man, I was gonna buy a japanese PS 2 so i could play Thunder Force VI-but that would be more stuff....
haha, I guess you would tell people to stop buying CD's as they can get music on iTunes and other "cloud" services just like your advice for buying books on the kindle....
Great advice Captain. I moved cross-country about six months ago and sold everything that couldn't fit in my SUV. It was one of the most liberating things I've ever done. The only thing I bought when I got here was some basic furniture (bed, kitchen table, couch, etc.)
Mod Chips for a US PS2 are dirt cheap. Like 15$ and they take up less space than a credit card.
I just moved not too long ago and ended up ditching half my stuff. I'm much better off without it. How often do you really use most of the things you own? Almost never.
One of my life long fetishes has been collecting books. I am pushing 50 now, and had thousands. Through a ling single life and a career in the army that caused me to move on a very regular basis, I would always think that I would one day settle down and have room to keep them in a library. I have now settled down and have a good job and own my own house. I still have no where to keep them. I have gotten rid of a lot of them, but still have tons. Next time I do a purge, I will check to see if a book I own is available in electronio format, and if it is the paper version is going to the dump. - minuteman
I went through a purge when I got divorced (no, she didn't get everything) but I thought I was going to have to move. It's now been four years and I've done four more purges. I still have a lot of stuff but it doesn't seem as overwhelming when you periodically go through and give away or throw away a bunch of things. I now sort of feel like at the very least, a majority of my stuff is useful. At least til the next purge when I will find more that can go. It does feel good. The only problem is I'm thinking about buying another gun. How does that fit?
I've told the women in my life several times that after my spartan deployment in Afghanistan I realized how easy it would be to own a van, trailer or small motorhome, get a laptop with mobile internet, and a gym membership for a hot shower/workout room.
With minimal expenses, I could either spend all my time either working to buy whatever cool thing I desired, or learning how to do any thing I wanted.
You just made me confirm to myself I am not insane.
I was looking at the side of my car and asking myself, "That could fit a Murphy Bed in there, and if necessary, I could live in my car."
I then thought of a car designed for bachelors where they would just sleep in their car with their laptop and have some means of electricity to power what they needed.
It will be very interesting when the SHTF to see how women react to the realities that a car/van does provide infinitely better housing than a tent with the added benefits of transportation making it the "ideal" home.
Anonymous -- don't get rid of your paper versions at the dump. Sell them at the used bookstores or donate them at second-hand stores and the like instead. At least that way they aren't being wasted by taking up space at a landfill; you can also end up with cash or a tax credit.
My life parallels yours in that I also have been a lifelong lover of books; during my 20-year career in the Navy I probably accumulated hundreds of them, many that are long out of print which I have enjoyed immensely.
"I then thought of a car designed for bachelors where they would just sleep in their car with their laptop and have some means of electricity to power what they needed."
Think of a deluxe Japanese tube hotel on a light trailer axle. Add a portable toilet, and a solar/battery power setup. The silnylon tent awning is optional.
Your car could even tow one if you added a ball trailer hitch.
I disagree when it comes to books. As a young bachelor you definately want the bachelor spartan look in your apartment due to the efficiency, but it has to be intelligent looking. A book shelf with intellectual book titles and a cheap/small glass chess set goes a long way. Now if we take your idea and toss in a motorcycle along with a leather jacket - we may have enough to at the very least fool the girls you're an INTELLIGENT bad boy alpha-male.
Law enforcement doesn't like the idea of you living in your vehicle. Also, most municipalities have ordinances against it. I spent 4 months living in my car after I lost my jobs, and I got hassled by the fuzz once or twice a week.
It's the petty non-criminal law that gets me down and discourages most of my ambitions. Particularly the crap that has creeped onto the books over the decades that are all about creating legal protection rackets.
For instance, I'm really interested in the whole tiny house concept, but a lot of areas will put the screws to you for not living in a McMansion. Bylaws about sanitation and fire hazards I've got no problem with (I don't want to live in an ACTUAL tar-paper shack), but the idea of having to jump through arbitrary hoops for zoning permits and licenses etc. repels me. Even out in rural areas they want to nitpick what you build on your own property.
