Claire's Random Thoughts

So, I tried the 42 Thing Challenge back in February in hopes of reducing clutter. There were a few problems.
The first and most impeding problem was, when I was finally getting rid of things I had deemed as unnecessary, I would feel a sense of discomfort in throwing away perfectly useful stuff, especially after considering its potential usefulness in the future.
Another problem was that it became too complicated specifying the rules as to what counted as a cluster, how big a cluster could be, etc. to prevent inadvertent abuse. I read over my rules again, and they seemed complex enough to be difficult to track efficiently, yet not complex to serve as a complete guide.

Like most things in life, this challenge is easier said than done. I just never learn, do I?

As I was lying awake tonight, (what else is new?) a new plan crossed my mind. I had read about many methods of eliminating clutter, all having justification for being effective, but they all have one thing in common: an instantaneous purging of unnecessary possessions in a short period of time. Perhaps it is the sudden purging of a large volume of my possessions that has made it difficult for me to declutter using any of these methods. Thus, I will now be starting a new system to gradually reduce clutter while avoiding the pain of “losing” too many possessions at once.

The new rules:
First, purge non-durable goods that are “pure junk” (bright purple lipstick, year old ramen, etc.) that I can get rid of without feeling separation anxiety from
Get rid of at least one durable good per day (sell, donate, throw away, etc.)
If a new durable good is obtained, then I must get rid of one additional durable good
Track with a spreadsheet
Continue getting rid of one thing a day indefinitely, that is until I call the mission accomplished or give up (hopefully the former)

Now the problem of what counts as “one durable good” arises again…sigh…
I’m giving up on thinking of a solid definition of what qualifies as “one thing”. The principle of gradually cutting down is what is important right now.

So there, plain and simple. Starting tomorrow, or technically today, I will be gradually cutting down while keeping a record.

I have thought a little bit more about my 42 Thing Challenge and done a little spring cleaning. My conclusion? Wow, this is more difficult than I thought it would be.

Thus, I have decided that since my magic number is 42, I will allow more grouping of items than the original 100 Thing challenger, David, allowed, especially for small items. Once again, my main objective is to reduce clutter and make moving in and out of college dorms easier. The original author’s main objective was to combat American consumerism habits. Since I’m more interested in reducing clutter, I will group smaller items into a single entity. For example, my box of writing instruments counts as one item, as does my disc wallet with miscellaneous loose CD’s and DVD’s.

I am also excluding important documents (passport, license, etc). I don’t think the original author included them either. And anything else that goes in my wallet. Oh, and keys don’t count either. Storage containers are also excluded, as they actually help create less clutter and make it easier to pack and move around (but I shouldn’t need many of them once I get rid of the junk, right?).

Rather than completely excluding clothing, shoes, accessories, toiletries, makeup, etc, I decided to count each category as one conglomerate. I have enough in these categories already and still hope to downsize on them. The rule for to prevent me from splurging in these categories is follows: No increasing the size of any conglomerate. Just like my 42 item limit, when I get one new thing (i.e. a new shirt) that belongs in a conglomerate, I must get rid of another thing in that conglomerate. However, if I decide to reduce the size of a conglomerate voluntarily, I can’t “save” up the disposal of items and replenish later.

Strategies to make this work:
1. Think twice before buying. As I discussed in the previous post, this should help me save money by reducing my huge number of unnecessary purchases.

2. Digital all the way!
Hello! It’s 2010, for God’s sake! Digital downloads are the way to go now for media, not annoying books and discs. My goal is to have digital videos and music on my 640GB external hard drive exclusively (so that’s one thing, as opposed to several hundred or thousand). Keep everything digital and sell the media if it has any value. I don’t need any more paperback books either. Ebooks on my Sony Reader are the way to go. As for textbooks, I have not yet decide if I’m going to count all of my textbooks as one item or each textbook as an item.

3. ONE of each thing
Why the hell did I have two laptops, two digital cameras, three calculators, and two cell phones anyway?

4. Sell old gadgets as I upgrade
Well, I kind of do this already, but I still need to slim down on the gadgets. Yes, I’m kind of a gadgetholic. It’s better to get rid of some now that they still have value instead of waiting and rarely using them.

5. Don’t be afraid to get rid of old, large, worthless, and useless junk
Sounds pretty logical, right? I need to stop being a pack rat and be more willing to throw things away when necessary.

