The 100 Thing Challenge: Living With Just 100 Items in Your Life.
These days most people are living a jam-packed life. We want more when we already have lots. And in the grand scheme of things that just doesn’t make much sense when you consider what’s really important.
Meet Dave Bruno. One day last July he looked around his San Diego home and realized just how much of his family’s belongings were cluttering their lives. So he decided to do something about it. And that was the beginning of The 100 Thing Challenge.
“By my thirty-seventh birthday on November 12, 2008 I will have only 100 personal items. I will live for at least one year (God willing) maintaining an inventory of only 100 personal things. This challenge will help me “put stuff in its place” and also explore my belief that “stuff can be good when it serves a purpose greater than possession alone.”
The thought is that everyone is holding on to so many possessions not because they need them, but because they like what the idea of the possessions means. An example are kitchen pots. We don’t need more than a few to make a meal, but we like the idea of the family and comfort associated with that meal. When I started to really think about that I realized just how true it is. “Things are to be used, people are to be loved.”
Keep up with Dave’s progress on his blog.
:: via Neatorama
:: photo via Veer
karey m.
June 18, 2008 at 4:33 amoh, man…i got chills. could i DO this?!
when uncle sugar and i married, we were very into clean lines…no clutter {except for books, which i kind of need around me}.
and then the babes came. as did “plasticville.”
there’s probably no way we can get rid of that crap, but this makes me want to try…oh, i’ll be thinking about this for some time!
Anonymous
June 18, 2008 at 1:58 pmWhat about dinnerware & cutlery? Pencils & Pens?
There are a lot of loop holes in this.
Kelly
June 18, 2008 at 2:02 pmyou’re right, there are a lot of loop holes. but i gather that that’s part of the whole point. and i think a bit of defining would be required on the part of anyone attempting to do this on their own – does a set of silverware count as one thing or is it the individual pieces? it’s up to you.
cheers
kelly
amber
June 18, 2008 at 4:49 pmI do love this idea, and it sounds SO satisfying and simple, but I don’t know if I could actually go through with it!
JustAnotherDay
June 18, 2008 at 7:18 pmwow. what an idea. i was wondering the same as someone posted posted. clothes, makeup, utensils! where does it begin and end. this is a super concept and i really need to look around at my VERY cluttered work area and purge what i just don’t need!
Ev
June 19, 2008 at 6:06 amAnd so does a pair of socks constitute one or two items? I remember Esquire Magazine doing an article about this about 20 years ago. Quite a challenge.
d.Sharp
June 19, 2008 at 4:50 pmI could not do this. It would break me.
I don’t jump on bandwagons trendwise or buy really expensive things, but the odd, little things I have collected and curated over the years and the things that we have that my husband inherited bring me happiness. Yes, they are not needed… It is like indoor gardening – I like moving the collections around, displaying things, finding new stuff, weeding out old stuff. I would, however, like to streamline a bit more.