I recently read a Real Simple article (see the link at the bottom of this page) in which author Gail Blanke, a life coach, challenged her clients and her readers to get rid of 50 things. Blanke's mission is to get across the message that clearing out the stuff that clutters up our space can help clear out the stuff that clutters our minds.

Her article is an interesting and inspirational read, and I want to extend her challenge to you: for the next two weeks, aim to get rid of 50 (or more) things. Here's how this version of the challenge will work.

The purpose
I see over and over again situations in which someone who has too much stuff--whether or not he or she realizes it's too much stuff--is saddled with stress, disappointment, fear, worry, sadness, and other unpleasant emotions. Of course, these don't all stem from clutter, but there does seem to be a clear correlation between the two. On the flip side, when clients and I start working on clearing out the excess, the negativity starts to dissipate.

So this is the point both of organizing in general and of this challenge in particular: I encourage you to reconsider what you're devoting space, time, and effort to in your life not to force yourself to live like an ascetic, but rather to make sure the things around you are those you love, use, find beautiful, and believe reflect and support your life as you're living it now. The rest of it so quickly becomes clutter, and clearing out that clutter can create physical, mental, and emotional space for more important things.

The challenge
For the next two weeks, aim to remove from your life at least 50 things. A "thing" here can be a book you'll never read again (or have never read in the first place), a broken necklace you're unlikely to fix or an earring with no mate, a kitchen gadget that's long been relegated to the back of a drawer, a piece of sports equipment gathering dust in the garage, a coffee table you've never liked, an item of clothing you haven't worn in years or that makes you feel bad when you do wear it--anything that doesn't contribute positively to your life as you're living it now.

For the purposes of this challenge, the things you get rid of must be ones you already have when you begin; stuff like new mail that comes in during the next few weeks or new things you buy don't count.

I'll take a further page from Gail Blanke's book and encourage you to write down the stuff you get rid of, large or small, so that you can see both what you were holding onto and what you're letting go of. If you're willing to share your list with your fellow BellaOnline visitors, you can post it in the Forum (I'll start a special thread for this challenge) or e-mail it to me.

If you find yourself inspired to keep going after you've reached the 50 mark, great! There's no upper limit, so anything that feels like it no longer deserves a place in your life is fair game.

Follow-up
In the week of May 13, I'll post the results of this challenge, so I want to hear from you. In addition to posting to the Forum a list of what you let go, please feel free to share your thoughts on what it was like to go through this process, what you discovered (literally or metaphorically) along the way, and what you think of the end result. Other ideas and musings are also welcome.

Good luck scrubbing the unwanted, useless, unlovely, and irrelevant from your life! I look forward to hearing about your experiences.