1000 things

I joined the Simple Living group on Ravelry the other day because, well, I have a lot of stuff.  Not like Hoarders stuff but I do own a lot of things.  And lately it’s been weighing me down.  Especially my stash.  Which is sacrilege I know.  But it’s true.  The sheer amount of yarn in my house is making me feel stressed out and tired at the same time.  And while a lot of it is actually assigned for specific projects or people, I have come to the point where I just want to knit it down and fast. 

It took four years of dedicated yarn shopping but I’m at that point.  It has to go.  Like weight though, I didn’t gain it over night and it’s doubtful I’ll knit it all up overnight but I’m certainly working on buying less and knitting more.

So I’m looking for ways to simplify my life.  I’m also trying to stop buying crap I don’t need.  Especially after my very pricey purchase a few weeks ago which I was hoping to put off for at least a year…until my dryer decided otherwise and caught on fire.  Good times. 

Besides, as double mortgage holders now, money isn’t as free-flowing as it was.  Especially with me taking a pay cut.  I need to get my complicated and expensive life under control.  No one needs all the stuff I have.

But how does all of this whinging relate to 1000 things?  Isn’t the point of simplifying life cutting down on stuff?  Yes.  It is.  Which is exactly why I will be getting RID of 1000 things over the next year or so.  Which, to go full circle, brings me back to the Simple Living group on Ravelry.

Last week I was reading a thread in that group about how one woman was divesting herself of 1000 things she owned.  Which is a lot of stuff.  Someone else commented that the very fact that we (as a society) are able to get rid of 1000 things and not really feel much of a pinch is kind of frightening.  I completely agree.  And I’m going to try it. 

But first some rules.  The 1000 things can’t be regular stuff I’d be tossing out ie newspapers, garbage, empty containers etc.  Each of those 1000 things has to be something meaningful….an article of clothing, a book, cookware….something that someone can actually make use of.  And no, despite it stressing me out right now, I’m not getting rid of my stash either.  Well, not all of it.  Some of the yarn (which is truly awful) has to go yes, but I plan to get serious about knitting it up into its assigned projects.  And I’m going to be pretty diligent about buying new yarn.  Afterall, I have a closet full right now (and a hallway, and a spare room) and with my spinning wheel I’ll be able to make my own soon enough.  Yarn will definitely be part of the 1000 things but I’m not going to count it by the ball.  Instead I’ll count a finished project as one item towards the 1000…otherwise I’d hit that marker really, really quickly.

I”m going to add a page where I’ll track my progress.  If you’re interested you can check it out.  From time to time I’ll probably write about what’s gone out and why I let it go and where it went.  I”m pretty excited about this though.  1000 things out of my life.  And hopefully not replaced with 1000 new things.

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