As we’ve written in previous articles, minimalism exists on a spectrum. Some people just have too much stuff and want rid themselves of excess. Others prefer quality of quantity in life; they don’t want to live link a monk, but also recognize the toxicity of consumerism and materialism. Then there’s ultra-minimalists: people who want to live with as few possessions as possible. This can include counting every item they own and trying to keep the total quantity under 100 total items. With our lean-and-mean list coming in around 111 (give or take), we have respect for them! Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, you’ve probably wondered at some point: what are the things a minimalist must own?
In this article, we’ll break down exactly what we think a minimalist MUST own, along with some optional items; items that are needed one way or the other, but you don’t necessarily have to own. We’ll break this down into the following three categories:
- Must-Have Items At Home
- Personal Needs
- Daily Living
To make this list, we’ve modeled the needs around a person who:
- Is of good physical health.
- Rents or owns a place to live.
- Has a day job.
The following items are not considered items ‘owned’, for the sake of this list:
- The house or apartment itself
- Toilet, sink and shower in the bathroom
- Oven/stove (cooking at home)
- Refrigerator (keeping food fresh)
- Consumable things like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, cooking oil, groceries, etc.
In case you don’t want to read all the details, we’ll write a summary list at the bottom on this article.
Now let’s get into this!
Must-Have Minimalist Items At Home
Assuming you don’t live in a tent or an RV, you’ll need a place to live. Where we live, though, can vary quite a bit.
The first thing you need to have is a place to sleep. This can be a bed, futon or something similar.
Of course, this includes a mattress, pillow and blanket.
When you aren’t sleeping, you’ll have to do something other than lay in bed. This includes eating.
Minimalism is ultimately about only having what we need, but ordering food from restaurants is excessive. That means we should be cooking a fair portion of our meals.
To cook at home on a stove top, we need a flat pan and spatula. We also need some kind of pot to cook liquids.
Baking meals in the oven requires a second pan or baking dish along with a set of tongs.
Eating obviously requires a few tools, too. We need at least one plate or two, plus a set of utensils like a butter knife, spoon, fork and cutting knife.
Some other food and kitchen essentials are:
- Reusable Food Containers
- Bowl
- Measuring Cups
- Mug (Hot Drinks)
- Can Opener
- Drinking Glass
- Reusable Water Bottle
Doing the dishes doesn’t require a dishwasher, but it does require a few other things. A sponge/scrubbing device and a dish towel are therefore necessary.
So at this point, we’ve been able to sleep, wake up, make some food, eat it and do the dishes. So what else do minimalists need to own?
It’s 2019 (at the time of writing this). Nearly all people ‘need’ a computer of some kind. Sure, one could go to the library and use one of theirs, but for our model individual in this article, that’s just not practical. Even having a computer at work doesn’t excuse the need, because…
We need a secure way to pay our bills, send emails and do other basic computer stuff. This means we need a computer: desktop, laptop or tablet.
We can’t carry that around with us wherever we go, so for practical purposes, we need some kind of phone. It doesn’t need to be a smart phone, and some could get away with a basic landline. We’ll leave it at this: we need a phone.
Here are a few other practical things we can think of to round off the list of things a minimalist must have at home:
- Pen
- Notebook / Paper
- Broom & Dustpan
- Trash Can
- Scissors
- Cleaning Rag
- Basic Table & Chair
- Lamp
- Hamper / Laundry Bag
- Iron
We’ll leave the home list there – these are the essential items we’ve come up with that even a minimalist must own. Continue on to see what else we’ve come up with.
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Some Personal Items Are Required
Up to this point, we’ve outlined what’s needed at home. We’re still talking about a naked person though. Time for some necessary minimalist personal affects.
To clarify – we’ve based this list around a person who:
- Dresses semi-professionally for work
- Does laundry once per week
- Lives in a place with four seasons
- Exercises somewhat regularly
Here’s a day in the life of our model person.
Most people keep a set of clothes for sleeping, although this is not required. We’ll throw it on the list.
The morning routine involves a few things in the bathroom: a tooth brush, hair brush, razor blade, tweezers and pair of trimming scissors make the list of necessities. Jump out of the shower. One towel and floor mat (or second towel) are all we really need.
Getting dressed for work comes with a few requirements too. We’ll need a pair of socks and underwear for each day of the week. For work, most of us like to have at least two pairs of pants that work for all seasons. For the ladies who prefer a skirt to pants, replace accordingly. Regardless, we should have one-two belts. This should correspond color-wise with the one-two pairs of shoes we wear to work. Again, for all seasons. Most prefer one black pair, and one brown pair.
Many of us prefer to wear a different shirt for each day of the week. Technically, we can wear them all year long for the sake of this article. This means we need five shirts for work.
After work, chances are we’re either relaxing or exercising.
For those who exercise two or more times per week, we’ll mark down two workout shirts, one workout shorts, one workout pants, a pair of fitness undergarments and a few sets of workout socks. Of course, a pair of workout shoes as well.
