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Chuck, Sell, or Give Away Half Your Stuff
Thanks to country_boy_shane for the photo
"A hundred bucks? Perfect."
I close my cell phone, stick it in my pocket, and begin to disassemble my Nintendo Wii, packaging it up for the ride to its new home at Liquid Assets pawnshop. (I later drop it in the parking lot. Thankfully, no one sees.)
From there, I move to my bedroom, open my closet, and start tossing clothes into three piles on my bed: keep, give away to friends, or Goodwill.
I'm not moving, having an emotional breakdown, or trading in my nice stuff for a bum's life. I'm simply getting rid of the non-essentials.
And damn does it feel good.
“One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity”
- Bruce Lee
So, why am I going room-by-room through my apartment and getting rid of stuff? Call it "mental clarity."
I feel best when I have everything I need (including a few select toys) and nothing more. Just like you can accumulate too much information and be stuck with analysis paralysis—literally doing nothing because you have too much information—you can accumulate too much shit. Shit whose sole purpose is to take up space.
And if it doesn't take up space, it takes up time that could be better spent connecting with friends or doing something enjoyable—something that delivers flow—rather than idle entertainment (such as my recent Wii addiction).
So, every few months, I go through a physical de-cluttering of my house. If you'd like to try it, allow me to offer a few tips, places to start, and questions to ask yourself:
Kitchen – Do you really need that many forks, plates, and glasses? How often do you entertain guests? How often do you cook?
Recently, I got rid of half my Tupperware and a crock-pot I never use. Better to go to Goodwill than sit in my cupboards and collect dust. Speaking of dust, isn't it about time you cleaned out your cupboard? Do you really need a can of cream of mushroom soup and an old packet of gravy mix?
Living room – Does all you furniture have a purpose? Like, do you actually use them? I have two couches, one end-table, one lamp, one TV with DVD player, and an iPod speaker dock in my living room. I don't own a coffee table, and I don't have a bunch of knick-knacks and dusty magazines everywhere.
Bathroom – Do you still collect Maxim, Playboy, or porn magazines? Are they sitting on top of your toilet? Dude, haven't you ever heard of the Internet? Trust me, porn is much better there. I mean, the people on the screen actually move. Do yourself a favor—and any girl who ever chooses to use your bathroom a favor—and toss out the magazines you've already, er...read.
Bedroom – How many t-shirts do you really wear? Why does any guy have a need for more than two or (at most) three pairs of jeans? For that matter, why do you even have a dresser? Hang your pants, button-down shirts, and polos, and fold your t-shirts. You can go to Target and get a cloth hang-y thing that fits right in your closet.
Getting rid of stuff you don't (or rarely) use is liberating, but you won't know till you try. Pick a day this week and go through your house to see how much stuff you can chuck, sell, or give away.
As for me, I'm gonna take this 100 bucks and go buy myself a steak dinner.
Comments for This Entry
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You must have watched Fight Club recently haha, but I agree. Most people would be surprised of what they could live without.
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I hear ya on the too much information front....had way too many ebooks, videos, to do's, etc on my desktop. Now its just one folder with upcoming and one icon that i'm working on now. I also started along the lines of what your doing with your apartment after reading "The Power of Less." I have 15 minutes every to declutter something in my life. Good post!
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One of my biggest issues is that I tend to hoard things, my desk looks like a bomb went off with all the papers form classes I took LAST semester.
Not to be a dick, typo in the last line.
"...week and go through you’re your house..." -
"Our lives are frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify."
Henry David Thoreau
I think I'll do some spring cleaning myself. Not sure why I bought those $180 jeans,
but they gotta go! I agree, if it's not currenty being used/worn then why is it still there? -
I just took a photo of my boxing bag to put on craigslist yesterday, and just started working my way through my closet today.... funny, just in time for this article...
I agree with Mr. Lee (that rhymes), I've got waay too much stuff that I don't use, don't wear, don't listen to, you name it. This is the first time in a long while I'm going through all my crap and I'm already starting to feel less cluttered in general..
Thanks of the thoughts Nate! -
Wow, man. Your articles come at the right time, every time. haha
This is something I've been focusing a little bit on. It's still hard to get rid of some things thinking I may need them again sometime. Most likely, I'll never need it again. This shouldn't only apply to the stuff you already have though, it should also be the mindset when buying things. Kinda like my parents used to tell me when I was little: "Are you really gonna use that in a week? day? year?"
Really think about what you have, where your life is going and where you want it to go. Have only the things you need to get to where you want to be.
Thanks Nate! -
I'm at a different point in my life from most of your readers it appears. I had the big house, the kids, all the "stuff." I had the boxes of "stuff" in the basement that was never unpacked. After my divorce, I walked ouf that house with just my clothes and my first apartment had just a futon for bed/couch. That's all. 10 years later I found I had built back all kindsa stuff and then I moved from the east coast to the west and chose a much smaller place to live. Before that move (where I paid by the pound for the stuff to follow me), it was crazy how much I gave away. My house is the leanest house I've ever had -- funny but I'm the leanest me that I've ever been too. Coincidence?
