100 Things Challenge

A Family article with View Comments posted 11 December 2009.
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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.

  1. wedding ring – it’s hard for me to imagine this as a personal possession, as I have never taken it off, ever.
  2. Polo shirt, short sleeved – my daily in-class and day-off clothing
  3. Polo shirt, short sleeved
  4. Polo shirt, short sleeved
  5. Polo shirt, long sleeved – if I have to. I’m not a big long-sleeves fan, even in the dead of winter.
  6. T-shirt, short sleeved – bum around clothes
  7. T-shirt, short sleeved
  8. T-shirt, short sleeved
  9. T-shirt, long sleeved – bum around clothes, winter
  10. T-shirt, long sleeved
  11. khaki shorts – they go with just about everything in the summertime
  12. white undershirt (5) – trust me, quite necessary. Counted as a group because, as Dave says “My goal is to resist consumerism, not hygiene.”
  13. underwear (10) – I won’t be skipping this either
  14. blue jeans
  15. blue jeans
  16. blue jeans
  17. khaki pants – for casual-er work days at church
  18. khaki pants
  19. khaki pants
  20. black pants – for Sunday worship, etc.
  21. pajama pants – handy to have
  22. white socks (6) – casual use
  23. black socks (2) – dress use
  24. brown socks – once in a while I wear brown shoes, and it’s a good thing to do
  25. 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
  26. black dress shoes – yes, shoes count as one item
  27. brown walking shoes – They’re low-key enough that they could pass in a pinch for brown dress shoes, especially with appropriate socks
  28. short sleeved clerical shirt – daily church attire. I’m counting the tab collar with the shirts
  29. long sleeved clerical shirt – worship, formal occasions, etc.
  30. alb – gotta have it for worship. I can’t really borrow one, because most churches don’t have extras in size freakin’ large.
  31. cincture – ditto
  32. pectoral cross – a (wood)work in progress. I hope to post pictures on my blog when it’s done.
  33. black blazer – general formalwear
  34. black pinstripe suit jacket – a little dressier
  35. black pinstripe suit pants – to go with the jacket
  36. white button down shirt – non-church formal occasions
  37. a tie – Wow – if I was actually doing this, I’d have to pick a single tie to wear to everything
  38. 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.
  39. cell phone – Gotta have my leash. Charger counted with it. Doubles as my watch, camera, etc.
  40. key ring – A necessity, but I probably ought to drop the keys to the office I haven’t been to in 5+ years.
  41. 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.
  42. Messenger bag – with its relatively spare contents (papers) counted with it.
  43. NRSV pocket bible
  44. ELW Pastoral Care – counted separately because I carry it in my messenger bag.
  45. business cards
  46. pen
  47. headphones
  48. Kleen Kanteen – a great all-purpose water bottle
  49. Toothbrush – trust me, you’ll want me to have that handy
  50. Contact lens case
  51. Electric shaver – skip this two days and I look like a hobo
  52. Electric beard trimmer
  53. Bicycle helmet
  54. Bicycle – is it cheating to include the safety lights, cycle computer, etc? If so, I’m cheating.
  55. Camelback – gotta drink water when riding
  56. Sunglasses – for bicycling, driving, and general coolness
  57. light jacket
  58. heavy winter coat
  59. black topcoat – a Christmas present from my parents this year, so that I’ll stay warm when I’m out doing funerals, etc.
  60. knit hat – needed today – high of 18F? Are you kidding me?
  61. black formal hat – maybe a fedora. I don’t actually own this, but I’d like to at some point
  62. office chair – I don’t hardly use it, but I think I better claim it as “mine.”
  63. box of keepsakes – I would keep one box of keepsakes, and rather than count them individually, one small box isn’t cheating too much.
  64. towel – gotta stay dry
  65. washcloths (2)
  66. comb
  67. 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.
  68. toolbox, green – plumbing, electrical, carpentry
  69. toolbox, metal – miscellaneous, electric stuff
  70. cordless drill
  71. circular saw
  72. Maglite flashlight
  73. DSL modem
  74. wireless router
  75. Sipura 3000 FXO/FXS box – for connecting computers to phone lines, just a hobby project of mine
  76. home server
  77. Brother HL-2070N network printer
  78. scanner – the one we have isn’t much good, I want a new sheetfed one.
  79. 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.
  80. 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!

  • Nate Green
    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.
  • Kelsey Smith
    Where are your computers? I would think that you could not live without them! Are they connected to you like your wedding ring?
  • Krysta
    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."
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