People often mistakenly think that to be a minimalist, you need to live with less than 100 things (or 50 or something crazy like that). That's not at all true.
A minimalist is simply one who questions the necessity of things, and who tries to live with what is necessary, rather than with consumerism.
The 100 thing challenge is just a tool: by trying to reduce your possession to 100 things, it forces you to look at them and ask, ‘Is this really necessary? Can I live without it?'
So forget about the 100 things challenge, and instead just as yourself the questions. Is it really necessary? Can you live without it?
For example, could you live without these things?
Cable TV
A smart phone
Any kind of cell phone
Any kind of TV
Any kind of computer
An Internet connection
A couch
More than one pair of shoes
More than a few shirts, or pants
A microwave
Sweets
More than a handful of books (at a time)
Makeup
Hair
Mementos
A car
Maybe you can eat less sweet or even go without any sweet. But you can try to imagine, if you leave TV, what would you do when you are bored and could you miss your favorite TV shows and films? Without them, could you live a happy life all the same. If there is not any kind of cell phone with you, how could you call someone in an emergency? How would you talk with your sweetheart when you miss him or her? How would you telephone your family, relatives and friends? And how would you talk business with your business partners? Also imagine, without a car, could you adapt yourself to take a public bus on and off duty? How would you pick up your little kids after school? And if you can't leave a car, could you live without car entertainment? Without any car entertainment, how would you kill the boring time in the car? How would you deal with the noisy children? And could the car life be full of fun and colorful as before?
Some of you will find a few of those items so necessary that it is ridiculous to ask these questions.
Source by:
http://forum.xtrons.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=1067&MF=Y&PID=3038#3038
Can you live without car entertainment?