100/100

100 Days of 100 Things

[dpears-100things]

Day 100

Hello, my name is Davis and I am an aspiring minimalist.

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See what I did there?

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Day 99

Yesterday I talked about what minimalism is, and what it is not. It’s not about owning nothing, it’s about surrounding yourself with only the things you love. But that vague definition leaves a lot of room to wonder “then how do I be a minimalist?” Short answer: however you feel.

I started out by throwing away one thing each day for a couple of months. This lead me to discover my version of the 100TC. I didn’t come up with that, nor is what I did a 100TC as defined by Dave Bruno. Maybe your minimalism is leaving your phone completely off for one day a week. Maybe your minimalism is not having sugar on the weekends. Maybe your minimalism is giving up your time to serve someone each week. Whatever you feel brings order and peace into your life and help you realize what you have and more fully enjoy it, that’s your minimalism.

I recently found this site that has 30 various things to try over the course of a month. Perhaps give it a try and see which day was your favorite. I personally found that writing about my experiences helped me to be more diligent and to remain excited on days when I was less so. Make a competition out of it. Have a throw-away challenge with a friend. Day one, throw away one thing. Day two, throw away two, and so on until someone gives up. Loser buys tickets to a concert you’ve been wanting to see. There are so many ways to do it.

Don’t be a snob. There is a lot of backlash towards minimalism because a fair amount of vocal people portray that they’re better because they are minimalist. If you love it, do it. Share it with others, and encourage them if they want to pursue it. Just don’t force it. Some people might not be ready to change.

Share your experiences. You’d be surprised at how many people appreciate following along on your journey. If anyone decides to take on the challenge, I’d love to hear about it.

[dpears-100things]

Day 98

There is a lot of criticism and mocking that surrounds minimalism, especially in social media. Many people say that it’s “inconvenient” or that minimalists are snobby and elitist. I hope that I never come across that way and hope that anyone interested in simplifying their life by having fewer belongings, that they do so and ignore the criticism.

Minimalism isn’t owning only few things. Surely, there is a benefit to having fewer things: it’s easier to move, there’s less to keep track of, and you tend to take care things when they’re the only ones you have. Minimalism is actually the state of finding joy in everything that you own. When I pick something up, I should think “man, I love this thing.” My pocket knife that I’ve carried every day for the past three years, my longboard that I’ve put hundreds of miles on over the years, my watch that helped me time my laps, push ups, and sit ups through rigorous ROTC physical training. All of these things really have significance to me. In contrast, if I lost my watch, it would be inconvenient and I’d be bummed. However, I wouldn’t be emotionally destroyed. I don’t expect to have this watch last forever anyway.

Now, one might say “What about my dresser? I don’t look at my dresser and say ‘man, I love this thing.’ But it’s sure convenient to have.” My first thought would be that this person is not practicing minimalism. Because part of having fewer things is that you really realize that it is super convenient to have a dresser, and because you have it, you love it. It’s also very rewarding to pull open a dresser drawer and see all your clothes neatly folded inside. I love that. I wouldn’t love a pile of clothes on my floor, even though it would mean one less thing.

If you look at something you have and think “I don’t need this. Why do I have this? When is the last time I used this? I should get rid of this,” do it. If something doesn’t spark joy, consider letting it go. Trade in a bunch of “meh” things in your life to get the “man, I love this” thing that you’ve always wanted.

I am rather eclectic; my only hobby is to collect hobbies. So depending on what I’m fixated on at the moment, I want the gear and gadgets to be able to participate in that hobby. I think many people consider trying something out, but then bail on it because of the investment. Don’t. Make a bit of an investment and try it. It might become your life passion. Rent the gear you need to do it, or purchase it outright. Just care for your things during that time, and if it ends up being just a phase, then you can sell it and put the proceeds towards your next phase. I frequented the local climbing gym on Mondays and Fridays (since those were the nights that had special deals) trying to wrangle up groups of people in order to secure myself the cheaper admission. I did this for months and months before I realized that rock climbing isn’t just a phase, and that it’s something I really enjoy doing and want to continue doing for the rest of my life (situation permitting). A membership to the climbing gym is pricey, but I never would have known I loved it had I not made the investment in some gear, and a couple day passes.

