Like most people who’ve been in the work world for a while, I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff over the years. It’s gotten to the point where I no longer have closet space for new things. Clearly, I’ve got to start getting rid of things, but it’s hard.
Well, I think I’ve started on the right path. I recently picked up The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Survival Guide and today after doing laundry, I realized I can’t comfortably store my clean clothing in the closet or the dresser. So, I decided to start tossing some clothes I didn’t wear, or shouldn’t wear, anymore.
I realized I have four pairs of pajama pants. I know how it happened–I bought one pair first, bought the other while I was away from home for several months, and got the last two as a gift. And yes, I’ve worn them all, but I realized just how wasteful it was to have four. Surely, I only need one pair?
Another quick look through the dresser reveals two pairs of long underwear. Again, I know how it came to be, but I should’ve realized at some point that after purchasing the second pair I could throw out the first.
As I started throwing clothes into a “discard” pile, I started feeling pretty good, actually. Over time, we form an emotional bond with our stuff and it provides some comfort just by being there. But it’s good to get rid of things every once in a while to break free of these chains and to make us realize that we’re more than our stuff or our memories.
I’ll be going through my crap and tossing things out over the next few weeks. I’ll post some of the more interesting things on here as I come across them.