The 100 Thing Challenge

[::::BASSIST::::]

The idea is to reduce the amount of things you personally own to just 100. The more you have, the more you have to maintain.

In our society we are such avid consumers that we just get over-burdened with stuff. Granted not all of it is junk, but one idea is that if you havent used something in 6 months to a year, get rid of it. Give it away, sell it, drop it off at the local thrift store. Free yourself from it.

Its not about choosing to be poor. Its about choosing quality over quantity. I'd rather have one really nice bass than 10 junkers.

I am in the process of undertaking such a challenge but at this point its going to take me a long time. I might just get down to 200 things and see how that goes. I just hate tripping over junk I dont use, or when I need something I cant find it because I have way too much stuff. So far I have started with clothes which is easier for me. I am down to 10 shirts and 4 pants. I am still keeping lots of underwear and socks.

Anyway, I have started this process about 2 weeks ago and it is really freeing to de-clutter my life. I saw this one vid of a guy who got down to just 50 things! That's pretty hardcore.

I have read that 80% of the time most people only use 20% of their stuff. I have gotten rid of quite a bit of stuff already, and I dont miss any of it. For me it just a matter of finding the time and energy to get the stuff out of my house. My goal is 3 things per day.

Time To Get Rid of Your Stuff? Take Dave Bruno's "100 Thing Challenge" - YouTube

Invalid Link Removed

 

[mellowinman]

I have:

2 Basses
1 Six String Acoustic Guitar
1 Twelve String Acoustic Guitar
1 Yamaha Keyboard
1 Fender Rumble 60 Amp
2 Crown Amps
1 EV 16 Channel Mixer
1 Case for EV 16 Channel Mixer that I made
1 Rack Unit that I made
1 Effects Unit
1 EQ
1 5-CD Changer
1 "Power Conditioner" (Power Strip with Lights)
Assorted cables
Lights
1 House
1 Mitsubishi Lancer OZ Rally
1 Riding Mower
1 Snowblower
1 Table Saw
3 Drills
A LOT of Leather (not bondage leather; jackets, vests, pants, etc)
20 Pairs of Cowboy Boots
Several Pairs of Jeans
A Number of Shirts
9 Dogs
14 Cats
50 or so Chickens
3 Turkeys
8 Rabbits
Do I have to count the Water Heater, Well Pump, Furnace, and all that stuff? What about the fixtures in my bathrooms?

I never chose to be poor. I am not poor, by the world's standards. I am poor by many people's standards. I have my health, a gorgeous, loyal wife, medical benefits, and my parents are still alive.

I don't know how to count my stuff, but compared to many people, I don't have much stuff.

I don't worship having stuff.

But I like the stuff I have.

I've lived in my car; hitch-hiked across the country; lived on people's couches (God bless them!) and I've rubbed elbows with rich people, too.

Someday, I will be dead.

And that, my friends, is the great equalizer.

There are no drums in Hell.

 

[Time Monkey]

"stuff" being posessions not really needed, or am i gonna have to cut down to one blanket and one pillow?

the challenge is a bit confusing.

i mean, i could get down to 10 shirts and 4 pants easily... hell, i probably dont wear more than that anyways. but i guess i would just be doing laundry more often.


so, 100 posessions total or 100 superfluous things?

 

[jmattbassplaya]

"stuff" being posessions not really needed, or am i gonna have to cut down to one blanket and one pillow?

the challenge is a bit confusing.

i mean, i could get down to 10 shirts and 4 pants easily... hell, i probably dont wear more than that anyways. but i guess i would just be doing laundry more often.


so, 100 posessions total or 100 superfluous things?

Yeah, I got to think with clothes alone I probably own at least 50 or so things.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

"stuff" being posessions not really needed, or am i gonna have to cut down to one blanket and one pillow?

the challenge is a bit confusing.

i mean, i could get down to 10 shirts and 4 pants easily... hell, i probably dont wear more than that anyways. but i guess i would just be doing laundry more often.


so, 100 posessions total or 100 superfluous things?

