I've started buying more hobby and prepper gear. Things like a VR headset, a Kindle, juggling balls, a disc golf set, rollerblades, ice skates, indoor climbing gear, video games, board games, camping gear, a kayak, an electric kick-scooter, 3-months worth of rice and beans and contaminant masks, a big first aid kit and common pharmacy meds, a strong flash light, portable phone chargers, hand tools, etc etc.
I've read a lot of books about minimalism, but I think I'm going back on a lot of the hardcore stuff. If the stuff we own ends up owning us, then I don't feel so bad if I'm "owned" by good books, climbing, days out kayaking, and a high home & car safety rating. Owning stuff such as those listed above not only means I am likely to be prepared for shitty situations, but that I'm also happier and more intellectually engaged as I go about my day to day life. Besides, most of it can be replaced with $1-2K if it all needed to be chucked out the window in a fire, state evacuation, or cross-country move.
I suppose this means it is generally good to eventually buy a small house to park all this stuff, with the hardcore minimalist set-up to be used during travel-trips or backpacking. From playing Fallout 4--a post-apocalyptic RPG--what worked best on the hardest difficult was to have a nearby home base with workshops and farming, and a key supply of the best weapons and gear for when you're walking or "driving" about (driving being being in a full suit of power armor haha).
Thoughts?
Where to draw the line between prepper gear, hobby gear, and minimalism?
Re: Where to draw the line between prepper gear, hobby gear, and minimalism?
I dare you to watch a youtube video through VR while juggling in rollerblades.
Re: Where to draw the line between prepper gear, hobby gear, and minimalism?
I see minimalism about getting rid of superflous stuff and focusing on stuff you need and want, which will vary between person to person. Whilst I like the idea of living in a perfect white cube with 100 possessions neatly catagorised for me that isn't practical. I get existence value and option value out of a large selection of books and boxes of sentimental items, for example.
Re: Where to draw the line between prepper gear, hobby gear, and minimalism?
You know they do make LED juggling balls for night excursions 
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Dream of Freedom
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Re: Where to draw the line between prepper gear, hobby gear, and minimalism?
I think for you the real issue is that you want to move and you will then have to sell/donate/bring with you any stuff. Though I just don't see these things as bad. Now if you bought that pipboy 2000 and a spot in the nearest vault I'd be worried.
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classical_Liberal
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Re: Where to draw the line between prepper gear, hobby gear, and minimalism?
I'd been living a mobile lifestyle for about five years, up until recently. Meaning I moved every 3 - 9 months for work. I had some pretty simple rules.
1) When I bring something in, will it provide more value to me than the effort to move it again in a few months or can I sell it for near purchase price? This had the effect of heavily favoring multi-use, smaller, and used items. Sound is important to me, so instead of a big surround sound system, ZVOX. "Prepping" supplies are the same as hiking supplies, etc.
2) When I moved I looked at the value I could probably get on the market vs future value to me minus the effort to move. If it was hard to move and I could get near enough to replace it at the new location, I sold it. If It had significant value to me (a certain chair, or my golf clubs), but it would not garner enough on the used market to replace, it stayed.
That's basically it. I kept my possessions to a van load or less for the entire time under these basic rules. It really helped that I'm lazy and didn't want to move much.
1) When I bring something in, will it provide more value to me than the effort to move it again in a few months or can I sell it for near purchase price? This had the effect of heavily favoring multi-use, smaller, and used items. Sound is important to me, so instead of a big surround sound system, ZVOX. "Prepping" supplies are the same as hiking supplies, etc.
2) When I moved I looked at the value I could probably get on the market vs future value to me minus the effort to move. If it was hard to move and I could get near enough to replace it at the new location, I sold it. If It had significant value to me (a certain chair, or my golf clubs), but it would not garner enough on the used market to replace, it stayed.
That's basically it. I kept my possessions to a van load or less for the entire time under these basic rules. It really helped that I'm lazy and didn't want to move much.
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jacob
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Re: Where to draw the line between prepper gear, hobby gear, and minimalism?
