Starting from scratch

As I was leaving my flat the other morning to go to work, I thought I smelt burning from the flat below mine. This got me thinking, what if the burning smell was, for example, coming from an iron that the owner of the flat had accidentally left on. And what if it started a fire, which burnt down both his flat and the flats above it. The question boils down to, what if my flat burnt down and I lost everything in it?

Assuming I got the money from contents insurance (and I’m going out on a limb here and assuming that my insurance company would pay up due to loss caused by another flat owner leaving his iron on), the question I asked myself was, what would I miss? And what would I buy again? And just how materialistic am I?

Things I own that I would definitely buy again: a laptop, (electronic) piano, camera, a limited selection of DVDs, a limited selection of books, walking equipment (rucksack, tent, etc.). Possibly some clothes.

Things I own that I would probably not buy again: most of my DVD and CD collection, desktop computer, printer, most of my books.

All in all I’d like to be a lot more minimalist than I am now. I love the idea of being able to pack all my worldly possessions in the boot of my car.

How about you? Would you buy all your belongings again, or would you, like me, take the opportunity to shift your view on material possessions?

On an unrelated note - this is a still, of the beach at St Bees, taken from my very-much-in-progress Coast to Coast documentary: