Could You Downsize Your Life to Just 100 Items?
How many times have you said that life is just too complicated? Now there's a movement that says it's time to simplify. Don't supersize, minimize. But, could you get your life down to just 100 possessions? CBS News National correspondent Jeff Glor reports that's the goal.
A bed, some clothes and a laptop computer are some of the items typically found in most American households. But these are some of the onlyitems in Everett Bogue's apartment.
Last year he decided to declutter, and reduce his possessions to fewer than 100 things. At one point, he got down do just 57 items.
Bogue may be an extreme example, but he's one of thousands who have adopted a minimalist lifestyle.
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"I'm just going to keep it down to what I actually need and that frees me up to go have those experiences I want to have," he said.
100 Things or Less: Exceptions to the Rule
New York City resident Jessica Schwartz thinks it makes no sense. "Who would even want to live with less than 100 items?"
Schwartz can't even begin to count the items stashed away in her apartment. "I think I have about 500 pairs of shoelaces in here," she said, opening one plastic bin.
Although she'll never get her things down to double digits, she's not looking to add either. "I have a goal not so much to live with less but not to live with that much more."
Professional organizers say that "buy no more" mindset is gaining momentum - due in large part to the recession.
"People at the moment have paused to stop to look at how they've spent their money," said Peter Walsh, a professional organizer. "Suddenly now they're in tougher times and whether we like it or not we all have to do more with less."
According to the National Association of Professional Organizers 80 percent of what we keep - we never use. We wear 20 percent of the clothes we own 80 percent of the time.
Some of the most popular minimalist blogs now average 60,000 readers a month. A new book, "The 100 Thing Challenge,"is set for release in December.
As the old saying goes, maybe less really is more.