[dpears-100things]

Day 96

As a web developer and computer science student I am always working with code. Plenty that I’ve written, and plenty that others have written. If there’s one thing that inhibits productivity in development, it’s hard to read/understand code. Just like any artist, a developer should produce beautiful work. They should be proud to show off their code, not just what their code does. I feel that so much code out there is the “duct tape and bailing wire” type code. It’s ugly, it’s hard to work with, and it continues to be written out of desire to get the next iteration “out the door.” Stop it.

Every line of code should have a distinct and powerful purpose. It should be able to justify it’s cause. Likewise, a codes formatting, naming conventions, and comments should be consistent and elegant as well. The book Clean Code by Robert Martin points out a couple features of elegant code:

- Elegant (pleasing to read) - Efficient - Close attention to detail (error handling) - Readable (crisp abstraction) - Easily built upon - Tested - Minimal - Literate (human readable) - Cared for by “someone who cares deeply for their craft” - Non-duplicating - Highly expressive - Simply abstracted - Reasonable - Obvious

Nothing shows mastery of a concept than being able to explain it in the simplest of terms, or to any level of understanding. I know this as the “six year old” principle. I should be able to explain to a six-year-old and have them understand.

[dpears-100things]

Day 95

It’s finally starting to hit me that my 100TC is coming to an end. Hence, I’ve really been starting to think about how it’s gone, where I did well, and where I didn’t do so well. So I’ve got to start with a confession.

I definitely have more than 100 things in my apartment right now. A couple weeks ago I started to accumulate things. Some of these things are mine from my parent’s house that I brought down because I needed it for a vacation (a duffel bag). A good portion of the things that I can see laying here are actually books and CDs that I brought back and am selling them to Amazon or to strangers on the classifieds. As a matter of fact, this is what triggered a buying streak.

Amazon has a great program where they have a list of things that they are willing to buy back from individuals. It’s called Amazon Trade-In. The items don’t even have to have been purchased from Amazon. They pay for shipping, and so you just have to wrap it up, slap a label on it, and run it to the UPS store. In selling back a lot of my books, I accumulated quite a bit Amazon credit. I couldn’t exactly use it for gas, rent, and food, so I subscribed to Prime, and went to town. Accessories for my bike, clothing, backyard games, and some tech things too. I even bought some school supplies that I know I’ll need this semester. Admittedly, some of these things I absolutely love (wireless headphones are some of the greatest things of this generation). But for the most part, the “new” factor has worn off and I wish I had a bigger stock of Amazon credit that I could use for things I actually need in the future.

I have done very well at letting things go. After the hassle of posting things to the classifieds and other second-hand sale sites coupled with a lot of waiting, I’ve been able to realize that the things that I felt should have worth actually mean very little to other people (CDs especially). So not only have I been good at throwing things away quickly here, but I’ve made a little game out of visiting my parents. Each time I head to my parent’s house, I go into the room where all my stuff is stored and dig through it finding things to get rid of. I’ve always been able to find at least one things, sometimes finding whole garbage bags of things I can part with.

So I can say I still have some human compulsive decision making tendencies still, but I have been able to better recognize them and combat situations that I would have folded to previously. I really enjoy surrounding myself with only the most important things, or the things that mean the most to me. It leaves me with less to worry about and less to default to, opening me to numerous opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I will definitely be keeping minimalism as part of my identity for the long run.

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Dad, flying his kite off the ridge.

A view from our little channel out to the main body of the lake.

The house boat docked in our little cove.

[dpears-100things]

Day 91

It’s been another couple of busy days and I’m really starting to feel the close of summer. I have nothing going on until school starts so it’s back to trying to get as much work as possible done before hitting the books full force. There’s a couple books left to read, personal projects to wrap up, and of course enjoying all the beautiful summer weather. Speaking of summer weather, here’s a recap of our Lake Powell trip.

