the essentials of simplicity, part 2: purging

In part one of this series I talked about the principle of using all you have. To begin living a simpler life, it is necessary to use as little of something as possible at at time. I talked about the example of chapstick and pens, but this principle applies to anything that is used up over time. The necessary focus that it takes to accomplish this principle is also a useful exercise in mindfulness. Restricting yourself to one pen at a time or stocking your pantry only with food that will actually be eaten requires you to be more aware of yourself and your actions.

The second essential of simplicity is purging. Simplification requires the expulsion of everything that doesn’t matter, materially, psychically, spiritually, etc. in favor of what does. Depending on the amount of stuff you own right now, this step could vary in difficulty and time to achieve. When I first started thinking about living a simpler life, I had a multitude of things to purge. I had to reduce my wardrobe from the ridiculous state it had become. I had to get rid of the absolute mess that had become my book collection. I tried to reduce the amount of stuff I owned from every aspect of my life. This can be a tough principle to adapt if you are particularly attached to your material belongings. I won’t bother giving you a step-by-step process for reducing the clutter in your life (it has been done many times before). What I can tell you is what worked for me.

I would make three piles as I went through my stuff, a “Keep It For Sure” pile, a “Toss It” pile, and a “I’m Not Really Sure” pile. What you do with the first two piles is obvious; it’s the third one that causes problems. I would take everything in the I’m Not Really Sure pile and put it in a box, and I’d put that box somewhere out of sight and out of mind. If I ended up needing something from that box in the next 6 months, I would go get it. Anything left in the box after 6 months was officially removed from my life. I think this tactic is helpful because you can take a sort of trial run with less stuff in your life without completely committing to getting rid of everything right off the bat.

I would be remiss if I ended the discussion on purging without talking the non-material component. Purging our physical possessions is important and often gives the most visible evidence of living a simpler life. However, purging our minds of distracting projects, doubts, worries, and fears is just as important. My experience with David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system was the starting point for purging my projects and getting my life under control. It doesn’t matter if you use a system like GTD or something of your own devising, the principle is the same. You need to sit down and write down every single thing that is on your mind. A complete mind dump. Once you have everything out and on paper, you can start clarifying your commitments, tossing out irrelevant projects, and planning. The act of putting every worry and every project on paper is very refreshing; purging the stuff that doesn’t matter from that list is even more so.

One final word of advice from my own experience: err on the side of over-purging. I have found that there is very little in life that I cannot replace if I find that I end up needing it. It is disturbingly easy to add more components to your life, but very hard to remove them. Start on the side of over-removal and you can slowly add back complexity if you so desire. Most people I have talked to about this aspect of living a simpler life all have the same experience in that they were initially doubtful of purging their hard-earned possessions and commitments. However, shortly after doing so they realized the amazing draining (yet almost unseen) power that a life of excess has.

I encourage you to take a hard look at your surroundings. Ask yourself if everything on your project list is as necessary as you think it is. What can be reduced? What can be purged?

Photo by Chez Larsson

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 5:00 am and is filed under simplicity, tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Laura M.
    I read many of these type websites. Many of us buy things we use everyday on sale, two for one, etc. This is how toiletries, cosmetics, cleaning products, etc. pile up and with prices high and people trying to save money, many do this. I prefer the "zen" modern clean style, so the items have to be stored in closets, etc. Any other ideas on this, I'll read them. Laura
  • It's amazing how easily we can be convinced to buy something, even if we don't need it, because it is a "good deal." The best deal is not buying it at all if you don't need it :)

    I think about this stuff a lot so I'm sure there will be more posts in the future that will strike your interest. Thanks for reading!
  • I love your advice to "over-purge". You are right...if we need it badly enough, we can usually replace it. But most often we will probably decide we are better off without it.
  • Sam
    I've found that I can live, and be happy, with much less than I thought. Overpurging makes sure I reach that point.
  • Sam
    Thanks Glenn.

