(Part 3) Best products from r/minimalism

Most "minimal" quartz watches have <10 USD movements in them so what you are paying for is fashion. These are the MVMT, Daniel Wellington, Nixon, Fossil, ect. You can buy them if you like the way they look, there is nothing wrong with that, but know they are built fairly cheaply and marked up to +$100 for no reason other than fashion. You can checkout DHGate and buy a fake DW watch for $7-12 from China that will be identical in quality to the actual DW watch, and could potentially even come from the same supplier! (not recommending, just commenting)

It really depends on what styles you like and how much you want to spend.

Watches I would recommend that are in my opinion minimal:

Casio Men's A158WA-1DF.
Its not super aesthetically minimal, but its ultra cheap, I think it is relatively stylish, impeccably reliable, easy to read, good features (light, alarm, stopwatch, long battery life). This watch got me through a year aboard a Nuclear Submarine and served me well as an alarm clock, stop watch, and time keeper. It dresses up and down very easily, and I wore it to dinner in foreign ports as well as in the engine room taking logs on equipment. I still have it in my rotation. At 33mm thick, with an 18mm band that tapers, this watch has a very low profile, minimal wrist presence. For 12 bucks you cant not want one.


Junkers Bauhaus
Much more expensive, especially for an entry level piece, but very well made. Mechanical, Japanese movement, built in Germany, certain to impress watch enthusiasts and normies alike. Its automatic, meaning it does not have a battery, and a mechanism winds the watch up due to the movement of your wrist throughout the day. This also means that if you dont wear it for a few days it can stop running, but all you need to do is give it a shake and set it again to get it going. There are some quarts models by Junkers that are cheaper, also even some models with Automatic Swiss movements, worth taking a look. Some cool features this watch has are the power meter, so know by how much the movement is wound as well as ability to perform as a 24hr watch for military time. Easily made a dress watch but good as an everyday casual watch as well. 41mm case, so it will wear very modern (ie large).

Sieko 5
This watch is not as minimal in the aesthetic sense, ie the face has more than just tick marks at each hour, and it has both day and date functions. It is another automatic, and I will argue that it is still pretty minimal. At ~50-60USD is is a perfect entry level choice for a first automatic/mechanical watch, and comes in several colors. Well made for the price. At 37mm it wears much smaller than most popular fashion watches (one of the reasons I recommend it as a minimal watch). It will suit you in both casual and fomal settings, and will appeal to both watch nerds and every day people. Not gaudy or pretentious like a Swiss made, gold piece, but it has some character and soul. I would recommend if you buy this watch to also pick up a band, as the one supplied from Sieko is uncomfortable and unattractive in my opinion. The watch will do well on a Nato band, or a light tan leather band (check out the amazon reviews user photos)


Casio Men's MQ24-7E
Another Casio, not as versatile since it is very casual, but undeniably minimal. Very similar to the watch worn by the Pope. If you want ultra cheap, reliable, and analog this is a good choice.

There are many, many other good choices out there. Good Luck, and I hope this helped!

I agree on the keyboard and mouse - when I had a Macbook Pro, I found that both were excellent. I do know some people who use a Mac with external inputs though; not really sure why, personally, but to each their own.

I don't really have a problem with headsets either way. The jack for headphones is very small, and I personally don't do anything that requires ultra-high quality audio, so a bluetooth set works for me well enough.

>I commonly have both my USB ports filled.

Fair enough. Most of the people I know - by which I mean, all but one - rarely use external drives. The internal drives are so large now that it's actually challenging to fill them up.

>Does spotify have Yousei Teikoku yet?

Actually, my previous post was written from a more "general" outlook. I don't seem to be an especially musical person; I listen to music on occasion, but most of the time, I'd rather watch a TV show or movie, or just have silence.

Most of what I do listen to - and, I suspect, the majority of what most people listen to - is common enough to be on Spotify. After all, Spotify needs to make money, so they're going to chase the big names wherever possible.

Not to be rude, but it sounds like some of your tastes are more esoteric. There's nothing wrong with that, but it also means that your experience won't necessarily compare to other peoples. For most of the people who might buy this Mac, I'd bet that Spotify (or Youtube, or some other online service) could satisfy almost all of their musical cravings.

