Do you want to read about how it is done or do you just want to follow a blog of somebody living that way?

As far as getting instructions it is very easy. Get rid of everything you haven't used in a long time. Have a garage sale or begin selling things with value and take in some money. Donate the rest.

Rent tools or cars when they are needed instead of owning them.

Living with less things takes up less space. It might be beneficial to move to a smaller place or rent a room like I do.

http://www.tosimplify.net/ This is my favorite blog. It isn't an instruction manual. It is an entertaining view into a life of a musician that lives in a Volkswagon Vanagon van. He started in a Ford van with a high top. Then he moved into a Class C small motor home. He downsized to the VW within the last few months. He is happiest in the smallest van. He custom built the interior. Read his blog from the beginning to understand his process and motivation. He is self employed as an arranger. He arranges the music for the TV show "Family Guy." He also performs as a session player on recordings.

http://www.theminimalists.com/start/ These guys are entertaining and write well. They have some videos too.

http://zenhabits.net/minimalist-fun-...ngs-challenge/ I visited this site and didn't find it as entertaining but there are some ideas here that many people like.

I know of a couple of guys with blogs that live with very little. I've only recently come across them and can't recommend them yet. One guy is walking around the world pulling a cart with his things. He's been doing it for fifteen years. The other is traveling around the world with not much more than a back pack. The first guy is doing it to prove something to himself. The second guy is doing it because he likes traveling. He recently formed a company taking people on tours of India.

Why not just put them in the tray and watch them when you like and save the computer for the regular viruses and stuff? :lol:

Minimalists don't blog, I would figure.

Why not?

Uh, maybe because the DVD's are no longer available to put in the tray. Ya know, like returned to the owner; rented (Netflix or Redbox) or borrowed from the library or a friend, duh. :rolleyes:

You're not "saving" money by spending money on things you don't need.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

Another free Kindle Book of interest:
Secrets of Quick Decluttering, Selling and Organizing the Home Area: Essential Step by Step Methods to Clutter-Free Lifestyle at Home & Earn Money through Selling Cluttered Items On eBay & Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Quick-.../dp/B00BRNGFU8

It's only free if you have Amazon Prime.

Um actually, yeah we do ... a little. :crash:

Tip; If you do run into problems with older DVD's try to find a video stabilizer. These were popular in the 80's-90's with VHS tapes because they restore the video and horizontal sync, but this may not work with the newer DVD's. ;)

It was free for everybody when I posted three days ago; you need to respond quickly on these free offers.

There are Kindle apps that work on computers too. I have one for my Apple computer. I don't have one for my Linux operating system. Post 1501 gives all of the information necessary for removing clutter and becoming a minimalist. Finding sites to sell specific items and finding the value of them might be more involved regarding specialty items and collectibles. Keep what you use and get rid of the rest one way or another. Don't buy more stuff unless you really need it. Simple.

Because they shouldn't be spending money of smartphones and internet service. That's not very MINIMAL.

So you can see that a BLOGGING MINIMALIST is an OXYMORON.

I have to disagree with post 1501...what you really need is MORE HANDS helping you. It's not a job to do alone after 15 years.

I would say that a blog is among the simplest ways to publish your thoughts so that others can read them. You don't have to write with a quill on parchment paper and send it by pony express.

No need to SHOUT. :)

My idea of a minimalist is a person who strives to live with fewer possessions, not someone who owns absolutely nothing. Your definition may be stricter, but I assume you'd allow for having a few items, such as clothing and perhaps a few tools used for make a living, wouldn't you? A computer might fall into the latter category, or perhaps the minimalist uses his employer's computer or one at the library to write his blog.

I've been following this guy's blog from the beginning when he was just moving into his first van.

Me too. I was searching for others who want to live in a van or car instead of in a house or apartment. Somehow I found him right at the beginning. Unfortunately my income hasn't been able to get me into a van just yet. It will happen eventually.

Hmmm, I see people at the local library blogging using public computers all the time. I have my own laptop to blog with if I wish,and smartphones can be had very cheaply now and take up very little room in your pocket so they're excellent for minimalists. ;)

I camped in my 1 ton ford van for almost a year, it's a mixed bag at best. Sometimes carefree living, sometimes not! :(

I read a post about someone planning to live in the back seat of a Dodge Dakota Quad Cab. He said he wasn't too tall and that there was enough room to lay down. I too would fit. If I were to do it, the back seat would be removed so that the whole rear floor could be converted to a bed. That would seem like a very safe and spacious space to sleep. It would be very stealthy. I rented a GMC Sonoma extended cab small pickup for a week and found enough space behind the front seat to nap during lunch breaks. Doing so in a crew cab would seem luxurious by comparison. Having a van would be palatial.

