I tend to keep things somewhat Spartan. . .
I don’t own a television or carry a cell phone. I only keep one set of dishes in my kitchen. And the bulk of my wardrobe consists of two pairs of jeans and three black t-shirts. But then I read a post from Johnny B. Truant and thought. . . I can do better.
Johny is undergoing an experiment in quasi-minimalism where he is getting rid of 10 things each day for the month of May. As I read about his experiment, I could hear echos of the infinite Fight Club loop that plays in my head about the things I own actually owning me. I relished the thought of unloading my useless crap in daily heaps of garbage can visits and thrift store donations. I began getting rid of 10 things per day immediately.
I also have an ulterior motive. I’m considering selling my home so I can be more mobile. With my income being generated online, I like the thought of moving to a new city every year or two at the end of an apartment lease. Or living in Mexico for the winter like Corbett Barr. Or traveling the world for months at a time while still taking care of business like my buddy Steve Kamb. But right now I have far too much crap in my life to be mobile. It’s time to pare things down to the bare necessities.
So here’s a little commentary on my first 10 days of getting rid of stuff. As an unexpected benefit, this experiment is also helping me clear out some emotional clutter. It turns out I’ve been hanging on to much more than just old computer monitors and rice cookers.
Throwing Out The Armory
I’ve studied various martial arts since the age of ten. And over the years I’ve collected an assortment of knives, nunchakus, throwing stars, swords, and other weapons. But I can’t remember the last time I trained with any of them. Not thinking they would be appropriate for thrift store donation, all weapons were thrown in the trash.
"Weapons are tools of ill omen." - Sun Tzu, The Art Of War
So Hard To Say Good Bye
It’s been over a year now since my martial arts and fitness facility went out of business. When I first shut down, I remember throwing out all of my old t-shirts with my business logo on them and how it seemed to give me some release. But when I found framed pictures of my former students and the first press coverage I received in my attic during one of my ten-items-per-day purge fests, I hesitated to add them to the day’s trash heap.
But why? Keeping these items tucked in my attic was not going to bring back glory days or cure the mistakes I made as a teacher and business owner. Placing those items in the garbage was hard, but I know it was the right thing to do.
Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past
My bathroom was full of contact solution, hair pins, conditioners, lotions, and other toiletries that were remnants of ex-girlfriends. It’s hard to have an emotional attachment to contact solution and these items were easy to place in the trash. But one item was not so easy to dispose of. . .
I found an old cell phone in a drawer and I knew the only reason I was holding on to it was because there was a text message on it from her. And not just any text message, but the text she sent me that started everything. Our relationship was up and down, exciting and frustrating, and ultimately ended with her breaking off all communication between us. I haven’t seen her in over a year. I suppose I should have recycled or donated the cell phone. . . but it went in the trash.
A Tale Of Two Monks
Getting rid of ten items per day and being surprised at my emotional attachment to certain items reminds me of the following parable:
Two monks were walking down a path. These monks had taken extreme vows of celibacy and were forbidden from even looking at a woman, let alone having physical contact of any sort.
As they were walking along the path, they saw a beautiful woman standing at the edge of stream. The woman appeared afraid to cross over the water.
Without hesitation, the older monk scooped her up in his arms, carried her across the water, and set her down gently at the other side of the stream. As the two monks walked away from the woman, the younger monk was irate over the senior monk’s actions.
“How could you do that! You are certainly aware of our vows and know that we are forbidden to touch a woman, let alone pick her up in our arms, under any circumstances!”
The older monk looked at the younger monk and said, “I left the woman at the edge of the stream. Are you still carrying her?“
Do you own items that you no longer use? Are you holding on to them for reasons that no longer serve you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Be on the lookout for Part 2 of my three part series about my experience of getting rid of 10 things per day. To be notified when Part 2 of this series comes out, be sure to sign up for email updates by clicking here.
I've been helping people lose weight and get fit since 2001. To learn more about my simple approach to health and fitness 
Can’t believe you still had the leftovers from past girlfriends hanging around. I would have imagined that would have been the first thing to go. Cut loose, break clean, fresh start.
I also had martial arts weapons hanging around I finally got rid of during a move 10 years ago. That one was hard.
Right now, everything I own or want to own can fit in a 12×24 foot room or less.
I’ve done the traveling thing for five years. If it is really in your heart, (and you take Coda with you), maybe it is the thing to do. You can always connect to the world through a laptop from pretty much anywhere now a days.
