My last “100 things” post revealed how indulging in little purchases sent my list well above the limit. In true fashion I have since overreacted to the slip up and trimmed my list all the way down to 77 items. How? Well, I found a way that makes maintaining your personal inventory easy. By shifting your focus to upgrading, repairing or replacing, rather than buying new things, it’s easy to maintain control over junk creep. I upgraded my laptop with 2 extra gig of ram and replaced the damaged charger cord, bought a very cool tooth brush I had long coveted, and replaced tattered clothing with more fashionable, better fitted ones.
It has been more satisfying, and easier to manage since there are no new things to keep track of or add to my list and now that my stuff is in tip top shape, I feel less distracted that nagging feeling that something was not quite right. And here’s another interesting paradox. Although I own even fewer things than before, I feel as if I have everything I need. Each item is now better suited to it’s job, works just right or fits perfectly.
I better appreciate each shirt and every gadget and with fewer items I’m even finding it easier to make everyday decisions. It reminds me a conversation I had at a dinner party once. I was chatting with an ex-Mormon (or No-Mo-Mo), eventually I couldn’t resist my urge to ask if she ever missed any part of the mormon faith. She said “the only thing I miss is always knowing what to do, fewer options made my chooses feel easy and correct. I almost never know if I made the right choice anymore.” That statement really stuck with me and now I feel I understand what she meant. It’s like the common belief that Einstein wore the same thing every day and had a closet full of the exact same suits, shirts, ties, and shoes. He didn’t want to take time or focus away from his work to spend on the repetitive task of decide what to wear. It would seem that having a few good choices is far better than having many mediocre ones.
If you learn from a mistake then nothing was really lost. My previous 100 thing failure has become, as one particularly insightful friend would call it, a teachable moment.
My Very Few Items
- Clothing
- Shirt – White Tank Top
- Shirt – Spaghetti Strap Top Black Lace
- Shirt – Spaghetti Strap Top Orange
- Shirt – Long Sleeve Knit Top, Horizontal Striped
- Shirt – Solid Red Fitted T-shirt
- Shirt – Patterned Yellow Fitted T-shirt
- Shirt – Patterned Black & White T-shirt
- Shirt – White Buttoned Down Top
- Shirt – Work Out
- Shirt – T-shirt for Lounging at Home
- Sweater – Gray Wrap
- Shall – White Lace
- Shrug – Black Ballet
- Pants – Fitted Dark Jeans
- Pants – Black & Orange
- Pants – Black & Blue
- Pants – Charcoal Coloured Dress Pants
- Pants – Work Out Shorts
- Pants – Stretchy Yoga Pants for Lounging at Home
- Skirt – Long / Black
- Skirt – Short / Red Striped
- Skirt – Mid Length / Grey
- Dress – Pink and White Sun Dress
- Dress – Little Black Dress
- House Coat – Kimono
- Socks – 10 Pair
- Underwear – 10 pairs / 2 Bras
- Bathing Suit – Polka dot one piece
- Bathing Suit – Bikini
- Shoes – Blown Moccasin Stye Winter Boots
- Shoes – Black Exercise Shoes
- Shoes – Grey Ballet Flats
- Shoes – Heeled Boots
- Long Warm Coat
- Sun Glasses
- Hat – Warm Tuque
- Gloves – Warm Brown
- Belt – Wide and Black
- Hip Sack – Blue
Grooming
- Jewelry Pieces (3 items)
- Make Up Palette – Mac Palette
- Make Up Brush / Grooming Kit
- Hair Straightener
- Hair Brush
- Hair Comb
- Hair Clips
- Toothbrush – OHSO Pocket Toothbrush
- Diva Cup
- First Aid & Repair Kit
Office and Electronics
- Laptop – Macbook with Second Skin Folder
- Video Camera – Flip
- Camera – Point and Shoot / Olympus Water Proof Digital
- Phone – iPhone & iPhone Mobile Tail
- Hard Drive – 500 GB
- Hard Drive – 100 GB
- Thumb Drive – 10 GB
- Headphone – Wrap Around
- Headphone – Ear Buds
- Podcast Microphone
- Battery Charger
- Solar Powered Battery Charger
- Label Maker
- Notebook – Mole Skin
- File Folder
Items Just For Fun
- Book – Non-fiction
- Bike – Hampton Cruiser
- Art Collection
Every Day Items
- Keys
- Money Clip
- Business Card Holder
- Messanger Bag – ChicoBag
- Portable Purse Hanger
- Water Bottle – Nalegeen
- Aeropress Coffee Maker
Travel
- Suit Case – Carry On
- Suit Case – Blue, Air Canada, Medium Sized
- Hanging Toiletry Kit – Victorinox
Resources for this article:
Dave’s original post that inspired his later book

Edited by Patricia Taylor
Turning 24 was different. It was the first birthday I began to feel remotely grown up. This new sense of looming adulthood was alarming and made me call into question my efforts to become the woman I wanted to become.