Still trying to control the clutter. Not only in my life, but in my head. People spend too much time rushing and not "being." A friend today reminded me the importance of giving "time" instead of a present. And when you think about it, it truly is the best "gift."
As for my clutter, I pass along a motivator, forwarded to me. This guy, Chris McNaught is also out there trying to eliminate the unnecessary things in his life. If you follow the link, you can see McNaught's place. Maybe a bit too sparse for me.... but I admire the guy.
Less is more: it's a well-worn mantra, but not one that gains a lot of traction in our super-sized culture. This summer, Chris McNaught had an idea. Inspired by a woman who had winnowed her possessions to a paltry 300 items, Chris decided to make an inventory of his own stuff. He counted all the items in his house and garage, and noted them on a spreadsheet. The result: Chris owned
2,000 items.
So he immediately decided to clean house. The process isn't over, either, and he's continuing to make some key decisions - including whether or not to keep a childhood teddy bear.
Chris says that his home these days is simple, uncluttered, and filled with only the most meaningful items from his life. Having given away more than half of his possessions, Chris is well on his way to owning no more than 500 things.
8 comments:
I've been a vagabond for the past few years. Schlepping the "necessary" shit around in giant Tupperware bins--the rest safely tucked away in two expensive "climate controlled" storage units. When I finally committed to a lease after two years of transience, I reluctantly started unpacking those "treasures" I'd pay to store for two years.
The thing that astonished me most as I picked through my packed possessions was the pink lightbulb.
Yes. The pink lightbulb.
A few years earlier, someone had bought me some nice Mac cosmetics for my birthday. With it came a pink lightbulb. A promotional freebie of some sort courtesy of Mac.
Now, I'm the one who packed my belongings for storage. I did not hire an imbecile to manage the task. Nor did I ask for counsel from a schizophrenic. It was I who made the conscious decision to include a pink lightbulb in with my "must-haves" and to then pay several hundred dollars a month to store it.
I think you know where I'm going with this: When I found that lightbulb, a lightbulb went off--and I've since been unloading crap steadily ever since.
I'm finally to the point where I have a pretty decent mental inventory of my belongings. There aren't secret grocery bags full of things that need to be shredded. There aren't more grocery bags full of warranties and book recommendations. There aren't open boxes with greeting cards and loose photos and telephone cords and loose, little, plastic pearls.
Now that I have pared enough away to actually know what it is that I own, I will begin the task of separating out what is essential--and what would be more appreciated by someone else.
What's funny is that there's nothing sacrificial about the process. It may feel that way in those moments when you're deciding to put something in the "go" pile, but the second it's gone, out the door, all you feel is freedom.
When it comes right down to it, what they say is true:
You can't take it with you.
(So why try?)
The pink lightbulb story is certainly classic, no doubt about that. What really struck a chord with me are the "open boxes with greeting cards and loose photos and telephone cords and loose, little, plastic pearls."
What do you do with that stuff? I actually have 5 photo albums and scrap books that I bought at times thinking I was going to sit down and really organize those loose photographs, and keep only the super sentimental cards with personal meaning to them, now the photo albums themselves are clutter. Scan everything?
Also, the phone cord thing is a leftover habit as a child of a depression era mother. You can't throw away something if "it is still good." I have at least 7 of them.
Poking through stuff in old boxes can be cathartic. Makes you laugh and cry at times. A tour of your own life.
This is how I dealt with the loose photos and letters.
I got some of those big Tupperware bins (popular theme in my life) and as I was sorting through all of my *other* stuff, every time I came across a photo, I'd stick it in the "Photo Tupperware." And in the same manner, every time I came across a letter or card, it went into the "Letters/Cards Tupperware."
I realized early on that trying to manage the smaller task of "letter/photo management" would only get in the way of the bigger task at hand--which was to do a broad decluttering sweep.
So I used no discretion with the photos or letters. Just deposited them into a bin for later analysis. (Prior to doing this, you could find letters/photos in any imaginable container or corner of my apt.)
Once I've pared down my essentials (as mentioned in my previous post), I will tackle the smaller task of sorting through the photos.
Once I do get to that point, I intend to treat the photos in much the same way I did the larger project. Pitch pictures that no longer have any meaning. (How many random landscape photos do I really need to have? Landscapes I can no longer identify. And other people's baby's pictures. As if one baby looks any different from some other damn baby. Soo .. out go the landscapes. And bye-bye baby.) But that will come later ...
This is a really helpful motivator for me:
If I don't deal with this crap, some poor schmuck will have to after I'm dead.
One last word of advice:
For the love a good and holy Christ child, donate the phone cords to the Salvation Army.
Depression-era moms be damned.
You only need one. (Phone cord. And depression-era mom, for that matter.)
Oh, yeah. And as for the plastic pearls.
I intend to write a poem about them.
"Mysterious Pearls"
I'm so glad I was able to inspire someone. When I did the interview for "The Story" I thought it was really fun. I didn't realize that other people would actually listen, and be interested. I e-mailed my family and friends and figured they would be the only ones to listen.
Thanks for the mention in your blog.
chris
Chris--
So cool that you found me! I'm still way behind you. (500 things? Sheesh.. I have 500 CASSETTES.)
Anyhow... you inspired me to "fix the link" to your picture. I had linked to the artical about you, that originally contained the picture of you in your livingroom.
Did you get rid of your Teddy Bear?
Yes, I gave two bears to an orphanage in Malawi, Africa. The woman who started McKallie's Home for Future and Hope (http://mckallieshome.org/) left for Malawi on Oct. 3. I can't wait to see pictures of the bears' new owners.
Chris,
What a beautiful, meaningful choice you made with the teddy bears.
M.J. and I have been walking the road to simplicity--she, out east, me in the midwest. Each at our own pace and in our manner.
Once I made the decision to "declutter," it seemed that everywhere I turned, there was some mention of this process. Needless to say, I was happily taken aback to hear your piece on "The Story"--right at this time.
It was a really fun and intersting story and I'm so glad you shared it.
Thanks.
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