Same for trying to start a small business. I don't care how much money I could be raking in, the prospect of having to spend any amount of time managing government (municipal to federal) paperwork, instead of doing actual work, saps any desire I have to even bother. I'd rather just collect wages working for someone else, and then go home and tinker with my own interests with 100% concentration.
YMMV, of course. For some, I'm sure it's an economical trade-off to make good coin on your hobbies, a minor nuisance, the cost of doing business. Maybe I'm just plain lazy. I'm not blind to that possibility.
Having started a couple of businesses, I have made it a rule for any future business to just start, and worry about permits and licenses after I am making money and can or want to afford it. This won't work for every business, but with a little thought you can do a lot of different things to make money and avoid or put off the whole paperwork thing.
Moving is one very good way of getting rid of your stuff. When we moved away from our hometown, we didn't have time to sort. So, we took everything in a thirty foot uhaul. When we decided to move back a few years later, I had the conversation with my wife that it was time to get rid of a lot of this stuff. All of the old hand me down furniture we had from our parents was out. That entertainment unit that was designed to hold the twenty seven inch tv that we got as a wedding present was made redundant by the lcd tv so as nice as it was it had to go, too.
We left with our clothes, our kitchen and our beds. And some other stuff. We put it all in a ten by fifteen foot portable storage container that came home on a truck.
Now we're buying new stuff. Good stuff. Stuff we'll have for the rest of our lives. Stuff we should have bought long ago, but we were content with our crappy old stuff.
After a year of living with that cardboard box for a night stand in the bedroom we figured out that we wanted some good quality stuff. But, if we hadn't thrown out our old stuff, we'd still have it. And there'd be no incentive to upgrade.
Sometimes, when you have crappy stuff, it's better to get rid of it and have no stuff for a while so you can decide what you really need. That being said, we're getting professional movers whenever we move from our rented house.
It is a great idea to get rid of most of what you need, except for the bare essentials, and then you come to the realization that you only need what serves you to be happy, not all sorts of technology.
17 comments:
man, I was gonna buy a japanese PS 2 so i could play Thunder Force VI-but that would be more stuff....
haha, I guess you would tell people to stop buying CD's as they can get music on iTunes and other "cloud" services just like your advice for buying books on the kindle....
Great advice Captain. I moved cross-country about six months ago and sold everything that couldn't fit in my SUV. It was one of the most liberating things I've ever done. The only thing I bought when I got here was some basic furniture (bed, kitchen table, couch, etc.)
Carlin Did It!
Sorry, couldn't help myself. Another great video.
Anon-
Mod Chips for a US PS2 are dirt cheap. Like 15$ and they take up less space than a credit card.
I just moved not too long ago and ended up ditching half my stuff. I'm much better off without it. How often do you really use most of the things you own? Almost never.
One of my life long fetishes has been collecting books. I am pushing 50 now, and had thousands. Through a ling single life and a career in the army that caused me to move on a very regular basis, I would always think that I would one day settle down and have room to keep them in a library. I have now settled down and have a good job and own my own house. I still have no where to keep them. I have gotten rid of a lot of them, but still have tons. Next time I do a purge, I will check to see if a book I own is available in electronio format, and if it is the paper version is going to the dump. - minuteman
I went through a purge when I got divorced (no, she didn't get everything) but I thought I was going to have to move. It's now been four years and I've done four more purges. I still have a lot of stuff but it doesn't seem as overwhelming when you periodically go through and give away or throw away a bunch of things. I now sort of feel like at the very least, a majority of my stuff is useful. At least til the next purge when I will find more that can go. It does feel good. The only problem is I'm thinking about buying another gun. How does that fit?
I've told the women in my life several times that after my spartan deployment in Afghanistan I realized how easy it would be to own a van, trailer or small motorhome, get a laptop with mobile internet, and a gym membership for a hot shower/workout room.
With minimal expenses, I could either spend all my time either working to buy whatever cool thing I desired, or learning how to do any thing I wanted.
The very concept freaks them out.
Steffen,
You just made me confirm to myself I am not insane.
I was looking at the side of my car and asking myself, "That could fit a Murphy Bed in there, and if necessary, I could live in my car."