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So true, it amazes me how much we are defined by our possessions.
I had an interesting experience when I was young of my family going bankrupt. It was actually a very positive experience, I realised how unimportant possessions were, even something as "important" as the family home!!
BTW im Australian, hence the spelling "mistakes" -
@JR
You brought up a good point about potential purchases. What I try to do when I really want something (a big or semi-expensive item, at least), is to wait 30 days. If after 30 days I really want it, I'll go buy it.
However, I probably buy a new iTunes album per week. It just matters what you use it for and how often you use it (and how much physical or emotional space it takes up).
@ Everyone
Thanks for posting your thoughts! I really love reading the comments.
-Nate -
I heartily endorse periodic purges. The less attached we get to unnecessary "stuff" the less we are burdened by things. That, and I recently watched a couple episodes of "Hoarders" and it scared the hell out of me.
Although I simply CANNOT excuse getting rid of a Wii. Shame, Nate, Shame.
And the avatar is looking particularly buff. -
Have too many books?
I sold a grip of my old school texts and other books on Amazon.
I was never going to read those damn things again.....
Made a couple hundo in the process! -
It's amazing. I'm sitting here reading your post and, as I look up, I can count about 10 things just within a few feet of me that I need to get rid of soon. Things that have been cluttering up my room for months, but I never took the time to box it up and haul it off. Thanks for the motivation.
By the way, the best motivation I've found to clean out your closet is working out. Ya lose 30 or 40 lbs. and the clothes you wanted to hang onto for so long (for whatever reason) no longer fit. Great excuse to give em away! -
You dropped your Wii? That sucks man, but good point.
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Awesome post. I've recently been going through a spring cleaning of sorts as well, primarily for the same reasons: simplicity and clarity of mind. Clothes, books, magazines, CDs are all the targets of my "pare down" at home.
I also advocate the same process at work. I recently went through a three-week period of frustration and stagnation at my job. So I took an hour and cleared my workspace of all the knick knacks, trinkets, half-used pads of paper, overstuffed pen cup, etc etc, and brought it down to just my computer, phone, and mug. Only essential information is posted on my bulletin board (so three pieces of paper). Since then I have felt much more clear-headed and productive at work.
This post is right on. Clarity of mind leads to a much more peaceful and fulfilling life.
Enjoy the steak. -
Good stuff Nate. I have been planning on oding this for quite a while, and have just been a bit too lazy to do so.
Jason -
Well Nate, I'd like to add one more thing - how many email newsletters do you subscribe to? Because for me, I restrict myself to just a few. If your newsletters just tell you the same stuff over and over again, there's really no point in having them clutter your inbox, is there?
Personally, I've gotten rid of many of my subscriptions that i just get for interest's sake! Now, I only subscribe to 5-6 newsletters. It's so refreshing! -
its always a great thing to do. i think the easiest start would be to spend a few hours on your laptop, organize your files, get rid of the crap you will never use or back-up all your important stuff on an external drive to keep your machine working fast.
every so often, i look into my drawers and get rid of some shit... think "if i haven't worn this in the last 6 months, its gone" you have to be brutal! give to charity and make your girl think you're a modern day saint, they love that! also when you clean your rooms out you end up with huge bags full of crap, its so rewarding chucking that stuff out.
i always keep my good fitness/training related books (i want an extensive library to look at when im old!) but with all other books i believe you should pass them on to someone else. share the knowledge!
Today = laptop
Tomorrow = clothes
Result. -
Nice post. I try and do this every few months as its easily to slip back into hoard mode.
Clothes are my weakness. At one point I had 23 pairs of jeans lol. And to be fair, they all looked about the same and I would only ever wear the last two purchases.
I now have 3 after I managed to drummup up the courage to give away the rest.
Minimilistic is the way to go, it's amazon how much better you feel when you have a clutter free life. -
I de-cluttered my closet last week and it felt awesome. Just days before, it was packed tight with shirts I haven't wore in over a year, jeans that no longer fit, so on and so forth. Now it is limited to a pair of khakis, black dress pants, 5 or 10 t-shirts, handful of sweaters, and that is about it.
I really need to get rid of some CD's and DVD's. I have always been into all genres of music and so have accumulated a rather massive pile. I may work on that this week, but it is going to be difficult to get rid of some of it, even though I really don't need it all. Like a band-aid, right? -
Great ideas. Getting uncluttered provides clarity and really improves productivity. Working as a traveling Physical Therapist, I move every 3-4 months. When you have to be able to put everything you own into a truck you keep the basic necessities and let the rest go.
