There are a lot of people who make the news for their extravagant lifestyles, lavish homes, large collections of cars or shoes, and other such things. But Andrew Hyde is someone who’s become popular for just the opposite – owning very few things. 15, to be precise (not counting socks and underwear).
No, he’s not homeless, he’s not poor, and he’s definitely not unemployed. In fact, Hyde is a technology mogul. He works as a consultant and mentor for young companies, he’s the founder of Startup Weekend, and an organizer of TEDxBoulder conference. Constantly shuttling between New York and Silicon Valley for work, Hyde doesn’t live in a house or an apartment. When he’s not working, he’s traveling extensively, taking his worldly possessions of 15 things everywhere he goes. Andrew Hyde says that he has always been interested in the concept of minimalism, starting out by seeing if he could make do with just 100 items. But in August 2010 he took the concept even further, selling all of his belongings but for 15 things.
Photo © Andrew Hyde
Curious to know what the items are that Hyde lives his life by? Here’s a list from his blog as of May 2011.
- Arc’teryx Miura 30 backpack
- NAU shirt
- Mammut rain jacket
- Arc’teryx t-shirt
- Patagonia running shorts
- Quick Dry towel
- NAU wool jacket
- Toiletry kit
- Smith sunglasses
- Wallet
- MacBook Air
- iPhone 3GS
- NAU dress shirt
- Patagonia jeans
- Running shoes
As you can see, pretty minimal. Thankfully, the list excludes socks and underwear; that he has a separate stock of. He owns just two shirts, so that eliminates all the time wasted on choosing what to wear. He simply wakes up in the morning and puts on the shirt he didn’t wear the day before.
Photo © Andrew Hyde
According to Hyde, stripping down his possessions to the bare minimum wasn’t all that easy. “I started with my clothing basics: 2 shirts, 1 pair of pants, 1 short, 1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of sunglasses and underwear. I added a few ‘must haves’ for me like an iPad and camera. I added a backpack, toiletries kit, towel, and a few random things (pen, connector cable, chargers) and tried it out. After five weeks of the trip, there is more that I have not used in the bag than there is in the bag.”
In a world where the average woman owns about 20 pairs of shoes and people live all alone in huge mansions, Hyde sure is setting an example of how to be happy with less.
via Ecouterre
