In May of 2012 I moved from LA to NY.
I got out of my lease on my two bedroom apartment and put all my shit in storage.
I took one suitcase worth of summer clothes with me and spent the summer traveling around Europe with a couple buddies.
Upon our return to NY, I started dating a chick and basically moved in with her.
Guess how much I missed my stuff? Not one fucking bit. Guess how much my stuff was costing me in storage, about $300/month.
I didn’t get back to LA until April 2013 and when I went through my storage unit, I realized that all of this shit was a value suck from my life. I donated and sold all of it.
Ever since then, my worldly possessions consist of these things:
- 8 v-neck t-shirts, one black, one white, one grey, and the rest colorful $15 each at Nordstrom “The Rail” brand
- 2 long sleeve Henleys
- 1 pair of AG jeans $180
- 1 pair of AG grey pants $180
- 1 pair of Uniqlo maroon pants $20
- 4 pairs of Paperback shorts $60 each
- 1 euro cut swim suit $100
- 3 dress shirts $30-150 each
- 1 Hugo Boss Fitted Suit $1200
- 1 zip up hoodie $100
- 1 Multi purpose Jacket that works for anything above 30 degree temp $150
- 7 pairs of calvin klein microfiber boxer briefs $32 each
- 4 pairs of fun colorful dress socks
- 10 pairs of peds, workout socks, black and white
- Brown leather belt, red and brown fun belt, blue fun belt
- 2 pairs of converse $45 each
- 1 pair of brown dress shoes $80
- 1 pair of blue sperry boat shoes $45
- 1 pair of dessert boots $120
- 1 pair of echo nice sneakers $65
- 1 pair of nike sneakers $55
- 1 pair of nike workout/tennis shoes $45
- 2 hats, 1 beenie
- 1 pair of rainbow sandals
- 1 pair of Schwood Sunglasses
- toiletry bag
- blow dryer
- computer, iphone, cords, camera
- 1 50 pound, German Shephard, Collie Mix Wing-dog and Faux Service Animal that has racked up more frequent flyer miles than most people in this group
- and a shit load of free condoms and lube I generously help myself to when visiting STD Clinics
I also have these items stored in LA
- golf clubs $1000
- hockey bag and sticks $1000
And these in NY
- Winter Coat for anything under 30 degrees $100
- 1 pair of gloves $32
- 1 scarf $40
That is everything I own that I don’t currently rent out. I also own an Infiniti and have 3 Toyota leases, and roughly 20 house leases but these are almost exclusively for rental purposes.
If you ask all the other mods in Leverage, its the same story.
The mods and I don’t waste money on video games, DVD’s, and other bullshit that people buy to get an adrenaline rush to synthesize happiness. We are minimalists and spend our money on awesome experiences and quality home investments like a high-quality bed from the TV Bed Store.
I’m sure most of the guys who have been in the group 3+ months have realized this and I want all of you new guys to listen closely.
Everything that you own that you don’t use on a weekly basis should be purged. Get fucking rid of it. I’m sure if you ask psychologists/psychiatrists, there are studies proving that extra crap leads to mental instability.
Have you seen the show Hoarders?
DUMP YOUR SHIT!
Don’t fucking save old pictures, upload them to a computer and throw that shit away.
Don’t keep bags of old nick nacks and trophies lying around, dump it at your parents house.
Baseball cards and shit like that also go at your parents house or if you really really think they’ll be worth something some day, get a tiny deposit box or storage bin you pay less than $50/month for.
Every broke dick loser I know has a bunch of worthless shit, tying them down.
People buy things because we think it’s what they’re supposed to do. It’s not.
Case in point: The more shit you have in your home, the more cleanup required to rent it out and turn it into a cash generating asset on airbnb.
Get rid of clothes that you don’t wear on a weekly basis. I keep my tiny amount of winter gear stored at one of our airbnb spots in NY.
Throw away shit that doesn’t fit, don’t keep it in your closet.
Nothing feels better than throwing shit away.
It will literally feel like a weight off your shoulders.
Don’t fucking procrastinate on this stuff. Sell what you can and donate the rest, get a tax write-off.
Follow Leo Babauta’s Rules for Getting Organized & Decluttered.
For those of you who also live this sort of lifestyle, please chime in.
