I was reading about the Missionary Sisters of Charity (Mother Teresa's Order) today it said their belongings consisted of 3 Sari's: 1 to wear, 1 to wash, 1 to mend, a pair of sandals, a metal bowl and a spoon. Those is cold climates get a sweater. There was something very attractive about the simplicity.

Aside from a few chosen instrumental albums, I think I should like to get rid of my CD collection.

I haven't gotten rid on my CD/LP collection, but it is in storage. I have gone digital on everything. I find having my entire music collection on a couple thumb drives is so convenient. My wife's DVD's and VHS collection are next.

Aaron :)

I mostly listen to youtubes and want to make my own music.... While cleaning up the crap in my house, I dusted off an old electric keyboard that I have been dying to play. Except I can't find the power cord. :(

Unless it was a transformer cord you could cut the end off of an extension cord and hard wire it. :D

I do use youtube for some stuff and I do have a subscription to Pandora. However somethings have to be purchased to enjoy, I get in certain moods when only a certain genre or artist is all that I want to listen to.

Aaron :)

Radio Shack sells all kinds of power adapters. Check them out.

I was a musician during the beginning of digital recording, before mp3 players existed. Even CDs don't encode the full audio quality of an analog recording. Theoretically it is possible to make a digital recording that is just as complete but such aren't available to the public. Neil Young (famous musician) said that Steve Jobs (deceased former CEO of Apple) was interested in creating a codec capable of such quality. Since that isn't happening who knows if it will ever be created. Neil said that downloading a song with the full fidelity of an analog recording in digital format would take a half an hour per song.

I'll invest in a dedicated digital music player when such a codec becomes available. I've got a few CDs of artists and music I like but the fidelity just isn't as good as records or even tapes.

I like playing my bongos even though I'm not that good at it yet. I'll always keep some type of musical instrument as part of my simplified life.

I have heard that about digital recording too. However my hearing is very poor so even a MP3 is good for me, sometimes being partially deaf has it's advantages. :P

Aaron :)

Two prong [| |] is the same kind used by many old Sonys, Akai or Teac reel to real decks, if that's what you mean, and it's available at the electrical store as well as music shops.

Can definitely relate with you guys. :) I tend to live somewhat ascetic life, don't really even have to try, things just fall into place like that. I do like some aesthetic beautification in my place with plants and art, but only to a point. Almost everything else is thought pure function wise and everything unnecessary flies out the door. Bed I like to keep simple and pretty hard (better for back anyway), kitchen to the minimum (couple sets of dinnerware, and no chef knife sets or fancy pans, even though cooking I really like), no washing machine/dishwasher, for example. There's few less necessary things my life depends on, like guitar and other instruments (even here I prefer small instruments), bike, old computer. I have some other hobbies and interests that I have things and tools for, but nothing takes much place. Only glaring exception to this is my small collection of old games, which I don't even use... it's not bad, but it's little bigger than I'm comfortable with. Gonna get rid of it mostly, only going to keep few table-top games and a handheld device.

There's only one downside; public transportation is extremely expensive where I live, and I'd really like to use it more. It would be dream to be able hop into train or bus with my bike without worrying about the money too much. Instead I have to get my legs fitter and cycle wherever I need to go. :p To be quite honest, I might want a motorcycle some day in the future and a vegetable garden, that much luxurious my life could become! If I ever find a partner and end up having kids, then life would mostly likely change quite a bit, but that happens when and if happens. Until then glorious bachelor life shall continue.

If these are things you truly want to keep, then keep them. If you do not want them and if you do not think you will want them in the future, then there's nothing wrong with selling them at a low cost or even giving them away. If they are antiques or collectibles, you may wish to donate them to a museum. You might be able to get a tax receipt for doing so, but even if that isn't the case, the items can be enjoyed by many people.

Tour this guy's apartment; http://www.theminimalists.com/apartment/

For the amount of things he owns it seems like a big place. I wouldn't want to own a two-thousand square foot house and just have a spartan lifestyle unless the biggest part of the place was a giant living room for entertaining. To me there needs to be a balance between the space and the things that go into it. A place that looks mostly empty just doesn't fit with my sense of taste. The guy at TheMinimalists could live in a Tumbleweed tiny house with no problem.