I like the concept of everything you own fitting into a single room. Coda certainly limits my mobility, but moving every year or two would be doable. I wouldn’t mind relocating one month out of the year (Mexico in winter perhaps?) as I think my sister or mother would take care of Coda for that long.
And yes, cleaning out the ex-girlfriend stuff was really long over due.
Wow, you’re doing this way more bravely than I am. I’ve gotten rid of 150 things so far, but I’ve barely had to break a sweat: Books I haven’t read in years, DVDs I don’t need because there’s on-demand stuff, stuff that’s obviously broken or junk. I think I’d have to do this for a few months to finally reach stuff that was difficult to let go of.
Which is probably why I need to be doing it.
Kudos. Great job, dude.
Hey, thanks man! The second I finished reading your post I stood up and grabbed 10 things in my house and walked them straight to the trash. I’m getting rid of some furniture (hopefully for a little $ on Craig’s List) this week and I found some sentimental items yesterday that I just couldn’t dump. I’m enjoying the process; thanks again!
Hey Vic, really great post. You got me thinking…
I’ve got a bunch of weapons lying around too, and I like to believe that I’ll get back to them one day – not ready to get rid of them yet.
I’m surprised that you wanted to throw away the pictures of your students – won’t you want to remember some of the good times further down the road?
Getting rid of the weapons felt good. And if I do decide to return to training, training-grade martial arts weapons are generally inexpensive.
As far as remembering good times of my old school, there are a handful of YouTube videos out there (black belt exams of my top 2 students in particular) that will take me down memory lane if I get the urge. Holding on to the large framed photo was just taking up space in an attic.
I think it’s great that you’re purging excess clutter but I think your methods were borderline irresponsible. Throwing weapons in the trash?? I don’t know where your garbage goes, but the idea of putting blades and nunchakus in a dumpster where someone (including kids) could pull them out seems really short-sided. Not donating to a thrift store is a good idea, but couldn’t you have given them to a friend who practices? Donated them to a martial arts studio? Sold them on Craigslist for some extra cash?
Same with the cell phone – maybe it’s not as satisfying to drop it off at a recycling center, but dropping it in the trash was just a waste. There are so many good charities that accept cell phones.
I commend your effort, but remember your trash is another man’s treasure!
My trash goes straight from my curb to the garbage truck to the landfill. . . that being said, I agree that giving them to a friend who practices would have been the best choice. I just found some more items and will do that with them.
I second your feelings upon getting rid of stuff. I am preparing for a move in June. My husband and I are being brutal about everything and asking “what would we do if we didn’t have this?” If the answer is that we would have to go out and buy another one, we keep it but if not, it goes. I have made $1100 so far on Craigslist and Ebay and the garage sale is yet to come. Plenty has gone into the trash and been donated too. It feels great to not be lugging around all of our old sports gear.
Every possession takes energy from you in some way, whether its just thinking “ah I should get rid of that” or having to maintain it. It’s a great time to make sure that your stuff is really adding something to your life, not just draining you. We moved to the east coast with 18,000 lbs of stuff and we are hoping to get down to 7,000 on our way home (ok, we aren’t getting rid of the two motorcycles).
I’ll be posting a few items on Craig’s List this week, including some office furniture that I hope will put a few dollars in my pocket. I’m amazed at how much stuff I’ve accumulated since I moved into my house 8 years ago. I will keep your simple question of “what would I do if I didn’t have this?” in mind when I hit those items that make me hesitate. Thanks!
I go through similar purges too Vic and the donating, recycling or trashing of things around my place always feels great. Even when I do it though I still feel like I’m holding on to too much junk, just in case.
I’m planning a big trip around the world and need to figure out exactly what I’ll take with me. Coming back from that trip should allow me to purge a lot more.
Trip around the world! Man, that’s awesome. I want to hear all about it when I see you in Portland in a few weeks.
Vic,
Great post!
Every time I have thrown out some stuff I don’t need, I feel the sense of relief. Just makes me wonder why I kept that certain item for so long – even if I didn’t use it!
I’m definitely feeling a sense of relief. Even the stuff that has made me hesitate for a moment, I don’t even think about it the next day.
Hi Vic, great post from you (again)
have you heard “100 things challence” ?..discarding old scrap is truly liberating !! I have tried to live as minimalistic as i can with two children..and it`s great..when others complain of lack of space i can just smile ;D
Thanks, Sari. I had not heard of the 100 things challenge but I just “liked” their page on facebook. Thanks for sharing!
Dear Vic,
I am a book collector, new to minimalism with like 5000 books, 99% of them not read in years. Do I HAVE to get rid of them?