Note from Paula: I review a book every Friday. Check out a complete list here.
Dave Bruno often rails against consumerism. He reads books about over-consumption. He lectures about it at colleges. He blogs about it.
But as Dave looked around his house one afternoon, he discovered that his life was full of clutter.
He owned broken flashlights and first-generation iPods. He owned cookbooks, old coffee makers, flower vases, craft supplies and an enormous stack of dishtowels.
Dave’s stuff weighed him down. It made him feel less free.
Where did this buying impulse come from?, he wondered. He’s not a materialistic guy.
But Dave IS entrepreneurial. And every entrepreneur – every ambitious person in general – knows the feeling of restlessness. They know the lack of satisfaction, the drive for more and more.
The consumer lifestyle is similar. There’s dissatisfaction in our lives that we try to fill by purchasing curtains, clothes and coffee mugs.
But this only adds to our problems, our clutter.
“My desire to lead a meaningful life,” he said, “was getting forestalled by the petty, day-to-day demands of all my stuff.”
So Dave pledged to cull his possessions down to only 100 objects.
If you think this sounds easy, remember that “ballpoint pen” counts as one object. “Wedding ring” counts as a second object. And so on.
Once he accounted for everyday things like toothbrush, razor, sunglasses, wallet, cell phone – well, 100 things added up fast.
Dave got rid of his soccer cleats, rock-climbing gear, his weights and workout bench. He shed his golf clubs, guitar, yoga mat, woodworking tools and Canon SLR camera.
He kept multi-generational family heirlooms, like the Bible his father carried in the trenches of World War II. But he forced himself to sell pseudo-sentimental things, like the model trains he built with his daughters.
The Complications
Of course, defining “100 Things” is complicated.
First – How does he handle objects he shares with his family, like his bed and sofa?
“Would my side of the bed count as one full thing or one-half of a thing?” he wondered. “Since (my wife) pulls most of the blanket off me each night, would I count the comforter as only a fourth of a thing?”
He decided that anything he shares with his family – like the dinner table, the dishes, the couch and the bed – would not count in his 100 Things Pledge.
Second – Do digital objects count? Does each file on your computer count as a separate object?
Dave decided that his whole computer – with all its e-books, music and photographs – counts as one single object.
If a collection of e-books on a computer counts as one object, then it’s only fair that his library counts as one singular object, rather than as a collection of dozens or hundreds of individual books, Dave decided.
This was one of the most controversial decisions he made when he defined “100 Things,” and it drew him a good bit of criticism.
Others criticized that a pair of shoes should count as four objects — a left shoe, a right shoe, and two laces – rather than as “one pair of shoes.”
This illustrates the fuzzy nature of “stuff”.
Dave created many more rules – eight in total – that defined the boundaries of his challenge. Then he began purging his home of stuff.
Oh yeah — and for hygiene’s sake, his collection of underwear counts as one object.
The Year of 100 Things
This book is an autobiography, told through the lens of the 100 Thing Challenge.
Each object that he purges tells a story. There were the tools he bought when he fantasized about being a craftsman and woodworker. There was the surfboard he bought when turned 37. There was the oil painting that won first place at the county fair.
Through this autobiography, Dave raises questions about our relationship between our possessions, the meaning we assign to our lives, and faith in a higher power.
His conclusions aren’t rehashed clichés, either. His ideas are insightful:
“(Although) material possessions can divide people, our stuff can also serve as common ground,” he says. “Our personal things can become community bonds.”
This Book Is For You If: You want an entertaining, easy read that uses storytelling to explore deeper issues about consumerism.
The Book is NOT For You If: The author is a Christian and – although he is not “preachy” – he openly discusses his faith. (It is, after all, a story of one man’s search for meaning).
Let me be clear, it’s not a “Christian book” – readers from all religious/spiritual backgrounds can enjoy it. But if discussion about God makes you uncomfortable, you may not enjoy this book.
Learn More About The 100 Thing Challenge: How I Got Rid of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, and Regained My Soul by Dave Bruno.
I’d Like to Thank the Academy …
- Thanks to Ewen and Donabel for the photo.
- Thanks to The Carnival of Wealth for applauding one of my posts.
- Thanks to the Carnival of Personal Finance for featuring this blog last week.
Sounds like an interesting read! I think I’ve read elsewhere about this “100 things” challenge and it sounds interesting to me. It would be super hard for me, and probably for anyone, but I think it would also be very liberating! Hell, I probably have 100+ items in my desk alone…
@DollarDisciple — He’s a great writer, and it surprised me to see how much of his stuff was associated with hobbies: camping, woodworking, rock-climbing, etc. It wasn’t pure materialism, per se, but it was still clutter all the same.
One thing that I liked about his book is that it blends the “fun” of reading fiction (the storytelling) with the “education” of reading non-fiction. It’s a nice relief from all the heavy books I’ve been reading lately.
I’ve come across his website before, and I’ve always been intrigued by this challenge. To me, it’s pointless to debate how to count things like shoes (are they 1, 2 or 4 things?) Let’s face it: most of America doesn’t come close to owning as few as 100 things regardless of how you group or count.
