365 Things

No, I'm not going to try and torture you with 365 photos for the rest of the year. My goals are much less lofty than that. Speaking of goals, I try not to make any resolutions this time of year. I do however try to create some type of focus for the next twelve months. The last couple of years I have done something new that has been fun and quite liberating. Each year I strive to get rid of 365 things. Yep, that's one thing a day. Think about it. Surely today there is one thing in your life you just really don't need.

Now, do I ever reach that goal? I don't know. I've tried printing out a spreadsheet and writing it all down, but that lasts until about January 17th. But it is always in the back of my mind as I'm shuffling through crap in my office or trying to make a little more room to work in my garage.

How do I get rid of it? Most of the stuff I just throw away; old clothes, obsolete software, scraps of wood that I'm obviously never going to use for that cabinet I'm never going to build. Some things I give away. There is nothing more satisfying than to hand something I consider useless over to someone who is going to cherish it for the remainder of it's life. Some things, thanks to ebay and Craigslist, I sell. There is nothing more satisfying than to hand something I consider useless over to someone who is going to cherish it for the remainder of it's life- after they hand me a wad of cash.

This has been a fairly easy process for the last two years. I've accumulated quite a bit of junk over my lifetime. Plus, I'm a relatively newlywed. My wife and I have consolidated two complete households. We each seem to have had two of everything, sometimes three or four. Why just this evening I heard her say "Oh, I just grabbed the wrong spatula." But we have done a pretty good job of clearing out the clutter. Now I'm down to the nitty gritty. As I look around I'm now forced to think about getting rid of things like... my Oakley hat! I've had this hat for twenty one years. This is my hiking hat, my paddling hat, my adventure racing hat, my driving hat, my lawn mowing hat. It's been with me all over the US and Mexico. It fits my goofy shaped head and hides my bald spot... almost. But... it's JUNK! It's worn out. It is so threadbare, I don't dare wash it because it would disappear. Therefore, I am going to end it's life with a ceremony and proper burial throw it away.

So now I challenge you to look around and think about all that stuff you thought was going to make you happy, but instead requires your time and effort and money and emotions to maintain, organize and store. Pick up just ONE THING today and throw it away! Or better yet, recycle it! Meanwhile, I'm going to Wal Mart to go hat shopping.