Rob Greenfield’s 44 Items: Finding Abundance in Austerity

Rob Greenfield recently posted a video about how he has his possession down to 44 items and 5000USD in cash. 44! Talk about austerity! The items included clothes, personal hygiene products and tools, utensils, a container that doubles as a pot, a water bottle, a tea strainer, electronics, a notebook and pen, and his passport and birth certificate. To see his blog post and a full list of what he has, click here.

Before I go on, let me remind you that minimalism isn’t about a number, it’s about having just enough to live at peace. Or having what you need to allow your life to align with your beliefs and values. It just happened to be 44 for this one guy.

Rob Greenfield himself acknowledged that 44 is very extreme in the modern-day. And it is. Most of us can’t do that. Hell, my crochet items alone exceed 44 items. What with the hooks and yarn, scissors and stitch markers. It numbers in the hundreds!

Some of us have a house, we need pots and pans, utensils, plates and bowls, cups, coffeemaker, microwave, and kettle. We have tables and chairs, spare cushions, ornaments, seasonal decorations, linens, blankets, spare pillows, towels, a TV in each room, and closets full of clothes, shoes, and bags. And the list goes on. 44? Make it 44,000!

What does his experience tell us?

Good thing minimalism isn’t about numbers or it’ll just become another competition, and I think we’re all sick of that. Mindfully reducing our possession frees up our energy and attention and allow us to pursue our purpose and passion better. No, it’s not a race to see who can live with the least things.

But I find myself thinking about the number anyway. The fact that he can live a full life on such a small number of items made me feel strangely assured. While others saw it as a limiting number, I think it represented a kind of freedom and potential. If one person can live contently on 44 items, what does it tell you?

It told me that we don’t need much to get by. And we can still be totally content!

Another example

Thinking about this reminded me of my grandmother who migrated to Malaysia, traveling on a ship, with only 3 change of clothes (I previously thought it was one, but 3 is still next to nothing!). She didn’t even have 44 items, and she surely didn’t have $5000, but she went on to establish a life with my grandfather and made more than $5000.

I’m sure life was hard for her. In comparison, 44 possession would’ve been considered an abundance to her. She slept on wooden planks, mended her clothes when they tore, and when one set of clothes got too worn, used the worn fabric to patch holes in her newer ones. They ate porridge with pickled vegetables, and eggs were a treat.

My grandparents literally had nothing. See, even if you only have 4 sets of clothes and one pair of shoes, you can still turn your life around.

Our idea of things = abundance = security is conditioned by society

The affluence of our society affected how we view possession and security.

Today, poverty is still a problem, and I’m not downplaying the dire situations of people struggling to make ends meet all over the world. However, there’s a lesson in Rob Greenfield and my grandparents’ experiences for the rest of us.

If we look at the relationship between security, money, and possession and rethink what we need and what we have. Maybe most of us will realize that we live comfortably. It’s just that we often confuse what we want with what we need. The result? Undue stress.

As if rent or mortgage payments or tuition debts aren’t bad enough, we spend on things we don’t need and the mountain of expenses expands.

I’ve been very amused by the fact that the more I minimized my possessions, the more diminished the feeling of lack gets. The more in control I feel.

You see, wanting to buy or keep something you don’t need is a habit that has its roots in a feeling of lack. And if you don’t want clutter in your life, it’s a bad habit. :p

By minimizing my possession, I practice saying “no” to the habit over and over. Every time I said no to the habit, then confirm subsequently that I didn’t miss out on anything, it resolves that feeling of lack.

With the feeling of lack diminished, what’s left is a feeling of abundance. I realize I don’t need a lot of things. Yet it often feels like I have a lot of things. It’s such a strange paradox.

The average person assumes that taking things away from you makes you poorer, or at the very least, deprives you of things. But the more I decluttered, the more space, attention, peace, and resources I have.

I think when if you feel deprived by minimalism, you’ve either decluttered too much or too fast. Minimalism is not simply a physical process, it’s very psychological too. It’s a journey inward. Each journey is different.

Abundance in Austerity

I don’t see Rob Greenfield’s 44 items as a limitation. I think he must experience a lot of abundance in his life despite the austerity. From this point on, because he learned how to not live with excess, and because he made humanity his family, I don’t think he’ll ever experience poverty. He’s simply too rich at heart, and too clear about what he needs.

As for myself, I’m not at a place of abundance yet because I don’t have as much faith in my ability to interact with humanity. It’s a constant source of problems for me, affecting my ability to find work.

That said, I don’t feel too insecure despite my unemployment, except when people’s fears rub off on me. For the most part, I operate from a place of sufficiency. I have enough of everything – bags, clothes, shoes, accessories, electronics, sentimental items and so on. I have no lack of physical things. It’s freeing and comfortable to operate from a place of sufficiency.

It’s true that I still need an income. And I’ve been lucky that I have family willing to take me in rent-free. But I’m sure that even with a job, I’d still be operating from a place of sufficiency.

In conclusion

A child living in the slums delights at the gift of an apple, a child from the city doesn’t see an apple as a gift.

A man lives a simple life in a tiny house, another has a big house full of fancy things. The former is relaxed and content. The latter is stressed and behind in his credit card payments.

How things make us feel is conditioned by society and influenced by how we perceive the relationship between things, security, and wealth. Minimalism, when done mindfully, allows us to look at that relationship with a fresh new mind. In turn, it changes how we feel about things.

That’s how it leaves you richer than you were. So it isn’t just because you’re spending less, but also because you learn you don’t need most of the things you thought you needed. With that comes an assurance that you’ll be fine even with less. It’s reassuring.

What do you think? Can you live with 44 items, even temporarily? Do you agree that there can be abundance in austerity, or do you think that’s plain crazy? Let me know!