Pft. I only own one item. A house. In fact, I'm married, so I really own half an item. Pretty minimalist, right?

I count my things as resellable items I would be pissed if someone took.

By this definition an "item" is "one emotional connection to an object", not merely an object itself.

Yes, this means that the guy carries around many more physical objects than he counts as "items". This seems emotionally healthy, though, if one can afford it. And affording it is easier than ever: This is not the 18th century, and underwear is so cheap that, were a pair to be stolen, you're out the cost of a cup of coffee.

(By his own definition, I wonder whether the OP really "owns" a toiletry kit. Even a moderately fancy toiletry kit is worth maybe twenty bucks and can be replaced in ten minutes at any drugstore. And they're certainly not resellable. So I tend to suspect the OP's toiletry kit appears in this list mainly for branding purposes: He doesn't want to give readers the impression that his style of minimalism involves never taking a bath. ;) And he doesn't want to get into a lengthy debate over underwear and soap: As he makes clear in the rest of the post, his goal in life is not to ever think or worry about underwear or soap.)

This would be a pretty odd definition of an "item". Going with this definition though, I (and suspect quite a few others) don't have more than 1-2 "items", or even any at all. I can't think of a single (physical) object I have emotional connection to, as long as I am reimbursed so that I can replace it it's business as usual.

If you want to understand your fellow humans better, take a glimpse into the opposite extreme with this book on compulsive hoarding:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/books/review/Kramer-t.html

You may find it quite alien, or perhaps hilarious, or both, but I've met quite a few people on the hoarding spectrum, and it is decidedly not fun.

And I'd venture to say that most people have something with significant emotional resonance that they'd be loath to lose it. A wedding ring. Objects inherited from one's late grandparents. A few pieces of custom-built tools, furniture, or clothing that fit you perfectly.

It's worth noting that he hasn't stopped. http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-year-walls-kept... is quite excellent, with such lines as, "So, being the good minimalist that he is, he immediately paid way too much for almost nothing."

I think the truth is somewhere between the two hyperboles. Gram Hill's minimalism as an overriding cause is taken to completely silly extremes. However, the principle of getting rid of shit you don't need (and better yet, not buying shit you don't need in the first place) is quite sound.