“THE BURNING HOUSE”: WHAT
WOULD YOU SAFE IF YOUR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE?
Flipping
through the newspaper today I see this headline: “The millionaire who gives everything
and lives with 15 objects”. It got my attention, so I
decided to have a look. This was the first paragraph:
"If
your house suddenly caught on fire, what would you grab as you fled out the
door? That’s precisely the question Foster Huntington asked herself and posted in her blog The Burning House in 2011.
She gathered her belongings she herself would take and photographed them, then
asked a few friends to do the same. Her blog, considered by the Times magazine one of the best blogs of
2012, has inspired many people to think, photograph, and share their most
valuable belongings"
Huntington writes in the introduction:
“Today, developed countries are
consuming more than ever before. This culture of consumption is often fueled by
people’s desire to define themselves by the possessions they amass. The Burning House: What Would You Take? takes a different
approach to personal definition. By removing easily replaceable objects and instead
focusing on things unique to them, people are able to capture their
personalities in a photograph.”
Here is part of the
article:
“Last April, the most
bizarre self-help guru in New York, James Altucher had a similar revelation.
Only that his house did not burn. And he did not pictures of what remained.
He simply took 15
things in a sports bag and left. The rest, including his apartment, donated or
thrown away.
Three shirts, three
pairs of pants, two shorts, two pairs of socks, two shoes, a bag of frozen
plastic zip with $ 4,000 in bills two, a laptop and an iPad. All in a black
sports bag. Since then, he has been sleeping on his friends' couches or in
rented appartments. Altucher’s reinvention has the peculiarity that is
absolutely voluntary. He was a millionaire twice and he ruined in both
occasions, but after recovering his fortune, he decided to deny everything he
had achieved, and get rid of it. What is curious is that in Altucher’s list
there is nothing personal. No family photos, or travel souvenirs or gifts,
nothing. Just enough for day to day.
Pragmatism with
message, yes. Because a guru is nothing without founding a movement, and a
movement is nothing without a name. Minimalism. That’s how he calls his new
life.”
Today I was thinking
about this article while I was moving all my things to a new room on campus. I
was surprised of the amount of clothes, shoes, books that I had stored on my
room.
-Oh man… I have 7
different jeans, 5 different pairs of running shoes…why do I have some many
things?!
After moving all my stuff, I googled “The burning house” and I found some really cool pictures!
Some of them were from the article (which has become a bestseller) and some
others came from people who, after reading the book, have also decided to
photograph their most valuable belongins.
But before you see the
photos…
THINK
ABOUT WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE TO YOU.
WHAT 15
THINGS WOULD
YOU SAVE IF YOUR HOUSE WAS ON FIRE?
It is not easy to get rid of our things right?
“Focusing on things unique to us, things that define us, we are
able to capture our personality in one picture.”
Now have a look and get some inspiration!
And well, HERE is mine!
If my house was on fire… First I SAVE my running shoes! haha.
These HOKAS are awesome!! =)
In my list I have:
·
my passport,
·
credit card,
·
my diary,
·
the silver chain my dad gave me (with the shark tooth from
Ecuador),
·
my smartphone + headphones,
·
my little bag that has always been with me the last 2 years,
·
my portable hard drive…
·
and I almost forgot my toothbrush and my contact lents!
It makes a total of 11.
I CHALLENGE YOU NOW
What 10-15 things would you save if you house was on fire?
POST YOUR COMMENTS AND YOUR PICTURE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW
