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Comment by dominotw | Hacker News Reader

> I now have 5 t-shirts, 4 sweaters, 2 jeans, 10 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of shoes

I take it you don't live in place with cold winters?

I follow the same minamalist lifestyle. I have a bin with my summer clothes. I'll switch them out soon for the winter ones. Even still it's very few items overall. I used to have 100s of pieces of clothing.

oh ok. I thought that was complete listing of your clothes, not just 'summer bin' :) .

I wear a similar minimalist wardrobe in a place with -40° winters. My winter outfit is the same as summer, plus thermal undergarments and a good coat/gloves/hat. It’s surprising how well layering works.

> and a good coat

I guess if your coat is good enough at -40 with just base layer and a tshirt wouldn't it be too hot( and ineffective) when it isn't that cold?

I now live in northern (mainland) Europe (just left England) in temperatures of as low as -25 C in the winter. I have a jacket that can make you sweat in -10, and I now go running at 0 C with shorts&tshirt (temperatures 5 C and above make me sweat after the first 5 minutes). My latest long distance run was in Italy and I ended up walking half the race because of the heat (+10).

> I have a jacket that can make you sweat in -10

Isn't sweating the worst thing that happen to you when you are cold ? What do you do when its slightly warmer?

Or do much in the way of outdoor activities.

2 pairs of shoes

Having to decide between wearing my climbing shoes and my ski boots to work would suck :)

I've the same single pair of 20€ shoes since 5 years. Some holes, but they still work well, probably for another 5 years. The only drawback is when it rains, I need to dry them with newspaper. I do a lot of sports (mostly bike (I've no car) for all my commuting, hiking/trail, ..

What 20€ shoe will last for 10 years of hiking and trail walking?

Okay, but why would you want to put up with drying your shoes with newspaper?

I got 1x Nike for lounging/running that I just bought (the previous one was 'retired'), and 1x Salomon for hiking/snow/outdoors activities (bought in 2009). I spend one month per year in the very northern parts of Scandinavian countries usually Dec-Jan.

My "office gear" includes two pairs of "office shoes" that I absolutely never wear when not in the clients' offices/meetings/interviews. I hate those clothes :)

One thing I really don't like about minimalists is they boast too much about the numbers of different items they own. Not all wears are made by the fast fashion industry as a result of consumerism. I have bike wear, climbing wear and running wears but I use them interchangeably and try to buy less because I'm relatively poor. IMO minimalists should expand their hobbies (which are rarely low-cost so they will try to optimize their spendings) rather than confine themselves in the established social norms.

In my opinion it shouldn't be about the absolute number, but rather about having relatively few but long-lasting items. Obviously individual needs vary, because of hobby activities, weather and such.

So I have 8 pairs of shoes, but I still consider it relatively minimal, because each serves a distinct purpose, such as my safety boots.

I also have multiple pairs of leather boots (military surplus), because leather boots/shoes really should be aired out for a day after you wear them, especially if you've been doing anything strenous. By having a couple of pairs, each pair will last significantly longer than if I just wore the same pair every day.

Minimalism can easily go way too far and become counterproductive.

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