I know the main mantra of decluttering is ‘keep only what you need or use’ the problem is I have developed a lot of needs.
Already I can see the improvement in my life from doing this challenge. Last night I started a Latin Dance class! I first took dance classes at the beginning of 2008 (that was where I meet mi amor) unfortunately we didn’t keep going, ‘life got in the way’. From that time I had a pair of pretty black satin dance shoes that had never been worn. This challenge brought them out of the cupboard and reminded me that dance is really something I want in my life. I’m so happy.
Zen Habits wrote today about the difference between simplicity and minimalism. Pretty much, minimalism goes all the way. And I’d call living with only 100 things very minimal so I am taking his definition to heart:
…how is minimalism different? It’s basically an extension of simplicity — not only do you take things from complex to simple, but you try to get rid of anything that’s unnecessary. All but the essential.
So I’ve discovered on this journey that dance is essential, now I have to resift my list of 211 things and purge anything that’s unnecessary – find the gold – find my essentials.
Out:
– baking soda face scrub (I can always use the kitchen stash if I want an at-home spa treatment)
– brown thongs (I don’t need two pairs and Mum was desperate for these)
– a detox book and an exercise book (I still like these books; they pass the smile test, but a friend at work is keen to get healthy and I don’t use them i.e they’re not essential, so I’m gifting them to her.)
Items: 211
100 Thing Challenge 
Oh gosh. You gave me a laugh this morning… I read this and thought you were giving your mom your underwear. Not only that, but she was desperate for your pair. (Us Americans say thong for undies.) Then I realized… perhaps she’s talking about her flip-flops. The beauty of blogs is you can read them from across the world!
I was wondering about the thong thing too…..gave me pause I must say!
That’s wonderful that you realized how much dance means to you. I LOVE dance to and can’t imagine it not being near the top of my list. I have a special pair of ballroom dance shoes that I take special care of.
I’m in the beginning stages of counting all my stuff before I start counting down! I’ll know what I started with and how far along I progress.
Hi Debi and Alexis,
I’m glad I brought some laughter to your day with the thong incident, I was certainly laughing when I read your comments and realised my faux pas!
Debi thanks for you comments about my dance. I can’t believe how happy the classes are making me. My dance heels however are giving my feet blisters but I figure they’ll stretch in time. Good luck with counting your things, I owned about 300 more things than I thought I did. I wonder if you’ll be the same.