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100 Thing challenge

August 11th, 2009 | Guest writer, Just thinking, Sharing 

What do you think, could you do it?
I have to admit I’ve pared down some this week — as have my kids without even being asked! — and I’ve given away clothes and other items on a regular basis for years. But it still seems like I collect more than I give away.

Of course, I could always get a bigger house. JK.

OTOH, just because I live where the heat index will knock you off your feet, I’m not sure I should be indiscriminately moving out my winter coats that I may need if I head north or west, even for a visit. I might wear them once or twice a year here, and they take up much needed space, but I don’t have to buy them again.

But maybe it’s time to pare down again — and again — and again. I keep thinking one of my grown kids will need some of it to furnish an apartment…

Well, I do like his idea of grouping. We could group our collections. What!? these gazillion makeup items? oh, no, no, no, they are my collection of makeup items. Ditto for my bead supplies. Ditto for books (he calls it his library). Ditto…

Well, yes, it’s cheating, but only a little!

What would you cheat with?

Karin

100 Thing Challenge

The 100 Thing Challenge is my little way to personalize my efforts to fight consumerism.

That said, a lot of other people are participating, too. I’ll be working on ways for people to connect. For example, the 100 Thing Challenge Facebook Page. Please join and participate!

Goal: By November 12, 2008 I will only have 100 personal things. I will live with only 100 personal things for one full year, until November 12, 2009.

Rules: Remember, this is my 100 Thing Challenge. I get to set the rules and decide when a rule can be stretched or outright broken. Basically I’m going by the spirit of the challenge not the letter of the challenge.

1. “Personal Things” means things that are entirely or mostly mine. Clearly family-shared and household things (e.g. dining room table, piano, bed, plates, etc.) are not considered a personal thing. Right now my wife and daughters are curious about what I’m up to, but they prefer to observe rather than participate.

2. Memorabilia – I was going to keep a small box of memorabilia. But it turned out that I don’t have much. So I’m ditching this idea and just counting a few things.

3. Books – Ah, here’s the rub. We’re avid readers in our home. And even the books I don’t read thrice a year look so very attractive as they collect dust on the bookshelves. And many of my books are kind of work related. Strange as it sounds, I have a lot of history books that relate directly or indirectly to consumerism, and thus help me with the 100 Thing Challenge.

4. A few items are counted in groups. This includes underwear and socks. I’m not keeping a lot of either. We do, though, run a household. The idea of trying to manage laundry with a few pairs of skivvies and socks is both unrealistic and gross.

5. We are keeping some household tools: hammer, screwdriver, tape measure, etc. Just last week I needed some tools to put up my daughter’s gymnastics bar. I’m not using them for anything more than honey-do projects.

6. I’ve left myself some cushion in case I receive a gift or two over the next year. But hopefully everyone who might give me a gift knows that they shouldn’t! Anyway, once I receive a gift, I have 7 days to figure out what to do with it before it counts toward my 100 Thing Challenge. I figure that should be enough time to either graciously lose it or get rid of some other thing.

7. Finally, I can get new things. But I have to always remain under 100 things total. And also if I am “replacing” something, I have to get rid of the original thing first before I get the new thing.