I then thought of a car designed for bachelors where they would just sleep in their car with their laptop and have some means of electricity to power what they needed.
It will be very interesting when the SHTF to see how women react to the realities that a car/van does provide infinitely better housing than a tent with the added benefits of transportation making it the "ideal" home.
Anonymous -- don't get rid of your paper versions at the dump. Sell them at the used bookstores or donate them at second-hand stores and the like instead. At least that way they aren't being wasted by taking up space at a landfill; you can also end up with cash or a tax credit.
My life parallels yours in that I also have been a lifelong lover of books; during my 20-year career in the Navy I probably accumulated hundreds of them, many that are long out of print which I have enjoyed immensely.
"I then thought of a car designed for bachelors where they would just sleep in their car with their laptop and have some means of electricity to power what they needed."
Think of a deluxe Japanese tube hotel on a light trailer axle. Add a portable toilet, and a solar/battery power setup. The silnylon tent awning is optional.
Your car could even tow one if you added a ball trailer hitch.
I disagree when it comes to books. As a young bachelor you definately want the bachelor spartan look in your apartment due to the efficiency, but it has to be intelligent looking. A book shelf with intellectual book titles and a cheap/small glass chess set goes a long way. Now if we take your idea and toss in a motorcycle along with a leather jacket - we may have enough to at the very least fool the girls you're an INTELLIGENT bad boy alpha-male.
Fuck, we love Captain so much.
Law enforcement doesn't like the idea of you living in your vehicle. Also, most municipalities have ordinances against it. I spent 4 months living in my car after I lost my jobs, and I got hassled by the fuzz once or twice a week.
@VV
It's the petty non-criminal law that gets me down and discourages most of my ambitions. Particularly the crap that has creeped onto the books over the decades that are all about creating legal protection rackets.
For instance, I'm really interested in the whole tiny house concept, but a lot of areas will put the screws to you for not living in a McMansion. Bylaws about sanitation and fire hazards I've got no problem with (I don't want to live in an ACTUAL tar-paper shack), but the idea of having to jump through arbitrary hoops for zoning permits and licenses etc. repels me. Even out in rural areas they want to nitpick what you build on your own property.
Same for trying to start a small business. I don't care how much money I could be raking in, the prospect of having to spend any amount of time managing government (municipal to federal) paperwork, instead of doing actual work, saps any desire I have to even bother. I'd rather just collect wages working for someone else, and then go home and tinker with my own interests with 100% concentration.
YMMV, of course. For some, I'm sure it's an economical trade-off to make good coin on your hobbies, a minor nuisance, the cost of doing business. Maybe I'm just plain lazy. I'm not blind to that possibility.
V10,
Having started a couple of businesses, I have made it a rule for any future business to just start, and worry about permits and licenses after I am making money and can or want to afford it. This won't work for every business, but with a little thought you can do a lot of different things to make money and avoid or put off the whole paperwork thing.
Moving is one very good way of getting rid of your stuff.
When we moved away from our hometown, we didn't have time to sort.
So, we took everything in a thirty foot uhaul.
When we decided to move back a few years later, I had the conversation with my wife that it was time to get rid of a lot of this stuff.
All of the old hand me down furniture we had from our parents was out.
That entertainment unit that was designed to hold the twenty seven inch tv that we got as a wedding present was made redundant by the lcd tv so as nice as it was it had to go, too.
We left with our clothes, our kitchen and our beds.
And some other stuff.
We put it all in a ten by fifteen foot portable storage container that came home on a truck.
Now we're buying new stuff.
Good stuff.
Stuff we'll have for the rest of our lives.
Stuff we should have bought long ago, but we were content with our crappy old stuff.
After a year of living with that cardboard box for a night stand in the bedroom we figured out that we wanted some good quality stuff.
But, if we hadn't thrown out our old stuff, we'd still have it.
And there'd be no incentive to upgrade.
Sometimes, when you have crappy stuff, it's better to get rid of it and have no stuff for a while so you can decide what you really need.
That being said, we're getting professional movers whenever we move from our rented house.
It is a great idea to get rid of most of what you need, except for the bare essentials, and then you come to the realization that you only need what serves you to be happy, not all sorts of technology.
-David Enabulele
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