Less and Less
I haven’t been on top of things with this site, but I have been reducing. I cut back for a while and wasn’t as vigilant about cleaning house and emptying boxes.I’m moving next month to a new place in Minneapolis. A slightly smaller place, as far as storage space goes. And so I have been systematically digging through boxes and closets, looking under the sink and in the bags.
I’ve thrown out a ton of stuff, mostly knick-knacks and old stuff that I once convinced myself I’d want one day. But now I look at it and I have no emotional response, so I throw it out.It’s hard to get rid of things, especially things that you think might mean something to you some day.
I’ve managed to save some things, but there are other things that I just don’t care about, and I’m being honest with myself. Yes, some day it might be cool to see some art that I drew in my college art class. But I’m not artist, I took the one class. And the fact of the matter is that I didn’t try that hard on what I made, and I didn’t care about it all that much when I did it. Why would I care 20 or 40 years from now? I won’t.
I’ve also been working on getting rid of things when I want to get something new. I decided I wanted an Xbox 360 so I could play games against my friends online, and to play Assassin’s Creed. I though about installing Windows on my MacBook, but I didn’t even know if it’d be capable of doing everything I wanted. So I sold my Wii and all of my games, and I used that money to fund the Xbox purchase, which I got a good deal on through Craigslist.
Today I watched my Windows PCs go out the door today as well, leaving me with just my laptop. I also sold my PSP to a friend because I wasn’t using it.I donated a bag of clothes to Goodwill today, and I’m thinking I might do that once more before I move. I’ve got a stack of books to either sell online or bring to a used book store, if they’ll have them. Maybe I should just donate them too.
It feels really good to know that I don’t have a bunch of things taking up space any more, a bunch of things I don’t need. It makes me feel mentally strong to recognize that I don’t need some of these things, that I won’t use some of these things. Living life wondering “what if” and thinking that I just might use that some day, so I should hold on to it has become a hindrance that makes moving, organizing, and using my space well more trouble that it’s worth.