By David Heitmiller

Have you made the philosophical decision to simplify your life, but don't know where to start? Are you ready to get rid of a bunch of stuff and downscale to a smaller home or apartment? Or would the old place be just fine if you could just get rid of some stuff and create more usable space? How do you decide what stuff to get rid of and what to do with it once you do decide?

It seems that many readers are facing these dilemmas. So have we. Having recently sold our large home and freed ourselves of the big mortgage that went with it, my wife and I faced the next stage of simplifying our lives. That is, how to fit 2000 sq. ft. of stuff into a 650 sq. ft. apartment? Actually, we had begun our "unstuffing" process long before we ever put the house on the market. First we had to unstuff our heads! That mental unstuffing began three years earlier when we joined a Voluntary Simplicity study circle. Through group discussion, reading and contemplation, we began to realize the folly of our materialistic lifestyle.

As most Americans, we had come to think of who we were in terms of the stuff we owned. We began to see that there is much more to life than owning more stuff. The one with the most toys DOESN'T win in the end. He or she just dies deeper in debt and uses more of the limited resources of the planet. This reality came clear to me again and again with every natural disaster reported on the news. How many times have you seen the victims of a flood, fire or storm at first wail and moan that they lost EVERYTHING? Then two days later the same people are interviewed and have realized that what they lost was just stuff. What was really important -- their families, friends, memories, heritage, love -- were all still there. It took a fire, earthquake or hurricane to make them realize it. But we realized we didn't need to wait for a disaster like that to know what's important in life. When we understood that, the physical aspects of simplifying and unstuffing became easier.

Whether you are really planning to move to a smaller place or just clearing out the old one, unstuffing may take one or two phases. If you are really downsizing to a smaller space, realtors will politely ask you to "unclutter" your house anyway to make spaces seem larger, so you might as well get a head start. Even if you are not moving, why wait any longer to start? In either case, try to make unstuffing a long term project if you can. Don't try to do it all in a few days or weeks -- it will be too traumatic. Make it a family project involving all members. Perhaps making it a contest or game will inspire smaller children or "pack rat" adults. Be ever-mindful of your ultimate goal and philosophical decision to fight overconsumption. Think of how much lighter you will feel not having to worry about theft, maintenance, insurance and cleaning of all the stuff you get rid of now. Consider whether you want to move all that stuff or pay to have it stored somewhere. Could someone less fortunate actually put some of your excess stuff to good use? (A form of recycling!) Once you begin to think this way, you will find the final decision on what to get rid of much easier.

To open up your mind to the unstuffing process, start by taking a slow cruise through your home room by room. Make a mental note of the stuff that's in it. Is all that stuff really functional or does it have a true aesthetic value to you or one of your family members? Do this for each room of the house. I recommend waiting a day or two before progressing to the next step. You will probably find yourself mulling over and evaluating in your mind many of the things you own.

Next, do the same home tour, but this time take a notebook and begin jotting down items that are candidates for disposal or removal. This may be tricky with some family members, so start in rooms that are jointly "owned." You might want to make columns for "definite" or "maybe" -- do what feels right to you. Don't overlook hidden spaces -- closets, attics, basements, garages -- which are usually filled with stuff ripe for unstuffing. Again, don't try and do it all at once, but try taking an hour or two at a time.

Now get out your lists and start gathering all the stuff you have identified for unstuffing and put it together in a big pile, in boxes or bags or whatever you have available. Set up a time to have a yard or garage sale -- one or two months in the future -- then devote a few hours a week to preparation. Keep adding to your pile as you scour the house for more "merchandise" to sell. Remember, the most successful garage or yard sales have the most stuff, so don't hold back. Ask friends and neighbors if they want to add stuff to your sale. Promise your kids the proceeds from selling "their" stuff. The day before the sale, make a final tour of the house, yard, basement, attic, garage etc. for any overlooked items to add to the pile. NOW is the time to make any final decisions on questionable items! Price items reasonably and don't be too greedy, you will always be surprised at what people will buy if the price is right. Do you have some seemingly worthless stuff? Put out a FREE box! After the sale box up any remaining items and give them away to charity -- immediately. With a smile on your face, walk to the bank and deposit your proceeds into your savings account. (And for Pete's sake, DON'T go out and buy any new stuff!)

