davidg Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Anyone tried to live by the 50 things movement? Basically you can only own 50 items - even knickers count! I am going to have to count the crap I have must it must be nearer 500! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Toast Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I knew someone at work who mentioned this. I'm not sure if he tried to do, or was going to. Anyway I think he said certain things don't count. Even if you are really minimalist you are likely to have many more than 50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Anyone tried to live by the 50 things movement? Basically you can only own 50 items - even knickers count! I am going to have to count the crap I have must it must be nearer 500! Never heard of it. How do you count sets? As in, a set of crockery, cutlery, bedding? Or pair of shoes or pants? How do you count electronic products? Like the number of books on your e-reader? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossybabe Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Never heard of it. I could probably top 50 in the bras and knickers count alone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Never heard of it. I could probably top 50 in the bras and knickers count alone... That doesn't sound very English - my experience of English babes is they have one old mingy bra that has holes in it, doesn't fit any more and is now the wrong size. I would have thought the movement was right up the HPC street http://www.farbeyondthestarsthearchives.com/how-to-live-with-50-things-and-why-i-decided-to-stop/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Never heard of it. I could probably top 50 in the bras and knickers count alone... You are not allowed anything else then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Probably more of an appropriate lifestyle for people living by simple means in hobbit houses. ...or those British new builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 If clothes and food were excluded it would be quite easy. But if not. Take pants for example. You probably need 5 pairs of pants. That's 10% of your allowance invested in pants. If you went lower, you would have to wash more often, and that would lead to environmentally unfriendly use of the washing machine. So rather than you becoming an earth loving hipster, you would become an energy hogging polluter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butthead Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I own a wok, a frying pan and three saucepans of different sizes. Am I an extravagant decadent cooking obsessive? That too is 10% of my allowance on cooking implements alone, and we haven't counted my wooden spoon and slotted spoon yet... Edit: Sh!t, I've just remembered my 24 piece cutlery set! No underwear at all for me.....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 If clothes and food were excluded it would be quite easy. But if not. Take pants for example. You probably need 5 pairs of pants. That's 10% of your allowance invested in pants. If you went lower, you would have to wash more often, and that would lead to environmentally unfriendly use of the washing machine. So rather than you becoming an earth loving hipster, you would become an energy hogging polluter. Think about what you take backpacking. Limits to what you can carry are a guide to what's most essential. With clothes, you take those that can be worn a lot longer than you normally would before they get smelly and icky. p.s. is that an indirect answer to my question about sets and pairs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Never heard of it. I could probably top 50 in the bras and knickers count alone... Snap. Oops... Nice idea but I beat that in books before I bring anything else into play. Probably CDs & DVDs added together also exceed fifty. Or are downloadable things excluded, so given I could in theory have those all scanned or ripped they count zero? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I own a wok, a frying pan and three saucepans of different sizes. Am I an extravagant decadent cooking obsessive? That too is 10% of my allowance on cooking implements alone, and we haven't counted my wooden spoon and slotted spoon yet... Get a cookware set. The slug has answered my question: a set is one item. Makes 50 items look more feasible, but less economical: if you have a mixture of cutlery from more than one set, you'd want to scrap them and buy a new set (extravagant!) to bring the item count down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I can hazard a guess at some of the things that don't count. 50 tools in the garage probably do, but 50 bottles of random chemicals in the bathroom that are never used only count as one item because they are "for the house". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 This link addresses some of those things that people have raised: http://www.farbeyondthestarsthearchives.com/how-to-live-with-50-things-and-why-i-decided-to-stop/ He started on 100, moved down to 75, then 50, but has reverted to 75 as 50 is impractical. He has 150 as a theoretical top point, that may be achievable. And I have far fewer possessions than everyone I know. Furniture doesn't count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butthead Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Get a cookware set. The slug has answered my question: a set is one item. Makes 50 items look more feasible, but less economical: if you have a mixture of cutlery from more than one set, you'd want to scrap them and buy a new set (extravagant!) to bring the item count down. But then all you're really doing is selectively counting to hit a self imposed arbitrary limit. I think a push to own less cr@p is a good thing though, lots of people buy or otherwise accumulate and then hoarde things that are useless. It can be a trap that frugilistas fall in to, "That's cheap/free, I'll get it as it will be useful one day", and into the cupboard it goes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 How many dildos are you allowed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 But then all you're really doing is selectively counting to hit a self imposed arbitrary limit. I think a push to own less cr@p is a good thing though, lots of people buy or otherwise accumulate and then hoarde things that are useless. It can be a trap that frugilistas fall in to, "That's cheap/free, I'll get it as it will be useful one day", and into the cupboard it goes... I've been on a steadily reducing number of possessions since putting two bases' possessions together at 30 and thinking " How much stuff?". Rather than chuck it I have been ruthless about buying anything new on the grounds that then everything I have will then naturally reduce through wear, breakage and my having a spare or not wanting to replace. Purchases this year amount to one bread maker, a replacement for one that's about to break. And I still have way too much stuff; everything seems built to last. On this evidence I might just get down to fifty items if I live to about 120. