Comments on: Lifestyle Design Effects on Inventory & Income

By: Elisabeth Carpenter

Elisabeth Carpenter — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:31:47 +0000

Hi. I'm sorta new to the blogosphere. I started a lifestyle design blog last month. It's cool to see that so many people are putting some of Timothy Ferriss' techniques to work. From reading your post I can see that I read through the book much too quickly. I'm waiting on my physical copy to arrive, but I am going through work through the book on my next reading. Thanks for proving it can be done.

By: Elisabeth Carpenter

Elisabeth Carpenter — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:31:47 +0000

By: BNDR2010

BNDR2010 — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:43:03 +0000

Great post, man! I am in the process of slimming down my possessions. Over the past few months, I have donated over 4 suitcases full of clothing and shoes, boxes of books, and a ton of random stuff I just don't need. I tour for a living and have had my stuff in storage more than in a home. I shudder to think of the money I've wasted on that alone. If it's been sitting in a storage space for about 5 years, I obviously don't need it to live! So, I am going on tour again in a few weeks and the goal is to travel with only 1 suitcase for a 6 month trip to over 40 cities. I'll live on a bus and stay in hotels occasionally. When I get off tour, I want to get rid of even more stuff, so I am working on breaking free from the “just in case” and “what if” mentality. I wanted to try touring with just a hiking pack in the neighborhood of 40L, but I have a perfectly good rolling duffel, so I'll use that.
I don't see any pics of your kitchen. Are you not counting dishes, utensils, and cookware or are you living somewhere furnished??
Thanks again for the post and congrats on finding your happy meduim-ist! Take care!!

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:33:33 +0000

Mav,

I'd love to connect, relationships are fuel! Glad to see someone else do a regular inventory check, really puts things in perspective!

Goodluck with skimming down to a 28 liter bag as you take on a big adventure and look to grow a freedom business out. I'd love to hear about, offer what I've picked up and see what are still looking to learn as I progress here at the LD project

By: Maverick Wil

Maverick Wil — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:22:50 +0000

I absolutely agree that LD doesn't mean being minimalistic but the process of elimination really does give us the perspective of how little we actually need.

I do a regular inventory check from time to time and it helps tremendously to not only keep my place clean but like you said, it contributes to mental freedom. This is opposed to those who keep a store room (or the house) full of things that they “might” need in the future. It's like mental dead weight.

I'm heading towards Tynan's (of Tynan (dot) net) 28 liter bag in preparation for travel in the 2nd half of 2010. The plan is to get rid of everything and hit the road for a year while I grow my muse. When I find a place to build a base, I'd like to have more than 3 shirts. You know…be a 'mediumist'.

Happy New Year! We should get in touch sometime soon for a chat. I'm starting my own LD blog.

By: Alan

Alan — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:00:27 +0000

Right on. I spent last weekend gutting my closet and attic back in Nashville. I feel the same way about minimalism – while I donated clothes, threw away my 4th grade class notes and piled together electronics to sell on Craigslist/eBay, I still couldn't fit everything into a backpack. I like my books too much!

I'm also a huge fan of freeing up mental RAM – learned that in Getting Things Done by David Allen.

Enjoy your final days of 2009. See you next year!

By: Colin Wright

Colin Wright — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:16:16 +0000

Rob, awesome post! I'm so glad you got some inspiration from the 72 Things I Own post…I actually wrote it because I had no idea how many things I owned, but thought it would be interesting to find out.

I discovered the same as you in the process, though, that even though I already owned less than most, there were things I had no use for and hadn't even taken out of my carry-on since I started traveling. Because of this, I'm aiming to get down to 50 items by the time I move to New Zealand (mid-February).

Thanks for the shout, and I'm glad you've managed to find a way to work a little minimalism into your life without going too extreme…the worst is when someone hops on board a trend-train only to find the practice isn't right for them or their situation. You can bet if I wasn't traveling I would own many more than 50 things

Happy New Year, and keep up the great work! Looking forward to keeping up with your continued evolution in 2010!