Down with Stuff

We've spent the last year cutting down on clutter and excessive stuff and making an effort to not keep adding to it. This task is made somewhat easier for both Ana and me in that we are not big consumers. Ana never has been. I used to buy gadgets and cool stuff (before kids when I worked all the time and my income was much higher) but found I didn't really even end up using a lot of the things I bought.

Now our clutter combined with the kids' clutter is making me a little nuts. We gave away truckloads of items before we combined households and moved to a different county. All the kid toys and clothes that we stored for the hundreds of crisis kids we took in were no longer needed. We have been giving away a lot of personal items due to lack of space or because it got broken or might get broken by unruly kids. We recently off-loaded a bunch more to charity and two garage sales. The most painful purge was our massive book collection that we have been accumulating for the past 20+ years. A nice older couple bought the whole lot. It was hard not to chase them down the sidewalk and buy them back.

I've been reading with interest Dave Bruno's 100 Thing Challenge, a project to pare down his personal possessions to only 100 things. I think it's a bit of cheat since a lot of the items used on a daily basis are "shared" items for the household so it's not really like living with only 100 items. Still, I like the idea. But I don't like to count things (I'd make a lousy accountant or inventory clerk) or tame my ADD brain when it comes to excessive details (I don't balance my checkbook and haven't licensed my dogs yet). So that project was too tedious and time consuming for me.

However, less stuff definitely does appeal to my ADD brain as it is less to maintain, fix, license, register, clean, and keep track off. Having too much stuff and having to do too much to take care of it makes me depressed and agitated. And I work from home and have a hard time doing so surrounded by piles of clutter and junk. So today, I've filled up even more bags and boxes for charity and here's what's left of the possessions that are solely mine (although on occasion I do share). Incidentally, it did turn out to be pretty close to 100 things when I took the liberty of grouping certain items.

Transportation:
Car
I do own a second car but plan to sell it.

Pets:
2 Dogs. Each have two collars (one for id tags, one for training and walking), harness, leash, and bed. They share a grooming kit and food/water bowls.
Fish, bowl, and supplies. (The Boss has one too which lives in my room)
Rabbit, cage, and supplies.
Cat and supplies (probably not keeping the cat much longer)

Electronics/Entertainment:
iPod
Digital Camera
Cell Phone
Stereo (gift from my daughter but downstairs and shared by all)
8 seasons Stargate dvds
Die Hard series dvds
Over the Hedge dvd (Sentimental favorite. Saw this in theater on The Boss' adoption day.)
Toy Story 1&2 set dvds
(Again a cheat, since obviously I use a tv and dvd player. I use the shared ones in the living room and have one that belongs to Ana in my room. We sold over 100 dvds and videos at our garage sales and kept 20-30 as "shared" for family viewing and gave some to the kids for their own. I also sold/gave away hundreds of cds since all the music I listen to is now on my ipod or our "shared" computer.)

Misc.:
Coin purse with driver's lisc., credit/debit cards. (not much cash, darn it)
Willow Tree figurine (given to me by Ana for The Boss' adoption)
Schlep Bag (used mostly for hauling books and extra clothes for the littles)
Russian Nesting Doll (given to me by a good friend who traveled to Russia)
Cast-iron fox pen holder/business card set (bought in antique store in D.C.)
Stuffed Tigger (given to me by former co-worker as "thank you" gift)
Weights
Box of memorabilia (kept in garage, pared down from three boxes due to Ana's complaints that my junk was taking up too much valuable storage space)
Make-up and personal care items (I'm already minimalistic in this area so I'll count it as one)


Room Decor:
Bed
Bedding and Pillows
Antique dresser (refinished by me)
Dresser scarf
Antique writing desk
Night stand
Framed drawing of Don Quixote
Framed miniature painting of a knight
Canvas painting by former foster daughter
Wooden cowboy sign
Cowboy nightlight
Over the door hook/storage shelf
Three-drawer wooden stand (used to hold cds now holds make-up)
Hanging canvas shoe holder
Desk Lamp

Jewelry:
Japanese Jewelry Box (gift from exchange students)
Earrings (3 sets but I'll count as one thing since I wear them all at once)
Gold necklace (gift from parents from Virgin Islands or someplace like that)
Silver necklace/pendant (with my favorite Thoreau quote, bought at National Archives in DC)
Bracelet (gift from former foster daughter)
Bracelet (made of snakeskin, bought in the Philippines--probably will sneak it into the memorabilia box)

Personal Enrichment Stuff:
Bible (given to me by my mom when I was in Bible college in 1987-the one I still use for study and church)
Bible (gift from my parents in 1979)
Bible (recent addition, smaller size/modern translation for reading and travel)
Journals/notebooks/pens&pencils/crossword books/sketch pads (way too many so I made it a category...cheater)
Art supplies/old artwork (ditto)
Stack of books that I am currently reading or waiting to read(they'll be donated when I'm finished in a few weeks)

Clothing:
8 pair of shoes (mostly converse sneakers with some uggs, flip-flops, and boots thrown in)
5 jackets (1 warm, 1 denim, 3 hoodie)
30 items of day and night wear (mostly jeans and black t-shirts, my daily "uniform", love working from home!)
Uncounted undergarments/socks (why bother?)

That's it. If it's not listed it's gone or going. As Jo March said, "My head feels deliciously light and cool!"