Up to this point in my life I have been an unrepentant collector of stuff. I have accumulated many items that add no real value to my life. I have been able to accept that the clutter in the house from time to time interferes with my enjoyment of being at home, and with making the best use of the spaces available to me.

A little clutter and stepping around and over things I can stand, but lately things have reached a new level. My clutter is now at the point where even when I’m away from the house, I can’t clearly picture any activity I'd like to pursue. No matter what I’m thinking of doing, the specter of junk shadows any positive feelings I get from the thought of engaging in those hobbies.

When I have considered cooking more for myself, I’ve have constantly felt like a wet blanket is draped over my head when I imagine the cluttered refrigerator, the cabinets and drawers stuffed full of quasi-useful implements, and a mish-mash of dirty dishes always piled high on either side of the sink. Worst of all, so many duplicates of basic items like pots and pans and dishes that we’d be dozens of dishes in before cleaning became a necessity. Something had to give.

In the last two days I've removed every item from the kitchen that I have not touched or used in the last year. This is, no kidding, almost every single non-appliance item. I've retired all the old pots, pans, and dishes to a box in the basement. Now the cabinets and drawers are empty and we have a single set of place settings and cookware for every task. When I think about trying to prepare a simple recipe now, I can picture the clean empty spaces and a very simplified and streamlined set of tools to work with.

In the last few weeks I have felt a drive to embrace simplicity in many aspects of my life. I’m starting to appreciate that items can have a negative value in my life even if they are potentially useful. Lots of random tools and objects with "potential" only obscure the one important thing I’m actually going to use to get the job done. Most importantly I am starting to get over my inclination to always save the older version of something--shoes, cell phones, clothing, dishes--thinking that if were to break or lose the newer one I could always revert back to the old. In most cases, that’s not very likely. In some cases, it’s impossible.

Stay tuned.

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