Filed under: 100 Thing Challenge, About 2LiveSimple, Getting rid of STUFF!, Peter Walsh
I started this blog for a couple reasons.
1. To journal my path to a more simple life.
2. To connect with others that have similar goals, and to share ideas.
On the downside, I really haven’t been as regular with posting as I would like, and the process will continue to march slowly. And I have had very few visitors.
On the upside, I had one of my posts commented on by Peter Walsh. It was a complete honor to both myself and my wife. He is a guru to us, and I’m sure we will continue to read his book throughout this entire process, and thereafter to keep us in line from time to time. His book “It’s All Too Much!” has earned a permanent place in my library, and will be recommended often.
On my original quest to find others who are trying to strip down their lives (and I do mean strip down), I came across two people that made me quite curious.
The first was David Michael Bruno and his 100 Thing Challenge. He was doing exactly what I wanted to do. To really know what he had, and eliminate what he didn’t need. My only complaint was that I wished to have more updates from him on this. The good news is that he has started a new page for this, and appears to have posted a few times since I last checked. Here’s the link …..
http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html
The second was a mention of the “Rucksack Guy”. Every link I found kept leading to a dead end. The concept was he has 101 possessions that could all be carried in a rucksack in a single load. What was even better, was that he was said to have photographed all his possessions. Well, I finally found a site that had his list and photos. Very cool, and inspirational. I wish I could actually make contact with him, and have the opportunity to ask questions. He would be a most interesting person to interview. Here’s the site I found …..
http://mcshug.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
Just scroll down a bit if you don’t see it.
So, there are some updates on what is inspiring me.
Now, how am I doing with this challenge? I have been going back over my CD collection, and I think I finally broke through some barrier in my mind.
I used to have hundreds of CDs, and my collection has always been in flux. I will trade in CDs, and then get new CDs. My wife likes to laugh when I end up buying a CD that I had gotten rid of. The great news is that really doesn’t happen a lot, and it hasn’t been that big of a deal to replace something. I think for some people getting rid of stuff really triggers a fear response. In some ways I think that is what happens with me as well.
It’s bad enough to realize you will only get 10 cents on the dollar (sometimes if you are lucky), but then to think you may need to buy it back later is a very discouraging thought. My solution is to be far more careful when buying something in the first place. Works pretty well for me, but sometimes those impulses are mighty powerful.
I am revisiting my CDs, and now have them down to 71 at last count. While I am close to done, I still have a bit to go. Then I will of course move on to something else.
In my list of 100 things, I will count my CD collection as one thing (but MUST maintain at 100 or less). I know from reading other posts that many people either wish to criticize this, or abuse it. For me it is just what it is. I like books, CDs and DVDs a LOT. I have had over a couple thousand possessions at a time if you would have counted them at that time. For me, it is a great accomplishment to keep each of those categories under 100, and have them as 3 items on my list of 100.
I still wish I knew how many books David has on his 100 Thing Challenge. I am horribly curious.
Toodle Pip
I continue to use the principles of Peter Walsh as I downsize my life. I am also continuing to try to conduct my own 100 possession challenge.
I originally blogged about this on 5/4/2008.
Here’s the new twist in our trying to eliminate clutter.
We are seriously considering living in a home that is 120 square feet. That’s right, 120 square feet.
Go to www.tumbleweedhouses.com and take a look at the Lusby. This is the one we are seriously considering. I would LOVE to hear from anyone who is living in a home that Jay designed.
You can easily see how I would need to limit my possessions (my wife will have to do the same). I am currently working on a list of all I own. In each category I am doing a quick purge as Peter Walsh describes in his book “It’s All Too Much!”.
I then move on to something else. Then later revisit what I had purged earlier. It seems to me that two things are at work here: 1. Each time you revisit after a previous purge, you are confronted with a smaller task. 2. The break you take between the purges gives you a fresher perspective when you look at it again.
Next, I print out my current list (still don’t have everything on it – I think it would amaze the average person to do this exercise), and then I have my wife go over the list and draw a line through each item she would get rid of. I’m often surprised by what she would get rid of on the list. Sometimes it is liberating as I know she would be okay with me getting rid of something. It may be because I thought she wanted us to keep something. It may be because it is something she gave me, and I wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings. Sometimes it simply makes me really think about one possession or another, and other times I simply just think absolutely not. I think it is often those strong responses that speak strongest to me. You would actually have me get rid of the limited edition working replica Bat Signal that you gave me ….. No Way! And there you have it ….. it stays ….. it may not be a practical possession, but it does make me smile. First, I really love the old Batman comics (childhood nostalgia), and second, it was a gift from my wife. The challenge can be – How many of these items do you allow yourself to keep before they become a burden?
That’s my blogging for today – stay tuned – my 100 possession list to follow soon!
Filed under: Getting rid of STUFF!, Peter Walsh, simple finance, simple health
I’ve been a little removed from my normal routines in life as I have been dealing with health issues. Many doctors visits, and many tests. I will not cover it now, but I have come to the conclusion that good health is your most valuable asset you can possess (or if not an asset, at least a resource).
