WORKLIFEDESIGN

If you could only own 100 things, what would be on your list?

Do I really need five towels? 15 pairs of shoes? A different shirt for each day of the month? What would it be like to live with so few possessions?

I realise that a great proportion of the world’s population probably already does so but, for those of us in the West who have been reared on a high-fat diet of consumption, this is almost unthinkable.

But I am starting to think about it.

Over on on my personal blog, I’ve been exploring what my 100 things are. The “100” number and the idea to explore the limits of my own material possessions came from a couple of brilliant life experiments that have been getting a bit of attention lately.

Kelly Sutton, at The Cult of Less, has been selling off his material possessions online over the last year. If you check out his website, you’ll get an idea of what he’s found important by the types of items he keeps, sells and gives away. Kelly’s goal is to reduce his possession to two bags and two boxes.

Could you imagine all your possessions fitting into two bags and two boxes?

This idea does my mind in. I can barely imagine it – let alone imagine doing it. But then I’m very new to this. I have been an out and proud hoarder all my life.

But seeing as Spring Cleaning has been on my mind lately and as I’ve been living between two homes (and thus out of a backpack) for the last few months, I’ve started observing my “must have” items. These are the things that travel back and forth with me or I have one of each at both locations. But what else would be in my two boxes and two bags?

That’s brought me to Dave Bruno’s 100 Thing Challenge. In 2007, Dave set himself the challenge to reduce his possession count to 100 – and then live 12 months with only 100 possessions.

By setting a number, you set up one of your “design limitations” and start working around it – and in that place I’ve found that it becomes really clear what’s important to have around me all the time and what are the things that are nice but I don’t need.

What I love about both of these approaches to minimising “stuff” is that it shakes up our cultural assumptions about material possessions and consumption.  Mainly, that to consume is to live, or, that our freedom comes from our freedom to consume.

Plus, there’s nothing like de-cluttering your life and opening up the space (physical, psychological, emotional) to with as you want. As Kelly says, the greatest thing he’s got from his minimalist life is freedom.

Or is it simply, less is more.

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As the alarm went off on Tuesday morning, I wasn’t filled with my usual “just five more minutes” mantra. No. This was the day that my mild mannered couch sloth self turns into uber-50s housewife and no dust nor dirt is going to survive.  Yes, it was Spring Clean Day.

Bree Van Der Kamp has nothing on me on Spring Clean Day. I had a list. It consisted of categories (rooms) and subcategories (actions required: tidy, throw, donate, mop, vacuum, dust, clean) and sub-sub-categories (cleaning type: soapy water, spray’n’wipe, industrial strength). The day is blocked out with rest periods and team peptalks (such as the benefits of interrupting the cat’s 18 hour nap so as to freshen up her “apartment”).

This year the team worked seamlessly, perked up in periods of fatigue by “Way to Go!”, “You’re doing a great job!” and “I really appreciate the effort and creativity you’ve brought to dusting the ornamental giraffe!”.

Of course, it wasn’t all plane sailing. Like any highly efficient work unit we did encounter our “challenges”.  Negotiating the 15 year old futon into a “sun-filled” position for the requisite 6 hour rejuvenation did require the use of pilates muscles and  yoga flexibility. But we’d been in training for the Spring Clean Challenge for the last six months and came through admirably

As we clock off at 5pm, admiring the sparkle and clean of my beautiful abode, there’s wine for all workers to celebrate our masterful feat. Beautiful surfaces sparkle. Aah, that’s what the kitchen bench looks like, there are the remote controls, the books are in the bookshelves rather than haphazard book towers throughout the house. A minimalist wardrobe containing only clothes that I wear – bye bye yellow polyester pants. I’m surrounded by the things that enhance my life. I’m filled with overwhelming satisfaction and hope for the future.

I’m thinking “You know, if I did a little bit of cleaning every week it would always look like this” and get all giddy at the thought of gliding through life in my ever sparkling palace. Or, maybe it’s the alcohol. The thought quickly gets relegated to “Another great idea” and I get comfy on the clean couch, spilling wine on the clean coffee table and welcome back the sloth.

Spring Cleaning is a wonderful process. It’s a chance to take stock of what you have or what you really need. A chance to look in places you usually don’t go.  A chance to toss out all those things that are just cluttering up your life and to keep or accentuate those things that actually enhance your life.

And just as we can do it for our physical environment, we can also spring clean our lives with remarkable effects.

So, what’s going to get the ol’ heave ho in your life this Spring?

What are you tolerating?

What’s no longer serving you?

And what do you want to have more of?

What has to be happening in your life, who needs to be a part of your life so that you can truly shine?

And where are the places you’ve left dust accumulate?

What are the things you’ve stuffed in the storage cupboard of your life, always intending to “do something with” later?

And when you’ve tidied, tossed, mopped, polished, vacuumed, sprayed and wiped your life, what does it look like?

And what if … you did a little cleaning, tidying every week? How would that feel to have this buff life for 52 weeks of the year instead of just one?

This is what having a coach is like. Rather than going through peaks and troughs, having enthusiasm for something for a couple of months then giving up disappointed or bored, you have a place to sit down, find out what’s working, what isn’t and what you need to do to make sure you are living your life according to what’s important to you.

Or you can do it yourself. Building a support and feedback network around you that gives you a space to talk about what’s going on, work out if your take on it is what is really happening and take the steps needed to keep it all happening.

This is your mop, bucket and broom.

Happy Spring Cleaning.