    I'll take a stab at your question. If I were in your situation, I would first focus on the areas/aspects that were 100% mine (such as my wardrobe, my bathroom stuff, and other personal belongings). Even if you life in a more cluttered environment than you like, taking care of simplifying your own portion of it can still be rewarding. Other than that, I would consider seeing if you could come to a compromise in terms of certain areas that you can try keeping as simple as possible (i.e. maybe the living room is all hers in terms of decorating, but maybe the kitchen will be in the "simple as possible" domain). Even if you can't devote a whole room to a simplified aesthetic, maybe even just part of a room can ascribe to the philosophy.

    I'm sure others have some better thoughts on this, so please feel free to jump in.
  • Good stuff in this series, Sam.

    I know that this might not be a question for you, but maybe someone else reading might have an answer. Purging, simplifying, etc. is all wonderful and I try to live along these lines. What I have found difficult is living with my girlfriend who loves "stuff". She is very eclectic and I love her for it. She is the kind of person who will find the most interesting thing in a store, festival, city and see how it can fit into our apartment. Because of this, our apartment looks fantastic and like none I've ever seen. Any thoughts on balancing these two conflicting, but worthwhile philosophies?

    Thanks for the blog, Sam, and to anyone reading with thoughts I would appreciate it!
  • patty
    I have had two ocassions when I have done this; moving overseas and combining households. One method I found helpful in addition to your suggestions was to sit down and consider what I needed to own based on the size of place I was going to be living in - I did this along with a simple floor plan and idea of how I might like to decorate. A simple room to begin as an exercise would be the bathroom. A waste basket is obvious. but seperate or in a cabinet? Do you need a toothbrush holder or is one built into the medicine cabinet, cleaning supplies (this then was when I listed a broom, dustpan and mop which I would need for other parts of the house) and then on and on. When I finally got to the kitchen I knew better how to list what I needed and was then comfortable in boxing up a few items like the turkey pan, labelling it and putting in the garage for twice a year use. I barely had to consider all the rest of the "stuff" I accumulated. As to book like many readers I find them hard to let go of; they are in many ways a part of our personal identity. I made a list of books I wanted to own for various reasons (doing this only from memory of what I had on hand, if you actually look at them you can't let them go) and ignored all the rest knowing I never actually got around to re-reading any.
    I look forward to the rest of this series.
  • Hi Sam,

    Great article and thanks for the point about Over-purging near the end. This trips up even the best of us as we worry about whether we might need a particular "thing" some day, and would we be able to get it.

    I found that question really blocking me when it came to dumping books and music. We all know that the CD is a dead medium, but not everything is available as digital. I also worry that the book may follow suit soon yet there are many titles not available digitally. So it is sometimes true that you won't be able to find something again if you get rid of it now, but is your life going to be worse off because of it? In most cases, No. You should be able to find a reasonable facsimile, the only difference being your collections...and really, collections are a bit irrational.

    - Charley
  • Sam
    @Axel

    Good question! In terms of something like purging, here is how I would attack it. I would probably spend a couple days going through my belongings and using the skills I wrote about in this article. If I was really motivated, I might even do most of it in one day. Once I've purged my belongings, I would mostly forget about this part of simplicity and just enjoy my newly-purged environment. Once I began to feel my surroundings getting more cluttered again (it's almost inevitable with time) I would bring out the ole' purging skills and repeat the process.

    As far as how I keep track of all my "personal systems" and "rules," I don't think I have a very good answer. It's something I need to think more about but I think I don't really view them as rules because they are just a part of how I live my life now. I think they are probably closer to values than rules at this point.

    Anyway, good question and thanks for giving me something to ponder.
  • Axel
    Quite inspiring again ! I like how you combine deeper reflexion with down to earth simple techniques, I'm definitely going to give this one a shot.

    This brings me to a question I think you haven't written about yet (and would love to read about from you if any chance) : how do you structure your different personal systems and rules ? Say this was a new rule, how would you implement it ? Do you have a written set of rules that you read and evaluate daily/weekly, or pinned on the fridge or something ? What's your long-term continuity/discipline/motivational hack ?

    Best regards,
    Axel
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