Let’s try that again

So I’ve decided to give a try to an idea I stumbled upon recently. 365 projects are decidedly nothing new in my little ‘net existence. I think the first I saw was on flickr, with the various 365 projects people do. I’ve been envious of these in the past, but I can’t imagine anyone would want to see my ugly mug all that much–but, I digress.

A woman by the name of Colleen has created a site and blog titled 365 less things. It struck me immediately as a brilliant idea. After browsing the site for a while (and ripping off the WordPress theme–I have been looking for a decent minimalist theme forever and this fits the bill nicely), I found nothing to suggest that she’d take offense at someone like me trying out the idea publically as well. In fact, her about page says “please join me on this journey and start a little purging of your own”. Well, here I am.

I have been wanting, longing even, to simplify and declutter, but it’s not easy for me. I don’t live by myself and Suz is every bit the packrat that I am. The fact that I feed off of that makes it doubly hard. Some part of me though thinks that there’s really no down side to getting rid of my own stuff, of which there is much. So, without stepping on the toes of my spouse, I’m going to see if I can’t declutter for real this time.

The plan is simple: Get 365 items out of my life in a time frame that’s as close to 365 days as possible, or less. I’m going to build in some leniency because I just know that I’ll skip a day here and there. The point is, 365 items, no matter how small or insignificant, gone. If it’s mine and takes up space in my little world, it’s a candidate for consideration.

Other considerations

• I’m going to record these items in the simplest way I know how: one pic, taken with my phone so I don’t need to be discouraged at having to bring out all my camera gear. This isn’t an ‘aht’ exhibit, it’s just record keeping. You want aht, go for my flickr photostream.
• While I fully expect this endeavour, if at all successful, will comprise the bulk of my blog’s content over the next little while, it’s not going to utterly usurp the blog (at least, that’s not the plan). It’s only that I post so rarely anyway, this seems like a good place to do it. Anything else I want to spout on about, I’ll spout.
• I don’t intend this as a money-making endeavour of any kind. That said, I’ll probably want to dispose of things that still have some value. In that rare occasion, I’ll try to sell before I dump. If I can sell, the total at the right increases, just for my own edification.
• Further to the above, I consider most of my stuff as junk that for whatever reason I keep. Consequently, I think most of it will be thrown out. I know that a big part of the reason I seldom get rid of stuff is my perception that it still has some value, and so I’ll “sell it someday”. This is the main reason it’s still in my space. If I make something too hard to dispose of, it’ll never happen. Nothing is easier than tossing it in the bin. That’s worth more than the pittance I’d sell most of it for. All that said, my preference goes in this order: sell > donate/give away > throw away. I’ll do my best.
• Finally, further to the above, I’ve set up a page on Kijiji to sell my stuff. I’ll post the link later today, when I’ve got something up for grabs. The reason I chose Kijiji is because it’s local, and I hate all the eBay rigmarole with questions, shipping, paypal and all that crap. If you’re local and you want it, arrange a meet and hand me cash. Otherwise, we progress to donate/give or straight to trash. And do not come at me with “if it doesn’t sell, can I have it”. You had your chance.
• On the rare occasion where it’d truly be a shame to toss something due to its value, but it doesn’t sell, I’ll probably freecycle it.
• I want this to be about being lighter at the end of the project. Therefore, one item gets tacked on for each item I acquire during the project. If I buy myself a new DVD or something, it’ll become the 366 less things project and so on. This does not apply to consumables.
• I’m not going to post every single day. I’ll play catch up as I can. Sometimes, I just haven’t got the energy.

Above all, the project is for me. Even if I just toss out 365 things, it’ll be great. Let’s see if I can make this little thing fly, and maybe have something nicer to say about me at the end of the year in my wrap up than I have in years gone by.