REVISED LIST July 16, 2009

1. NRSV Bible with Prayer Book – Published by Oxford University Press and given to me at a publishing conference. I love the Prayer Book prayers, especially the prayer for Vocation.
2. ESV Bible – A nice size and given to me by friends at Crossway. This is the one I take places; you know, like church.
3. Hand-me-down Bible – A small New Testament given to me by my dad. I believe he had it with him in Vietnam and, before that, my grandfather had it with him in WWII.
4. Wedding ring – Thirteen years and going strong!
5. Library – My one “cheat” of the 100 Thing Challenge. But there’s more to it than that. Read blog posts and, eventually, the book.
6. Journal – Small, lined, black Moleskine. I only count active journals — the one I’m using — as a thing on my list. Retired journals — one’s I’ve filled up — are stored for reference. (Aside: I’ve been less than impressed with Moleskine’s quality control recently. The last three journals have had weak bindings and other flaws. Does success breed shoddy manufacturing?)
7. Mechanical pencil – A blue Pentel P207 0.7mm lead. Had this thing for a few years. Love it. Though I saw a 0.9mm version the other day and was tempted.
8. Ballpoint pen – A Monteverde pen given to me by my sister. There is some pen history in my life. All the others are gone. More details some day, maybe in the book.
9. Wallet – Believe it or not, it is an Eddie Bauer wallet that I think I purchased in the mid 1990s! It looks it.
10. Sunglasses – Tifosi sunglasses are really great quality at an amazing price. Less status. More awesomeness.
11. Watch – An old Nike Oregonian, but the altimeter feature seems to be on the fritz. Might need to replace if I ever become wealthy and spend my days climbing mountains. – Replaced on 7/25/09 with new, less fancy, Nike watch found on sale. (I destroyed the old one by slamming it in the trunk of my car – lame!)
12. iMac – Technically the iMac belongs to my wife. I am using my MacBook Pro to write and conduct whatever techno-business comes my way. But I still have thousands of pictures on the iMac and sometimes even use it for checking email or wasting time on Facebook. Thus, I am counting the iMac.
13. MacBook Pro – As I mentioned.
14. HP printer – Again, my kids use it far more than me for coloring pages. But hey, I do print sometimes to proofread.
15. External hard drive – Seagate. Right now we have a very simple backup system. I am considering replacing this with a more robust setup, given that storage is so cheap these days.
16. Cell phone – The free Nokia kind. No iPhones, Blackberries, or other mobile devices for me.
17. Headphones – Bose. I thought of going without headphones. But they come in handy at work for listening to music. And they’ll be handy once my wife and I really get the Schooled In Marriage Podcast going.
18. Camera – Lumix LX3. I purged my Canon 30D SLR and equipment. I regret that.
19. SD card for point-and-shoot Lumix camera.
20. Home office desk
21. Home office chair
22. Desk lamp
23. File cabinet
24. Side table – I’ve gone back and forth on this one. Probably should just trash it and thus make less room for clutter.
25. Car – Sixteen year old Mazda 929 given to me by my dad. Thanks!
26. Planet Earth DVD – Still watch this pretty regularly with the kids. Totally worth owning. Not as good as actually being outside, but an incredible reminder of how amazing our world is.
27. Toothbrush
28. Razor – I have a razor and buy replacement blades for it. I don’t count a 5-pack of replacement blades as additional things. Nit picking will do nothing to solve America’s problems of over consumption.
29. Travel/work backpack – Tried to get rid of this, but it’s too handy for carrying my laptop and for a carry on luggage item for travel.
30. Garment bag – Don’t really use this, since I don’t really travel much anymore. You can be that if I get rid of it, though, I will be in a pinch.
31. Suitcase – Same as the garment bag.
32. Backpacking backpack – Osprey Atmos 35, which is really too small even for weekend trips. But if and when I get out, it’s usually for a 2 day, 1 night hike. So for now, this does the trick.
33. Tent – REI Half Dome. A great overall 2 person tent.
34. Sleeping bag – Marmot Helium (not EQ).
35. Sleeping pad – Therm-a-Rest. The lightweight egg crate kind. (Confession: I have swiped my wife’s Big Agnes insulated inflatable sleeping pad once or twice.)
36. Stove – MSR Pocket Rocket. Probably not the best stove for a one-stove backpacker. But it’s what I’ve got and will have to do for now.
37. Cook set – 2 pots, 1 lid, 1 handle. Didn’t seem to make sense to throw pieces away. But honestly, I normally only take one pot.
38. Spork – Red Light My Fire spork. This is the infamous “spork” from the Time Magazine 100 Thing Challenge article.
39. Water bladder – Platypus
40. Headlamp
41. Knife – Benchmade. One of my most cherished things. Is there anything more handy than a quality pocket knife?
42. Climbing shoes – Keeping these for now, though I hardly ever go bouldering or in-door climbing.
43. Chalk bag – My seven year old gymnast thinks this belongs to her. Truth be told, I just let her borrow it for our chin up pullovers on the bar in the hallway.
44. Mittens – REI
45. Wool hat – (That my wife says looks ugly.)
46. Fleece jacket – Patagonia
47. Rain jacket – Marmot
48. Rain pants – Patagonia
49. Thermal shirt – Patagonia
50. Thermal pants – Patagonia
51. Wicking shirt
52. Wicking shirt
53. Running shorts
54. Running shoes – Vasque – replaced on 5/20/09 with the same ones I had before. They are nice trail runners that can handle very lightweight backpacking.
55. T-shirt – Advertising Amore Ministries
56. T-shirt – Advertising Igniter Media Group
57. T-shirt – From Timberps on Etsy. I really like this guy’s artwork.
58. T-shirt – “Hogsmeade is for lovers” shirt from HP Prognostications
59. T-shirt – From Old Navy
60. T-shirt – It’s organic cotton and has an old tractor on it! 6/19/09 – father’s day gift from wife!
61. T-shirt – Plant with Purpose (Plantwithpurpose.org) t-shirt. It’s a large, so we’ll see if it fits – might turn into a night shirt my wife.
62. Board shorts – Patagonia. These are very light. I like them but feel pretty showy when they get wet, if you catch my drift. Might replace next time there’s a sale somewhere.
63. Board shorts
64. Wetsuit – Xcel – found on Craigslist for like 60% of retail, only used once. Very nice deal.
65. Surfboard – 7′ 8″ TDK shaped locally (leash)
66. Soft rack (bought and returned one set that were lame. Got a new set for less that work great)
67. Plastic storage box I use to contain wetsuits, towels in the trunk of my car.
68. Plastic bottle for water to wash off after a surf.
69. Shorts – Just normal old shorts for kicking around.
70. PJ pants – Dragonfly print that my 3 year old picked out.
71. Jacket – REI cord. Casual but useable for work.
72. Suit jacket
73. Suit pants
74. Tie
75. Dress shirt
76. Dress shirt
77. Business casual cords
78. Jeans
79. Jeans – replaced a pair of faded and ripped jeans on 5/16/09
80. Button-down shirt long sleeve – J. Crew cord. This is like my flannel shirt snugly. I’ve had it for years. It’s held up so well that I almost have a hard time being critical of J. Crew.
81. Button-down shirt long sleeve – Orange plaid. Given from my parents, purchased somewhere in Europe.
82. Button-down shirt long sleeve
83. Button-down shirt – Patagonia wrinkle free. I like this shirt a lot. Cannot be wrinkled. Love it.
84. Button-down shirt – Mountain Hardware. Nice light, summery shirt.
85. Button-down shirt – REI. So far pretty wrinkle resistant.
86. Button-down shirt – A seagull pooped on this one, but it washed up fine.
87. Button-down shirt – REI sale rack after lunch with daughters at Islands. 5/31/09.
88. Brown belt – replaced on 5/16/09. The old one was getting pretty awful.
89. Brown shoes – replaced on 5/20/09 with Dr. Martens. I know they’re not fashionable anymore, but I love Dr. Martens.
90. Flip flops
91. Underwear (10) – replaced 12/25/08. I count underwear as a group of items. My desire is to resist consumerism, not hygiene.
92. Undershirts (6) – replaced 12/25/08. Same as underwear.
93. Socks (?) – same as underwear and undershirts.
94. Moo.com personal business cards – Kind of for my writing “business”