There are no hard and fast rules or anything like that. Take it any direction you wish if its something you are inclined to pursue.

If I was single and childless, I am fairly confident I could get down to 100 things TOTAL with enough time.

However, something tells me my wife would freak out if I said, "Hey, let's get rid of all the plates, bowls, spoons, forks, and knifes and just keep one of each for each person in our house!"

Truth is, I'd love to do that, but I am not dumb enough to ask.

I'd never have a sink of dirty dishes though!

 

[bigboy_78]

I have close to 100 bottles of beer in my fridge, I better start culling.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

I have:

2 Basses
1 Six String Acoustic Guitar
1 Twelve String Acoustic Guitar
1 Yamaha Keyboard
1 Fender Rumble 60 Amp
2 Crown Amps
1 EV 16 Channel Mixer
1 Case for EV 16 Channel Mixer that I made
1 Rack Unit that I made
1 Effects Unit
1 EQ
1 5-CD Changer
1 "Power Conditioner" (Power Strip with Lights)
Assorted cables
Lights
1 House
1 Mitsubishi Lancer OZ Rally
1 Riding Mower
1 Snowblower
1 Table Saw
3 Drills
A LOT of Leather (not bondage leather; jackets, vests, pants, etc)
20 Pairs of Cowboy Boots
Several Pairs of Jeans
A Number of Shirts
9 Dogs
14 Cats
50 or so Chickens
3 Turkeys
8 Rabbits
Do I have to count the Water Heater, Well Pump, Furnace, and all that stuff? What about the fixtures in my bathrooms?

I never chose to be poor. I am not poor, by the world's standards. I am poor by many people's standards. I have my health, a gorgeous, loyal wife, medical benefits, and my parents are still alive.

I don't know how to count my stuff, but compared to many people, I don't have much stuff.

I don't worship having stuff.

But I like the stuff I have.

I've lived in my car; hitch-hiked across the country; lived on people's couches (God bless them!) and I've rubbed elbows with rich people, too.

Someday, I will be dead.

And that, my friends, is the great equalizer.

There are no drums in Hell.

Right. Comparatively speaking that is not much. 14 cats and 9 dogs? You must pickup alot of poo.

 

[Munjibunga]

Only basses count, and I have less than 100 basses.

 

[Stumbo]

I have about 100 things in my medicine cabinet. The older you get, the more stuff you need to survive!

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

Genuine Buddhist monks used to only own 8 things total.

You know, the ancient Buddhist Law of Possessions (I’m eliminating any Sanskrit words) allowed us only EIGHT. Yes, 8 possessions:
1. 3 sets of Civara- Buddhist religious habit robes which actually consist of a tunic, a long kilt, a sash/belt, and underwear. It was like pulling teeth to get the Buddha to agree to underwear.
2. Begging bowl. They were gigantic.
3. Razor (no better way to be bald).
4. Needle (including needle-case).
5. Thread. Can’t wear hole-y robes.
6. Mala (the original rosary we borrowed from the Hindu Brahmins).
7. Shoulder bag to carry our staggering amount of stuff.
8. This one varies. Some lists say walking staff. Others say parasol, fly-whisk, some weird conch shell for God-knows-what, etc.

 

[MJ5150]

I would really love to make my own attempt at this. I'm going to count how much stuff I have, then set a goal to reduce it one third by spring. We have over 100 things in our kitchen alone as the wife and I really love to cook and entertain, so it won't be possible to reduce that much. I'm certain though I can reduce things I call "mine" alone.

Thank you for the heads up, I look forward to the challenge. I'll read the article later when I have better internet access.

-Mike

 

[scootron]

One of the hardest things would be figuring out which handful of CDs I could keep. This would really be a desert island disc situation. I guess if I had them on an iPod that would only be one thing, and would take up almost no space. Books would be the next problem. Maybe a Kindle? The bad thing here is that I would be buying new stuff just to consolidate old stuff. Difficult challenge.

 

[CapnSev]

I would really love to make my own attempt at this. I'm going to count how much stuff I have, then set a goal to reduce it one third by spring. We have over 100 things in our kitchen alone as the wife and I really love to cook and entertain, so it won't be possible to reduce that much. I'm certain though I can reduce things I call "mine" alone.

