100 Thing…wait, 100-whats-now?
There’s been some confusion floating around the Simplicity/Minimalism Blogosphere recently. This confusion revolves around the idea behind – and the implications of – The 100 Thing Challenge. I would like to clarify my stand, and at the same time hopefully clear up some of the general confusion.
The 100 Thing Challenge was started by Dave over at GuyNamedDave. He originally saw it as a challenge to himself to live for 1 year with 100 personal possessions. that number does not count shared or family items such as couches, dining tables, TVs in the family room, etc…but only personal items owned and used by the participant. Needless to say that year taught Dave quite a lot about himself, possessions, and our consumer culture – but I’ll let you read more about that in his FAQs.
Since the original challenge, there have been a TON of others following suit and combining the 100 Thing Challenge with their own notions, some have made it a life commitment, some are living out of backpacks, others have recently cut the number of items to 50, and still others are using it as a jumping off point to make their own…well points. For me the idea of the challenge is what matters most. That we as a culture are obsessed with the newest and greatest – the biggest and best of everything – is a given. The question that remains is what can we, as individuals, do about it? We can start by eschewing consumerism and focusing our attention on our loved ones, friends, and enjoying our time doing what we love most (as long as that’s not shopping!)
For me, 100 is an arbitrary number. My point in counting up my belongings was to see how far I’d come in my Minimalist journey. I know how much STUFF I got rid of in anticipation of my now-sabbatical and to have less than 100 things left is positively mind-blowing! Do I think I’m going to always have this few belongings? I hope so. Will I be counting every month to be sure I’m keeping the number down there? Not likely. The point is to know what you have. And to know where what you have is. As long as I stick as close as I can to the one-in-one-out rule, I’ll be fine with whatever the number ends up being.
So no, not all “minimalists” are trying to live forever with 100 things. Some of us used that as an impetus to take careful stock of our belongings before they took over completely and owned us. Others took it to heart and followed in Dave’s footsteps. Yet others took it even farther and are living out of a suitcase or backpack. And I say bravo to each and every one of these people! Make your minimalist journey work for you. Just like the definition of Minimalism itself, 100 Things should mean something different to every person who seeks to better themselves by shedding the consumer mindset and living their lives to the fullest.
Thank you you much Jesse for talking about this issue. Not all minimalists are trying to live forever with 100 things. My goal is to downsize my belongings to even less than that … virtually nothing. This is the ideal I envision for myself. I am not at all suggesting that others do what I am doing. I am only trying to assist people to make their lives less stressful, less painful, less restricting, less burdensome … in whatever way feels most comfortable for them.
Let’s face it … the reason most of us adopt the minimalist lifestyle is to alleviate some sort of pain we may be feeling … and the level pain will be different for each of us. We are all merely trying to make our lives as stress free as possible by simplifying it. What’s “simplifying” for one person may not be “simplifying enough” for another. That’s the beauty of minimalism. Each and every one of us is free to live a simplistic lifestyle by our own rules and the way we see it. We need not look over our shoulders and compare what we are doing with what others are doing in minimalism, or how many things you own versus how many things I own. It doesn’t matter. Minimalism should not be another form of dogma. Let’s shift our focus away from “stuff” altogether … and move towards loving more loving more, living more, enjoy our moments more … and put to rest once and for all these agonizing comparisons we make in this world of relativity.
I’ve relaxed my attitude toward the 100 Things Challenge, too. I was counting my belongings and minimizing more and more – just for the sake of it – forgetting my initial purpose during this process. I wasn’t living more, as I wanted to, but obsessing over the particulars. There’s nothing simple about obsession!
@ Vita – love your comment! Beautifully said.
I think you understand the point of the 100 things challenge quite well. 100 is the arbitrary number because if I told someone to get rid of a lot of their stuff, one person may think that’s 5 items and another may think 500 items.
I am going to try and get back to 100 things. Hopefully, in the near future, I will accomplish this.
David Damron
TMP
To me, the 100 Thing Challenge is less about the number, which is arbitrary, like you said. It’s an exercise in undoing habits and challenging myself to reevaluate what is most important and valuable to me. Anyone can write their own rules to make their count add up to 100 or less, but that doesn’t address consumerism or constantly giving into desires. It IS nice to see a growing community of people pursuing minimalism though, and seeing for themselves what their essentials are.
It’s great to hear from others who see this the same way. I don’t plan on counting again. I know where I’m starting and I’ve made the habit real, so from here it’s more about maintaining that habit and making a difference by making a point.