I’ve been whittling away at what I own for a while now. I don’t know how many things I have, but I feel better with a less cluttered life. It just feels more liberating to know that I can move freely without be attached to a lot of stuff.
Sounds like an interesting read. What if you flipped the question? Name 100 things you would need to survive (or live at a level that you feel is OK). A few tech items (e.g., iPad, phone, laptop), small set of cooking things, clothes….I feel like it would be tough to get to 100.
I’ve been decluttering my home (& my closet!) for quite some time now. It’s really liberating! I’ve been realizing a few things:
1) Why the hell did I spend so much money on this CRAP that I’m not even using or enjoying anymore? (& what else could’ve I done with that $$ instead?!)
2) I’m actually happier with less things. I’m enjoying and appreciating the things I DO have more.
Now, when I hit the road in April, this will REALLY be a “100 things” challenge!
Great review, Paula
I’m sure I COULD live with only 100 things, but unless for some reason I had to, I’m not sure I want to. It just seems like an exercise. If you get some sort of personal fulfilment out of it, then by all means, but I don’t exactly feel weighed down by all of my stuff, so I don’t see the point in getting rid of it. I have a lot of stuff, yet, but I’d say about 90% of it is strictly functional (kitchen stuff, tools, etc.), part of my extensive book/record/CD/DVD/magazine collection, decorative (throw pillows, artwork: still serving a purpose) or sentimental. I try to make a point of getting rid of things that I don’t use or won’t miss, but other than that, I don’t see the point for me to go further.
It just seems like one of those things you do to see if you can do it. Like, I wouldn’t judge anyone for doing it, but I also don’t see how that person is superior to others because they’re not shackled by consumerism or something.
@Melissa — Oh, I don’t think that the guy who did it is superior to others, and from the way that he describes his experience, I don’t think that he thinks so, either. I think he did it as an experiment and as a personal challenge.
I would never want to live with fewer than 100 things, unless I was traveling/backpacking (but that’s a very different circumstance).
I agree with Melissa. I would also count 100 things for each person in my household if I did it. A majority of my things provide some type of function or enjoyment in my life. If I don’t use them enough, they get cleared out. Awesome for people who can do this and want to, but I don’t particularly feel the need to.
Sounds like a very interesting story. I’ll have to put this on my reading list. Although, as I am sitting here looking around at my living room, I keep thinking, “only 100 things?” I wouldn’t know where to start!
This book sounds like a fun read and if I can find it locally I think I’ll pick it up.
Personally I know I have less than 100 things, but this is mostly because we recently sold everything we owned (clothes excepted) and moved from the U.S. to Thailand. Because most of the apartments here come furnished we have purchased very few things since moving here and guess what? Our lives are no worse off for it!
Owning stuff has always felt burdensome and heavy to me. One of the problems with owning a house is it tends to fill up even, if like me, you find great joy in search and discard missions.
but this 100 thing thing just sounds kinda silly, especially when the debate turns to:
shoes, one thing or four? guess that’s what makes it a fun read.
loved Therese’s points in her reply above, especially #1 which for me evolves into:
and how much money would that money have earned me by now invested…..
Thanks for the review! I’ll have to add this book to my reading list. It’s interesting to consider what we consider a “thing” and how much physical (or emotionally) space it takes up in our life.
Sounds like something I would enjoy reading but not a method I would try to put into action. Just 100 things – but the time you add my clothing and electronics I would be done. I think many people can live with a lot fewer things but maybe just not 100.
I have more than 100 pairs for shoes so I not sure about this, but i feel that it would be more than possible. Ill add this to my growing reading list.
Paula, I don’t know how you do it. Reviewing one book every week. I’ve been trying to finish the same book since December!
@Kanwal Sarai — Honestly, there are two things that help a lot: 1) Giving myself a deadline — and making it public — forces me to do it; 2) Having a Kindle helps a lot, because I don’t waste time leaving the house to get the book — the book gets sent directly to my Kindle. I couldn’t do it without that.
I agree that it sounds like an interesting read, but I’d propose that sometimes we guilt ourselves into challenges like these. And trying it for a little while can make us feel better about ourselves, I suppose. I think there can be a healthy balance between appreciating things and having too many things to be able to appreciate them all. I’m definitely guilty of the latter, but I also don’t think it means I have to hang my head in shame whenever I think about it.
@Bethy — I agree. The author’s 100-Thing-Challenge reminded me of one of those extreme diets that people undergo, just for 1 week, in order to “cleanse” their system after lots of unhealthy eating. It’s not sustainable, but it provides a “shock to the system” that helps them re-set their patterns and start fresh.
I’ve occasionally lived with very few things because I was traveling, and I was only able to possess as many items as could fit inside one backpack. That’s not sustainable for an everyday life, but it did help me cultivate an appreciation for how little I really need.
Thanks for the info about the e-reader. I’m excited about the change coming in the publishing business with the introduction of the kindle, etc. Plus, I have access to books within a minute and don’t have to ride to BN!