We should definitely have lives outside of work, and it becomes weird if you wear your work outfit everywhere you go. Since we’re talking about a model person who experiences four seasons, here are some other necessary clothing items we came up with:
- (1-2) Pairs Of Shorts
- (1-2) Pairs Of Jeans / Casual Pants
- (3-4) Pairs Of Warm Socks
- (3-4) Pairs Of Socks For Hot Weather
- (2-3) Warm Weather Shirts
- (2-3) Cool Weather Shirts
- (1) Pair Of Casual Shoes
- (1) Formal Outfit, Shoes Included
- (1) Jacket For Cold
- (1) Jacket For Rain
- (1) Pair Of Gloves
- Hangers
- Dresser / Shelves (Unless Clothes Are Just Stacked On The Floor!)
That’s our list of personal items a minimalist must own. Again, this is based around what we call NEEDS. Plenty of people live a relatively minimalist lifestyle and have some more specific clothes than what’s on this list.
Things We Need For Day To Day Living
We’ve covered a fair amount of ground so far. We’ve discussed essential home items as well as the personal stuff we need. Now let’s talk about the things we need day to day.
Most of us don’t live in cities. To get around, we need a car, or at least a bicycle. For rural areas, a car is essential. If you do drive, you’ll need a couple of things like an ice scraper and basic car tools, most of which come with cars anyways.
Going to work, most of us have some kind of ‘day-to-day’ bag. We also need some kind of suitcase or duffel bag for traveling. Most importantly, a wallet for all that cash getting saved as a minimalist ;).
Everyone can benefit from having a few basic tools. It’s ideal to have a hammer, wrench, two screw drivers, pliers and a set of allen keys.
In case of emergency, it’s a good idea to have a few other items on hand:
- Flashlight
- Matches / Lighter
- Candle
- First Aid Kit
Turns out, we don’t NEED much day to day. This list does not, however, consider any hobbies, sports, etc.! That will come down to your preference.
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In Summary
To recap, here’s our summarized list of items we feel a minimalist must own:
- Home
- Mattress
- Pillow
- Blanket
- Flat Pan
- Pot
- Baking Pan
- Spatula
- Tongs
- Reusable Food Containers
- Bowl
- Can Opener
- Measuring Cup
- Mug (Hot Drinks)
- Drinking Glass
- Reusable Water Bottle
- 1-2 Plates
- (1) Set Of Utensils – Spoon, Fork, Knife
- Cutting Knife
- Sponge or Scrubbing Device
- Dish Towel
- Computer – Desktop, Laptop or Tablet
- Phone – Basic Flip Phone At Minimum
- Pen
- Notebook / Paper
- Broom & Dustpan
- Trash Can
- Scissors
- Cleaning Rag
- Basic Table & Chair
- Lamp
- Hamper / Laundry Bag
- Iron
- Personal Items
- Sleeping Clothes
- Tooth Brush
- Hair Brush
- Razor
- Trimming Scissors
- Tweezers
- (1) Towel
- (1) Bath Mat (Or Second Towel)
- (5) Underwear & (5) Socks For Work
- (2) Pants For Work
- (1-2) Belts
- (1-2) Shoes For Work
- (5) Shirts For Work
- (2) Workout Shirts
- (1) Workout Shorts
- (1) Workout Pants
- (1+) Set of Underwear For Workouts
- (2+) Workout Socks
- (1) Pair Of Fitness Shoes
- (1-2) Pairs Of Shorts
- (1-2) Pairs Of Jeans / Casual Pants
- (3-4) Pairs Of Warm Socks
- (3-4) Pairs Of Socks For Hot Weather
- (2-3) Warm Weather Shirts
- (2-3) Cool Weather Shirts
- (1) Formal Outfit, Shoes Included
- (1) Jacket For Cold
- (1) Jacket For Rain
- (1) Pair Of Gloves
- Hangers
- Dresser / Shelves (Unless Clothes Are Just Stacked On The Floor!)
- Day To Day Living
- Car (Or Bicycle If You Can Get Away With It)
- (For Cars) Jumper Cables
- (For Bikers) A Tire Pump
- Ice Scraper
- Day-To-Day Bag (Work, Whatever Else)
- Suitcase Or Duffel Bag
- Wallet
- (2) Screw Drivers (Phillips, Slot)
- Hammer
- Wrench
- Pliers
- Set Of Allen Keys
- Flashlight
- Matches / Lighter
- Candle
- First Aid Kit
Here are some honorable mentions that could be necessities, depending on circumstances:
- Lawn Care Items – Lawn Mower, Snow Shovel, Etc.
- Swimsuit
- Sandals / Flip Flops
- All-Purpose Boots
- Mop
- File Storage For Important Papers
- External Hard Drive For Digital Files
If you’ve read this far…THANK YOU! We hope this article has been helpful, informative and eye-opening. It can be shocking to see this list in comparison to how much most people buy and own, but it’s also a useful reference to come back to. The final message? If you have everything you NEED, you’re doing pretty good.