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100 Things Challenge
Ever thought about what it would be like to live with less? I’ve been thinking a lot about this article on Time.com from June about the 100 Things Challenge. Dave Bruno started this as an effort to reduce his number of personal possessions to just 100 Things. He has since posted a list of rules to guide the process. In the Christmas season, full of consumerism and consumption, this challenge represents an antidote.
Now I’m not sure if I’ll actually do this or not, but it’s a pretty attractive idea, and a useful exercise in figuring out what is really important. I decided to sit down and see if I could get by with just 100 Things. I’m just dealing with my stuff, not Jennifer’s or Anneliese’s, and I’m not including shared family items or furniture. Here’s my list:
I’m probably forgetting something on this list, so if you can think of something I couldn’t live without, let me know in the comments.
- wedding ring – it’s hard for me to imagine this as a personal possession, as I have never taken it off, ever.
- Polo shirt, short sleeved – my daily in-class and day-off clothing
- Polo shirt, short sleeved
- Polo shirt, short sleeved
- Polo shirt, long sleeved – if I have to. I’m not a big long-sleeves fan, even in the dead of winter.
- T-shirt, short sleeved – bum around clothes
- T-shirt, short sleeved
- T-shirt, short sleeved
- T-shirt, long sleeved – bum around clothes, winter
- T-shirt, long sleeved
- khaki shorts – they go with just about everything in the summertime
- white undershirt (5) – trust me, quite necessary. Counted as a group because, as Dave says “My goal is to resist consumerism, not hygiene.”
- underwear (10) – I won’t be skipping this either
- blue jeans
- blue jeans
- blue jeans
- khaki pants – for casual-er work days at church
- khaki pants
- khaki pants
- black pants – for Sunday worship, etc.
- pajama pants – handy to have
- white socks (6) – casual use
- black socks (2) – dress use
- brown socks – once in a while I wear brown shoes, and it’s a good thing to do
- black/brown reversible belt – I’d have to go buy one, as my current one broke and when my Dad and I repaired it we decided to make it brown-only
- black dress shoes – yes, shoes count as one item
- brown walking shoes – They’re low-key enough that they could pass in a pinch for brown dress shoes, especially with appropriate socks
- short sleeved clerical shirt – daily church attire. I’m counting the tab collar with the shirts
- long sleeved clerical shirt – worship, formal occasions, etc.
- alb – gotta have it for worship. I can’t really borrow one, because most churches don’t have extras in size freakin’ large.
- cincture – ditto
- pectoral cross – a (wood)work in progress. I hope to post pictures on my blog when it’s done.
- black blazer – general formalwear
- black pinstripe suit jacket – a little dressier
- black pinstripe suit pants – to go with the jacket
- white button down shirt – non-church formal occasions
- a tie – Wow – if I was actually doing this, I’d have to pick a single tie to wear to everything
- wallet – and I’m counting all of its contents with it. I could stand to go through it and purge cards I don’t use, though.
- cell phone – Gotta have my leash. Charger counted with it. Doubles as my watch, camera, etc.
- key ring – A necessity, but I probably ought to drop the keys to the office I haven’t been to in 5+ years.
- Dell Mini 9 – While this computer and the big laptop are both shared between Jennifer and I, we got it for me for school and church, so I’d better count it.
- Messenger bag – with its relatively spare contents (papers) counted with it.
- NRSV pocket bible
- ELW Pastoral Care – counted separately because I carry it in my messenger bag.
- business cards
- pen
- headphones
- Kleen Kanteen – a great all-purpose water bottle
- Toothbrush – trust me, you’ll want me to have that handy
- Contact lens case
- Electric shaver – skip this two days and I look like a hobo
- Electric beard trimmer
- Bicycle helmet
- Bicycle – is it cheating to include the safety lights, cycle computer, etc? If so, I’m cheating.
- Camelback – gotta drink water when riding
- Sunglasses – for bicycling, driving, and general coolness
- light jacket
- heavy winter coat
- black topcoat – a Christmas present from my parents this year, so that I’ll stay warm when I’m out doing funerals, etc.
- knit hat – needed today – high of 18F? Are you kidding me?
- black formal hat – maybe a fedora. I don’t actually own this, but I’d like to at some point
- office chair – I don’t hardly use it, but I think I better claim it as “mine.”