I love Lake Powell. It’s my favorite vacation, despite the fact that we go every year, and we usually do the same things each time. I love the hot weather, living on the waters edge with no cell service, and nothing to do except “be at the lake” and all that that entails. As with most vacations, I slept a whole bunch the first two days. If I wasn’t out doing something on the like, I was napping away. This is still one of the greatest things about Lake Powell. It’s nice to have nothing distracting. No internet to fall into the depths of, no personal projects, since I didn’t pack them into my bag. Just relaxation. I feel like that’s a key part of any vacation. This is the first year that I’ve gone with my family where we set up the zip line. It’s a lot to set it up, so it was a couple hours of ferrying the steel cable across the channel, hauling ropes, setting anchor points, and winching the cable tight. However, I thought it was well worth it. It was super fun. Everyone that came up the channel was eyeing it. Eventually we put the Jolly Roger on it, so that everyone coming up the channel knew not to mess with us! It was hot every day, except for the last couple. So we got a fair amount of sun burn and, of course, a ton of tubing, wake boarding, slalom, and sight seeing.

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Cedar Point, riding the Millenium Force

Through the bullet hole at Carthage, Illinois.

Gun show at the gun shop. Nauvoo, Illinois.

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Carthage, Illinois. Through this hole, passed a bullet that killed Hyrum Smith, brother to a true prophet.

Flying back from Kansas City, landing in Phoenix, Arizona

Loaded up in the RV, and on the road!

Pulling out of the driveway... had to take a piece of home with us!

Kirtland, Ohio wildlife.

Cedar Point, Ohio.

[dpears-100things]

Day 87

Just before Warped Tour, I was on vacation with my famn damily back east. We did an RV tour of a bunch of religious history sites. Talk about a rich heritage.

We loaded up on a Friday afternoon and basically drove non-stop to northern Ohio. We only stopped for a couple hours of sleep somewhere along the way; I don’t even know where we stopped since I had fallen asleep before we stopped and only just woke up as we pulled out in the morning. It was a mega long haul, but we made it without issues or complications.

Ohio was really cool; We went to Cedar Point on Monday and rode every roller coaster that we could. There are some really great ones there! Maverick and Millennium Force were both super fun. I might have even had a sibling pee their pants on one of them... Kirtland was pretty cool to tour the temple and see a bit of the historic town still there. One of my favorite stops was on our way out: Carthage, Illinois. One of the greatest stories of brotherhood on this earth. Joseph and Hyrum Smith. In Carthage is where a true living prophet and his brother were killed, sealing their hallowed work with their blood.

Nauvoo was pretty great too! We saw some sites there, visited the temple, and enjoyed some amazing performances. We filled our days touring shops and homes, and learning how Nauvoo settlers lived.

On our way westward from Nauvoo we visited a couple sites in Missouri before I flew out from Kansas City. It was a great trip despite few hours of sleep on a dinky bed/couch thing that was definitely not designed for sleeping on. I’m stiff, sore, tired, and profoundly humbled by all that my predecessors sacrificed. I truly stand on the shoulders of giants. 

[dpears-100things]

Day 85

So it has officially been 30 days since my last post. I have been out of town for almost all of July, and when I have been in town, I’m busy catching up on everything I missed while I was gone, or just busy living my life! Some pretty awesome things have happened. I’ll be filling in the next couple posts with my July shenanigans working backwards.

Most recently was Warped Tour. A friend of mine came up from Phoenix, and picked me up from the airport. I was halfway through another vacation and had to fly back in order to catch the event (since I bought my ticket clear back in March). It was a blast! I got to catch my favorite band again, Four Year Strong. They killed it. Saw Yellowcard, which is probably going to be the last time I’ll see them (since they’re wrapping up the band for good). I crowd surfed, got a crazy tank top burn, a couple mosh bruises, and came home tired and partially deaf. It was a very successful Warped Tour.

[dpears-100things]

Day 55

I’m writing this from the house/cabin that we’re staying up here in Garden City next to Bear Lake for a family reunion. The internet is existent, though incredibly slow. It took about 8 minutes just to load my blog (let alone, write, load images, etc.) However, I’m not too upset. I had planned on working on bot that I’m developing, but perhaps I’ll just turn in for the night.