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I totally need to do this!
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It's interesting how your posts always coincide with what I'm currently doing myself. I started cleaning my room yesterday, which by the way is always such a disaster. I'm one of those "smart" people who allow mess to accumulate and then get extremely overwhelmed when the time comes to clean it (Or the gf complains)
One thing that takes up a lot of space in my room are my books, I currently keep them all in boxes in my closet because I don't have the heart to get rid of them. By the way Nate I'm almost finished with your book thankfully it's in my Kindle so it will always be organized. (Not entirely sure how I'll be printing the training routines lol)
Today I'll take a page from your blog and get rid of the non-essentials such as my own Wii which has been collecting dust for some time now.
It's great to see information that's needed at the right time when you need it. Which amazing enough happens when I check your blog. (Must be the law of attraction) -
Another tip I saw in here that I liked:
Clean up the lap top.
I have five folders on my desktop and three Word documents I use multiple times per day. And I just recently went through and deleted a bunch of random junk. Nice one.
-Nate -
Nice read. There was a book on this that came out, something along the lines of "Does this clutter make my butt look fat" or some shit like that.
Very similar to the tenets your explaining here. I need to pick that book up. -
Great post Nate!
We gather so much tat over the years (physical and mental) and it's surprising how much it saps your energy. Every time I have a good clear out I feel awesome and ready to move forward again. Thanks man. -
Nate, after reading your post yesterday, I decided to return my Droid smartphone and go back to my old LG flip phone. I can only call and text and so far it has been great, although it has only been two hours.
I will probably have withdrawal symptoms for a while, but I will get over it. I got by fine before getting a smartphone and I will be fine after. I'm looking forward to simplifying my life even more. You should check out Leo at zenhabits.net. Lots of good articles on simplifying your life. -
Having recently had a daughter I can tell you that they blow through clothes like crazy and my living room looks like Fisher Price exploded. As tempting as it is to keep all of the outgrown clothes "in case we have another one" I think I'm going to try to convince my wife to pass them to others who need them.
I'm sure that there are some parents out there with Rubbermaid tubs full of this stuff. Besides, we all know you're going to get loads more clothes as gifts when the next one is born anyway. -
I read a great distinction once between simplicity, complexity, and primitivity. Primitivity is less than it should be, complexity is more than it should be, and simplicity is as it should be. Whether its organizing or working out, simplicity is great because it is something you can actually do, best bang for your buck.
Great post. -
Once again Nate great post thank you.
Much of what you say is very true. I function better when my room/house has less clutter.
Now if only I could de-clutter my mind it would be great lol
Thanks bro!
Rob
www.RobKingFitness.com -
"The things you own end up owning you."
I think it is the ego in us that strives to find itself by acquiring more, achieving more, being more. It's only when we realize that none of this stuff is who we really are that we awaken from this unsatiable desire to acquire and consume.
Of course it's not all bad, it's just not entirely necessary. Good post Nate! -
Right on man. I have so much shit built up in my closests that i "might" use one day. I have been slowly making the heaping pile just a big pile....goodwill, trash, wipe the counter tops, wax my car with....etc.
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Hello !
I wanted to share my experience with you folks (excuse my bad english, I'm french and I learnt english with a little bit of school, much hip hop music, and writers like stephen king).
For my job, I recently moved from Paris to Casablanca (Morocco), my company offered me to choose btw money, or pay me the moving of my stuff (truck / boat / truck). I chose the money. So I had to make a real choice in front all my stuff, what I can take with me and what I can store to my mama's basement (limited space ..) .. All the other stuff were for goodwill, garbage, ebay and friends.
God, it's very hard at the beginning : "I paid that shit a lot of money, I don't use it, but man, it's expensive ! If I sell it, I'll loose a lot of money !" .. But with my 40 kilos of luggage I can take with me in the plane ... I had to make choice. And now, I live in a biggest flag than the one I used to have in Paris.. eBay was my friend, I put away a lot of stuff and now I am really different in my "consuming way of life" (sure you will understand me). 'Do I really need that stuff ?" / "It's a magazine, i read it and ... bye bye". I give the books I read. What if I want to read it again ? Hmmm, do I usually do that ? Nooo (once in me life so .. if it happens again .. I will buy it again, and give it again !).
When I came back to my mama's house, for holidays, I take a lot in my boxes and I give and throw lot of stuff .. I think the only survivor will soon be the kilos of iron, the bench and some CD' and DVD (can't throw or give the 7 seasons of The Shield !)
And now, I think less I have, better I feel. Less occupied is my immediate space, better I think on my goals, what I have to make happen to approach them ..
Merci Nate (in french in the text ;) ! Your blog is high quality stuff, and the comments very often too !
Sorry for the length / mistakes of my post (my first) next one will be more synthetic / better english written ;)
Thierry -
Nice post Nate. I hear you on the desktop. My screen fits 14 items up and down, and it's more than half covered. Adding to the computer thing: inboxes. I have about 4000 messages between 3 e-mail accounts.
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I am in desperate need to get rid of some things! I went through a big tub of old shirts and donated most of them......BUT I found my old Bo Jackson shirt from "back in the day' and I couldn't chuck it. It doesn't fit but I can't get rid of it!! I found a tub of my old football stuff and donated it to a local semi-pro team, gave a bunch of soccer jerseys away (I spent a couple years in Brazil where they were cool) and that was just stuff from the basement, next up is my closet.
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Great post Nate - I have rule in my home...if you have not used it or worn it in the past year - it is out of here!!! We have at least 2-3 garage sales a year - and they are followed by a trip to Good-will - Great time of the year for this too....dk
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This article exemplifies how I like to live, so thank you nate haha.
I don't think i could live without a lot of kitchen things though i try to use everything to make food it mixes things up in the kitchen so i tend to keep the kitchen stocked.
I do like to keep a lot of extra cloths I would like to fill out eventually better so i don't really throw many cloths out -
I think of this wise practice as editing.
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Can never go wrong with a little de-cluttering . . . Thanks Nate!
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Buying experiences, not possessions, leads to greater happiness.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090207150518.htm
I have a rule that for any piece of clothing I buy I get rid of one and I never own more than I can carry in a single bag. A suit is an exception because that has its own bag, but I can carry both at the same time. Moving a frequently helps a lot with minimalism.
Good article. -
You know, this is why I hate gift giving with a passion.
I frickin' HATE to receive stuff I have no use for (which inevitably happens when people buy gifts), and I frickin HATE having to buy for people, figuring whatever I will buy will end up regifted, stashed or collecting dust.
I've learned (and it took many years!) that the best gifts by far, are experiences. My parents are way beyond the stage of needing any THING, so every Christmas I take them out to a fancy restaurant - my gift to them.
Alternatively, I give money to charity that I would otherwise spend on useless gifts, such as a friend of mine who does missionary work to Haiti - easy decision to make. -
Thanks, Nate - Goodwill just a whole bunch of clothes I haven't worn for the last 6 months. Btw, anyone want to buy 12 soccer shirts from various UK teams? :-)
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Talk about reading my mind, Nate. When this blog went up, I had just sold my rain water barrel that has been sitting in my garage for a year. I sold it for the same price that I bought it last year.
Then, I used that money to donate it for good cause.
I'd like to live in an organized home, but it's not easy to do so when you're sharing the home with someone else who hoards! Argh. So, I've learned not to bother with it, but every once in a while, I freak out and go through a de-hoarding session! -
I'm thinking that I should really take you up on this challenge.
I JUST finished my undergrad degree (last exam was yesterday!) and now I feel like its time to take inventory physically and psychologically.
I'm probably the biggest offender with clothes and videogames.... so many things I never use! -
Interesting to read this post right now. I just did a two-week "clean-everything-up-and-throw-everything-out" session. Yes, it took me two weeks to go through all the junk I had accumulated! I can only recommend doing something like this!
Great post! -
I am in the military and have moved so many times and would like to say it must be more liberating if you are not forced to live that way. It is just depressing giving all that stuff away you worked so hard to buy. I agree completely that it is easier to have less and not stress over your material items. I have been deployed for the past 8 months to the middle east and have lived out of two duffles and a big box of crap. 99% military stuff and the rest is my personal stuff and it is getting old. So, I am on the other side right now wanting to get somethings back in my life, but you are right on!!! I can't wait to get back to my simple life in the states.
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Hey, can we like store maximum and stuff in or droors or something? I mean they could be worth a few bucks down the road right ? :)
But ya agreed.
Just did a clothes detox. It was like pulling teeth throwing away clothes that looked horrible on me that were impulse buys...thats just insane i dont kno why it was hard.
Going into my wardrobe now and only having like 5 go to's makes it very easy and i look dam good.
Chris -
I have found that in my personal use of the Q-link has increased my mental focus, and concentration naturally!
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I actually have a friend that paid $300 dollars for a pair of jeans. The funny thing about this is that he can't even wear them any more because he outgrown them.
Now I'm not Albert Einstein but where is the logic in this?
He would be lucky to get $30 dollars for these same pair of jeans. Go figure! -
This posted inspired me to have a contest with a friend:
Who can sell their useless stuff for the most by the end of Nov.
Loser Buys a Sushi Dinner
If anyone else wants to join the contest(minus the prize)
Ive currently sold $100 of junk
Thanks Nate -
I currently keep them all in boxes in my closet because I don't have the heart to get rid of them. By the way Nate I'm almost finished with your book thankfully it's in my Kindle so it will always be organized.
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Matt 7:41pm Apr 12, 2010