The same is also true of the anime films. Yeah, you're probably going to have to download those, until either Netflix expands enough to cover them (which I fully believe will happen, but not before this Mac is released) or another service appears to cover that niche. Like the music, I agree that your only choice is to download - but I also think that many if not most of the Mac target audience won't be doing that.

>I create just fine on my air.

There are a few things that require the iMacs. If I was starting a game studio, or something professional, then I would get those. Like you said, people in the movie industry need them.

I agree that for personal use, the laptops do just fine. I mean, stitching together some holiday photos or something is not really a big deal.

> USB sticks

With larger file sizes on emails and Dropbox, people seem to use those much less often. I have two myself, but it's been months since I used either. In fact, a friend of mine stole one almost a year ago and filled it with porn (running prank we have) and I'm not sure I ever actually cleared that off. That tells you how much I use them.

Again though, almost everyone I know don't use them often. That partly depends on company policy of course - many places, at least in the UK, refuse to let users plug USB sticks into the company computers, for fear of getting viruses.

I agree with your desire not to plug and unplug sticks when you're moving files. I actually have a USB hub I bought years ago, while I was on the Macbook Pro, so I could have two external hard-drives and two USB sticks all at once. I still use it now, but I could actually do without it. If I was being a strict minimalist, I'd probably pack it away, or just bin it. There is, as always, a slight conflict between "Want" and "Need". I would want to plug both my sticks in; I didn't (and don't) really need to.

So, the single USB port on this new Mac would be a nuisance, but not that often, and not enough to make this computer completely unusable for me.

>Does a Time Capsule hook up to my raspberry pi?

Honestly don't know, as I've not used Raspberry Pi. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to - the Time Capsule is just a wireless USB drive made by Apple. However, I know that you buy other wireless USB drives from other companies that should work.

In fact, between a wireless external hard-drive and a wireless USB hub - both of which I didn't think of last night, but occurred to me today replying to you and another commenter - you could actually get by without any USB ports in a machine.

You could buy as many wireless hard-drives as you liked, for games and anime and so on; and a wireless hub for USB sticks, and so on. You'd need to keep the hub close by for the game controllers, but otherwise, you could get by.

I'm not saying you should of course. I wouldn't want to splurge money needlessly, to accommodate a computer. However, personally, when my USB hub breaks, I'll get a wireless one (if I need one at all); and when my external hard-drives fail (I'm surprised one of them hasn't already, considering how old it is) I'll replace it with a wireless one. At that point, I'll be USB-free, except to charge occasional things.

Final thoughts:

>Games

My games are all either from Steam or GOG, so there's no risk of them disappearing. That's why I have the option of just deleting the files once I've played the game - I can redownload it later, when I want to replay. The Internet speed is a point - the UK is slowly being upgraded to 10 (possibly 12) Mbps. Our area was lucky and had it done early, but in a few years, everyone should have pretty solid Internet. I know the US is different, but I didn't think of that last night.

There are a few older games that aren't on either platform, so I'll download those eventually. But considering how little space I seem to use, I doubt it'll be a problem to store. Plus, as they're older, I suspect that all of them together will be less than 10GB.

>If you don't care about obscure media, only listen to popular stuff that's everywhere, don't care about quality, and generally don't do much work that's hard drive intensive on a frequent basis. Which I guess is most people.

Yeah exactly. Most people will fit what I described, and won't need many ports. That seems especially true as many of the Mac laptops seem to be bought by stay-at-home mums, and by parents for their college-aged children.

You have more of a case for needing extra USB ports. There are workarounds (like the wireless hub and wireless external drives, which I again hadn't thought of last night). However, you are also an exception to the rule. I don't mean that in a bad way, or anything, just that most people probably don't have your needs.

So, I stand by what I said. For the majority of users, a single USB port would be doable. There would be occasions when it's annoying, but mostly, it would be fine.

