Still hanging in there on Day 4

Well, overall, this week has had a negative tone to it. At least for me, anyway. So I want to use this post to lighten things up. Hopefully, it will bring a smile to someone else's face, too...should someone accidentally stumble upon this during their search for Dr. Livingstone, I presume.

A friend on Facebook (more of a "six-degrees-of-separation" sort of friend) posted a commented that the move to minimalism requires 100 material items or less. I'm assuming minimalism is a bit more strict about this number than supermarket lines where you may be able to get away with more. Of course I began to wonder if I could create a list of 100 things that I "couldn't live without" and if so, what those items would be. Hmmm....let's see:

1) Clothes* (my friend stated that she was counting clothes as one item, so I think it's okay)
2) Bed, as in mattress and frame
3) Bed pillow
4) Bed pillow
5) Bible
6) Laptop
7) Printer
8) Digital Camera
9) MP3 Player
10)Lamp
11 - 13) 3 Plates
14 - 16) 3 Cups
17 - 19) 3 Knives
20 - 22) 3 Spoons
23 - 25) 3 Forks
26) Frying pan
27) Small pot
28) Large pot
29) Spatula
30) Wooden spoon
31) Potholder
32) Potholder
33) Washer
34) Dryer
35) Refrigerator (with freezer)
36) Table
37) Chair
38) Recliner/couch/oversized chair/overstuffed chair [basically a more comfortable seat]
39) Jewelry box (and the contents...hehehe...)
40) Quilt
41) CD player/radio
42) Dresser
43) Mirror

Okay, this is my first draft at a list, off the top of my head. It's an interesting exercise because sometimes I think "well, I can count those as one item" when they aren't, or thinking "I HAVE to have that" when I really don't. Case in point: the dishes. Potentially I could reduce the dishes and silverware to a setting for one person, but I thought it'd be better to do dishes only once a day instead of three.

Of course, I have not even thought about books, music and DVDs. I am sure selecting certain items of those would put me over the limit. In reality though, those items can all be borrowed or rented, and do not have to be "owned." I'm sure my list - and my approach to making it - contradict principles of minimalism but it is refreshing to realize that I don't need what I think I need. Unfortunately, it also does not make me want things less, but maybe it's a transitional philosophy and you only reach minimalist nirvana when you stop wanting, and even start rejecting possessions.