De-cluttering, Stage 1 complete!

I'm going to be moving soon. My lease expires in a couple of months, and I'm going to take this chance to move to a more convenient location - closer to work and to the city.

Many years ago, basically just after first moving out of home, I got it into my head how it would be cool to have as little Stuff as possible. At the time, this thinking wasn't particularly abstract or philosophical - it just seemed like it would be good to not be tied down with too much Stuff that needs to be moved - since I was planning to have a bit of a mobile lifestyle through my 20s.

Now - there's still that (purely practical) aspect of course - but there's also the whole (more abstract and philosophical) nonattachment and "mental clutter" element.

Basically, the older I get the more I find that having "Stuff" just creates stress. There's practical stuff you need of course, but then there's Stuff that's just there. You don't use it for years, you pack it and unpack it when you move from place to place, but ultimately you never use it. It just collects dust and adds to the pain of moving.

Stage One Complete

The first lot of Stuff I got rid of was a bunch of odds and ends that I had on a shelf in my living room.

It was mostly a pile of dusty random crap that didn't really have any value anymore - except for perhaps a kind of vague sentimental attachment. For example: the whole set of World Of Warcraft DVDs (and expansions) that I'd collected over the years. Also some random bric-a-brac that I would probably never use again.

The entire value of this Stuff was based on some notion that this Stuff is somehow part of my life, and that getting rid of it would somehow impact on who I am. As if throwing away random objects that have no practical use can possibly have a real impact on who you are.

This is not to say I'm going to be entirely heartless and unsentimental about all this of course! I'll be keeping some old books and most things that are cherished and thoughtful gifts from special people in my life. But other than that - much of what has collected dust over the past two years of living here and hasn't seen practical use is going to get purged before my move.

Lighter move, lighter head, less Stuff, less clutter...