Thank you for the heads up, I look forward to the challenge. I'll read the article later when I have better internet access.

-Mike

+1

I don't like having a lot of stuff around. I will try the challenge with my own stuff. The wife's is a whole other world though...

 

[MakiSupaStar]

I knew a buddy in college who had one bowl, a set of chop sticks, (two sets for visitors), a wok, a pot, a frying pan, and hibachi. He also had 5 suits, 5 shirts, and 5 ties. He lived a very uncluttered life, and love to drink. Not sure what happened to that guy.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Genuine Buddhist monks used to only own 8 things total.

I like that list.

"8 things total"

Followed by:

"1. 3 sets of Civara - Buddhist religious habit robes which actually consist of a tunic, a long kilt, a sash/belt, and underwear. It was like pulling teeth to get the Buddha to agree to underwear."

I make that 12 things in total, yet that counts as 1 of the 8 ? Pfffft!



I do need to cull some of my junk.

However, I know that in terms of books and clothes, I'll be well past that. Tallied up the gear I use for sports alone, that's almost 30 items, well over if I include gym gear. Computer stuff, camera stuff, furniture etc etc.

Yeah, 100 ain't going to happen here.

 

[MatticusMania]

I dont know that Ive ever owned 100 things, unless you count individual DVDs rather than the "DVD collection" or individual books rather than my "Library".

 

[kesslari]

From one perspective, I own one thing - "stuff".

At one point in my life I was a minimalist. I moved my entire household (including my bass, my rig, and my girlfriend, as well as all my posessions) in a 1976 Honda Civic.
I'm not in that mental or emotional space right now, though I appreciate simplicity.

 

[Chebass88]

Certainly an interesting way of thinking, but it gets out of hand quickly, particularly with home ownership. I get the overall point - de-clutter your life.

However, if you don't have suitable things, you end up paying someone else to do it for you, which is an egregious waste of money in my opinion.

For example - lawn care
1 mower
1 gas can for mower
1 rake
1 broom
1 shovel
1 oil pan to change mower oil
1 reserve mower oil
1 set of wrenches to maintain mower
1 trimmer / weed whacker
1 fuel can for trimmer gas/oil blend
1 reserve trimmer oil
1 package extra trimmer "string"
1 pair gloves

= 13 items, just for relatively straightforward lawn care, not counting other tools such as a blower, different shovels, etc.

Then if you go inside the house...

 

[EBodious]

I would really love to make my own attempt at this. I'm going to count how much stuff I have, then set a goal to reduce it one third by spring. We have over 100 things in our kitchen alone as the wife and I really love to cook and entertain, so it won't be possible to reduce that much. I'm certain though I can reduce things I call "mine" alone.

Thank you for the heads up, I look forward to the challenge. I'll read the article later when I have better internet access.

-Mike

exactly. i spent october purging my house of massive amount of old paperwork and junk. it felt great, but i am not keeping count. i plan to continue the process next month. i think '100' is just a nice round number. the OP hints at the '80/20' rule. i dig the idea and figure culling down to the 80% of stuff i use and getting rid of the 20% of excess will be a fine start.

I like that list.

"8 things total"

Followed by:

"1. 3 sets of Civara - Buddhist religious habit robes which actually consist of a tunic, a long kilt, a sash/belt, and underwear. It was like pulling teeth to get the Buddha to agree to underwear."

I make that 12 things in total, yet that counts as 1 of the 8 ? Pfffft!



I do need to cull some of my junk.

However, I know that in terms of books and clothes, I'll be well past that. Tallied up the gear I use for sports alone, that's almost 30 items, well over if I include gym gear. Computer stuff, camera stuff, furniture etc etc.

Yeah, 100 ain't going to happen here.

remember, buddhists believe reality is subjective. so there 8 is your 12, and that's.... ok!

 

[Funky Ghost]

If you live in Cali just get divorced. BAM! 1/2 your stuff is gone.

What's so hard about this?