- box of keepsakes – I would keep one box of keepsakes, and rather than count them individually, one small box isn’t cheating too much.
- towel – gotta stay dry
- washcloths (2)
- comb
- toolbox, red – Yes, I’m counting the toolboxes individually, not the tools in them. They’re pricey and useful. This box has the car-fixing and general purpose tools.
- toolbox, green – plumbing, electrical, carpentry
- toolbox, metal – miscellaneous, electric stuff
- cordless drill
- circular saw
- Maglite flashlight
- DSL modem
- wireless router
- Sipura 3000 FXO/FXS box – for connecting computers to phone lines, just a hobby project of mine
- home server
- Brother HL-2070N network printer
- scanner – the one we have isn’t much good, I want a new sheetfed one.
- Wifi Radio – to replace our current stereo, which is much older than I am. This would get our music off the server and into our ears.
- Theological library – I have to count it, but I really can’t count the books individually. Yes, I’m a cheater.
If our whole family were to do this, we’d probably say that each of us (Ted, Jennifer, Anneliese) gets 100 things, and then we would set a number for the things which we truly share as a family. We’d probably still have to cheat, though, because we have many pieces of china and crystal, as well as Pfaltzgraf tableware that would be very difficult to part with. Still, this makes me want to go home and start throwing things out!
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I would count a suit as one item.
Okay, yeah, probably. But then again, I count the khakis and the blazer separately. But then again, those are mix-and-match and the suit pieces really only go together. That’s what’s so hard about defining “things.”
Where are your computers? I would think that you could not live without them! Are they connected to you like your wedding ring?
I thought this was interesting. I’m pretty sure my wardrobe alone is 100 things. The original author’s list seemed to rely (a little) on his family to take some of his stuff, which brings up interesting social implications – yes, this is possible, as long as everyone doesn’t do it, as long as there are some people supporting those who try to adhere to a limit. But I guess that’s part of the point, too – if it’s something that more than one person could claim, then it’s not just some junk one wanted when it was purchased and then forgot about.
Media (books, music, artwork, … video games?) in general seems to pose a problem for lists like this. It seems to be a whole ‘nother level of attachment to things like this. I think it says something positive about society when people are more willing to give up their jeans than their books.
About the family connection – you’re absolutely right, of course, that relying on family is “cheating.” One way I’ve thought about getting around that is to give each family member their own 100 things list, then to have a “family list” of another 100 things. There are indeed items which are of shared value that no one individual should bear the burden of “owning.” Also, like the original author says, the purpose of this is not minimalism per se, it’s to avoid overconsumption. Just having a limit and rules, whatever set you decide on, is probably enough to accomplish the goal.
Books and media are another challenge. I suppose you could get a Kindle and sell your books, get an iPod and sell your CDs, etc, and that is pretty appealing to me, except that in my line of work there are plenty of books (especially old books and Greek/Hebrew language references) that aren’t available electronically. The purpose of getting a scanner (#78) would be to eliminate most or all paper filing, which is an elementary thrust towards this, as is the wifi radio (#79), which eliminates the need for physical albums [I'm not a portable music player kind of person.] Even my puny library weighs in at far more than 100 books – not counting books that I’m actively trying to sell.
About the family connection – you're absolutely right, of course, that relying on family is “cheating.” One way I've thought about getting around that is to give each family member their own 100 things list, then to have a “family list” of another 100 things. There are indeed items which are of shared value that no one individual should bear the burden of “owning.” Also, like the original author says, the purpose of this is not minimalism per se, it's to avoid overconsumption. Just having a limit and rules, whatever set you decide on, is probably enough to accomplish the goal.
Books and media are another challenge. I suppose you could get a Kindle and sell your books, get an iPod and sell your CDs, etc, and that is pretty appealing to me, except that in my line of work there are plenty of books (especially old books and Greek/Hebrew language references) that aren't available electronically. The purpose of getting a scanner (#78) would be to eliminate most or all paper filing, which is an elementary thrust towards this, as is the wifi radio (#79), which eliminates the need for physical albums [I'm not a portable music player kind of person.] Even my puny library weighs in at far more than 100 books – not counting books that I'm actively trying to sell.