Wallet post! Now updated with some recommendation links from this thread!

http://www.oldcalgary.com/ - pretty unique style

http://www.saddlebackleather.com/Shop/Wallets - pretty much THE name for leather wallets

http://capsulewallets.com/products/blackout - cool design that combines some nice features, but really expensive; recommended by a redditor here

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dreamcrusher - more (handmade) leather

http://www.ainste.com/collections/all - nice looking stuff

http://www.myfireti.com/collections/omega-wallet - metal wallets; critiqued by a redditor here

http://www.amagpoc.com/band-it.html - super minimal

http://www.crabbygear.com/ - a classic among slim wallets; recommended by a redditor here

http://www.suprgood.com/ - another super-minimal

http://www.whippingpost.com/collections/wallets/products/mojave-pickers-wallet - awesome if you play guitar (I assume)

http://www.elephantwallet.com/ - a couple minimal designs

http://www.atelierpall.com/wallets/minimal-leather-wallet-in-brown-duotone/ - more nice-looking leatherwork

http://bellroy.com/wallets/card-sleeve-wallet - slim with a twist. they've got some other interesting models too

http://www.philswallets.com/ - recycled material and incredibly simple; I have one and I'm a fan

Jacobs Ladder Wallet - recommended by a redditor here

http://www.xobruno.com/wallets--cases.html - even more nice looking leather

http://www.slimfoldwallet.com/ - paper thin tyvek wallets; recommended by a redditor here

http://www.naoloop.com/ - a super-minimal design that seems to have gotten popular recently; recommended by a redditor here

http://www.machine-era.com/ - unusual metal design; recommended by a redditor here

http://implstore.com/collections/slide-l - an interesting slide design; recommended by a redditor here

http://www.tightstore.com/ - another slide design similar to the one above

I'm sure Marie Kondo's philosophy has shown here in the past, but if it doesn't bring you joy, you can discard it.

I had an external monitor and it allowed me to play a competitive game at a higher framerate and play the game properly. As an avid fan of the game it brought me much joy and still does now as my new rig's main monitor. But does it do that for you? If not, you could discard it after you take a moment to think of what it's done for you.

If you really love cooking and those pan make you think happy things, keep them. But if they remind you of the excess you feel you have, or your inability to use them effectively, then it's fine to discard the ones you don't always use. The one you do use will be a joy. Cooking a big meal on Sunday and saving it for the week can bring you joy, but if it hasn't so far, maybe it's not for you

Again though, if you really like something then don't feel the need to do it. But lemme tell you, a lot of things in my space don't spark joy.

Source material

You are probably already be familiar with it, but in case you're not: check out The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen, a biography of Daniel "Suelo" Shellabarger. He has lived a full and active, if unconventional and frequently challenging, life without money for the last decade or so. While I consider his philosophy extreme and some of his supporting rationale flawed, on the whole he makes for a fascinating, bold case study in money-free living -- on the fringe of the American social fabric but with a tiny footprint. I find him both inspirational and maddening at the same time, and the author does a great job of assembling the guy's life story and showing the evolution in his thinking that led to his finally quitting money. In short, a remarkable book.

It's not a personal goal, but it was briefly trendy in my high school to do the 100 things challenge (circa 2007). It's obviously a lot easier for a student who has someone else taking care of things like food and household maintenance, and I've yet to see any with kids try it. But there's a ton of blog posts from people who tried it, as well as the book that started it: The 100 Thing Challenge .

I thought this blog post was an interesting perspective: I gave away all but 100 possessions. Here's what Happened.

Mondaine Classic

There may be a little too much going on for some people but I honestly like the look of it. I'd say its a good minimalist watch.

I'm rocking one of these Herschel card sleeves, the leather is really nice and you hardly notice it in your pocket.

There's also these canvas ones which are cheaper and look just as good.

Highly recommended!

I got a brand new queen sized mattress from Sleepies for $100 more than that foam pad thing.

If you're interested in super-compact sleeping pads, check this one out. I have one I use when I go camping and it's insanely comfortable even when placed directly on a hard or bumpy/rocky surface. It's 4" thick memory foam and folds up nicely

I really like the Light My Fire utensil. It's got great utility and even has a tiny serrated knife!

For a piano, can't you use something like this to tie you over?
https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Band-Wireless-Keyboard-Wii-Nintendo/dp/B003RS19XE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522098955&sr=8-1&keywords=rockband+3+keyboard+wii

It's only two octaves and doesn't have any sound output until you plug it into a computer or module, but it can be used like a real MIDI keyboard. I believe you can even change the pitch of which octaves you're playing.

I just finished reading Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers where the author clearly summarises the similarities and difference between wabi sabi and modernist minimalism. It's a short but good read.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less changed my life. It's one of three books I recommend to everyone, I even keep spare copies around to hand out.

I have the same concerns about chemical leeching, particularly after the last AAP guideline update.

