when they discovered the cost of storing a huge housefull of “things” they stashed family photos, a few favorite pieces of art and four oriental rugs with a sibling, sold two cars and held one gigantic yard sale–down to the bare walls, everything MUST go! and did.

to their surprise and delight, upon their return, the sky didn’t fall, they weren’t out on the street and they missed not one single item of their
theretofore precious “stuff”. it’s not that they now travel all that light, but they don’t have any possesions they’re not perfectly comfortable walking away from–that’s pretty liberating.
for my part, although far from spartan, i tend to only allow things that i really, really like to cohabitate with me and am constantly thinning the ranks or replacing inventory–or as my husband likes to describe it, “converting assests”–(as in, can i give you this green-foldy stuff for that beautiful armani jacket?).

Adrienne, if you like your stuff, you should have your stuff. I’m over my stuff, so it must move on.

Laura, good luck with Nano! That’s such a big commitment. Good for you! And I’m way impressed with your bookshelf cleaning. It’s so hard to give up books, but I guess the same policy applies–someone else could be enjoying them right now.

Vivian, it’s insidious how that stuff builds up again, isn’t it? I just want to get down to a new baseline so I don’t have to stress about this for another few years. I think the last few years I’ve just been skimming the surface, which is why I keep hitting crisis point so quickly again. Good luck to you!

Katie Sis, you and MJG must be soul sisters. You two should compare how many plastic containers you own. Could be an interesting competition.

Patrick, I’d rather not picture that, thanks. But wait a minute–you mean the Starbucks barista, too? Is there no decency in the world? And is there that much chafe?

Alkelda, *snort.* Okay, so skip the vacuum and keep the books and music. How about those plastic containers without lids? Give us something!