April 2023: Being Creative for the Transition to Extreme Minimalism
April 2023. After being awakened by the rays of the sun, I lay in bed for a while, contemplating my clothes rack. Although I liked the dark blue, light blue, and beige blazers, I didn't enjoy wearing them in public anymore. They no longer suited my personality. After a brief hesitation, I decided to put two blazers up for sale and keep one dark blue one for special occasions.
As I folded the blazers, an idea came to me on how I could dry my laundry without a drying rack: I would hang the wet clothes on hangers on the clothes rack. However, I had a concern: if they hung there in the wet state, they would drip onto the shelf below. I tried it out, started the washing machine, and took a short walk in the city.
Stopping in front of a real estate agency window, I paused. There were multimillion-dollar houses for sale there. I was particularly interested in a six-million-dollar house. I grinned because an amusing thought occurred to me: instead of boasting with a Ferrari, I stood here in front of the window, letting passersby see me looking at the expensive houses as if I could afford them. That was exactly my way of flexing without spending a single cent.
After the walk, I hung the washed laundry on the hangers and lay down in bed to think. I waited for the liquid to run down to the lower part of the clothing by gravity, hopefully not dripping onto the shelf below. I glanced at the work table and contemplated my professional microphone with its microphone arm. "Maybe I could use the built-in microphone of my iPhone or MacBook? Then I wouldn't need this huge setup on the table." I took my phone, made a test recording, but the sound was unsatisfactory. So, I pulled the blanket over me and tried again. This time, it sounded much better. I repeated the experiment with the MacBook. With the blanket over my head, I recorded:
"Hello there! In this video, we'll be discussing the Maxwell equations, which form the basis for everything in the field of electricity and magnetism."
As I listened to the recording, I was amazed by the quality. I double-checked it with headphones and was confident I could sell my external microphone and arm.
I checked to see if the wet clothes had left any drops on the shelf. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. A spin cycle of eight hundred rotations per second had been enough to prevent this. I could list my drying rack and clothespins on eBay Classifieds.
As I composed the advertisement text, I glanced at the keyboard and wondered why I even owned it. Wouldn't it be sufficient to type on the laptop, just as I did in cafes? I wrote the rest of the ad using the built-in keyboard of the MacBook.
"Well, I'll put you up for sale too," I whispered to myself, referring to my external keyboard.
On that day, I also decided to get rid of my monitor lamp and one of my two soaps. From now on, I only owned one soap, which I used for both body washing and hand washing.
The next day, I also returned my external 27-inch monitor to Amazon. After setting up many new shortcuts on the MacBook in recent days, using all programs in full-screen mode, and hiding everything unnecessary in the applications, I worked during this time only on the screen of my MacBook. I drew some illustrations, tried video editing, and concluded that I could work effectively on the MacBook even without the external monitor. I took my only power strip to Borsum, as there was only one electrical appliance in my room - my MacBook, which I could charge directly at the wall socket. Therefore, I no longer needed power strips.
In the evening, I decided to go out to Baggi again. After showering and reaching for the hairspray, I hesitated briefly and then decided to leave it in the closet. "Let's try going out today without hair styling," I whispered. Instead, I just combed my hair and let it air dry.
Since it was still too early to go out, I sat down at the laptop and researched about hairspray and its potential disadvantages. In the back of my mind, I had already decided to lead a life without hairspray and other hair styling products, but I needed some more convincing. Polyvinylpyrrolidone and vinyl acetate copolymer, which are contained in hairsprays, can enter the lungs when inhaled and cause long-term health problems. Hairspray can lead to scalp irritation, skin rashes, and even hair loss, as it irritates and dries out the hair follicles. When I read the argument about hair loss, I stood up resolutely and threw my hairspray in the trash. Every time I massaged my scalp, I saw many hairs sticking to my palm. That was extremely annoying. I was very glad to get rid of a possible trigger.
When I went out without hairspray and stood in front of the bouncers of Baggi, I was denied entry for some reason - hopefully not because of my unstyled hair. I didn't want to go to Dax either. So, I opted for the Infinity Club. This decision cost me twelve euros in admission. Today was apparently a Polish event, and there was continuous Polish music playing. I didn't like that at all, so I sat down slightly disappointed on a sofa and swiped on Bumble. But as I briefly glanced at my admission ticket, I realized it also included a voucher for three shots. So, I went to the bar to order something. I only found soft drinks and alcoholic beverages on the menu, which I no longer wanted to consume. But on the last page, I discovered the perfect drink. I immediately sought eye contact with the bartender. He approached me.
"I have a voucher for 3 shots. Can I get a cappuccino instead?" I said, handing him my voucher.
"Normally not, but I'll make one for you," he said.
"Perfect! Thank you."
He placed the cup of frothy cappuccino next to me on the counter. I took it along with the saucer in my hand and positioned myself in front of the dance floor, leaning against a pole-dance pole. The aroma of coffee spreading in my surroundings overshadowed all perfume and alcohol smells. Some guests stared at me with open mouths, surely thinking, what a fine gentleman, sipping his coffee with an outstretched finger to the Polish beats. The guests here were clearly more mature. Same-aged or even older men, all elegantly dressed, just like the women. Definitely not my target audience.
The delicious taste of coffee immediately triggered happiness in me and motivated me to enjoy the evening after all. After finishing the delicious coffee, I sank into a trance-like state and danced quite inconspicuously until three o'clock.
Life Upgrades:
- I reduced the number of my blazers from 3 to 1. My blazer is reserved for festive occasions.
- I don't own clothes racks and clothespins anymore. Instead, I let the clothes dry on the hangers on my clothing rack. This method allows me to dry my clothes space-efficiently and wrinkle-free without having a dryer or iron. And it saves me a step, namely hanging the clothes on the clothes rack.
- I don't own a professional external microphone and therefore no microphone arm or acoustic panels. Instead, I use the built-in microphone of my MacBook. I simply put a thick blanket over me and my MacBook, achieving studio quality in recording.
- I don't own an external keyboard because I've gotten used to using the keyboard of my laptop. This eliminates an item on the table and also eliminates the need to charge.
- I don't own external monitors, but exclusively use the screen of my MacBook. There are many reasons against it. External monitors take up additional space on the desk. Good monitors are quite expensive if you don't have them yet but intend to buy them. Additional monitors lead to more distraction. You switch back and forth between screens instead of focusing on one task. Each additional monitor increases power consumption. I was able to reduce my power consumption while working on my MacBook instead of on a PC with external monitors by 95% (my MacBook consumes only a fraction of the energy).
- I don't own power strips because I only need wall sockets. By omitting power strips, I automatically avoid cable clutter.
- I reduced the number of soaps from 2 to 1. I use this one soap for hand washing and the rest of the body.
- I don't use hair styling products. By omitting my hairspray, I feel less of a need to wash my hair, as they feel much cleaner without the "glue." Additionally, I avoid harmful chemicals on the scalp and reduce my waste.