The art of letting go, part one: Stuff

Legend has it that Diogenes, the founder of the Cynical school of Greek philosophy, cast away all his possessions except for the bare necessities such as a loincloth and a cup. In today’s terms it would be similar to a London City lawyer living the life of a homeless person in the hope of spiritual enlightenment. As he was roaming the streets of Athens, he saw a young boy drinking water from his cupped hand. Feeling ashamed that he had so far overlooked such a simple solution, he got rid of his cup as well.

Before and after this 2.5 millennia old incident, many have felt that stuff weighs us down and distracts us from what really matters. Buddha said that we all walk around with a raft on our back because we once crossed a river. The “Empty Backpack” speech by George Clooney is one of the reasons why Up In The Air became a blockbuster.

Technology seems to help us get rid of stuff in recent years. In the homes of most people under 30, gone are the stacks of old magazines and neatly filed term papers from their student years. Benefits of going digital include finding stuff faster and less dust in the room.

Likewise, “lean” became one of the catchphrases of modern business. Why own physical resources and stockpiles when a well-designed system can reduce the cost and risk, and allow a cleaner, safer work environment?

stuffThis inspires many people to go “lean” in their daily lives as well. The average household must have an at least 30% surplus of stuff (my guess), from childhood memorabilia to clothes and kitchen appliances you never use. On a related note, most homes are short on storage space. Finally, we never seem to find our things when we look for them (except for extremely organised people of the Sheldon Cooper type).

Of course, making changes in never a purely intellectual exercise. There are many, mostly emotional reasons why we and our homes are not leaner. For one, we feel attachment to our things, after all all buying decisions are emotional. Of course, once you throw stuff away you seldom regret it. More importantly, buying and accumulating stuff is big business with cutting-edge marketing, while thinning down our inventory is not. The few under-funded charities, sharing and recycling networks compete for our attention with marketing agencies (wanting stuff), malls and stores (buying stuff), IKEA and such (storing stuff at home) and storage businesses (keeping stuff we don’t need). Who do you think usually wins? I’ll give you a hint: Do you have any items of clothing you haven’t used for two full years or more. Shoes? Boxes and wrapping? Sports equipment? DVDs?

Learn how to go leaner from smart parents with more than one kid and a small home. They get hand-me-downs (strollers, safety seats, toys, etc.) and pass down stuff as the kids grow. They rotate toys for novelty without purchase. They have sharing clubs and websites.

To go leaner, start with the rookie stuff: Delete abandoned apps on your phone. The gadget will tell you when the app was last used, if ever. Some benefits are obvious (phone speed), while others might surprise you (less distractions and better time management).

Then roll out the big guns, and get rid of 10% of your clothes each year. Depending on the item, you may choose to give them to someone who will like it (a pair of low-waist CK jeans I bought accidentally), give to those in need (duplicates, unwanted gifts, etc.) or recycle (damaged clothes you will not wear for Halloween).

In addition to the benefit of opening your closet and finding clothes you will actually wear, letting go of stuff also gives you the strange, satisfying realisation that stuff is just stuff, and life goes on without those things you were dragging around with you. Try it and let me know how it goes.