In communities dedicated to everyday carry items like wallets, knives, and electronics you’ll frequently see community favorites that kind of act as the standard.
That and memes like the photo I linked made me think about a community of pseudo minimalist people who focus on living with portability or functionality in mind. Things like sleeping in a sleeping bag on a cot, relying on a docked laptop for gaming, or only using a single bowl for a majority of your meals.
It’s a bit of a long shot and odd question but I’d be interested to see what they’re passionate about.
Before people make Reddit style quips I’m not talking about not being well off or homeless. I’m also not really talking about people who have to move for work like truck drivers or people who stay in hotels. More like easily being able to move
I could fit 90% of my survival-related stuff into a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket in the trunk of my car. I know this for a fact, because I literally have a 5 gallon bucket full of survival gear in the trunk of my car right now, (because I’m going camping this weekend, not because I’m a crazy prepper…) It holds everything I need, except for my sleeping stuff and clothes, which just get thrown into a duffle.
It wouldn’t cover consumables like food or water, but it would at least be enough to survive in relative comfort. It’s really just a matter of how off-the-grid you want to be. I have a small saw and hatchet for making firewood. A wood burning stove for cooking and heat. The 5 gallon bucket actually doubles as a camp toilet, (I use compostable bags and toilet gel,) and a few other essentials like cutlery, a mess kit, cordage, etc.
As for living like you’re always ready to vanish, it can be a lifestyle choice, but is often done out of necessity or survival instead. Victims of abuse, for instance, often learn to pack light and avoid buying things. So if their abuser ever finds them, they can ghost in less than a day.
Lets be honest. Most people buy stuff to impress other people. At this stage in my life I have no fucks to give about that any more.
Speak for yourself. I buy stuff for my apartment because I want it to feel homey; I don’t really care what other people think of it as long as it looks presentable.
Beg pardon, but are you male or female?
What would be something homey but not presentable?
I get you. I rarely have other people over. I feel like if I had to start over, like if my place burnt down, I would live more like that
Did they run out of money?
How awful. That cable management makes my eyes hurt.
Cable management is for work. In my happy place, I just let my cables run wild.
Cable management inside my PC case vs cable management behind my desk. The former is close to immaculate, the latter is no fucks given.
So true. Performance vs aesthetics. I know I’ll have better airflow inside my PC with proper cable management, whereas I couldn’t even begin to give a fuck what under/behind my desk looks like…
I took the time to dress the back of my desk, and all cables are routed appropriately, but there are SO many of them it still looks like spaghetti.
So talking about portability, I had a job in another city, I would do some of it from home like CAD work and then drive into town a few days a week to run machine tools etc. I had a system of bags I lived out of. My backpack which contained my laptop and my portable “office,” my tool bag in which I have a wide variety of capability, and a duffel bag with clothing, toiletries and such to keep a man running for 3 days. I could carry all three at once with a free hand and I can be ready for a 4 day, 3 night away mission in minutes.
my tool bag in which I have a wide variety of capability
Somehow that sounds a bit threatening, like Liam Neeson in that one oft-memed scene.
fear a man that carries a framing hammer and a gas powered soldering iron in the same bag.
What about a ball peen hammer and a battery powered soldering iron?
Depends on the soldering iron. I’ve got a Craftsman brand one that runs on drill batteries and it’s got a little too much oompf, it’ll burn itself up if you leave it on high. But shit like that “Cold Heat” one they were selling in infomercials? Nah those have never produced a single solder joint.
I’ve got one of those milwaukee ones that my work bought me but I want to get that fancy one from ifixit, mostly I just want to try it out.
Side-zip duffel bags are awesome. I had to live across town for a couple days, and 90% of my clothes fit in two largeish bags.
I was going to post a Reddit style quip of bachelor stereotypes. I furnished my apartment like this when I was freshly graduated and again when I moved cities. But the difference there is it’s not really intentional, but other priorities. When you’re just starting out, where do you spend your money and time, and what do you care about?
I got a bed when the carpeted floor was uncomfortable. I got a second bowl when I was annoyed having to wash the first one so frequently. Hell, I didn’t graduate from a duffle to a suitcase until my gf at the time made me. It’s not about being minimalist but not having the need or the money
It’s more the need aspect you mentioned that I’m talking about. People living with what works or is good enough. I feel like it can be totally be intentional. I imagine a lot of people just sleep with a mattress on the floor because they don’t feel like a bed frame is necessary for example.
Where people draw the line is one of the things I’d find interesting if that makes sense
You can probably crosspost on !minimalism@lemmy.world. It’s pretty quiet, but you might get additional answers
Yes. I have very limited/cheap furniture. Almost everything I own comes from discount stores or thrifts. I don’t have an attachment to any of it. I’m debating going the Peace Corps so I don’t really want to own anything that I’ll have to pay to store.
Something that I’ve found works well for sleeping is a tatami mat and futon mattress. It’s best if you can air out the mattress and mat outside occasionally. But you can fold and roll both. You can also stack up layers of those $4 Walmart fleece blankets to adjust coverage.
Somebody build my idea: wall-mounted sock and underwear dispensers
Somebody build my idea: wall-mounted sock and underwear dispensers
Y’know, honestly, I could absolutely be comfortable with this little but I’ve been hauling around all kinds of tools, art supplies, chemistry supplies, and etc for over a decade. I’ve packed rooms with the things. But the only furniture I own are some collapsible tables, a desk chair, a folded chair, and a bed.
So I’m kind of in this category but I’m totally not, yk?
I have two kids and a clutter bug wife in an apartment with me. I wish I could keep me living room this clear and simple
I have a bunch of bookshelves, and all that empty wall space hurts to look at.
deleted by creator
That’s pretty close to what most people would call Van Life. There are massive communities around that.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but plenty of folks - blue collar workers, technicians, engineers - have away jobs where they work in different places for weeks or months at a time, and there are landlords who specialize in providing this clientele with bare-bones furnished apartments. I’ve been there, too - in fact, one year during the pandemic, I had spent just a bit more than half of my time working and living in a place away from home.
Thanks but that’s still kind of on the fringe of what I’m looking for. I feel like that’s more about working within the confines of the van rather than living effectively.
Someone trying that might be stuck using a hotplate but they could still have a decent sized mattress and gaming setup for example if that makes sense. It seems more like living densely
