Life: 10 x 10

It feels so good to dispose of a piece of stuff. Suddenly, when you are no longer responsible for that particular piece of the world, a little piece of your brain space clears up.

First you make the decision to get rid of it. It may take a while. It may be difficult. Especially in the case of sentimental attachment, it may take a lot of time and involve a lot of anguish. But then you make the decision. And then you take it to Goodwill, or Freecycle it, or recycle it, or EBay it, or throw it out, and suddenly … it’s no longer your problem!

We’re always keeping track of things that we own. The more you own the more there is to keep track of. Even if you’re not doing it consciously, even if keeping track of the stuff in your storage unit that you haven’t seen in months is the furthest thing from your conscious mind, it’s still in your mind, somewhere.

When you get rid of it, your mind is freed, and you can put that extra space to better use.

Katy was saying the other day that part of the reason we simplify our lives is so that we can be more productive. Every time we get rid of a physical thing we free up the mental space that was tracking that physical thing. A freer mind has more space to devote to getting things done. More focus, more energy, more peaceful power.

Here’s to the mental/spiritual/physical benefits of giving up stuff!