being of deep transformations: 01/04/24

Sufficiency list 2024

I've kept a what I call sufficiency list for many years. What started out as a playful exercise in the beginning of my minimalist journey became an important part of my autoethnographic research. When I wrote down my sufficiency list at first, I simply asked myself about the necessities, what genuinely makes my life easy and comfortable. Other things are wants. I was not trying to sketch some universal sufficiency list. Rather, it was and remains something very personal. Though I think fellow humans would also include some of the same objects in their lists if they were to make one.

When I relocated from England to Sweden, I took only the objects that were in my sufficiency list, apart from the kitchen items that I was going to borrow. I ended up borrowing them from my university department. I did the same when I moved from Sweden to Finland, though I borrowed things from a friend. When I moved from Finland to Denmark, I also took with me only the objects from my sufficiency list, and the rest (kitchen items) my partner brought in from his previous apartment. There is no furniture in my list because I lived without furniture and would love to live without it again if I have an opportunity.

What I've noticed is that the list hasn't changed much over the years. Some things changed because I moved from an area with a mild climate to the North.

Here is my sufficiency list from August 2022 that I disclosed in my first autoethnographic paper:

· Laptop

· Phone

· Headphones

· Passport and other documents

· Notebook and pen

· Shoes

· Backpack

· Bank card

· Personal care items

· Towels

· Sweatshirts/t-shirts

· Trousers/shorts

· Bowl

· Fork

· Spoon

· Knife

· Stockpot

· Dish brush

· Tote bag

· Jacket

· Handkerchief

· Scissors

· Blanket

· Lunch box

· Mug

· Scarf

· Mittens

And here is my sufficiency list, true as of January 2024: