May 15, 2015 Chautauqua

Beth's Ponderings
 
   Every once in a while, I see articles about the “100 Thing Challenge.” I’m not sure who exactly started the challenge, and it has many variations now.

   Basically, the premise is to simplify your life by getting rid of everything you own except for 100 possessions.   Depending on whose version you follow it can be very extreme or very lax.

   For example, a pair of socks can equal 2 items, or one item.  Some versions I’ve seen count a complete outfit (i.e. pair of shoes, pair of socks, underwear, pants, shirt, jacket, tie) as 1 item.

  Versions of the challenge suggest 100 personal items, such as your clothing and personal care items, per family member, but not communal items in your home.  Or, you could do the challenge by keeping only 100 items per room in your home.

   You can go through and purge items in one weekend or two.  Or, another approach suggests putting everything on a table and taking out the items as you use them.  After a certain period of time - for example, a month - you will notice what remains untouched on the table and then you can get rid of it.  

   While there are many versions of the challenge, and 100 is just an arbitrary number pulled out of a hat, as it were, the value of the challenge is still there.

   We can all benefit from a review of our possessions on a regular basis.

   Too often we hold onto items that have outlived their purpose, or can’t be repaired, just in case a miracle happens and it suddenly works again.  Okay, I must admit I have done that, and it did mysteriously start working again a couple of years after it quit, but that is a very rare occurrence.

   Of course there are the items we stockpile in case of an emergency or apocalypse that probably will never happen, and if it does, we won’t be able to use the stockpile because we forgot to save a handheld can opener.  

   We probably all have more than we need in our homes.  Why not lighten your load and create more space around you?  Space you can use to relax in and enjoy life more fully.

Beth

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