This is quite possibly "old news" to many of you...but it is new to me and has really got me thinking about it over the past couple of weeks. Check it out:
http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html
Could you live--happily--with only 100 personal items for a year...or better yet for the rest of your life? It sounds like a lot of stuff. It sounds easy to do, but when you start adding up your stuff...well, that's another story. My husband is 100% certain that he could do it...and I believe him. Actually, he has done it before. When he moved to Oregon to help out his dad 7 or 8 years ago, he slept in a tent for 6 months and had far less things than that. My husband also has stricter standards for the 100 Thing Rules than I would. He views 1 pair of shoes as 1 thing. He views each dish as 1 thing....each book is one thing (which is just sadistic)...however I bet I could trip him up when it comes to tools...or maybe not...he's pretty darn good.
My interpretation of the rules is far more liberal. I think underwear (as a group) is 1 item...not 1 item per pair. I think 5 handbags should count as 1 item...3 pairs of shoes should be 1 item...5 books should be 1 item. While I love the look of a minimalist house and I love the idea of a simplified life, I'm still too attached to my stuff. So here I am back at square one...being attached to my stuff...Miss Consumer...Miss Materialistic.
Please don't misunderstand...I'm not "being too hard on myself"...and I know I'm not alone...many people are in the same boat as I am...as a matter of fact, I think I'm in the boat with the majority of folks... But, this also reaffirms that I need to keep re-evaluating. I need to keep revisiting this topic until I get a better handle on it. I need to keep purging stuff.
The old saying "Less is more" is absolutely true...it's true for wearing make-up...it's true for eating potato chips and it's true for owning stuff...
Looks like I've got work to do...I better get to it.
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2 comments:
If you stuffed your underwear in the handbags, that would reduce the count, right?
I couldn't do the book part.
One pair of underwear and 99 books. Not a pretty picture...
I have to agree with your husband. How can five pairs of shoes be the same as 1 pair? Think of it in the extreme: would Imelda Marcos's closet of shoes equal your husband's 1 pair?
Just being contrary maybe. But I really am trying very hard to reduce the sheer number of things we have in the house, and my other half keeps dragging more crap home.
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