2009 Thing Update

CPS Library, originally uploaded by eholubow

Our total of things tossed is up to 759. Last month we ran into the same problem as Dave Bruno in his 100 Thing Challenge, namely, what counts as a "thing?"

We cleared out a bunch of old paperwork from the filing cabinet, and our entire CD collection. My wife, who majored in graphic design and photography, purged boxes of photos and negatives. Collections of a lot of little things. So what are the rules for this?

A CD in a case counts as single thing; it's a discrete object and it has some value too. What about a burned CD with no case? Is each photo in a box one thing, or do we count the entire box as one object? What if you throw away a small stack, and then throw away more later? I just let my wife decide how to tally it all, and the problem is solved.

Simplify

The Outdoor Office, originally uploaded by Birdfreak.com

We are off to a good start on our 2009 Things challenge. At the end of the first month, we have already thrown out or donated over 500 things and when I say "we," I mean mostly "my wife." She cleared out her collection of Christmas decorations, lots of old art supplies, and a ton of other detritus.

Sure there's a focus on having less stuff, but really the point is to have more. More space, more time, more happiness. Uncluttering fosters simplicity and a heightened sense of gratitude for the possessions we do keep.

Simplifying can be fun too! Often the simple solution is a better one. We sold our G5 desktop computer (comprised of monitor, box, speakers, subwoofer, mouse, keyboard, and tons of cables and wires) to make room for a nice MacBook Pro (1 thing... or 2 if you count the power cord).

Resolved

Junk Shop Gem, originally uploaded by Wickedlady

Get Rid of 2009 Things in 2009. That's my family's joint resolution this year. I don't think we own a crazy amount of stuff. Still, I'd wager we can find a couple thousand things that we don't need any more, just taking up space in our house.

It was my wife's idea. Obviously, I was immediately on board with the whole thing. Of course throwing things away (or donating or gifting them) is only half of the clutter equation. it does no good to toss two thousand things out of our house, if we turn around and put in four thousand new things.

To get a true concept of what's going out, we also need to track everything coming in. A balance sheet for the home, if you will. I don't know if we'll take the record-keeping to that level, but we will make a list of the outgoing stuff. I'll post an update later.

Unclutterer

Brooklyn Office, originally uploaded by rephlektiv

My wife came to visit me at the office, so that everyone could see the baby and eat cake and give us presents. That was a fun time. Then I gave her a tour, since she had never seen where I work before, and she asked me a hard question.

"Why is your cubicle cleaner than your desk at home?"

I always maintain a clear desk at work (as recommended by Zen Habits). It eliminates visual distractions and helps me to be more focused and productive. By contrast, there's so much clutter in our home office that it stresses me out. I don't even like to spend time in that room, which means that junk keeps piling up, which causes even more anxiety.

It was clearly past time for me to do something about it, so I cleared out over half the stuff and and reorganized the room. Once that was done, I thought, "why not do this with the entire house?" And now the room is cluttered again... with piles of things to give away.