My 101 Possessions

When entering the Peace Corps, every volunteer agonizes over their pack list. Interestingly I would say 75 percent of all of these pack lists are the same, but the differences are what make them interesting. I remember one person bringing 768 tampoons (supposedly enough for two years), another bringing a dog collar and leash for the anticipated pet monkey, and yet another with over 100 DVDs a digital projector and a brand new powerbook (which of course broke a few months later). These differences spoke about the priorities of the people carrying these bags.

Now I am creating a new list. Instead of a list that is for an extended journey, this is a list for life. One bag to carrying everything I need to have a complete life. This is about a decision to carry or to not carry all the things that are functional and life sustaining, and also a declaration of what is important to me--what I deem necessary for a fulfilling life, and what things are just products of societal norms. Of course I have to live in the same world as everyone else, but I definitely do not have to have the “must have” blazer of the year, or that spring form pan for making cheesecakes that my lactard body cannot digest anyway.

So, without further delay, my 101 possessions (the number was not planned):

1 chrome messenger bag
2 sunglasses
3 wallet
4 flip flops
5 bike shoes
6 boots
7 new balance sneakers
8 bandana
9 deller hat
10 soft-shell jacket
11 north-face gortex hard-shell
12 scarf
13 water proof cut off pants
14 smart wool hat
15 gloves
16 chinos
17 chrome shants
18 capoeira pants
19 slacks
20 thermal top
21 threadless t shirt
22 dark blue tie
23 light blue tie
24 red tie
25 blue paisley boxers
26 pink paisley boxers
27 yellow green striped boxers
28 red striped boxers
29 dark blue boxers
30 black boxer briefs
31 black boxer briefs
32 nike athletic shorts
33 blue dot dress socks
34 orange smart wool socks
35 grey smart wool socks
36 athletic over calf cotton socks
37 edune T-shirt
38 green T-shirt
39 white blue patterned dress shirt
40 white black striped dress shirt
41 red dress shirt
42 orange button down
43 white paisley dress shirt
44 white american apparel t shirt
45 white zara t shirt
46 jeans
47 cutting board
48 cook set
49 coffee grinder
50 french press
51 thermos
52 wood chopsticks
53 mini chop sticks
54 can opener
55 metal insulated mug
56 bottle opener
57 sigg water bottle
58 coffee spoon
59 utensils
60 pack towel
61 shaving brush
62 straight edge razor
63 needles
64 tweezer
65 nail clippers
66 scissors
67 toiletry case
68 strop
69 clippers
70 soap dish
71 wash cloth
72 back brush
73 outlet multiplier
74 grado labs headphones
75 shure headphones
76 flash drive
77 ipod and cable and case
78 vga adaptor for laptop
79 laptop
80 laptop case
81 blackberry pearl (adaptor and usb cable)
82 fountain pen
83 candle holder
84 deck of playing cards
85 gtd book
86 big notebook
87 small journal
88 pocket sized notebook
89 5 folders
90 envelop of pictures
91 space pen
92 thick lead pencil
93 thin lead pencil
94 case for office stuff
95 flash light
96 tape measure
97 lighter
98 benchmade knife
99 bike tool kit
100 bike
101 bike lock

So the way I created this list was that I started putting things into my rucksack, with what I wanted to keep the most, whether it be for functional reasons or just “I can’t live without this!” Once the pack was full, the pack was full. Apparently before doing this I had about two rucksacks worth of kruft. Of course for me this was a pretty easy task. If i had done this same thing two years ago, I would have had to get rid of 2000 dollar speakers, about 50 DVDs, a huge Sony WEGA TV, pots and pan and glasses etc. But after moving from Cambridge to San Fran to DC to Cleveland to West Africa back to Cleveland and then to Philly, you sort of just get tired of carrying a lot and you sort of get broke. anyway, this is just a rough draft, I still would like my list a bit tighter. I would like to to reflect me as a person more than this list actually does. I would like to get rid of things (what do I need 5 folders for?) and I need to analyze some of my possessions (e.g my coffee system consisting of mug, thermos, grinder, french press, coffee spoon) that take up serious space.