely worry about losing items. Reduced cognitive overload Focusing on as opposed to material-based happiness. I seldom found long-term joy in the physical items I purchased for myself. experience-based happiness Being a minimalist has allowed me much more , for example, freeing up the money I would have spent on a new bed frame so that I can invest the money. financial freedom 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 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). Methodology: Clothing (60) Note: not all clothing pictured 2 Eyeglasses (one backup) Eyeglasses Case 10 Pairs of Socks (including and ) Darn Tough Socks Feetures! Running Socks 14 Pairs of Underwear (Target) 10 T-shirts 4 Casual Button-down Shirts 2 Dress Shirts 2 Jeans 2 Belts Slacks Tie Khaki Shorts Board Shorts (multi-use as exercise shorts) Pajama Pants Nike Pegasus 32 Running Shoes Dress Shoes Collegiate Jacket Thick Winter Jacket Snow Jacket Light black hoodie Atif Ateeq’s “Haram” Hat Baseball Cap Toiletries (17) Generic Soft-Brush Toothbrush Generic Toothpaste Hair Comb Floss Bath Towel Body Wash Pantene Two in One Shampoo+Conditioner Medicine [bundle] Toiletries Bag Hand Towel Dove Men + Care Deodorant EltaMD Sunscreen Beard Trimmer Beard Trimmer Charger Lubriderm Men’s 3-In-1 Body Lotion Retainers Retainers Case On-the-go (7) (great for running with) Osprey Packs Quasar Daypack [bundle, including 5 cards] Radix One Slim Wallet House Key U.S. Passport Sleeping Bag Sleeping Bag Case Tote Bags [bundle] Electronics (11) Extension Cord Android Nexus 6P Smartphone Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch with Retina Display Apple MacBook Charger Bose QC 20 noise cancelling headphones Spare Earphones [bundle] Spare Chargers [bundle] WD 1TB Portable External Hard Drive Headphone Splitter Xiaomi Portable Battery Charger Travel Power Adapter 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 (~$20 on Amazon) Foldable Storage Ottomans (can be made into a couch on the floor, or can be slept in as an extra bed) EMOOR Japanese Traditional Futon Mattress, Twin EMOOR Japanese Traditional Futon Gray Cover IKEA Laundry Basket Miscellaneous (7) Swiss Army Pocket Knife [bundle] Post-IT Notes Empty Box (for storage) Soylent Hard-bound MoleSkine Notebook Yoga Mat BUFF Multifunctional Headwear Pens [bundle] 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 . Check out some of my other articles below: @stervyc The Practical Minimalist Gift Guide My Entire Financial System in One Diagram What Other Minimalists Like Me Own