here's an idea for being prepared... NO GADGETS!

Midget

Midget

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2002
Messages
2,806
so in light of the hurricanes, attacks, disasters, and life in general, i've recently become obsessive compulsive over owning as few possessions as possible. but even before all the unfortunate occurances, i've had this idea in mind. in fact, for the past 4-5 months i've been getting rid of pretty much everything unessential to my everyday lifestyle (this did, btw, require some changes to my lifestyle).

i've gotten rid of most everything i could live without. no bed. no blankets. as few clothes as possible to hold me out for about 10 days (sets for both winter and summer). kitchen appliances, my minifridge, some benchmounted tools, kitchenware, a bike, camera equipment, desktop computer, pioneer stereo system, misc. flashlights and knives, etc. -- all gone.

right now i'm at the point where i could pack most all of my belongings into my grandam and ditch my apartment. everything i currently have would be tough to fit in, but i'm still working on purging my stuff. if i had to, i could ditch my whisky collection :'( .


i'm very pleased, so far. sometimes it can be inconvenient, but you eventually get used to it. i've recently grown content with sleeping on the floor w/ no blankets or pillow ('cept my stuffed animal). i've even got rid of all but three knives, all but two flashlights, and down to one bicycle (primary mode of transportation).

the rest of my networth is, well, secured in the bank.


the subtitle of this forum states, "he who dies with the most gadgets...WINS." maybe that's true.

but still. i feel awful 'bout those people in louisiana (and god forbid texas) whom have lost everything. i think the best thing you can do is to learn from this tragic conclusion and never be a victim. and, well, i suppose the concept of my operation is that i can't lose much if i don't own much.


just throwing out an idea guys. simplify. ;)
 
haha sorry for the long rant. i've been "clearing out" my whisky collection. :D:D:D;)
 
Hmm....

Let's see which event is more likely:

1. You need to grab every earthly item you have and throw it in your car and evac out of somewhere

2. You need to go to sleep

Well, I've never done #1, but I do #2 every night. So maybe it might be smart of you to get back that bed after all. I don't know many people who have ever had to evac and I especially don't know any who tried to take their bed with them. I do, however, know plenty of people who sleep on crappy accommodations and as a result have physical problems: bad back, neck, etc.

Why not "prepare" for the more mundane and everyday "problems" you might face? Sleep, I mean.

I mean, I guess you could decide to get rid of everything that won't fit in your car or you could own normal stuff and just know which of it you'll actually bother throwing in your car if you ever need to evac.
 
I think Midget is on sort of the right track, just going a bit far.

My wife and I have for the past year been really getting rid of stuff. We've been giving stuff to our kids, nephews and nieces, friends and ex co-workers, Salvation army ect. As we have gotten older and now going into retirement we don't want to be burdened with all of these possesions. We came up with a couple of criteria for our stuff to meet.

It had to be light weight and easy to move.

It has to be compact and economical, and easy to replace.

It had to have a deffinate use in our life. If something is not used on a regular bassis we get rid of it.

We are aiming to live a life where all our stuff will fit in one medium or even small U-haul truck. Right now we are at the almost medium truck. Our house is very sparsely furnished and we love the unclutered state of our lives. We feel liberated.

I do think Midget is onto a very important fact of life- most people have way way too much crap in there life.
 
first off, it's just stuff.
and I agree, I've been in a sort of "portable" mode for quite some time now.
Having moved a few times, I want it to be as least stressful as possible.
Got rid of my home theatre and into a portable headphone and headphone amp system connected to an Ipod. (I had a laptop but it kicked the bucket)
I can't get rid of my bed though. I remember living in my first apartment by myself sleeping on a futon. sorry, can't do it. saved my money and bought myself a nice bed.
Though, the living room has a sofa bed and a folding futon chair for guests.
When I moved out of my first apartment, I can't believe a single guy would have so much stuff.
however, if you're the type who's a pack rat or of regrets, get yourself a storage unit so you'll be less stressful.
 