If you're not up to the garage sale or yard sale idea, wait for the next charity to call with "a truck in your neighborhood" and simply say, "YES, STOP HERE -- PLEASE!"

You may think you have really "unstuffed" by now, so take a few weeks off and congratulate yourself for completing PHASE I! Enjoy not having to worry about all that stuff you got rid of and moving through the new spaces you have created by unstuffing. Think how someone else is happily re-using your old stuff. As time goes on, you will find that, you begin to re-evaluate items that seemed so important just a few weeks ago. Our veteran simple living friend, Jody Haug, says that as you unload stuff, there is always a new "bottom layer" that appears for future unstuffing. This has definitly been our experience as we almost immediately start a new "garage sale" box.

For those of you selling and/or moving to a smaller home, phase II may begin when the realtor previews or lists your home and tells you to remove still more stuff! When we listed our home, our realtor did a walk through and pointed out all the stuff to pack away. Over the eight months the house was on the market we went through this process two more times! (We also found that we didn't even miss most of the stuff and ultimately got rid of much of it.) Personal items, collections, nick-knacks have to go. Excess furniture may need to be removed to make rooms look bigger to prospective buyers. If you eventually plan to move to a much smaller home or apartment as we did, this is the time to begin thinking about whether remaining furniture and other items will actually fit. Now is the time to sell any larger items that won't fit into your future space by running ads in the classified section. Are you acting as a storehouse for your adult children's stuff? We were. Now is the time for them to take responsibility for it. You'll be surprised how quickly their things will disappear if they actually have to pay to store it. Or perhaps they are just starting out on their own and can use some of your old unused or excess stuff. Our son was thrilled to get a couch that did not fit into our new apartment.

Some items have sentimental value and may just need to be packed away for storage for some future re-evaluation. (It's amazing how much "sentiment" disappears a few years later when you unpack this stuff and scratch your head wondering why you ever kept it in the first place!) Sure, you probably want to keep some symbolic item to remember a favorite relative. For example, I have an ancient bench vice that belonged to my grandfather that I will never part with, even though I could have sold it many times at garage sales over the years. I also, keep a pocket watch that belonged to my great-grandfather. But do you really need a houseful of "keepsakes?" Worn out, obsolete, outdated or just plain junk items should be gotten rid of no matter who they belonged to. Your great aunt Martha probably really didn't expect you to keep the old mixer she used in 1946 forever!

Some people think their old stuff is or will be an antique some day. Are you going to live long enough for them to become antiques? Most mass produced items over the last 50-60 years were produced in huge quantities and will probably never become that valuable. Even if they do, do you want to fret about or store them for the next 50 years? Hopefully not -- remember you're "UNstuffing." Are you really into antiques? If not, but you have some truly valuable antique items, now is the time to call in a dealer who can evaluate them and perhaps take them off your hands.

You may have a category of stuff that ties back to something you did in the past -- a sport you once enjoyed, but no longer or rarely do anymore -- a collection that you once enjoyed but no longer display or a hobby that you pursued for awhile a "few" years ago. Usually we keep this stuff because we think that we will someday take that sport or hobby up again so we save the equipment or tools used in that endeavor. For instance, I enjoyed water skiing for many years. I even kept my ski long after I sold my boat and instead got into bicycling. My experience is not different from most I think, we almost never start up that old sport, hobby or interest again. Our lives, interests and physical condition change; we move on. Often, the technology changes too and the equipment once used for that hobby or sport is probably obsolete now. NOW IS THE TIME -- GET REAL -- and GET RID OF IT!

Unfortunately, the media and society constantly reinforce the concept that our self worth and happiness in life is derived from owning more and more stuff. Advertising bombards us with products to cure every imaginable problem and some we never imagined. Those of us trying to live simply and preserve the earth for future generations are going against the grain in this culture. However, unstuffing your head and your home is truly worth it. Simple living is just plain simpler with a lot less stuff!

© 1995 David A. Heitmiller