There is probably a better term for what I am talking about, I think it is minimalism but in order to become a minimalist you would first need to get to that point and I call in downsizing.
For most of my life I had as much stuff as possible. First-world problems, right? Well, it wasn't really a problem until it came time to move somewhere, then it was a huge problem.
When i first moved to Thailand I obviously couldn't bring all the stuff I had acquired over the years with me so I filled up a backpack and a suitcase and that was all I got to bring with me.
It only took a few years before I managed to acquire loads of shite again. I was the kind of person that I think most people are and I gravitated towards buying things, excessive things, redundant things.
Like most people I had 5 pairs of jeans and 100 or more shirts despite the fact that I have a rotation of maybe just a few of them that I ever wear. I had 10 coffee cups, 10 plates, 10 of really everything in the kitchen despite the fact that I lived alone. Did i really need 6 towels?
Later on I had two gaming desktop computers with a total of 5 monitors, a laptop, a tablet, and 2 smartphones. What is going on here?
Then one day it came time to move a bit further away and i decided i was going to get rid of all of this stuff and I did.
It was a tough choice to make because when you are contemplating getting rid of things all of a sudden everything seemed to important to give away. It was only because of the airline baggage restrictions that I finally did get it down to 2 suitcases and a doggy crate and this is where it stands today.
To be honest with you, i don't think I actually really need about half of the clothes that made it this far in the journey so when i moved into my current house i put all of my shirts on hanger with the hanger in there backwards. When I leave this house in a week and of the clothes that are on hangers still facing backwards are not coming with me to Vietnam.
I think we are all guilty of collecting too many clothes and never wearing them. I have been toting 2 custom made suits around with me for nearly 20 years and have only worn each of them 1 time. They will not be making the trip to Vietnam with me.
I will say this: Although my fashion options are very limited by getting rid of most of my clothes, I really wasn't a very fashionable guy anyway, so it doesn't bother me a great deal. Plus it is pretty liberating to know that my entire life fits into 2 suitcases. It certainly takes a lot of stress out of packing, that's for sure.
I know a guy who is in his early 70's and recently did the same thing and he told me stories about how he had to make 15 trips to The Salvation Army to offload 50 years of essentially garbage and how some of his older electronics, which I would say we are all guilty of stockpiling, The Salvation Army folks just kind of laughed.
of all the things that got smaller over the years I think i am most happy about stereos no longer coming in 12 pieces and weighing 400 lbs
My 70 year old friend also said that he has never been happier about the amount of "stuff" that he owns and while it was a little difficult to get rid of the memories, in the end he was never going to use that stuff again.
Maybe this sounds a bit preachy but that is not the intention of me writing this. I know that people enjoy collecting stuff and if you have kids living your life in a minimalist type of way probably wouldn't be possible. Also, depending on where you live in the world, quality furnished housing might not be something you have access to and therefore you have to own furniture - lots of it.
I just know that for me something changed about halfway through my life. I stopped wanting to collect loads of things and because of technological advances the things I enjoy the most like music and video games keep getting smaller and more portable. So it just works out nicely for me. The hardest part for me to accept was that I will likely never own a gaming rig ever again - they are still just too huge.
The main benefit for me is that I can move from one side of town to another, or even from one country to another in a taxi or with checked bags on a plane, and a reckon i'm gonna be moving a lot in the next couple years, so this minimized life is not just beneficial, but probably necessary for me.
Do you own too much "stuff?" Are you a proud pack rat? Or have you downsized your life as well? I'd like to hear about it either way.
