I am developing an interest for the idea of Minimalism.

Minimalism resonates with how I want to live my life. How I want to arrange my possessions. Minimalism is not a far stretch for how I have always envisioned my life. I have always felt drained in an environment where there is too much stuff taking up too much space.

This way of wanting to arrange my material possessions, this way of wanting to organize and purge items in my environment, is what led me to looking at my email inbox and the 10,000 emails I found. I mean, why not start there?

Keep in mind I have had the same email account for the past 12 years. I did not expect to find hidden among the Gmail labels, 10,000 emails. Quite a few of the emails were from email lists I had signed up for in the past, and then never found the time to read. Reading some emails brought up many tangled memories from the past. Some were from a friend who took her life 9 years ago. I kept those. Some were from an ex who lives in Singapore. We tried to make a long distance relationship work. And we did for 7 years. I kept those emails too.

Try it for yourself. Look at all the email you have accumulated in your inbox. See for yourself how many emails you have not had the time to read and are taking up space. Delete them.

So many things take up space in our physical and mental places. I pared my email down to 800 from the original 10,000. I am still working on removing more of the clutter.

And I’m working on removing or going through the multitude of items my Dad left behind after he passed. He collected everything. Piles and piles of things. Rows and rows. Rooms and rooms full from the floor to the ceiling. Empty boxes? Sure, we have those by the dozen. Jars? Too many to count. Nails and screws and nuts and bolts? So, so many of those..

The struggle is real.

I watched a Netflix documentary yesterday, which I highly recommend to everyone reading this:

The Minimalists: Less Is Now

You really have to check it out. And do it before the clutter sucks all the happiness from you. Believe me, it will.

And remember, it’s a journey, not a destination.