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Minimalism: Nothing In My Pockets

By Frugaling 9 Comments

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I quite fondly remember the days when I didn’t carry anything but a house key (on occasion). As a child, I didn’t have savings, cash to carry, pens, credit cards, IDs, etc. The world was no more dangerous than today, and my pockets were empty. I remember childhood adventures in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, finding trails and paths less wandered. Friends would tag along and we’d discover and explore, all without a single thing in our pockets. As I age, I can’t help but wonder why my pockets have grown heavier with stuff.

Nowadays, I feel like I’m unfurling and unloading a mass of “necessities.” My brain tells me that all of these things I carry will come in handy throughout the day. Like a good boy scout, always “be prepared.” I regularly carry headphones, a cell phone, multiple cards and ID’s, chapstick, keys, pens, and notes. My pockets are frequently burgeoning with stuff — strange shapes created.

I know I’m not the only one. My grandmother always said, “You should carry a little cash, just in case something happens.” Even in elementary school, she imparted this standard of living. She’d suggest, “What if you need a taxi because you got lost? Or, what if you needed food and hadn’t eaten?” Cash was an out — just in case an emergency occurred.

My professors will reach into their pockets to grab larger key chains, wallets, and cash sums. The jingle is louder and they seem to have amassed more. My peers carry their clutches, purses, wallets, and bags, too. Men and women of the working world carry their packs, bags, and briefcases for a long day’s work. I’m struck by how little we had to carry as children. We could instantly step out of the house; being “prepared” was a mental state, not physical.

Frequently, I fancy the minimalist life, and try to carry less, but I can’t help but notice a discrepancy. Here I am trying to become more frugal and minimalist, but I’m carrying more than ever before. Where does need become want? What do I really need with me every day? Should I follow my grandmother’s words and carry money everywhere I go, as if I’m waiting to be attacked?! Why could I get away with nothing more than a house key as a child?

It’s easy to justify the mass grab: I have more responsibilities as an adult. The decider and chief within me argues for the stuff. It says, “You’ll need your credit card in case you get hungry, need to pay for something randomly, or anything strange happens.” Even if I take the free bus into school, I’m invariably carrying my driver’s licence, school ID, and more. Will I need to hand over my ID? Probably not. What is it about becoming an adult that becomes the justification for my outsize growth in pocket dimensions?

There’s only one conclusion in my mind: We grasp for these crutches as adults, as the fear of death seems to grow. The world is no less safe, and yet I hold onto these safety measures (especially my phone). If I leave the house without this stuff, I feel more than naked — heck, I’d rather be naked!

But every now and then, there’s an intense pleasure, joy in leaving the house with nothing but a house key (sometimes without that, even). All the “adult” responsibilities that I carry seem to be left behind — just me and the world. It’s then that I realize how splendidly simple life can be, and that those childhood adventures are always waiting. After all, feeling prepared is an internal state, not a physical one.

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Filed Under: Minimalism Tagged With: adults, bags, cell phone, childhood, Consumer, death, fear, Frugal, Minimalism, minimalist, professors, Stuff, wallets

Comments

  1. Retired by 40! says

    March 30, 2014 at 3:10 pm

    So true! I went withou a cell phone for a while and it was so freeing! Now with the kid, the amount of stuff I have to carry is insane! I wonder how much of the stuff I carry I could actually go without!

    Reply
  2. NZ Muse says

    March 30, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    I do this when I go running. I feel so light and unencumbered.

    Reply
    • Sam Lustgarten says

      April 1, 2014 at 7:34 am

      Me too! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Zee says

    March 30, 2014 at 3:27 pm

    I carried my student ID around much longer than I ever needed to. For some reason I always thought, “what if I end up going somewhere with a student discount!”. This never happened.

    Years later, I started having some back issues and I read that sitting on a wallet didn’t help. I got a minimalist wallet and now I only carry an ID, 2 cards and a bus pass. I don’t know why I stuck with the bulk of crap for so long. Now I just have to find a way to whittle down the amount of keys I have….

    Reply
  4. Syed @ The Broke Professional says

    March 30, 2014 at 8:08 pm

    We probably carry a lot more worries in our head than we did when we were kids. I carry the requisite keys, phone and wallet and try to leave it at that. You’re absolutely right there is something to the simplicity of just leaving the house and carrying nothing with you.

    Reply
  5. J. Money says

    March 31, 2014 at 10:35 am

    Interesting read 🙂 I feel like as a kid you had more time to deal with any of these possible problems that would come up though vs now as an adult. 3-4 hours of resolving a problem could only cause more as we age due to our work, or family life with kids, etc etc. As a kid you’d just be late for dinner and get a firm warning (or, back in the day, a nice pat on the ass ;)). So I guess I carry all that stuff to save me time and frustration when it comes down to it. Plus, you never know when a cell phone can change your life, or another person’s, until it does. Odds are it’ll never happen, but if it did? Whew.

    Reply
    • Sam Lustgarten says

      April 1, 2014 at 6:50 pm

      J,

      Thanks for the visit! Glad to have your input. You’re right that the amount of time we have in life changes drastically between young and old age. Thankfully, I can be late to dinner whenever I want right now! 😉

      S.

      Reply
  6. Jen @Sprout Wealth says

    April 1, 2014 at 3:14 am

    I like this…”feeling prepared is an internal state”. Often, people tend to forget that not everything is physical but what is seen is what constantly works as an effective reminder.

    Reply
  7. Miles M says

    April 29, 2014 at 2:05 am

    Hi Sam,

    Your post reminded me of my first day experimenting with nothing in my pockets exept a drivers license and my atm card. I left my house key hidden and walked several miles to the local coffee shop. I will admit I felt a bit of panic, no phone, no keys, no laptop, no tablet. I felt this panic until I returned home, several hours later and as I did a mental once over, I realized I was just fine.

    After repeating this experiment several times, I felt a sense of being free, and I enjoyed the feeling. Over time I have learned to experiment and verify all the ‘needs’ I think I must have. The results have been surprising.

    As you mentioned, its all mental, although sometimes leaving things behind requires an increase in other skills, such as memorizing phone numbers, increasing physical fitness and self confidence in general.

    I guess you never know how free you can feel until you try it…:)

    Reply

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