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I think a push to own less cr@p is a good thing though, lots of people buy or otherwise accumulate and then hoarde things that are useless. It can be a trap that frugilistas fall in to, "That's cheap/free, I'll get it as it will be useful one day", and into the cupboard it goes... The one I've been brought up to is never throwing anything away. Even to the extent that if something like a radio died, I'd keep the parts for components. The economics of that have changed beyond all recognition, but it's still a hard habit to throw. Nowadays the kitchen is a worse problem, with washing and re-using all kinds of containers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butthead Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 How many dildos are you allowed? Don't worry. You can count your dragon dildo, vibrating butt plug and fleshlight as a set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butthead Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 The one I've been brought up to is never throwing anything away. Even to the extent that if something like a radio died, I'd keep the parts for components. The economics of that have changed beyond all recognition, but it's still a hard habit to throw. Nowadays the kitchen is a worse problem, with washing and re-using all kinds of containers. My parents were like that and brought me up the same way, I guess it's the effect of a post-war non-wealthy 'make do and mend' type mindset. It's probably a positive thing to a point, certainly it sits far better with me than today's disposable consumerism, but it can be taken far too far. My dad had rooms, literally rooms, full of stuff that he'd bought, been given, or got out of a skip on the basis that it was "fine" and "one day it would be useful". Of course the vast majority of it was never used ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 My parents were like that and brought me up the same way, I guess it's the effect of a post-war non-wealthy 'make do and mend' type mindset. It's probably a positive thing to a point, certainly it sits far better with me than today's disposable consumerism, but it can be taken far too far. My dad had rooms, literally rooms, full of stuff that he'd bought, been given, or got out of a skip on the basis that it was "fine" and "one day it would be useful". Of course the vast majority of it was never used ever again. I'm afraid I am a hoarder! I eventually got rid of those 1200 Baud modems, and token ring cards, that I thought would "come in handy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I think its more important to get value out of the things you buy, rather than limit the number of things you buy. I have a tent. It's old and I've used it a lot. It doesn't get used that often, but its still good and it didn't cost very much. If I went down to 50 things the tent would have to go. Ditto my walking boots, which will probably last forever. There is some practical balance, for example, there is only a finite amount of stuff you can get value out of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butthead Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 I'm afraid I am a hoarder! I eventually got rid of those 1200 Baud modems, and token ring cards, that I thought would "come in handy" It had it's plus-sides. As a kid I got to play with a megaphone that dad had got out of a skip and repaired, and an Argentinian night-sight that the guy across the road had "liberated" from an Argie in the war and then given to my dad because it didn't work. But when your cellar is stuffed full of decades worth of "useful" things, and none of it can ever be gotten rid of...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 My parents were like that and brought me up the same way, I guess it's the effect of a post-war non-wealthy 'make do and mend' type mindset. It's probably a positive thing to a point, certainly it sits far better with me than today's disposable consumerism, but it can be taken far too far. My dad had rooms, literally rooms, full of stuff that he'd bought, been given, or got out of a skip on the basis that it was "fine" and "one day it would be useful". Of course the vast majority of it was never used ever again. Yeah it was kind of my dad's death that got me into decrapifying having taken 3 years to clear his house. I had to drag stuff out of my mum's hands - she thought it was all highly valuable stuff that could be sold "for a small fortune". When she moved to a small flat she stored the stuff we hadn't got rid of in her brother in law's house as they were living in London so she thought it would be a much better market. It cost her 3 grand to move all the crap. After advertising it she found she got even less money in London than in her rural backwater because people have access to everything and for furniture just go to Ikea. She's admitted that I was right and it was all just useless crap and hoarded junk. Even for me it was an eye opener how little old stuff is worth. I've been ebaying as much as I can but sometimes I just give up and take stuff to the dump. My mum is pretty much on 50 things now due to the size of her flat, and much happier for it. She's gone from boomer consumerist to hermit. The amount of post retirement crap she and my dad bought - and the tens of thousands they blew on it, are mind boggling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 Don't worry. You can count your dragon dildo, vibrating butt plug and fleshlight as a set. And the other 76 I have ffs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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