I have also decided on a time frame. My goal is to slim down to 42 things by the end of the semester (when I have to move out) and keep my possessions at 42 until I graduate and move into a permanent residence.

Without farther ado, here is my tentative list (please note that some things on this list include more than one item, so I’m in trouble if it gets to 42 already). Once I get the list finalize, I can get sell/store everything else!
1. Clothes
2. Shoes
3. Purses
4. Toiletries
5. Make-up
6. Vitamins/Medication
7. Kitchenware
8. Class Notes
9. Textbooks
10. Scientific and Financial Calculators
11. Writing Instruments and other desk supplies
12. Laptop
13. External DVD-RW Drive
14. Camera
15. Camcorder
16. Portable hard drive
17. Sony ebook reader
18. Cell phone (hmm…but I have two on contract right now)
19. Sony Walkman MP3 Player
20. Bose QuietComfort 15 Headphones
21. Bose Computer Speakers
22. LCD TV
23. Playstation 3 with accessories and games
24. AA and AAA batteries and charger
25. Disc wallet
26. Rubik’s Cubes

Haha, I’m a huge techie. Is everything here really necessary? No. I guess I can’t play minimalist, which was the original idea of the 100 Thing Challenge. I can, however, simplify my life by cutting down to things I most frequently use.

This is my response to David Michael Bruno’s famous 100 Thing Challenge.

My philosophy: Less clutter, less hassle moving (I live in college dorms), less waste, and more money (aren’t college students supposed to be poor?). Simple, right?

Quality over quantity. I can no longer even keep track of how much money I’ve wasted on things that I buy and never use or only use for a short period of time. If I have quality stuff, it should last me for longer, and I can waste less.

I have been known to have multiples of things that most people only have one of (laptops, cameras, cell phones, etc), and I’m trying to change this.

No more impulsive buying. If I have to get rid of something in order to get something new, this should greatly reduce if not eliminate impulsive buying urges.

I also agree with his Reduce (existing stuff), Refuse (new stuff), and Rejigger (prioritize) concept. He said he was trying this challenge to fight bad American consumerism habits, not to reduce clutter, which I disagree with. It is, however, in my best interest to reduce clutter. I’m tired of moving excess junk multiple times per year (again, I live in college dorms) and figuring out where to store everything (currently grandparents’ basement).

My rules:
1. The magical number of 42 items instead of his 100.

2. I, however, will have more exclusions.

David excludes shared and household things, books, and household tools.

I will exclude things that come with my dorm (which makes sense because I don’t actually own them), food/drink related items, apparel/accessories, and grooming items.

Quite simply, food and things related to food (pots and pans, silverware, etc) are too hard to devise a system to keep a count of. David probably counts items related to food as household items, which would also be excluded under his system anyway.

If you look at David’s list, approximately half of his items consist of clothing. He also doesn’t need as many grooming items and accessories as a female would. Since I am only allowing myself 42 items instead of 100, excluding apparel and accessories does not seem unreasonable. I am a single and job-seeking female, so I don’t wish for this challenge to compromise the way I look, dress, and smell, which is why I’m excluding apparel/accessories and grooming.

Does this mean I can just splurge in these categories? No, I am planning to pack and store things I don’t wear and avoid buying multiples of the same color/style. The idea here is to minimize but look the same way I do currently (I.e. I don’t need any more suit jackets. I have one of every color, one short-sleeved, etc. already. I only need one pair of shoes for each type of occasion/weather, so I won’t buy any more. No new make-up until it gets gross or I run out).

3. If something is only sold in a cluster, then I’m counting it as one item. Some other similar and complementary groups may also count as one (similar to David’s rule about grouping)

4. When I get new things to replace old things, I have 7 days to get rid of the old thing I’m replacing. I’m allowing this extra 7 days, because it takes time to sell stuff on eBay. Also, since I order most things from the internet, I can’t accurately anticipate exactly which day I will receive the new thing, so this prevents me from being without.

5. Gifts: I haven’t quite figured out what to do with gifts yet. I feel bad getting rid of gifts, but it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t count them either.

6. If something is in storage (currently at my grandparents’ basement) and I don’t plan to use it, then it doesn’t count. If I pack something in a paper box I am planning to store or ship out (if I sold it on eBay), then it doesn’t count either. It would be ridiculous if I had to put something in storage every time I exchange one of my 42 things.

My time frame for this? Not sure yet, but I’m going to start making a list of essentials and gauge how long it will take to get rid of everything else.