The "Less But Better" Project

I've lived in seven places over the last seven years. I know what you’re thinking…that’s a lot of moving! Well on top of that, about two years ago I helped EACH of my parents move out of houses they’d lived in for 15+ years. Lessons learned? …Humans have a tendency to accumulate A LOT of stuff. Especially us Americans. To give some perspective, photographer Peter Menzel documented statistically average families in various nations surrounded by all of their possessions in a book called "Material World." Here's the USA (left) and Bhutan (right):

Obviously, we (Americans) don't need all this stuff.
Could we even use it all if we wanted to?

If you’re at home, how many things are within your view that you haven’t used in over a year? I can see the book I've been meaning to read since last August, the doorstop I bought two houses ago when I had a door that wouldn't stay open, the binders of old class notes that I swore I’d want someday soon, the highlighters I bought and later realized they're too bright to actually read through, the DVD that I found in the $5 bin, and so on…

Some of these things I bought because they were cheap, some because I thought I “needed” them, and others I've been holding on to just in case. Unfortunately, all this stuff has started to feel more and more overwhelming with each consecutive move. Even between moves, I find myself spending insane amounts of time tidying my space, dusting things, organizing, and reorganizing. A lot of my stuff is making me less happy than I used to be before I bought it, so why keep it?

The Minimalist Movement is gaining traction as more and more people ask these hard questions. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, two influential bloggers (also TEDx speakers) known simply as “The Minimalists,” pitch their lifestyle this way:

Minimalism is a lifestyle that helps people question what things add value to their lives. By clearing the clutter from life’s path, we can all make room for the most important aspects of life: health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.

Luckily, minimalism should also make room for sustainability! By using less, we throw a wrench into the "Story of Stuff". By reducing our stuff, we avoid the impacts that occur at every stage in production, from extraction, through transportation, manufacturing, consumption, and disposal. This is why my personal project for the semester will be a foray into minimalism. German pioneer of minimalist engineering and design, Dieter Rams, eloquently summarized my goal decades ago:

“Weniger, aber besser” translates to “less, but better,” and this was a philosophy he lived and designed by. I’m going to try to live by it too by focusing on a different category of belongings each time I blog (during weeks between my blogging on the V515 readings) and clearing some of the stuff from my life. I’ll examine why I bought these unneeded things in the first place, then formulate some rules/guidelines for all my future purchases. By thinking about my purchasing habits, I can make careful decisions before inviting anything new into my home in the future.

For each post, I’ll weigh the pile of stuff I want to get rid of, then set it aside in one big pile. At the end of the semester, I will go back through the pile to determine what stuff will finally be recycled, donated, sold, or thrown away. This will also give me the chance to accept some things back into my life that were truly missed over the course of the semester. I've set the project up like this so that I can be aggressive in my reduction attempts, knowing that if I make a mistake I can get something back without having to repurchase it (which would defeat the whole purpose of the project).

Here’s my approximate blogging schedule:

• September 21^st - Clothes and other closet items
• September 28^th - (Blog on readings)
• October 5^th - Toiletries and other bathroom items (girls have a lot of these)
• October 12^th - Home goods and decorative items
• October 19^th - (Blog on readings)
• October 26^th - Gifts (birthday week! ...rethinking what others buy for us)
• November 2^nd - Entertainment items
• November 9^th - (Blog on readings)
• November 16^th - Miscellaneous items
• November 23^rd - Items in storage (home for Thanksgiving...clearing boxes)
• November 30^th - Project wrap-up

So, as I work throughout the semester, my goal true goal will be to become happier with less. I don’t expect to pare down to 100 things like some minimalists or even to fit all my stuff into one car. I just want to feel better about the things I buy and use. Since this isn't particularly measurable, I’ll weigh things as some indicator of progress. Let the other indicator of progress be “Before and After” photos! Here’s a look at my baseline:

So, that’s a pretty detailed look into my life and my stuff...hopefully I don't get super embarrassed and regret sharing this later. Eeek! Follow along to see what “goes” each week. Maybe you can rethink your purchases as well and find a little more happiness in a “Less But Better” lifestyle. Wish me luck!