A cemetery caretaker who has spent the past decade giving away all his things as part of an extreme minimalism experiment says he now has 170 possessions left, and plans to get that down to 100. Axel Radstrom has got rid of his sofa, TV and all of his kitchen furniture.
Day-by-day Axel, 36, is decluttering to the point that he is now looking for a smaller home. He regularly donates unwanted items to charity or people who need them as part of a growing movement of people who are giving up on materialism to live a simpler, more fulfilling and more sustainable life. Extreme minimalism usually dictates that people own between 15 and 150 objects, give away their bed and sleep on the ground – although Axel hasn’t gone that far yet.
“It started when I was 24. I was struggling with depression and felt lonely, even though I had a boyfriend, a nice apartment, and what seemed like a good life. It felt as if everything I owned was for someone else. I decided to start getting rid of things to live a life that is aligned with who I truly am — and that person is someone who wants to live with as little as possible,” Axel said.
Axel is fastidious about counting his possessions; a pot with a lid counts as two items and every part of his bed is individually itemised; bed frame, mattress, pillowcase and pillow for example. Besides his bed, he owns no other furniture.
He eats on a cushion on the floor – or at a restaurant – and when he buys food from a shop, the packaging it comes in counts as an item. He misses having art on his wall, but if he needs some visual inspiration, he goes to a museum where he enjoys the hustle and bustle of exhibitions. He only has one regret; throwing away a favourite sweater. “It was knitted, rust-coloured, fit very well, and kept me warm. I really miss it.”
Most of his 170-strong inventory is made up of kitchen utensils, but the number also includes his toothbrush, passport, wardrobe and contents, phone and computer.
He says his lifestyle allows him to save all his money for making memories; meeting up with friends, going out and travelling, but that his main motivation is to challenge himself. Axel said: “I want to see how far I can go. What is my limit when it comes to owning things? Also, I want to free up more time so that I’m not tied down or letting my possessions control me. Less ownership means more time for what I love—time to travel and meet people.
“My friends and family struggle to understand my lifestyle choice sometimes. I don’t usually bring it up unless someone else does. Many feel sorry for me and have preconceived notions that I can’t afford my own things and offer to give me stuff. I appreciate the thought but always explain why I choose not to own many things. ‘But what if you have guests?’ is a common question. ‘Well, we could always sit at a cosy café instead, right?’ This journey has given me new perspectives on life and what truly matters: friends, family, and financial security.”
Axel found it hardest to get rid of sentimental gifts and photos, but he scanned all his pictures onto a USB stick. “I don’t miss having a TV, a sofa, or kitchen furniture at all. It feels good to live close to the ground. I’ve also minimised my kitchen tools and try to find multifunctional ones,” he explains.
He is now looking for a smaller place to live as his apartment feels like ‘a big, empty echo. I’d like to downsize from 70 square meters to around 27. It feels unreasonable to have so much space’, he says.
“We live in a society that wastes resources, a throwaway culture where we don’t appreciate the value of things. It can easily lead us to adopt the same mentality with people. Living minimally might inspire others to start their own journey toward a simpler life.
“I feel more alive now than I ever have before. And if I feel something deeply, I know where it comes from; not from the state of my home. But from within. This way of living, minimalism, makes life so much easier emotionally and economically,” he adds.