Could you reduce your life down to 100 possessions or less? Would you be able to narrow down your clothes, computers, phones, cameras, cars, hobby materials, and everything else to 100 things? It’s an interesting question, and one put to the test by Dave Bruno who wrote about his experience in The 100 Thing Challenge: How I Got Rid of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, and Regained My Soul
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About The 100 Thing Challenge
Bruno is married and a father to 3 daughters, lives on the West Coast (San Diego), and has dipped his toes into various careers. He has blogged for several years, and during a Spring cleaning session at his home came up with the idea for the 100 Thing Challenge.
The challenge was his own and not necessarily designed for anyone else to follow. In general, Bruno has a bent against consumerism, though he lives the average middle class life. He has enjoyed woodworking, hiking and surfing as hobbies, his daughters have various American Girl dolls, and he and his wife like to go the mall and shop. However, he became concerned with where the American brand of consumerism was taking him. So he developed the challenge.
One important thing to note about the 100 Thing Challenge – Bruno created a short list of rules to help guide him on his one year quest to own 100 things or less. One of these rules included only items owned solely by him. In other words, the bed he shared with his wife was not one of his 100 things. The house, cookware, towels, or dining room table didn’t count.
On the one hand that rule makes you think, “Well, if that’s the case, anyone could do that.” But, in reality, I think it my make it harder. Bruno didn’t become a monk, retreating from the world. He continued to live his life (in fact, another rule was that if he purchased or was given an item he had 7 days to get rid of another item or the new item). He had to try to live life only using things that really mattered or had importance to him.
Bruno did make it through the 1 year Challenge owning less than 100 things. He tends to go on a few rants and tangents, but had some good insight on the power stuff can have in our lives.
Here are a few things I took away from the book:
Remember: Stuff doesn’t fill emotional voids.
While this was a topic he tended to rant on, Bruno had a great insight. Truly consider why you are purchasing an item. Does it fill an actual need in your life OR is it to attempt to cover up something lacking inwardly. His example as a train set he purchased to fill the desire he had as a child to have an electric train running in the house at Christmas.
My life is my life.
Bruno talked a lot about those in his life (including his wife) not understanding why he took on the 100 Thing Challenge. In fact, I don’t know that he really understood the importance of why he was doing this when be began. In life, I’m going to take risks. Not everyone, and in some cases, no one is going to understand the importance of what I’m doing. It doesn’t make it wrong – it’s my life.
This doesn’t absolve me from seeking advice or trying to figure out why I’m doing something. It does mean that I need to be willing to take chances, and feel free to move forward even when others question me.
I could write a book.
I write that not to say I don’t think Bruno did a fine job in writing the book. I write that to say, that he isn’t necessarily an author, he’s a guy who had a good idea, had a following, and was able to write a book. Part of the reason I read is to be inspired. I’ve found that many times the inspiration doesn’t come from what the author was talking about directly. It comes from the ‘spirit’ of the book. The inspiration comes from the general world view the author has.
Final Thoughts
I recommend The 100 Thing Challenge. It will challenge why you purchase what you do. It will challenge you to ask yourself, “What do I really need? What do I really love?” I also hope it will challenge you to do things that are lurking beneath the surface – they just need to be brought up for air.
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