get rid of stuff

What would you take with you?

How the Burning House Project helps us think about how much we really don’t need.

The Burning House by Foster Huntington began as a popular blog and later became a book that the New York Times called “fascinating and provocative.”

It asked the simple question.

“If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It’s a conflict between what’s practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question.”

The idea went viral as thousands of people around the world posted a photo and a list of the few things they would grab if their house was on fire. Most people assumed that family, friends, and pets were out of the “hypothetical burning house” safely so you just have a few moments to grab those few important possessions. It’s also very hard to get a cat to pose for the picture. [Read more…] about What would you take with you?

The Frug Manifesto

08/14 by The Frug 1 Comment

My name is Brad and I write about Living Lean, Working Lean and Traveling Lean. I recently shared “finding your why by creating a personal manifesto”. In the process I created this manifesto for thefrug.com. I guess you could think of it as a giant tag cloud that includes many of the things I write about. If this looks good to you please join my email list for a lean serving of about 1 post a week.

Thanks.

Finding Your Why. How to Create a Personal Manifesto.

08/14 by The Frug Leave a Comment

Whats your POV?

I watched a show with my son yesterday, which he loves, called Food Network Star. He enjoys cooking shows, particularly those which involve intense competition and chefs being eliminated.

One term that kept coming up over and over on the show was “POV.” “What’s your POV?” the judges would say. “Your POV is not coming through!” The judges would then proceed to tell the celebrity chef hopefuls what their Point of Views were or should be.

“You are Coastal Kitchen Gal” “You are the Butcher Babe” You are the Cowboy Chef” On the show, you could be a very talented, gregarious chef but if your POV was not coming through to the judges you’re as good as gone.

I am not a fan of reality TV but it is true that the characters that we remember in fiction, and in real life, have a well defined POV. Their mission, their view of life, attitudes, and intentions bleed through in everything they do.

I believe a great way to discover your own POV is to start with a personal manifesto.

What is a Manifesto?

“A manifesto is defined as a written statement publicly declaring your views and intentions. “

Manifestos are popular with groups, companies, charities, and political parties but for our purposes we want this to be personal. A well-defined personal manifesto can anchor your point of view and that will start to come through in everything you do. Parts of it can even inspire others.

Why should I create one?

Most people have a good handle on what they do and how they do it. What’s often missing is the why. We should start with the why. Why do you do it? Author Simon Sineck has one of the most viewed Ted Talks of all time about Starting with Why. Starting with why is important for any organization, political party, or company but it’s especially important for you, because it’s your life.

How to craft your personal manifesto.

Get inspired. Start by looking at some great examples. Don’t be afraid to use famous quotes if they inspire you. [Read more…] about Finding Your Why. How to Create a Personal Manifesto.

Living Small. How The Tiny House Movement Found Me.

07/14 by The Frug 6 Comments

By Brad Beckstrom AKA The Frug.

Sometimes it just takes a few pioneers to get a movement started. These early adopters often do things in the extreme, they set benchmarks. For example, last week I met Dee Williams. Dee spoke at WDS in Portland Oregon about selling her three-bedroom home and building an 84 square ft. tiny house.

She spoke about her discovery of the tiny house movement. In her presentation, Dee didn’t spend a lot of time on architecture or zoning. It was really about her 10 year journey towards a leaner lifestyle. It was more about how living in a tiny home helped her spend more time in the community, get to know her neighbors, and learn how to build something. It wasn’t just a house she was building, it turned into a small business called Portland Alternative Dwellings and later a book The Big Tiny.

The Appeal of a Tiny Home

There’s something deeply appealing to me about smaller dwellings. Maybe it’s Dee’s eight dollar electric bill or zero property taxes. But, more likely, it’s just a simplified lifestyle. See the thing is, I don’t live in a tiny house. We have a rug in our family room that’s bigger than 84 square feet.

If you read this blog, you’ll know that I’m on a quest to simplify my life and get rid of excess stuff. In this quest, the Tiny House Movement found me. Simple, modern, prefabricated houses started popping up in Dwell Magazine years ago. Then I read about a project at Auburn University where students were challenged to design homes that could be built for $20,000. [Read more…] about Living Small. How The Tiny House Movement Found Me.

Big Box America. Maybe our middle class is vanishing because they’re buried under a pile of stuff.

06/14 by The Frug Leave a Comment

The average U.S. household has 300,000 things.

Let that sink in for a second. Okay, how about this one: Children in the United States make up only 3.7% of children on the planet but have 47% of all the world’s toys and children’s books.

Who comes up with these stats? As it turns out, quite a few people. Anthropologists and archaeologists, sociologists and economists are all studying our addiction to stuff. When you think about it, it’s fascinating. Writers and academics want to document this phenomenon so that thousands of years from now when an archaeologist comes across 750 plastic toys at a single family dwelling dig site she will be able to explain why.

Life at Home in the 21st Century

The UCLA Institute of Archaeology Press recently published a book called “Life at Home in the 21st Century.” The book is filled with U.S. stuff statistics, but what I found more interesting was the thousands of photographs from families who bravely opened their doors to researchers. [Read more…] about Big Box America. Maybe our middle class is vanishing because they’re buried under a pile of stuff.

Mo Stuff = Mo Problems

05/14 by The Frug Leave a Comment

Separate happiness from owning stuff

by Brad Beckstrom

You would think someone who writes about living lean and minimalism would not have a stuff problem. Think again.

It’s the start of a holiday weekend and I just spent a over an hour on the phone with Apple support. Turns out I have too much stuff on one of my two computers. I have too many extensions on my Chrome browser. One of these extensions, or other apps, are creating issues, causing the browser then the computer, to hangup.

Apple was nice enough to help me with my out of warranty iMac. I’d imagine there’s some reason for this. Maybe they looked at my support file and got a glimpse of how many Powerbooks, Macs, iPhones and iPads I’ve purchased over the years. I’m embarrassed by this number. When you add in my wife SuperK, my two kids, and various ventures I’ve purchased Macs for, I am very embarrassed by this number.

Mo Stuff = Mo Problems

See the problem is not really the Mac, it’s the number of Macs and the number of apps. Mo Stuff = Mo Problems. Rapper Notorious B.I.G. famously said Mo Money = Mo Problems and things did not end well for him. Shot dead, likely due to some money problems with other rappers. [Read more…] about Mo Stuff = Mo Problems