Less is more — I own less than 50 things

How minimalism helps me simply live, and live simply

Backpacking in the Kings Canyon National Park. Photo: Briony Smith, 2019

It started off with one of the best reads of this century — this book by The Minimalists. In case you haven’t watched their documentary, add this and Steve Cutts’ series to your must-watch list.

It’s easy to get lost in today’s world of plenty, and I believe the scarcity we all face is time. How then should we go about creating more of it?

Backpacking with 50+1 things

Like all goals in life that need action to make things happen, I got deep into this one back in 2017–18. Becoming minimalist may not be for everyone, and I had set my goal to reach Colin Wright’s magic number. While I can’t state a number for all the things I use, I can say that I own less than 50 things.

My life pack contains about 44 things but is closer to 50 with travel-related clothes, gifts, and food. This is an old photo that doesn’t show my laptop, phone, water bottle, and towel. Photo: Ashwin Naidu, 2017

This may be a lie. We could get into a lot more detail when it comes to ownership. To be honest, I ended up storing a bunch of memorabilia, books, and documents in three boxes at my friend’s house. Out of sight, out of mind, right? I’ll apologize for the numbers I state but the point I’m making is less about what I own, and more about…