What made you choose to live in a van? Why did you stop? Did you save a lot of money living that way? Just curious.

Van living is sort of fun once you get used to it. Well, I guess technically I'm homeless since I just rent a room from my buddy who owns the house and I have a job , but in past years I camped in my van since it was much simpler than trying to pay the extreme rents around here. I did manage to get by pretty cheaply like that for awhile.
Eventually the trans started giving me fits, so I sold it but I may buy another in the future. There are entire forums about people who live this way, some are more extravagant than others. ;)

Paying for a storage unit is terrible! My uncle had to move into a smaller apartment and then decided to dump a bunch of crap at my grandma's house :crash: And now they are thinking of taking it to a storage place because they don't want to confront him about all his stuff. As it is you don't even really use/need the stuff you will put in there :cry:

Meanwhile these peeps on "Storage Wars" make a quick buck on the things people never bothered to give away/sell before they died/forgot.

For me it works, but a large part of that is because my storage unit is directly across the street from my apartment, so it's very accessible.

What's stopping them from blogging at the library? These days even the homeless have a laptop with a wireless connection.

I rent a room for only $300 per month. I believe this is the cheapest way to live with a roof over my head. I don't consider it the same as being homeless. Living in a car or van wouldn't be this cheap. The benefits I see to living in a vehicle are that it belongs to you. Nobody can evict you. It is portable. Your home is always with you no matter where you go.

I did read about a guy who is a computer programmer. When he had a job at a big company that gave him his own office he lived in it. When he stayed late the boss just felt he was a dedicated worker. His job was temporary and so was the living in the office. Some people have lived on college campuses but not in a dormitory. They spent their nights huddled somewhere in small rooms in the library or a different school building. They used the shower in the gym. That is the only way to live indoors that is cheaper than renting a room, though always needing to buy restaurant food must add quite a bit of money to that lifestyle. It must be stressful to always be hiding. At least in a car or van all one needs to do is park in a neighborhood with apartment buildings and nobody will notice the strange car in the area. Tint the windows dark and put up customized sun shades in the front and rear windows for extra protection.

Living in any type of conventional vehicle or small RV requires simple living principals to be in place. It just wouldn't work if one bought things and didn't at the same time get rid of other things. For Christmas I'm buying a new laptop and a new exercise device. I'll be selling a larger desktop computer and a larger exercise device (if the new one is an improvement over the old one). For my birthday I bought a small pressure cooker to replace a much larger one. Since I don't have refrigerator space to store leftovers I must cook my meals one at a time. This is how I've adapted to a simpler living lifestyle.

I don't want to live as simply as some of you, because I really like stuff. But I do want to get rid of anything I don't use or love. I got rid of about fifty percent of my stuff when I moved into the four hundred square foot efficiency. My biggest storage problem are my art supplies. I am a hoarder when it comes to my arts and crafts stuff. I got rid of all my books and just go to the library once a week. I would love to own a home, but I don't make much money. I'm trying to figure out how to make that happen.

Chuchi how did you feel when you got rid of half of your stuff?

When I sold my last car I was a bit anxious for a couple of days. Then a wave of relief and giddiness briefly came over me and I felt greater freedom. I didn't expect that to happen at all, yet it did. In May I put out half of my stuff and tried to give it away. After all of that effort was over and the things that weren't taken were still with me, I thought about it all. I would miss some items only because the familiarity of seeing them was gone. What was better was more relief and more freedom. The trade off was worth it. I expect to experience the same thing once I've completed my purge.

Every time I get rid of things I feel better. Two months ago I sold several musical equipment items. All of them were at one time useful to me. I haven't used them very much for many years. Even though I didn't get top dollar for them I was glad they were in the hands of somebody who would use them; and the meager cash was still a good thing to have. The less unused stuff I have around me the better I feel.

As time goes on I have learned that even some of the things I thought I needed aren't in fact needed. Only time will tell how much stuff I eventually keep as essential and needed.

Mostly I just regret having spent that money in the first place on a lot of stuff that didn't really make my life better. There is stuff I wish I didn't have to let go of, because I think I could use it once I can afford to live in a normal size place again. But it was just too claustrophobic being buried in the clutter. And now that it is gone, I don't really miss it.

Look at it this way. You didn't spend all that money on stuff...you spent it on a valuable lesson about stuff.

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays!