Get Rid of What you Don’t Need

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How much stuff do you have?  If you’re like many DaVincis — creative people juggling many talents, projects and ideas — you are also juggling a lot of stuff pertaining to your many talents, projects and ideas.

You might not be a pack-rat.  Your living and working spaces may be free of clutter.  But look around and see what what excessive objects are occupying your space.  What are you holding onto that you don’t really need?

There is some kind of supernatural process by which stuff accumulates.  Personally, I’d rather collect interesting experiences than be weighed down by my belongings.  I sure don’t need everything I own and I bet the same is true for you.

For example:  are you holding on to supplies you might need ‘someday’ . . . but haven’t touched in years?  Have you been lugging around books that really aren’t that important to you?  Does your closet hold items that don’t fit or don’t flatter or don’t get worn in your present life?  Are you hanging onto items others have given you that you don’t really need or want . . . but you feel guilty about getting rid of them?

My family needed to move our household to a smaller home across the country. I used the opportunity to look at my belongings differently. For example, I’d been lugging thousands of books around with me for decades.  Did I really need to keep all of them? I considered each book on my shelves, one by one. I kept what I needed and what I loved. I gave away books I thought others would enjoy. I donated the rest to the library. 

Similarly, I pruned my closet, downsized my kitchen items, and winnowed my art supplies.

Doing so felt freeing and fabulous.  I was delighted to pass on objects others would use and appreciate.  I was tickled to clear space in my home.

You can too.  If you choose to, you can let go of:

* things you don’t need

* things you don’t like

* things you aren’t using

* things that make you feel guilty or otherwise icky  (such as things that remind you of something unpleasant  — or gifts others have given you that you don’t really want)

* things you’re holding onto because they might be useful ‘someday’

* things that need repair — that you haven’t repaired for the past year or longer

* clothes that don’t fit or aren’t flattering or don’t get worn your current life

* things you want to give to someone ‘someday’.  (Why not give it to them now?)

Give yourself a gift by jettisoning your excess belongings. The less you hang onto, the more space and freedom you’ll have. And the more your space will reflect the current ‘you’.

Only keep:

* things you love

* things that make you feel good

* things you use

* things in good repair (or that you commit to repair within the next month)

* things that fit you well and look good on you

Activity:  Pick the easiest possible space to purge – a desk drawer, a cupboard, the bathroom, wherever.  Remove all the contents.  As you do so, get rid of what you don’t need.  Give it away, throw it away, sell it – do what makes sense to get it out of your space.  If in doubt, you don’t need it.

Activity:  Obtain three cardboard boxes.  Mark one ‘donate’, one ‘give’ and one ‘sell’. Put them beside a large garbage can.  Now:  walk around your space. Find at least ten items that belong in these receptacles.

Activity:  Make a list of the rooms or areas of your working and/or living space that you need to prune.  Repeat the preceding two activities until you’ve worked your way through your list.  Maybe you tackle one room a month or one drawer or cupboard per week — find a schedule that works for you so that you can go through your entire living space this year.  Jettison what you don’t need.

Activity:  Set up an ongoing system by which you will keep clutter at bay.  Some people have a one in – one out rule.  (If they buy something new, they get rid of something old).  Others make a regular practice of pruning their belongings throughout the year.  Another option is to schedule an annual spring cleaning/purge to go through your entire working and living space.

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Are you struggling with too many talents, skills, ideas? You may have The DaVinci Dilemma™! Find tools, fun quizzes, coaching, inspiration and solutions for multi-talented people at http://www.davincidilemma.com/ .

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