Today is going to focus back on uncluttering your life. I continually believe that it is clutter that complicates most things in life. Clutter causes more to be cleaned up, more difficulty doing the cleaning, more work hours to pay for all the stuff that clutters your home, to repair all the stuff in your home, insure all the stuff in your home, and maybe rent extra space to store all the extra stuff that no longer fits in your home.
If I could recommend one book to own, it would be “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I will say it again. I have read a number of books that have spoken deeply to me, but this one calls me to action more than any other.
I have been systematically reducing all the clutter (with my wife’s help of course).
The latest task has been to go through all the contents in my file cabinet. Four drawers of statements, articles, manuals, and everything one could imagine.
Phone bills from five years ago. Manuals and receipts for items not owned for many years. Twenty copies of insurance policies that expired and replaced with new policy statement. Articles that I can not even fathom why I had saved in the first place. Home design ideas that no longer fit my taste.
That’s just the stuff that is simple to identify as absolutely not needed.
What do you do with the other stuff? I have adopted solutions put forth in “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh (Big Surprise!!!!!). He has a way of cutting to the root of things.
You can buy all the organization stuff you could ever wish for, but how exactly does the average person organize, file and maintain 10,000 sheets of paper. More importantly, who would want to.
With Peter Walsh’s help I am shredding, and shredding, and shredding, and shredding and shredding …..
I am determining what I need, and an ongoing system (again courtesy of Peter Walsh) to keep the volume of paperwork in constant check.
It appears that what once took a four drawer file cabinet will now be contained in one of those small size plastic file container. The added bonus is that it is far more portable to move with me where I want to work.
I will share more details of what I have done once I feel I have taken it to where I wish to be.
Do you have any ideas? What do you do?
For anyone who does not know who Peter Walsh is, he has been on clean sweep, Oprah, and written a few books.
Filed under: Getting rid of STUFF!
I just came across this site with a poll on whether you feel you have too many material possessions, too few, or just enough.
You can also submit your own questions to poll.
It maps it out in a world map with color coded balloons. Neat idea, great question.
ASK 500 – Do you feel as if you have too many material possessions or too few?
Filed under: Getting rid of STUFF!
I just found an excellent post by Penelope Trunk by using the word “materialism” on Google.
I particularly enjoyed step 4 which states you can get rid of everything if you had to, and step 5 stating that throwing out stuff is not wasteful.
Step 4 might have been an involuntary event for Penelope and her family, but the end result is what I am speaking of. Imagine you had a fire, and could only save so many items. What would you save? Do you have so much stuff that you would be lucky to be able to save anything of real importance (I know we do – but not for long).
On step 5 I really loved her statement on how material possessions and lifestyle can hold you back. A fear of losing our identity or worth if we lost our stuff. I would prefer to have seen her use a different wording – “Getting rid of stuff is not wasteful”. Obviously you would not want to give items infested with bed bugs to anyone, but, for the most part, it is best to allow others the opportunity to put your unwanted items to use rather than in a landfill. Give stuff away, sell it, donate it, change it, but don’t put it in a landfill if possible.
CHECK THIS BLOG ENTRY OUT
Filed under: Getting rid of STUFF!
I made great progress today, I managed to weed out 82 books from my library.
I’m now down to 201 books!!!!
Why is it so hard to let go of a book that has not been opened in years?
There are books that I just love. I may not even open it for a long time, but I somehow still like the idea of owning it.
But, where do you draw the line?? If you have too many books, too many CDs, too many DVDs, too many magazines, too many clothes, too many appliances, too many, too many, too many.
So, for now I continue to walk my path towards 100 books.
I have been checking my current list of books versus the online library catalog. This has helped me list a number of books online, and I can always check them out when I’m ready for them.
I also have to remind myself that if there is a book that I truly end up missing, I can replace it.
I wonder how other people who have so many books have managed to bring them down to a reasonable limit, and I guess I am still struggling with what is reasonable?
Deep breath in, deep breath out & let go!
Well, I just posted earlier today that I had found more books to add to my list.
They seem to be tucked in many places around the house, as I have just discovered more.
I believe I now have a complete and accurate current count of books.
283 books in all, and my initial goal is to get them below 100.
I have 124 books currently listed on Half.com (my store link) for sale.
This puts me currently in possession of 407 books.
I will first try to sell as much as I can, then trade in as much as I can, then donate to a local favorite charity thrift store. I have a bookshelf dedicated to nothing but books to sell at this point. My goal is to reduce my books to 100 or less, and to have all others out of the house by the end of the year.
RULE DEFINED: 1 item in, 1 item out – I will always want to spend time with a new book, and this would apply to other possessions as well.
There are many approaches that I have read about when trying to reduce clutter. Some people do sell stuff. Garage sales. Donate to thrift store or library (books). Consignment shops. Sell it for you online auction businesses. Give to people you know will appreciate receiving the item. Unfortunately, we all have a certain amount of clutter that is nothing more than garbage, and hopefully some of it can be recycled.