Rob Greenfield just made a video about his 44 items https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqTkiLxIE9Y along with an older one on how he got there https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0vuP29vLE0
There aren't really any lines as much as there are trade offs. Backpack minimalism works great if activities mainly happen outside the home (work, clubs, cafes, military...) and/or with other people (and [i[their[/i] stuff). The backpack minimalists we hear about all have a computer and maybe a gopro and mainly focus on online work and their youtube channel... but that's likely a selection effect. For other activities, there are clearly big differences in how much stuff is required to do a minimum of work. E.g. knitting = very little, machining = very much. And if you have multiple hobbies, it all just adds together.
Cost is a factor and the idea of tossing and rebuying stuff at the destination might work. I'd add the mental energy of replacing the stuff. For example, the total cost of my possessions is kinda lowish (maybe $3-4000), but I've spent a lot of time sourcing---almost all of it has been bought used or acquired for free---and curating, so it's not like a quick trick to the thrift store or Tarshay would quickly replace all of it.
A general rule is that stuff tends to accumulate if you let it. For example, adding a new hobby but keeping the old ones even if you don't really practice them anymore. The 6-12 month rule is a good one to follow BUT that requires constant effort---in particular probably more effort getting rid of things than getting them in the first place unless you just trash the stuff. (It's a lot easier ordering on ebay or amazon that talking other people into "accepting your gift economy".)
Thus it's likely that stuff WILL accumulate if unconstrained by space (such as cL's van) or aesthetics (such as hardcore minimalists) ... and once that happens, you get anchored to a location because it's inconvenient to move. (This is where I am now.) At this point much work has to be spent not only getting rid of stuff but finding alternatives.
The most important point is that minimalism is not just about the stuff but also how you relate to stuff (or people or work or whatever). It's part of your system on more than one level. Note that Greenfield avoids some "solutions" simply by not engaging in "the problem" to begin with. For example, no long pants ... by virtue of choosing to live in a hot climate. (A lot of my stuff is dedicated to fixing/maintaining other stuff that breaks. If I didn't have the latter stuff, I wouldn't need the former. E.g. no watches, no watch repair tools. No bicycle, no bike repair tools.) This falls more under "voluntary simplicity" than "minimalism".
There aren't really any lines as much as there are trade offs. Backpack minimalism works great if activities mainly happen outside the home (work, clubs, cafes, military...) and/or with other people (and [i[their[/i] stuff). The backpack minimalists we hear about all have a computer and maybe a gopro and mainly focus on online work and their youtube channel... but that's likely a selection effect. For other activities, there are clearly big differences in how much stuff is required to do a minimum of work. E.g. knitting = very little, machining = very much. And if you have multiple hobbies, it all just adds together.
Cost is a factor and the idea of tossing and rebuying stuff at the destination might work. I'd add the mental energy of replacing the stuff. For example, the total cost of my possessions is kinda lowish (maybe $3-4000), but I've spent a lot of time sourcing---almost all of it has been bought used or acquired for free---and curating, so it's not like a quick trick to the thrift store or Tarshay would quickly replace all of it.
A general rule is that stuff tends to accumulate if you let it. For example, adding a new hobby but keeping the old ones even if you don't really practice them anymore. The 6-12 month rule is a good one to follow BUT that requires constant effort---in particular probably more effort getting rid of things than getting them in the first place unless you just trash the stuff. (It's a lot easier ordering on ebay or amazon that talking other people into "accepting your gift economy".)
Thus it's likely that stuff WILL accumulate if unconstrained by space (such as cL's van) or aesthetics (such as hardcore minimalists) ... and once that happens, you get anchored to a location because it's inconvenient to move. (This is where I am now.) At this point much work has to be spent not only getting rid of stuff but finding alternatives.
The most important point is that minimalism is not just about the stuff but also how you relate to stuff (or people or work or whatever). It's part of your system on more than one level. Note that Greenfield avoids some "solutions" simply by not engaging in "the problem" to begin with. For example, no long pants ... by virtue of choosing to live in a hot climate. (A lot of my stuff is dedicated to fixing/maintaining other stuff that breaks. If I didn't have the latter stuff, I wouldn't need the former. E.g. no watches, no watch repair tools. No bicycle, no bike repair tools.) This falls more under "voluntary simplicity" than "minimalism".