- To me, minimalism is all about the beauty, clean lines,
uncluttered space, openness.
Plus, my bank account is also kind of minimal at the moment
so I couldn't afford to buy anything, even if I wanted to.
I got into minimalism because I realized
I was just a part of the consumerist machine.
We're being controlled by soulless corporations
that only care about sucking us dry.
I do have the new iPhone though.
It just works okay.
I didn't get into minimalism on purpose.
I was just trying to make extra money selling stuff on eBay,
and I ended up selling everything I own
at incredible markups.
Like this shirt, I got it for 12 bucks at Target.
Some sucker bought it for 50.
I don't think I'm even gonna wash it before I ship it out.
I have exactly 144 possessions.
I know exactly where all of them belong
and exactly what their uses are strangely.
And becoming a minimalist,
all I think about now are the few things I still own.
I value experiences over objects.
Why spend money on things,
when I can spend money on a lifetime of memories,
seeing the world, adventure?
Plus, I really can't have too many possessions
because I'm living in a van down by the river.
Without a bunch of clutter in my life,
I am operating at peak efficiency.
I push myself every day to get rid of even more stuff.
As you may have noticed, I'm not wearing pants.
I got rid of them yesterday.
I work from home.
I don't need them.
Just gotta make sure I keep the Zoom calls from here up.
You only make that mistake once.
What I'm really trying to declutter out of my life
are all my haters.
You know what haters stands for?
Having anger towards everyone reaching success.
Modern humanity is fundamentally materialistic,
which leads us to believe
that the fundamental makeup of reality is material,
which is not true.
The fundamental makeup of reality is suffering and pain.
And you might say,
"Well, that's depressing and pessimistic."
And it is.
So that's why I'm a minimalist, bucko.
Oh my gosh, I can not get rid of these jeans.
- [Cameraman] Do you even wear them anymore?
- No, not really.
- [Cameraman] Then why keep them?
- It just brings me back to that time.
- [Cameraman] And when was that?
- I'm not sure,
but clearly it was before I got my ice cream maker, (laughs)
which I am also not getting rid of.
I challenge myself to live off as little as possible.
My only essential possession is this knife.
Now if you'll excuse me,
I've got to go out back and rustle up dinner.
I'm chopping tomatoes for a salad.
My favorite part of being a minimalist,
slipping minimalism into every conversation I have
and then suggesting it to everyone
it's the solution for literally all of their problems.
Anxiety?
Try minimalism.
Stress? Minimalism.
Realizing you're in your 30s and have no idea who you are
and what you're doing with your life?
Minimalism.
I love being a minimalist.
- [Cameraman] But your closet is full of clothes.
- It's really the barest of essentials.
Like I don't see how I can properly function
with fewer than 15 pairs of dress shoes.
I'm a minimalist without even trying.
All I really is my computer.
And I only own like three shirts
that I've had since high school.
And any other possessions I've had,
I seem to lose somehow, like my wallet.
I always thought I was just a hopeless ding-dong.
Turns out I'm super trendy.
Part of being a minimalist to me is going green.
So I reuse as much stuff as possible.
Like these pants, they're made out of old paper bags.
I end up accidentally exposing myself in public all the time
because they rip extremely easily.
And in the rain, they basically fall apart
and leave me standing there without any pants on.
But I'm saving the world here.
Here's how you figure out what to keep
and what to throw away.
Everything is either a tool or it's trash.
A shirt I'm never gonna wear again, trash.
My computer I use for work, a tool.
My coworker Timmy, somehow he's both.
I started out by just getting rid of anything
that I had a negative association with,
but then I looked up
and I realized I had gotten rid of everything.
And then I thought about it
and I realized the one common denominator
in all of those possessions was me.
(fast upbeat music)
T-shirts, (upbeat music)
mugs, hats, totes.
You could be repping your favorite YouTube channel,
which is this one.
(upbeat music)