I tend to feel happiest in direct proportion to the simplicity of my life. And the most fulfilled occasions rarely involve many possessions. Cycling with panniers, jumping on a train with a small pack in order to walk back home, out running at dusk, jumping starkers into a cold lake…
And yet I still accumulate so much Stuff. I am not ascetic. I like Stuff. I like gadgets, bikes, outdoor kit and books.
So I am not advocating puritanical minimalism. But I thought that if I am happiest when I don’t have much Stuff then I should get rid of some of the junk in my life.
This morning then I decided I would get rid of 10 things that I really do not need. Originally I called this post “Give 10 things away”. But then I realised that I’mm skint so I’mm going to eBay some of them, give a few to a charity shop and chuck one or two in the bin. Here then are the 10 things I am going to get rid of this morning.
– Camera lens I don’t use much.
– All the clothes I haven’t worn in about a month.
– Camping kit I don’t use much. I have spare stoves enough for an army!
– Books from my shelves that don’t merit keeping.
– Most of my ties (a relic from my brief dalliance with a proper job).
– My old heart rate monitor. I don’t need two.
– The coffee maker I had before I got this bad boy. I bought it at uni to hide the smell of football boots in my student digs. I thought, erroneously, that the smell of coffee would impress girls too…
– A couple of rucsacs I don’t really use.
– All the crap in the lower drawers of my desk that I never, ever look at. So why chuck it? Less clutter, clearer thinking. Or summat like that.
– All my CDs – everything is on iTunes anyway.
What can you get rid of today?
(If you agree with this you may not agree with this)
You are right, it is about time I chuck some things *with that I have a look around*
– some old deodorant!
– A book i’ll never again read.
Oh well I tried!
I agree!! Somehow our lives always end up too full of ‘stuff’. I’m an inveterate hoarder so it’s a constant battle for me (and my husband ;o).
I’m currently on a drive to ‘simplify’ my life, and as such am also getting rid of loads of ‘stuff’.
It’s amazing how little you actually have to throw away though. Freecycle is a godsend to those paring down their existence. There’s ALWAYS someone out there who wants to come and fetch your rubbish. No matter how useless you think it is, it’s probably useful to someone.
Alastair
Good going!
I’m after a decent camping stove – let me know if you put them on eBay or if we can come to some private arrangement and save the eBay fees!
Cheers,
Roy
Absolutely right. Don’t weigh yourself down, you go a lot further. I do this all the time:
http://osmosno.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/imagine-no-possessions/
Thanks for sharing that Seb
Sorry Roy – gone already!
Couldn’t agree more. Our lives are full of stuff that we really don’t need. Most of the time the increasing complexity of our lives doesn’t make us any happier and just confuses us. If we have distractions everywhere we become less effective and stray from the path; we miss out on what we truly want and need.
Love your work Al. An inspiration.