Reminds me a bit of the Shaker homes I have seen documented. I would rather see something like he has than a small house crammed to the gills. I had a small house (640sf) when I first got married, the people we rented to the last time moved out with a 26' Uhaul truck packed. I have no clue how they got that much in there. When I lived there every thing I owned would fit in the back of a small pickup truck and the house was comfortable.

Aaron :)

I am dependent on city electricity, water, and gas. A disruption of any of those services would be a problem for me, so I can't brag about minimal clutter or expenses.

I don't like buying new electronics, but an LCD tv has a clearer and more complete picture in a smaller space, and old CRTs can be partially recycled. I will need a new computer this or next year. That could cost as much as a used recumbent bike.

Who Needs Furniture?
 

I just decided to sell my furniture. Uuuuuh yeah, that's what I'm doing. This was an unusual decision for me since I'm not moving for a while. My logic is that starting now I'll be able to refuse low ball offers for my furniture and get more for each piece. The items I'll keep until the very end will be my bed, a comfortable lounge chair, and kitchen table with chairs. Those could go really fast with a low price on Craigslist.

For a while I thought of the pros and cons of doing this. Losing the contents of my home in a way takes away the mental comfort of home. Without all of the accoutrements of a home it seems less comfortable, less settled. It is a loss of presence and stability. Having rooms with boxes stacked up in places where tables or other furniture were previously located will look and feel strange. What I'll need to keep in mind is that doing this is part of my long term goal. Wherever I settle in the next year I'll be able to get more furniture if I need it.

I'm considering sharing an apartment with someone so I can save money. By cutting my rent in half I could also cut my need for money too, though having a surplus of funds is always more desirable. I don't intend to cut back my hours at work.

Maybe furniture will go faster on Craigslist than the other things I've been trying to sell. Since 2006 I've sold several furniture items and three large appliances. Some took months but they eventually sold. I don't have much left to sell. I've got two coffee tables; three filing cabinets, a bar stool, a piano bench, and a bedroom dresser with two matching bed side tables.

One item that I have no idea how to sell is an ancient record cabinet. It is for those discs with grooves that make sound. It has a horizontal cylindrical chamber with built in sleeves for holding the records. It has multiple doors that open with the hinges on the bottom of each section. A door is pulled open to access the sleeves. When it is closed the whole thing can rotate like those big spinning cages that are used to hold raffle tickets. The next door comes up and can be opened to access another section of the accordion sleeves holding more records. Nobody is searching for something like this and nobody would even know what it is by looking at it. Where should I sell that?

Find your local hipster dive and put up a flyer. You'll make bank.

Lately I've been thinking about barter. The craigslist barter section is mostly gas-burning toys for other gas-burning toys, and generally more expensive and bigger stuff than I want to trade. There are bike barter sites, but I haven't found any at the local level. I mostly avoid transactions by mail.

I sleep on a twin air mattress (much to my Mom's chagrin).
I keep promising her I am going to purchase a bed--I want a steel folder bicycle instead.

I had an army cot from the surplus joint for 4 years until my mom couldn't stand it anymore and gave me her old Select Comfort bed/queen matress. It takes up soooo much room and all I can think of is how much of a PITA it's going to be to move.

When Hurricane Katrina came to town I was in the middle of a move. Everything was already in boxes. When I returned to town I couldn't rent a moving truck because all of the local ones were flooded and all movers were refusing to enter the area. My cousin brought a truck to me from Tennessee. While he was visiting I slept on a contemporary military cot for a couple of days. It was comfortable enough. If it would have had a squishy pad it would have been just as comfortable as a regular bed. For me it is better than sleeping on the floor. I just pulled it out of storage. When I sell my bed it will take its place.

>If it would have had a squishy pad it would have been just as comfortable as s regular bed.

I had a few of those eggshell pads cut to fit the cot, and it was fine. Biggest problem was my fat-arse cat trying to shove me out of the warm spot, but moving up to a queen size bed hasn't resolved that. :p

I sleep on just a folder up comforter in the floor pretty often. I have noticed that when I sleep on it, I get some back pain for about the first three days, but it feels like a "good" back pain if that makes any sense. Its almost like the floor is adjusting my back to where is should be. After the three days or so, I feel amazing.