Hey Midget-

Here's an idea to let you have a comfy life but stay moble. Take a Japanese slant on things. A tatami mat with some padding gives a decent nights sleep, and everyone needs that. Have your place furnished in a sparce Nippon tea room style, lightweight stuff. Use of lots of rattan and bamboo for small tables ect...
 
Must have got rid of his shift key, too.

Can't let those extra keys on the keyboard weigh you down.... ;)

Mark
 
hey, it was just an idea.


man, it's comforting though. you have no idea. having so few items really simplifies your life like nothing else. it's all about personal satisfaction. maybe i'll grow out of it. maybe it'll become a part of my life. who knows. but i can tell you, these days, every day after class/work i come to my perfectly empty room and breathe a big sigh of relief. ;)
 
Midget said:
hey, it was just an idea.


man, it's comforting though. you have no idea. having so few items really simplifies your life like nothing else. it's all about personal satisfaction. maybe i'll grow out of it. maybe it'll become a part of my life. who knows. but i can tell you, these days, every day after class/work i come to my perfectly empty room and breathe a big sigh of relief. ;)
Click to expand...


Man, I tell ya I know that feeling. After raising three kids and having a cluttered home now we come home to a sparse clean place with very little in it. It's a really liberating feeling to get rid of all that s--t in your life that you don't need. Especially all that stuff people gave you over the years. If we had to leave right now I think between my pick-up and Karens Element we could ride off into the sunset with everything we really care about.
 
I've been trying to get rid of a lot of the random junk I've collected over the years recently. I doubt that I'll get rid of my bed though. I like it when I walk into a room and see space, not a bunch of stuff cluttered together. Sort of minimalist approach I guess.
 
Hey midget, I was just funnin' you.

I don't know as I would go to your extremes in the name of disaster preparedness. I do think that "minimalism" is a necessary counterweight to "consumerism" in one's everyday life, at least if you want to stay sane and not buried in crap!

Best.
 
Sounds very Zen. Almost all of us are living large anyways, whether we know it or not-anyone who hasn't been to a third world country lately may have lost perspective on what is really needed to survive.

That said, America is not a third world country, and there is also no reason to live like we are...unless you want to!

Freedom of choice is great!

-G
 
I don't know why you have to do what you did.

Why not keep everything? And get rid of it when you have an emergency. Just leave it. You'll lose it anyway. At least until that point in time you still have it.

Maybe if you want to, don't buy new stuff but why not use the stuff you've got now?

Plus it's kinda weird to actually get rid of a bed and keep the computer don't ya think?

However i do believe in having less clutter in the house. Although i myself don't make time to get rid of the stuff. I'm either going back to malaysia or moving out of this house in december so i'm gonna use that time to get rid of the stuff i don't use. Man it's gonna be a great garage sale.
 
akjon said:
tk th vwls ff f m kybrd nd t wrks jst fn! :D
Click to expand...

dd yo tpye taht wtih out the vewols or dd yu go bcak and dleete?

It s truy amzng hw the brian cn fnctn and flll in the blnks.

Srry of topk
Bdg54
 
Worthy of commendation Midget - I've just begun a similiar purge myself. Thank heavens for Ebay.

My favourite move (and literary) quote of all time is from Fight Club.

"The stuff you own.....ends up owning you"
 
One dodge to minimize things is to make a good, permanent record of everything you have of value. Photographs of your home interior, serial numbers and prices for items that have 'em, photocopies of important documents, that sort of thing.

And make sure you don't stick that CD or DVD or package of copies in your basement or something! Safety deposit box or some other form of secure storage, in another location.

We had to evacuate in '93 when the flooding here in St. Louis dislodged three huge propane gas storage tanks along the river.
Very little time, we threw three dogs and Auntie in the old car and boogied to my sister's home with the clothes we were wearing and little else.

We were remarkably lucky, we had a place to go, no disruption of services or employment, and a place for our critters. And Phillips petroleum fairly re-imbursed us for our inconvenience. All in all, we made out like bandits.
 
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