How much do you really need to live a happy, healthy, successful life?

For some people, brand-new, shiny, sparkly things are an external (albeit superficial) measure of success. Stuff makes them feel important and admired envied. Stuff lets everyone know they have arrived.

For others, surrounding themselves with lots of stuff keeps them from having to confront the spiritual, emotional, mental, and intimate voids in their lives.

Perhaps they’ve come from very humble upbringings, and acquiring lots of stuff is a way of defeating the shame their past.

Which one of these describes you?

How does it make you feel, to define yourself by things that can be taken away from you?

Who would you be without your stuff to hide behind?

If you had to pack your entire life into one suitcase, what would you put in it?

How would you choose what was most essential?

When your life is free of the distractions from clutter, free of things you don’t need, free from the obligations to hold on to stuff and maintain its upkeep, free from the need to do everything and doing too much, you’re free to do what you really want.

It also means less worrying about losing your stuff, less cleaning, and more money you save.

I’m all for the less cleaning and saving money part.

So, how do you get rid of your stuff?

If you’re like a Guy Named Dave, you’d reduce your possessions to 100 things.

If you’re like Ryan, you’d give yourself 21 days to figure out what really matters, by packing up everything you own, down to your toothbrush, and spending the next month unpacking only what you need at that moment.

Or maybe you just get rid of one thing everyday until you have only what you need to manage your life – uncluttered, organized, less expensively, and peacefully.

Take the next several days to assess your environments at home, at work, your car, and ask yourself:

When was the last time I’ve used this?

Is there someone else that will find more value in this?

Why am I giving this object meaning?

When you’re done, be sure to come back and let me know how it went for you.