I am not about to become a full-on minimalist, like Dave Bruno who reduced his personal possessions to just 100 items (though there were some caveats in how he came to that total of 100). I’m not even going to try to mimic the famously minimalistic Leo Labauta of Zen Habits. But, as I look in my closet and my dresser drawers, on my desktops at home and at work and at my multiple bookshelves, I can’t help but think all this stuff I have doesn’t really bring me any value.

Photo credit: Niles

Some of it is just clutter, like the pile the half-processed mail that sits on my dresser, waiting for me to go through it. Some of it, like probably half the clothes in my closet are things I own that I no longer use. Some of it is just stuff that should be put somewhere else.

So, lately I have decided to take a more minimalistic approach to the way I manage my stuff. I am going to sell, or give away, a bunch of my books. I am going to donate all those unused clothes to Goodwill. I’m going to ask myself if I really need all that stuff.

I expect this will take a while. Decluttering is one more thing I’ll have to find time for.

I don’t expect that I will suddenly become Mr. Minimalist. In fact, the rest of my family is decidedly non-minimalist, but I don’t think they’ll be letting me clear out their stuff anytime soon. But I do expect that decluttering might free up some attention and energy, clear out some of that low-level background buzz in my head. And it might just make my view of the world and myself a bit clearer.

I’ll keep you updated.

Decluttering resource: Unclutter