Today I had to take all my laundry up to my parent’s house so that I could wash them and have some of the clothes that I needed for our couple day vacation. I suppose that’s a down side of only having 100 things… there’s not much “buffer” room. I also forgot to pack a couple things, but luckily the house we’re staying in provided some of them, and I can lean on my family for the rest. I don’t think this is a product of only having 100 things; I feel like no matter the trip, something is always forgotten. I guess now I’m just less likely to stress out or get upset when I forget things. By only having 100 things, I’ve had to rely on others for some of the more common day-to-day things as it is. So traveling somewhere is less burdensome to prepare for, since I know I can track down something, should I have need of it. Only having 100 things means leaving a bit up to chance, which can or can’t be a less comfortable experience. Though, that makes it a better story down the road. By giving up things, you’re also somewhat giving up a level of preparedness. I didn’t bring much either; I don’t even have a duffel bag, so I put all my clothes and personal items in a box that I had in my apartment that was holding some of my other things.

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Day 54

Well it has been quite some time since I have written; I have been super busy. Most days I get up a little bit before 6 am, and am not home until after 10 pm. If I do pass through my door before then, it’s only ever to change clothes, grab something, or a get a quick bite to eat. My days have mostly been full of biking, but I’ve also had some great times with friends; paddle boarding, outdoor movies, temple trips, longboard rides, night games, and backyard DIY projects.

I have been amazed at how clean my room has stayed, and how, if it does get a bit dirty, how easily I can clean it up. I haven’t misplaced anything among the chaos either. I have been so busy that I think I’ve fallen a bit ill. I have a sore throat and some congestion; probably a symptom of the lack of sleep and lots of outdoor activities combined with my allergies.

We’re headed out of town for the weekend, so I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to write, but things are winding down a bit more now, so I should be able to post more frequently in the near future.

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Day 47

So it’s been a crazy couple of days, but I have been super grateful for the people in my life recently. Specifically my little brother. He just returned from his two-year religious expedition in Honduras. He talks really fast and mumbles everything, and seems to be doing well. I’m excited to catch up with him in the coming weeks and see what he has been up to for the last 700 days.

Today for work we got to go to the lake for our team building activity. It was so nice to just be able to go out, enjoy the sun (I got a bit burnt) and the cold water. My days have been very full (and quite physically, emotionally, and mentally tiring) and I’m gladly welcoming this weekend and the opportunity to sleep in.

A bit of hot sun and cold water.

[dpears-100things]

Day 44

So I have to share about another project that I have been working on. This one has been even longer in progress since some of the pieces are hard to find/make. Remember the guy that I bought the fire extinguisher from? It was for this project. The fire extinguisher is the crucible for my backyard foundry.

The foundry is made from a steel bucket lined with a plaster/sand mix as well as a lid made of the same mixture. A hole is drilled in the side where I fit in a pipe attached to a hair dryer (my air source). The bucket is lined with charcoal briquettes, and the crucible placed inside. Turn on the air, and before too long, the coals are gleaming red, and you can stick in aluminum cans. Once hot enough, the cans almost instantaneously turn to liquid.

The coals are heating up!

Cans starting to melt.

After melting about 50 cans, I poured out the liquid metal into the muffin tins to produce two small aluminum ingots. Now all I need is a stick and a crafting table, then I can make an aluminum sword.

Aluminum nuggets.

In every activity, be it sports, school, work, or something else, there is always a point where everything comes together. You’re still in the thick of things, but everything is perfect, beautiful, and peaceful. It’s the moment during your half marathon where you finally turn a corner and see the finish line. It’s the moment on your hike where you crest the mountain and you see the valley; you know it’s only downhill from there. It’s each time you clip a bolt when your lead climbing. It’s the moment in class when a concept finally clicks and you know how to approach a problem. It’s that moment when your code finally compiles after hours of debugging. It’s the moment you hit the straightaway of your longboard bombing run. When I saw that pure, shiny, liquid aluminum pour out from under the slag and fall into the muffin pan, I realized the beauty of those moments. It’s those moments where you fall in love with what you’re doing. It’s those moments where you truly understand what you are doing and why. In that instant, I had a profound admiration for metal, for the heat and fire that burns away impurities, leaving pure, flawless element. It made me realize that I hope to have those moments every day of my life. If I don’t have a moment like that, I feel lost and purposeless. A little poetry with your DIY.

