A Digital Home For 21st-Century Minimalists

With the increasing digitization and virtualization of formerly physical objects and processes, many people are discovering that they need less “stuff” to get by on a daily basis.

But what if the digitization of possessions could eliminate the need for an actual physical home? A new trend in digital minimalism makes this very claim. The BBC profiles several young tech professionals who ether live in spartan apartments, or have no permanent address at all. They say that besides the stress of moving from couch to couch the minimalist lifestyle cuts down on waste and down-sizes clutter.

The BBC reports:

Mr Sutton is the founder of CultofLess.com, a website which has helped him sell or give away his possessions – apart from his laptop, an iPad, an Amazon Kindle, two external hard drives, a “few” articles of clothing and bed sheets for a mattress that was left in his newly rented apartment.

This 21st-Century minimalist says he got rid of much of his clutter because he felt the ever-increasing number of available digital goods have provided adequate replacements for his former physical possessions.

“I think cutting down on physical commodities in general might be a trend of my generation – cutting down on physical commodities that can be replaced by digital counterparts will be a fact,” said Mr Sutton.

The tech-savvy Los Angeles “transplant” credits his external hard drives and online services like iTunes, Hulu, Flickr, Facebook, Skype and Google Maps for allowing him to lead a minimalist life.

“I think the shift to all digital formats in all methods and forms of media consumption is inevitable and coming very quickly,” said Mr Sutton.

Cult Of Less

BBC: “Cult of less: Living out of a hard drive”