Part one in a two part series
“100 Things Club-Whittling Down Our Stuff”
“The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.”
Lin Yutang
My nineteen year old son Kevin recently asked, “Mom, do you have a small bottle of shampoo I can take on my trip?”
“I think so, honey. Check the bottom right-hand drawer in my bathroom,” I replied.
He opened the drawer and as he struggled to sift through the layers of old make up bags, finger nail polish, nail files, cotton balls, half-filled bottles of lotion and enough shavers to sheer a hundred sheep, I heard him mutter in exasperation, “Geez, enough stuff?”
My bathroom drawer is a microcosm of our house: admittedly, we have too much stuff. Although I don’t think we’re terribly materialistic, somehow we’ve accumulated enough crap that it could take one full month of concerted effort to rid this home of things we no longer need or use. According to a June article by Lisa McLaughlin in Time Magazine, I’m not alone. Lisa writes, “Excess consumption is practically an American religion. But as anyone with a filled-to-the-gills closet knows, the things we accumulate can become oppressive. With all this stuff piling up and never quite getting put away, we’re no long huddled masses yearning to breathe free; we’re huddled masses yearning to free up space on a countertop.”
100 Things Challenge
Enter the grass roots movement of average folks around the country who are striving to purge and prune themselves of unnecessary stuff by joining the 100 Things Club. No, not 100 things to do before you die; to join this club, one pledges to whittle down their personal possessions to a mere 100 things. One participant, Dave Bruno, is a 37 year-old online entrepreneur who looked at his home and realized how much his family’s belongings were weighing him down. So he began his purging and pruning effort to get his number of belongings down to 100, and has been blogging his process at guynameddave.com. He records what he has decided to hold on to, what he plans to donate or sell and lists the types of questions he struggles with, such as, “Are two pairs of jeans enough?”
If you were to strive to become a minimalist—excluding basic survival needs such as food and shelter—what 100 things would you choose? Put another way, if you received a warning that a flood was going to hit your home in less than 24 hours and you could only take 100 things with you, what would you pack? Photo albums? Favorite robe? Your Palm Pilot and cell phone? This question made me feel quite uncomfortable as I prepared my family’s dinner last night. With a more discerning eye, these questions challenged my kitchen’s status quo.
“Why do I have five spatulas?”
“Do I really need four frying pans? Maybe my son and daughter will take 1 or 2 for their apartment.”
“Gosh, this junk drawer alone must have over 100 things in it!”
“I’ve got to get a handle on this pantry, so I stop buying things we already have.”
“Look at all these metal bowls. Why did I buy so many?”
Spirituality of Stuff
Feng Shui, the Chinese art of space and placement, teaches us that our energy has to go out to everything we own. We either need to look at, store, dust, or repair everything we own. We must be mindful and discern when its time to release things that we don’t need anymore. Take clothes, for example. I know someone who left corporate America 15 years ago, has no intention of returning, never wears these suits, yet feels compelled to hang onto them because they were so expensive. So they hang in her closet, year after year, taking up precious space, collecting dust mites and reminding her of a way of life she no longer wants. Imagine how much better she might have felt if she had donated those suits (when they were still in style) to low income women seeking employment and needing a professional wardrobe.
A co-worker who has been working on downsizing and simplifying her life summarized it well. “We know that the fewer tethers we have anchoring us to the physical world, the greater our capacity to awaken and increase our consciousness of the oneness of all.”
Another friend said her reaction to a crazy, out of control external world is to make her apartment as simple and sane as possible. Yes, this required hours of sorting, decision making, letting go and donating things she no longer needs, but she loves the less cluttered look and sacred feel to her place now.
Those needing inspiration to reduce their consumption of material goods simply need to watch the video by Annie Leonard’s at www.storyofstuff.com. The twenty minutes it takes to view may radically change your buying habits and save you countless dollars.
New Ways to Celebrate
I love that many of the social invitations I’m receiving from my friends, neighbors and family request ‘no gifts’ or a donation to a worthy charity. Do honor their requests, and let them know in a card which charity you donated to on their behalf. They’ll feel better knowing the two of you made a small difference in someone’s life and they’ll breathe easier not having to deal with more stuff they don’t want or need.
Remington’s Remedy
Most of us will never achieve the goal of owning only 100 things, but the 100 Things Club provides a spark to jump start your personal campaign for less stuff and more simplified living, doesn’t it? Be sure to check out August’s column, which will include practical tips for those looking to pare down their belongings and a list of local organizations that accept donations.
Sidebar
Out of curiosity about generational differences, I asked my daughter, age 21, to list the top ten things she couldn’t live without.
Laura’s List
1. Computer with internet access
2. Cell phone
3. Digital Camera
4. Car
5. My brown blanket
6. Favorite pair of jeans
7. Water bottle
8. Notebook and pen
9. Watch
10. A plant