I hope you find this project as cool as I did; I’m excited to double my soda intake in order to come up with more cans.

[dpears-100things]

Day 43

With only 100 things, you are somewhat limited in the things that you can do with your spare time.

I have been riding my new bike in to work every day. Today I rode in, but some of the other guys on my team ended up not coming in today so I left a little bit earlier than I normally would have. I didn’t have any plans other than a get together with my church group later that evening, so I decided to take the long way home. I ride past the mouth of a canyon on my commute home, so this time I decided that I would head up it. It was beautiful! The trees and the cool canyon air were quite nice in comparison to the hot day that it was. I rode all the way up the trail until it ended, then turned around and rode out. It was so great. A total of 20 miles and I hardly felt tired. Until later when I finally sat down, of course.

Another thing that I’ve done to fill my time is little do it yourself projects. I really enjoy fixing little things around my apartment, but this is a bit different. I’ve been working on this little project for a bit and I finally got it the way I wanted it. Behold, the can stove:

My little soda can stove.

This is made with the bottoms of two aluminum cans that are carefully cut to size, then fitted together. There are 24 holes drilled around the rim of one, in addition to punching the bottom out of the same piece. It’s an alcohol fueled stove, so you pour a bit into the center and light it. After a little while, the alcohol vaporizes in the edge of the can, pouring out the holes. The result is pretty impressive.

Ready to cook.

It lasts a lot longer than you would think considering how much you pour in, and it burns incredibly hot, so it’s great for boiling water. This is a cheap, lightweight way to bring along a stove for a back/bike packing trip as an alternative to a Jet Boil or Coleman camp stove. It’s not incredibly convenient (you can get a Coleman jet stove for about $15) but it sure was tons of fun to make. Just about every evening I sit on my back steps and light my stove 3 or 4 times. I don’t have a little cook pot that I could even boil water in.

If you want to know more about my can stove or how you can make your own, let me know!

[dpears-100things]

Day 42

It seems like it’s been a little while since I actually wrote about minimalism, so I decided I should write about one thing that I think is particularly kind of fun: tiny homes.

There is kind of a trend in tiny homes as of recently. There’s even a place that manufactures them that’s only a couple of minutes away from my parent’s house. The appeal is that rather than spending a good majority of your adult life working to pay off a loan on a huge house, you buy a small house with only the necessities and then use all that money that is freed up to travel the world or to spend your days doing the things you love.

The average price of a decent tiny home is about $15,000. I go to a considerably cheap university and, by the time I graduate, I will have spent about $25,000 on college (that includes books, fees, etc. but not rent & food). To think that I could own a nice living space, or two... (albeit small ones) just blows my mind. The bedroom I have right now could fit everything that I need from day to day in it. I wake up, go to the gym, come back and shower, bike to work, then bike home, shower, eat dinner and do something with my evening (climbing, biking, chilling, etc.) and then go to sleep. I could easily fit a shower, toilet, stove, and fridge in my room. I even read about a student that built his own tiny home during college; check it out here.

I recognize that this might not be the best living situation for a large family (though some tiny homes have sleeping space for up to 8 people). It would definitely be a cozy fit. I imagine you’d want to be outside for most of the time you are “at home.” There was a family that I got to know during my own two-year religious mission that lived in what I would qualify as a tiny home. It was a shed outfitted with a kitchen/bathroom area, a main room w/ storage, master bed, TV, and a loft for all the kids to sleep in. They didn’t do much hanging out inside, but they totally made it work and never seemed upset or bothered with how they were living.

I think the hardest part of making a change (especially changes that are considered cutting back) is that we dwell on the fact that it’s not “what I had before.” But after a while, if you stick with it, you become comfortable and familiar with what you have now. I think we’ve become so set on what “I should have” or “how it should be” that we don’t realized how little we can easily and happily get by on.