Hour #5 : Post / Paper

I hate post.

80% is junk and the other 15% just needs to be filed and saved, leaving the last 5% (at most) which needs to be actioned (most of which can be sorted through an email or a phone call rather than killing a tree).

I just spent a best part of an hour sorting through a couple of months worth of post (I told you I hate it) and here's what I have left:

A. Shred—notifications from banks about rate changes, stuff with my name and address on etc

B. File (work stuff)—bank/VAT and other work-related statements, contracts with clients etc

C. File (personal bank statements)—maybe I shouldn't bother as I access my account online

D. Read (then recycle)—newsletters from organisations I'm a member of etc

E. Recycle—junk mail, stuff that comes in your bills informing you of other offers etc

F. File (household bills)—gas, electricity, water etc

The trick is to deal with each item of post as soon as it arrives plus having a filing system which is easy and on hand.

The other side of it is to see if I can receive certain publications via email and also cancel receiving certain bank statements.

Pursuing Minimalism : My Personal Reasons

There are usually two responses when telling others about my intention to explore a minimalistic lifestyle:

1. Encouragement and interest—'wow' they say, followed by a 'good on you'. Then there's some exploratory questions about what I'm doing and why. All good stuff as it serves to reinforce my reasoning whilst giving my response.

2. Confusion and dismissive—'I couldn't do that' people state, followed by a 'sounds a bit silly/odd/funny/batty to me'. Then there's usually a roll of the eyes or comment which rejects it as folly. All good stuff as it serves to reinforce my reasoning whilst giving my response.

A few people (before I've even started this decluttering) have commented on the fact my living room is so bare.

'Where's your stuff?' they ask (as basically my room consisted of a two seater sofa, a chair, a three seater sofa, a tv cabinet with a tv on, oh and a lamp).

I even remember years ago painting the walls in my room white much to my parents worry (as it looked like a 'hospital room' apparently).

So have I always been a closet minimalist?

If so, then this is my coming out!

And here's my personal reasons to go minimal (in no particular order) :

1. I'm messy—having not much stuff means less things to leave lying around.
2. Makes moving easy—looking to move again soon so lightening the load will help.
3. Change is good—to quote a clever chap, "It's stasis that kills you off in the end, not ambition", (thank you Bono), I like change and want to keep challenging myself to be better.
4. Feeling full—my life is so full at the moment so the need to create some tangible order will in no doubt impact into other aspects of my life.
5. Cost—I'm not a cheapskate but a tad frugal. Cultivating this frugal attitude means asking the right questions when it comes to any purchases.
6. Green—buying less stuff means less things being manufactured plus less waste going into the world.
7. Intrinsic feelings—not to get too deep or anything but it just feels right.

In summary, my pursuit of a minimalist lifestyle means getting more not less out of this crazy thing called life.

What's your reasoning behind being minimal? How do people respond to you?

Hour#4 : Reading Time

Was questioning whether this was legitimate time I could log as part of my 100 hour challenge to declutter my life and decided it was.

So here's some articles, blog posts, ebooks, videos etc I've been devouring to assist in my task:

• Minimalist Business : fantastic ebook by Everett Bogue
• Art Of Being Minimalist : another fantastic ebook by Everett Bogue
• Nine Quick Tips to Identify Clutter : from master zen dude Leo Babauta himself, referred by good pal Neil Cocker (you should also check out his Blackspotting project which explores "to intentionally seek out areas of no wifi or mobile phone reception in order to improve productivity & creativity")
• Digital Downsizing : a fantastic set of articles from Gwen Bell who I'm fast becoming a fan of
• The Experimental Life: An Introduction to Michel de Montaigne : exploring the philosophy behind self-reflection.
• Both videos below seen on Minimal

Hour#2-3 : Clothes

Well I had to start somewhere and what better place than my clothes.

Above is every piece of clothing I own.

Now 'decluttered'...

Before Declutter	After Declutter
boxers 18	boxers 8
socks 27	socks 10
sweatband 1	sweatband 1
sweat tops 2	sweat tops 2
trackies 3	trackies 2
sports jumpers 2	sports jumpers 1
shorts 8	shorts 3
tees 47	tees 20
long tees 6	long tees 3
jumpers 4	jumpers 2
shirts 19	shirts 10
vest 1	vest 0
jeans 5	jeans 3
trousers 1	trousers 0
cords 3	cords 1
pj bottoms 2	pj bottoms 2
army hat 1	army hat 0
beanies 7	beanies 2
jackets/coats 10	jackets/coats 5
suits 2	suits 1
trainers 5	trainers 2
sandals 1	sandals 0
shoes 1	shoes 1
hiking shoes 1	hiking shoes 1
total 178	total 79

I have three black bags for the charity shop.

Hour#1 : Where To start

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth...
not going all the way, and not starting."
Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C

Obviously creating this blog, hacking the design a little, writing the first post and about page, then writing this...

At an attempt to start minimalising my possessions I thought I'd list and detail the areas which need focus and attention.

List of physical spaces (in order of priority):

• Living Room : even though I have an office I don't use it. Most of my time is spent here in the living room - main issue is keeping the table and two sofas clear from clutter.
• Bedroom : it's pretty sparse but important - main issue is the dirty clothes box (and the clutter on it's top).
• Office : (or basically my junk room) where the majority of my stuff I never use is - main issue is the whole space.
• Kitchen : lots of cupboard space but the problem I have is not washing up regularly - main issue is washing up.
• Closets : housing my clothes, boxes, old paintings (canvases), filing cabinet, shoes etc - main issue is just too much stuff.
• Bathroom : pretty empty - main issue is the er, don't know.
• Car : not too bad but never clean it - main issue is keeping it clean.

List of online spaces (not in order of priority):

• Google Docs : use this platform as my main invoicing archiver plus development area - main issue is that there's just too many docs.
• RSS : at the moment I subscribe to 281 feeds - main issue is too many feeds.
• Blogs / sites : currently blog at MediaSnackers, Social Media For Suits, Gnat Gnat and now here - main issue is time to create content for all of them.
• Twitter : currently using Chump Dump to try and reduce down the 500+ people I follow - main issue is too many 'friends'.
• Facebook : same as above.

List of other things :

• Post : I HATE paper and post. Sometimes statements and bills don't get open for weeks at a time - main issue is action not collection.
• Business paperwork : same as above.
• Hard-drive : iTunes, Files, Folders, notes etc - main issue is too much data.

Got to start somewhere...

The Start

Over the past few months I've been getting more and more into the ideas and philosophy behind minimalism.

Blogs such as Far Beyond The Stars, Exile Lifestyle and Minimal (to name but a few) have spurred me into action with this blog and my very own Decluttering My Life In 100 Hours project.

100 hours devoted to decluttering my life in pursuit of a minimalistic lifestyle.

Simple as.