If you are considering Minimalism then you may have heard of the 100 thing challenge? No….well my friend, grab a cup of java or tea, pull up a chair and allow me to enlighten you!

The challenge was conceived by Dave Bruno. It’s the standard by which most minimalists begin their quest to declutter, downsize, and de-stress.

There are no hard and fast rules but the basic premise is, can you live with 100 personal things? Everyone counts personal items differently. For example I count books, CD’s, socks as a set, while others may not.

We are talking personal items so no need to count kitchen stuff, cleaning supplies, etc.

When I read this my first reaction was…..no way! But the more I thought about it the more intrigued I became. Of course I’ve never been a pack rat so it was easy. For those of you that are….or have cherished items or mementos, you will find it more difficult to do.

I started with my clothing. I found that I had quite a few items I either hadn’t worn in years….or only wore on certain occasions. I laid everything out in piles (work clothes, dressy clothes, casual clothes). Then I went through each pile and picked only the items I wore often, selecting colors that I could mix and match.

Next were the toiletries, not too difficult since I’m not one to wear tons of makeup. Ladies for those of you that have a makeup suitcase (you know who you are), get a grip! How many colors can you wear at one time?

Pick 2-3 eyeshadow colors that look best for your skin tone, 1 lipstick, and 1-2 nail colors. Keep 1 eyeshadow and 1 foundation brush, 1 mascara, a moisturizer, a neutral foundation….and ditch the rest! The benefits of this are 2-fold; #1 you can now fit all your makeup in a very small bag, #2 you will save TONS of money since this stuff is extremely expensive!!

The only other items I had to sort through were my books and CD’s. I purchased a Nook last year, and bought all my favorite books in epub format. I also scanned my CD collection (73 CD’s) into Itunes and it’s on my ipod nano.

I donated all paperback books and CD’s to my local library. When I travel, I take the nook and ipod nano and have all my books and music with me….SWEET!!

So without further ado here is my list of 63 things!

• 2 jeans
• 4 Dress slacks
• 2 casual pants
• 5 skirts w/matching tops
• 7 Blouses
• 7 Sport Tops
• 3 pairs of shorts
• Underwear (7)
• Socks (7 pair)
• Bra (2 regular & 2 sports)
• 1 pr Sneakers
• 1 pr Casual shoes
• 1 pair all purpose black pumps
• Hiking boots
• Sweater
• Jacket
• Electirc toothbrush
• Foundation
• 1 eyeshadow compact (4 colors)
• 1 eyeliner pencil
• Mascara
• 1 lipstick
• Skin moisturizer
• Contact lenses, case, & solution
• Hair brush
• Hair dryer
• Perfume
• Diamond earrings
• Passport
• Wallet
• Nook e-reader
• Ipod nano
• Laptop
• Portable external hard drive
• USB thumb drive
• Neat Receipts scanner
• Cell phone
• Digital camera
• Bicycle
• Car

Getting rid of all this stuff is so incredibly liberating. You no longer stress over having to work more just to keep buying stuff. You may be able to sell some of your stuff, and have a nice little chunk of cash! Give it a try…even if you don’t get down to 100 things.

Did this rock your world? Was it helpful? Did it resonate with you in some way? See those sexy social media buttons below? Go ahead and share this with friends, family, complete strangers….spread the good karma and it will come back to you.