Once I go back to a regular bed, I once again start to feel some back pain...unfortunately, this time is not a good feeling, lol.

I would love to stay sleeping on the floor full time, but I don't think the gf would like me abandoning her in the bed, and she definitely wouldn't have any part in sleeping on the floor

LOL! Exactly!
Mom doesn't think I am comfortable.
This twin air is quite comfy and has alleviated my back pain.
Beds larger than twins overwhelm me--when I have company--there have been complaints.
Which leads to why I won't shack up.

In my twenties my mother put one of those egg crate foam tops on my bed. I used it for one night with the pointy side up. I didn't like it at all. I understand the theory about why it is beneficial but that didn't make it comfortable.

Sleeping on the floor can be OK with some padding. I gave it a try two years ago to see if it would help my back. It didn't. For a few days with nothing more than a comforter I slept fine. The mattress is still more comfortable. The cot is more comfortable than the floor. I've never used a futon for very long. Those are different and some brands must be different from others.

The futons I've seen are sectional with very big lumpy segments. They were held together by big buttons going across them. Those dips where the buttons were seemed too big. They must make sleep less pleasant. Is that the case? Someone here mentioned having the Japanese version of futons. They were expensive and looked similar to the ones I've seen. They had two folds that made three segments and they were designed to be used on floors. That would be a very simple bed and it would be more portable than a spring mattress with a box spring.

Would having the ability to pack up and move easily be one aspect of living simply? My idea of simplifying my life is only related to possessions because my work and social lives are already simple. There isn't anything I really want to change other than creating some type of job for me to be self employed. In the mean time I just get jobs.

Have any of you tried a Japanese Futon? I've heard good things about the ones located here (http://www.jlifeinternational.com/index_e.html) and am considering getting one somewhat soon.

For the past few years, I have been switching between an Air Mattress and an American Futon. I nearly slept on the Air Mattress for close to 2 years straight and it started giving me back pain and am now back on the American Futon.

The Futon I feel has corrected the pain I was receiving from the Air Mattress but I don't feel like I get a quality sleep from it.

Air Mattress: AeroBed EnduraBed (Discontinued) (It was an outdoor model which probably attributed to its failure for me)

Futon: Jaclyn Smith Traditions Mission Futon (http://www.kmart.com/jaclyn-smith-tr...W434244510001P)

If you have any alternative bedding ideas that can be stored away after use feel free to mention those as well.

Lots of air mattress love here...personally I would sleep better on cold tile in the middle of December than I have ever slept on an air mattress.

The Japanese futon does seem interesting. I helped a friend build a "frame" for one, one tile for his daughter. It was basically like a low wooden table for it to lay on. The neat thing was that they wanted it built with no metal parts since it has something to do with Feng Shui or something. We did all attachment points with a drill and dowel rods.

As media storage and other electronic devices become smaller, more can be kept in the same amount of space. That may lead to a much larger collection of media and more time spent managing the collection, and possibly never actually reading, hearing, or watching the media.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=264160
One day this might be me, though I would probably own a reclining chair and stay in that all of the time.

My current sleeping "apparatus" consists of a sleeping bag laying on top of a trifolded comforter. If it's warm I sleep on top of the bag, if cold, well... in it.

I've never slept better. :) Actually I visited my parents a couple of weeks ago, slept in an actual bed and was sore after that. :notamused:

For breakfast, I would have coffee and toast, sometimes, I drink orange juice. I usually wear jeans and shirt and would ride my bicycle to practically wherever I go, unless of course it would be several miles away. I sleep on the floor when I feel like it, I would just place my mattress on the floor. :) I try to keep costs at a minimum without sacrificing comfort. Last month, I got to make a wise decision of getting rid of my dedicated fax line and opted for this http://www.maxemail.com/max/online-fax.html It is really savings (now I would have some extra cash for a weekend movie, even just once a month). Anyway, if I'm tired, I don't prepare dinner and would have some meals delivered. And btw, I still watch cartoons if I'm stressed out.