Gone. There has been lots, lots more than this that I’ve gotten rid of. These are the things I kept track of. But there are a lot more clothes and random items that are no longer in my possession.

1. Balance board
2. Yoga mat
3. Backpack
4. Self-portrait oil painting
5. Small Longaberger basket
6. Campagnolo Croce d’Aune rear derailer
7. Pens
8. Shoot horn
9. Knife
10. Knife
11. Broken Sigma flash for Canon (easy fix for gadget person)
12. Baseball hat
13. Sweat pants
14. Crocs
15. Green wool sweater
16. Dress pants cords
17. Dress pants black
18. Dress pants brown
19. Jeans
20. Sport jacket
21. Mountain Hardware Synchro Jacket
22. Old J Crew jacket that I love but need to let go
23. Compass
24. Rock climbing shoes
25. Chalk bag
26. Magnesium fire starter stick
27. USB headset with microphone
28. HDD portable
29. Pewter Gollum
30. Pewter Beorn
31. Pewter Hobbit
32. Harry Potter figurine – want to give it to someone at Portus
33. Bike trainer – the kind that holds the rear wheel while you peddle furiously in the kitchen, freaking the dog out and bothering the family with all the noise
34. Backpacker magazine
35. NEED magazine (just stopped coming)
36. MacBook G4
37. Canon 30D
38. Canon 17-40L lens
39. Canon 430 flash
40. Diffuser
41. Tripod with ball head
42. Camera bag – includes some lens tissue and duster
43. Rope – Gave it to my daughter who is enjoying it and using it
44. Camelback bottle – MISSING – I might replace this.
45. Sun hat
46. Nose hair trimmers – whatever. This gadget was more like a torture device. I’m just going to borrow the tiny scissors we have in the bathroom drawer from now on.
47. Marklin train collection
48. Woodworking tools – Very sad about this.
49. Side table drawer – My wife insisted on keeping this as “her” item, but I’m not going to use it.
50. Hiking boots
51. Bicycling bib shorts
52. Award-winning self-portrait oil painting
53. Button-down shirt
54. Brown sweatshirt
55. Button-down shirt
56. Black belt
57. Black shoes
58. Business casual pants
59. T-shirt
60. T-shirt
61. T-shirt
62. Sport coat
63. Sport coat
64. Sleeping bag
65. Sleeping pad
66. Need Magazine subscription
67. Button-down shirt – Sort of pink and really wrinkly. Going to get rid of it.
68. Sweater – Gap. Piece of crap. A hole in the collar. Pills. Going to get ride of it.
69. Rock climbing wall – sold to buddy who’s putting it up in his son’s room!

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