100 Things and counting

In college one of my favorite classes was a sociology class that I took my sophmore year and one of my favorite assignments was to take an inventory of all of our possessions. At the time I was renting an apartment that was filled with rented furniture, my possessions were few….or so I thought.  After my inventory uncovered no less than 20 white t-shirts, I was hooked – how did I have 20 white t-shirts, where did they all come from, certainly I didn’t buy all of them, was I wearing them all, how many does a person need?  BINGO, it was insightful and fun and it stuck with me.

So, here I am all grown up (kind of) and a friend recently sent a link about this guy and his 100 thing challenge.  The concept (simplified) is slimming down your possessions to the magic number of 100 things.  This guy’s written a whole book covering the topic and the how-to’s, which I have not read, BUT just for the sake of fun (and dorkiness) I picked up a pen and some paper and started a list.  My list was more a stream of thought, I looked around and started writing and numbering what I saw.  In less than 3 minutes, I had 100 things down on paper.  Please understand this list is NOT comprehensive of my possessions, merely the first 100 that popped into my head.  I have also assigned categories to only one number, for example “books” or “tops”  – not accurate as this is far MORE than one thing!

However, it was enough to inspire me to re-live my college assignment and take inventory of the things in our house and garage.  This is really perfectly timed as my husband and I continue working through our Simple Living Manifesto, I SHOULD be aware of the things I choose to keep in my life, these things cost money, I might spend time cleaning them, I’ve found a space for them in my home, if I still have 20 white t-shirts I want to know about it and rectify the problem!

For the fellow dorks, here is my inaccurate, incomplete list of the first 100:

1.  Books    2. Computer    3.  iPod    4. iPhone    5.  Television    6.  Apple TV    7.  Bed    8. Dresser    9.  Twin bed    10.  Twin bed    11.  Dresser    12. Toys    13. Bed  14.  Dresser    15.  Dresser  16.  Tops 17.  Pants 18.  Art    19.  Decor/Mirrors    20.  Sofa    21.  Rug   22.  Rug   23.  Rug    24.  Dresser    25.  Rug   26.  Night stand    27.  Night stand   28.  Lamp    29.  Light fixtures   30.  Drapes   31.  Dresses   32.  Shoes    33.  Exercise clothes    34.  Towels   35.  Toiletries   36.  Plates/Bowls/Cups    37.  Glasses     38.  Silverware     39.  Pots    40.  Pans    41. Toaster    42.  Juicer    43.  Blender    44.  Kitchen Utensils   45.  Kitchen Storage containers   46.  Refrigerator   47. Dishwasher     48. Stove    49.  Knives     50. Kettle     51. Grocery bags     52. Chalk    53.  Paper     54. Pens   55.  Pencils      56.  Printer      57.  Desk     56. Chair        57.  Washer      58.  Dryer       59. Soap     60. Trash Can    61. Laundry bags      62.  Winter Hats     63.  Scarves   64. Boots    65. Rain Jackets      66.  Winter coats      67.   Mittens    68.  Sun hats   69.  Dog leash    70.  Dining table      71.  Dining chairs       72.  Bar   73.  China cabinet    74. Buffet    75.  Champagne buckets      76.  Sofa       77. Chair        78.  Rain stick        79. Guitar       80.  Water storage    81.  Food       82.  Make-up   83.     First-aid       84.  Medicine     85.  Pictures       86. DVDs     87.  CDs     88.  Speakers/Docks     89.  Place mats    90.  Candle sticks      91.  Candles      92. Candles   93.  Toaster oven     94.  Cake tins    95.  Pop over pans      96.  Baking sheets     97.  Colored pencils      98.  Markers      99.  Crayons       100.  Shelving

If you’ve made it this far in the post you can see I’m probably in possession of more like 1,500 things!  I’ll let you know when I get my final number, for now more de-cluttering!