50 items
Oftentimes, my fellow humans ask me how many items I own. I practise extreme minimalism for ecological, spiritual, and aesthetics reasons. Before I moved to Denmark and began to share an apartment with a fellow human, I lived in Finland without furniture and with very few objects. Before that, I lived in northern Sweden in a tiny studio apartment (20 or so square metres). Because I share my current apartment, there are many items that I use that are not mine. Some of them we invited into our life because furniture-free living is not everyone's preference. There are also useful objects that my fellow human brought from his previous apartment. There are objects that belong to his child.
I have never counted my items. I do not think that there is a perfect number of objects one can live with. It depends on the climate and one's personal circumstances. The number of items I live with changes from time to time. For example, I received a couple of items as gifts for my birthday. I will give them away. There are some items I acquired when I moved to northern Sweden from England because it was much colder in northern Sweden. Some items I have multiples of at home but I only need one of them at a time. For example, when I buy soap bars, I buy several of them at once. There are items that technically belong to nature. For example, I have a stone that has sentimental value to me. There are also items that I find unhelpful to count, such as socks, underwear, and cotton tote bags (I use these bags for storage, laundry, grocery shopping, as handbags etc). There are some items that I feel I have to have rather than choose to have. They are my passport and the bank card. There are also a few documents in paper form, such as my PhD certificate. I don't know if I would count them or not.
I was opposed to counting my items for many years. More recently, I began to think that it could be an entertaining, playful exercise for me and my fellow humans to encourage us to think about what is lagom. Lagom means "just right" in Swedish, and it's subjective. What is lagom for me does not have to be the same as what is lagom for a fellow human. I will count my items in the coming days, but here is what I would have if I asked myself to keep 50 items, based on my long-term minimalist and zero-waste journey:
1. Laptop. It's for both my academic work, reading, and writing. I will not count its charger as a separate item.
2. Phone. To avoid paper tickets. I also need it to identify myself here in Denmark. I will not count its charger as a separate item.
3. Cotton pouch for my bank card, id, balm, key
4. Multi-purpose balm for my skin and body care. I use it instead of many other products.
5. Soap bar. I use it for all my hygiene needs. I also often use it to wash the dishes, that's why I don't list a dish soap here.
6. Yoga mat. I used to sleep on a yoga mat when I lived furniture-free.
7. Cotton tote bag. For storage, laundry, shopping, travelling.
8. Shoes. At times, I don't wear shoes. I avoid them when I can in summer and when I teach. But I live in Denmark, in a city, and it feels useful to have shoes here, especially in winter. In Denmark, I would choose running shoes as the only pair. In England where I used to live, I would choose sandals, as I wore them all year round in that country.
9. Water bottle
10. Toothpaste tabs
11. Toothbrush
12. Underwear
13. Linen shirt
14. Sweatpants
15. Basic tank top
16. Another basic tank top
17. Woollen throw
18. Large woollen scarf that I could also wear over my head when it's very cold.
19. Stock pot. So I could make soup, salads, boil potatoes, rice, and pasta.
20. Spoon
21. Fork
22. Knife
23. Food box. At different times in my life, I used it as a plate, and it worked well.
24. Scissors
25. Jacket
26. Towel
27. Dish brush
28. Crystal deodorant
29. Another pair of sweatpants
30. Shorts
31. Pillow. After number 30, I am struggling to identify objects. For many months in different times of my life, I slept without a pillow and didn't feel deprived. I suppose what I add after number 30 are wants and objects that make my life extra comfortable.
32. Duvet
33. Bed sheet
34. Pillow case
35. Plate or bowl
36. Another linen shirt
37. Razor
38. Glass jar. Currently I use one that came with organic pasta sauce. I use it as a glass and instead of a mug.
39. Woollen socks
40. Shampoo bar
41. Conditioner bar. I find it difficult to come up with items that I genuinely need after number 40. I could live easily without a conditioner bar. It's a want rather than a true need.
42. Backpack. To carry my laptop in when it rains. But it's surely not a necessity here in Denmark. Most of the time, I use a cotton tote bag for this purpose.
43. Another basic tank top.
44. Perhaps another pair of sweatpants so I can do my laundry more rarely.
45. Frying pan
46. Another pair of shoes
47. A meditation cushion. Or perhaps a mattress if a fellow human stays at my place and doesn't want to sleep on the floor.
48. Cloth to clean the floor by hand
49. Arm warmers or mittens
50. Perhaps a pair of cotton socks or another cotton tote bag. I ran out of ideas.
Beyond this (artificial) number 50, everything feels like a want. I could list a lamp, but in Finland I lived without light sources (apart from the kitchen light that was already there). I lived with natural light from the window, and it was magical. I do not own a bike because I prefer to walk everywhere or use public transport. I have never owned a car. If I still lived in northern Sweden, I would list sweatshirts instead of linen shirts. And I would definitely use a backpack there to protect my laptop from the snow.