​

I have a lot of the plastic Camelbak Eddys, but after a month they get gross so we are dishwashing them fairly frequently, so I got rid of them due to the plastic concerns, plus some political ones. We use Klean Kanteens now for travel water bottles/to keep in bed because it's a metal bottle with a bite valve that's also dishwasher safe (unlike the higher quality double walled Kids Hydroflask).

​

I use these for plates now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07172LG7J/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

and these for cups: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B8D1572/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

The kids are 4, 2, and baby, so not sure whether these are the right choices for your age groups (although the Klean Kanteens are good for a wide range of ages).

​

​

Here's what I'm carrying today: imgur.com

• Leather card wallet
  
• Unbranded Pocket Journal (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016LB2Y14)
  
• Skilcraft U.S. Government Pen
  
• Unbranded Pocket Notebook (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZGE1914)
  
• Keys for 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee
  
• iPhone 5S (not shown)
  
  Full disclosure: the notebook and journal were designed and are sold by my business partner and myself. We created them because we wanted plain, unbranded notebooks and journals we could use and we couldn't find anything that didn't have crap printed all over them.

I use this one from Amazon. Its pretty thin and probably the only phone case I actually prefer over the bare phone. It it isn't too protective though:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0765QHGWB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Essentialism by Greg McKeown is one of the best books I've read this year: http://www.amazon.com/Essentialism-The-Disciplined-Pursuit-Less/dp/0804137382

I recommend this book

It's also interesting to read about the Japanese tea ceremony, the wabi-cha

I just got this today in the mail, I had a tri-fold leather wallet for over 10 years (aka, a brick). So far it's been great, we'll see in the next week or so what I think.

https://www.amazon.com/Herschel-Supply-Co-Charlie-Holder/dp/B00BBWK2S6

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rocketbook-Everlast-Reusable-Notebook-Journal/dp/B071Y3MSRK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1MXPDN2D0IYY8&keywords=rocket+notebook&qid=1569240468&sprefix=rocket+n%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFZTVRWRlBUQzFVOFgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3OTQ1NDc0Sks1UktDMkVTNTQmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDQ1MTE3NjJMSVIxWE9EMzIwRFcmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl


Use that going forward save space and the planet

I would suggest this watch, too

http://www.amazon.com/Mondaine-A660-30328-11SBB-Giant-Leather-Watch/dp/B000WF3V5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415222066&sr=8-1&keywords=Mondaine

** Something LIKE this, there are lots of Mondaine watches and this one has mixed reviews.

This is my backpack.

Kopack Slim Business Laptop Backpacks Travel Rucksack Daypack with Tear Resistant Design Travel Bags Knapsack fits up to 15.6 Inch Laptop Macbook Comp https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B15LDBM?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

It serves me really well. It's durable and only fits what I need and nothing extra. Also the laptop pocket zipper is behind the straps so it can't be stolen.

There is also a good book, "The Man Who Quit Money"

http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Quit-Money/dp/1594485690/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334352029&sr=8-1 Overall, it has a 5-star rating so far.

That one does as well, you just can't see it. Pretty sure it is this one.

I use this utensil and this bowl. Both take up very little space in my backpack.

(Yes, I know the bowl is marketed for "pets" but it holds human food just fine and is collapsable. It meets my needs, even as a non-pet.)

(The original: http://www.amazon.com/The-100-Thing-Challenge-Everything/dp/0061787744)

yeah, I found it in the new release section of the book store. It made the reading quite quick.
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Manga-Tidying-Up-Magical/dp/0399580530

I get so tired of the whole "you don't need a bed or any other basic furniture" thing being repeated over and over. Yeah, they are inconvenient to move, but there are ways around that without sleeping on a fucking yoga mat.

A bedframe that folds up flat and comes in various sizes.

A mattress that folds up rather compactly, can be used as seating, and comes in various sizes. Can be padded with a mattress pad and blankets.

Still too much? Get a Japanese style futon.

A desk that can be folded down flat. As a single person, I often eat at my desk.

Or if you don't like to eat at your desk, a collapsible small personal table...just sit on your bed.

They also make collapsible chairs.

I understand the desire to not have much of anything because it's a pain to move, but there's a point where it gets ridiculous. There are ways around it. Yeah, having sex on the floor is better than no sex at all, but I won't be having any sex if I don't get a good night's sleep, and I certainly need at least a few inches of padding more than a yoga mat provides.

Jacobs Ladder Wallet only $13 at Amazon.