Man Lives Great Life with Only 39 Possessions: What Are They?
People have dubbed Andrew Hyde an "extreme minimalist" but he prefers to call himself a "vagabond." In August 2010, he sold his apartment and most of his belongings and hit the road, blogging about his adventures along the way. Since then, he's travelled to 32 countries, worked at a friend's dude ranch, and spent the warmer months living in a tent. He's also survived comfortably owning only what he considers essential items ranging from 15-39 possessions at a time.
Related link: German Grandmother Lives Money-Free: And Has Never Been Happier
"I had pretty typical goals out of college," Hyde tells Yahoo! Shine. "I wanted to pay off my debts and get a good job." Hyde worked as a web designer and programmer also sold a startup company. He had achieved what most people would call success when he began feeling bored and restless. Always frugal (one of his posts is about how to live on $36 a month for food), he realized he was unsatisfied striving toward a consumer-based model of happiness.
"I try to disassociate money with happiness," explains Hyde. Instead, he aims to seek joy and satisfaction from experience instead of belongings. "I love to walk. So, when I get to a new place, I might walk 10 or 20 miles a day exploring."
Hyde's current possessions include:
1. Backpack
2. One pair of running shorts
3. Wallet
4. Laptop computer
5. Dress shirt (with holes in elbows after 200 wears)
6. Jeans
7. Tennis shoes
8. Red Sox baseball hat (which was a gift at a game)
9. Parka
10. Laptop bag
11. Electric toothbrush
12. Electric razor
13. Noise canceling headphones
14. IPhone
15. Three Western style shirts
16. Cowboy hat
17. Suit
18. Tie
19. Dress shoes
20. Cotton socks
21. Bike shorts
22. Bike Jersey
23. Bike Shoes
24. Two T-shirts
25. Tent
26. Sleeping bag
27. Sleeping pad
28. Camp stove
29. Water purifier
30. Cooking pot
31. Four pairs of underwear
32. One pair of wool socks
33. 2003 VW Golf
He laughs about the car, "I didn't want it, but it came back to me. I sold it to a friend who couldn't afford to get it insured and then somebody hit it when it was parked. I took it back as a favor."
Hyde says he's "not exactly happier" without all the stuff, "I've always been a pretty happy person." But he is more intensely interested by life and the world he sees around him.
He admits that, paradoxically, he "really, really" likes the few possessions he does own. "I love my jacket so much," he laughs. Hyde says he probably should have given away the cowboy hat that he used when he was working on the ranch but it holds great memories. "And I wrote a love letter to the designer of my backpack."
How many possessions do you need to survive? Please tell us in the comments below.
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