Our stuff won’t miss us
Having less, living more
Howdy! Welcome to Traipsing About, where I explore creativity, shake off stale habits, and question what truly adds value to my life.
Last weekend, friends canceled a visit due to a snowstorm. Since we know how to have FUN, Chelsea and I pivoted and dived into a Power Weekend using a variation of the Pomodoro Method.
In short, 30 minutes working on An Annoying Project, 30 off, go again.
Try it out—so effective. Sounds crappy lame fantastic on paper, but feels so good in practice.
That power weekend had us tackling lots of the nagging stuff—taxes, living wills, selling off unused gear. It also resurfaced a question Chelsea and I keep coming back to:
How might my life be better with less?
To help digest that question, here are this week’s Traipsing Sparks, quotes from past decades of reading that hit home:
Expectations, expectations: In Status Anxiety, Alain De Botton says,
We may be happy enough with little if little is what we have come to expect, and we may be miserable with much when we have been taught to desire everything."
Similarly, Vicki Robin writes this in Your Money or Your Life:
Waste lies not in the number of possessions but in the failure to enjoy them.
D’s note: We think we own things, but often, they own us because we have to maintain or move them around. My goal? Keep only what I love and use often. Everything else? Borrow, rent, or let it go.
Clean it ALL out: the monk Thomas Merton dropping some wisdom:
"The greatest need of our time is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds and makes all political and social life a mass illness. Without this housecleaning, we cannot begin to see. Unless we see, we cannot think.”
D’s note: Yes! See Action item #2 below. I would add “physical rubbish” to this. The more I’ve stripped away possessions—even things I like, but don’t use—the more free and mentally clear I’ve felt.
“On a basic level, there are three general methods to simplifying your life: stopping expansion, reining in your routine, and reducing clutter." Rolf Potts, Vagabonding
Just say no: Broadening the scope, Mark Manson nails it:
The most impactful things you do are often the things you don’t do:
The distractions you don’t indulge
The toxic people you don’t engage
The opportunities you turn down
The bad relationships you leave
The fights you walk away from
D’s note: When I think back on inflection points that improved my life the most, they’re often tied into one of the above. How about you?
4. To change or not to change: I’ll leave it with a fav from my mom, this mic drop from the late Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh from No Death, No Fear:
“You do not need to waste your time doing those things that are unnecessary and trifling. You do not have to be rich. You do not need to seek fame or power. What you need is freedom, solidity, peace and joy. You need the time and energy to be able to share these things with others.”
My takeaways for the week: Simplifying life by letting go of excess—whether it's physical possessions, mental clutter, or unnecessary obligations—creates space for clarity and freedom. It’s not about living in a bare room with no commitments or beauty in our lives, but rather truly appreciating the things we own and engage in.
Enough talk, more actions!
Deal with physical stuff: Chelsea and I have played The 30-Day Minimalism Game a couple of times. How did I accumulate so much sporting equipment?!
Deal with digital stuff: Here’s a guide to Cal Newport’s powerful 30-Day Digital Declutter.
Related reading from my past writing:
Letting go, faster—better options will arrive!
Six years ago, I tried shutting down the noise for a month ala Cal Newport.
Thanks for tuning in to this week’s Traipsing Sparks. See you next time!
I love this. I always feel that a good decluttering is like losing excess weight. We free up so much energy when we get rid of the responsibility of taking care of the wrong things.