Down to 100 things

Has anyone heard about this challenge? The article in Time magazine (June 16, 2008) says, "The 100 Thing Challenge: For Americans tired of being weighed down by clutter, a purging revolution begins." Basically, there is a movement to become less materialistic, consume less among this grass-roots movement in which individuals are pledging to 'whittle down' their possessions to a mere 100 items. What do you think? How many pairs of jeans do you own? How many pairs of shoes? How many books? These are things I have A LOT of. After reading the article, I did go through my jeans, which I rarely wear, and started a stack to give away. But I do have boxes of old Christmas card photos, college stuff, letters, etc. How long can I keep on collecting stuff? How many picture frames do I have in boxes because there is not enough wall space to put them up?! Here is a quote from the article, "People are finding that their homes are full of stuff, but their lives are littered with unfulfilled promises...decluttering is so popular these days (TV show: Clean Sweep)...people want to get some control over [their] lives, even it if just a tidy kitchen counter." That is where I can relate! Ted calls my areas of clutter, "vortexes" and there are 2 of them in our bedroom and one in the kitchen, plus an area in our large hallway nook of bookshelves. It does make me feel crazy and disorganized. I have actually bought a book about Feng Shuy and am interested in the concept of simplifying and being content with what I already have; stop buying, stop adding to the piles. I'm not saying that I'm going to 'whittle' what I have down to 100 (shoes alone would be more than 1/2 of that number, as well as CDs; we have easily over 500 books alone!), but I am encouraged by our society, and myself, becoming less spoiled, less materialistic, and less "needy" for more stuff. Let's enjoy our families, our faith, our and others' accomplishments, our and others' talents, our health, and our friends! If for some karmic reason you are drawn to this idea as I am and want to read about one guy who is keeping track of how he is getting down to 100 things, see his blog (published in the article): www.guynameddave.com. The following quote is from his interesting blog (by the way, he is 37 and says that he is an average husband and father, not some hermit or monk). Ha haa. "What I can envision is the value of many individuals forcefully rejecting the prevailing motives and activities of consumerism. Such a movement seems to me like it possesses a means to redress spiritual apathy, social boredom, economic instability, and environmental damage. The 100 Thing Challenge is not primarily a spectacle. My hope is that it will be practically good."