To answer a question that might be on your mind, I will try to sell what I can first, because I also wish to eliminate debt. That will be a future topic on my blog, and many others.
I have so many thoughts and ideas, some I am already starting to put into practice. Others I will try as soon as I make progress in other areas. The first task I am tackling is to make an inventory, and reduce possessions.
I spend most of my time doing those to-do items that aren’t specifically what I want to do, wishing I could be doing something else. Not very mindful! It largely comes back to my need to get rid of stuff. When you have so much clutter, it takes a lot of time to clean up.
Clear this counter or table, and move the pile someplace else. It’s like a huge chess game, but at least when playing chess, pieces actually get taken off the board.
Peter Walsh states, in his book “It’s All Too MUCH!”, that if you look for lost items 5 minutes a day, that will total about 30 hours each year. I’m sure I spend a lot more than an average of 5 minutes a day looking for stuff.
Have I said how much I love this book? It is truly motivating! I read a little, and want to actually take the steps to make it happen.
Peter is giving us the life we want, and I see it getting better every day.
CONFESSION: The more you clean, the more you find stuff you forgot you had, or didn’t know where it was.
I came across more books when sorting through a closet. I now have a total of 253 books, but still plan to continue to purge. After I make further progress on my list, I will be posting it, and updating it as I make progress.
RULE DEFINED: Counting Possessions – IT IS WHAT IT IS These are my rules, and you are free to take them, or share your own ideas. Everyone will never agree, and we all have to decide what works ourselves.
I had posed the question of how to count a “Jeeves and Wooster” DVD box set I have (1 set, 4 seasons, or 8 DVDs). I have decided to go with the answer my wife gave me – 1 item. It is what it is – accept it. It is purchased as 1 item. If I bought each of the 4 seasons seperately, then it would be 4. You can’t alter this and call the 4 seasons a full set, because it did not come as a full set.
Today I went to the annual Arts In the Park. I have spent so much time lately trying to reduce clutter, and get rid of stuff, that it was hard to look at anything without thinking about trying to get rid of stuff.
I purchased 2 more photos from Jim Spillane today. He is an amazing photographer that spends 4 months each year in Nepal (if I remember correctly).
I purchased 1 ikibana vase. It is so small, that it can fit in a shallow drawer. and has a diameter of maybe 4 inches. Hand made, and beautiful. I cut a small branch from a tree in my back yard, and it looks like a little bonsai tree. This truly fits my desired lifestyle.
Not amazing skill on my part, but yet I am greatly pleased.
So, I am still thinking about “How much is enough????”
At zenhabits.net, Leo wrote about the “100 thing challenge” from Dave’s blog. I really enjoyed all the comments posted, but would like to see more ongoing commentary. People coming back with their lists. If you included pretty much everything in your house, what would your list look like.
From watching Peter Walsh at work, I don’t think personal possession make up the bulk of all excess. It is often a kitchen loaded with every device imaginable, and multiples of many items. It is garages filled to their limits, many times with boxes full of items that have not seen the light of day in years.
Read Leo’s and his reader’s comments here, and share your thoughts. I am working on a list right now, and I am pretty much going to count EVERYTHING (only not counting my wife’s personal possessions – or I am, but only on those items that are easy for me to count – she is a crafter, and that is a challenge to count – she does have a craft room, and the idea is to limit her items to what can be organized within that room).
http://zenhabits.net/2007/09/minimalist-fun-the-100-things-challenge/
Not everybody wants to do this, and many just don’t seem to get it. I am working on my list of everything, because I agree with what one of Leo’s readers posted. If you have 105 items, and bring it to 100 that is nice. If you have 5,000 and you bring it down to 2,500 then that is huge. I want to figure out where I am. Try to set a goal. Eliminate stuff, but keep everything I truly use, and love. I will even buy something if I truly feel it will add value to my life.
Filed under: Getting rid of STUFF!
I have been, as written before, trying to reduce my possessions.
I came across an interesting blog as I looked for others trying to accomplish the same. http://guynameddave.typepad.com/stuckinstuff/100-thing-challenge.html In this blog, Dave is setting a challenge to reduce to 100 personal possessions. I love what he is doing, but it leaves me with many questions. Questions I was already asking myself. What should you count, and how should they be counted.
I am terribly curious about how many books Dave has since he is not counting them, and why shouldn’t they be counted (not criticizing, just trying to find answers)? If we don’t count such household items that are common, does that allow them to be beyond reasonable in quantity.
I have a box set of Jeeves and Wooster (one of my favorites). It is 1 single box set, 4 seasons, and 8 DVDs. Does that count as 1, 4, or 8???? If I don’t count it as 8, how is it really any different than someone who has 8 DVDs of different titles versus the same space and quantity of DVDs that this box set contains?
Defining a quantity allows one to have rules. Limits. Boundaries.
I would like to share thoughts on this. What are your thoughts on this????
