Discardia_ More Life, Less Stuff - Dinah Sanders [46]
I went away to a very different climate for a week and a half with a carry-on, and it was fine. In fact, I could have left behind two of the long-sleeved shirts I brought. Really, up to a point—which for me is three days’ worth of underwear, socks and undershirts, plus two outfits to go over them—the less you bring, the better a vacation you'll have. If you forget something, you can get by without it, borrow it from a friend, or buy it at your destination as a souvenir and keep it on your essentials list for the next trip.
When you get back, think about what worked well and what you missed. The little changes we make to smooth our travel experience are often worth making all the time. What have you figured out that you can do without?
Having just the right things when you aren’t home is a great place to begin having the right things—and only the right things—throughout your life. Take the lessons you learn on the road and apply them to your other kits—from emergency supplies to your bedside table.
Stupid simple filing
It’s also possible to take a lot of weight off your mental load. Here’s a shocking proposition and recommendation that could change your life (it certainly changed mine): Practice stupid simple filing to manage any papers you keep. Many people procrastinate on filing; in fact, most dread it. Here's my theory: It is because most filing systems suck. They are painfully overcomplex and inefficient.
Folks like David Allen have suggested ways to make this less awful. Use a simple A-Z order. Only when needed, make separate folders for specific things (e.g., an Insurance folder behind the general “I” folder). Most importantly, keep way fewer things. You can also make the filing process less unpleasant by using pretty folders and nicer filing cabinets and fancy labels and … ah, screw it. Filing is dull and uninspiring. I’ll tell you how I do it.
Arrange to receive in digital form (rather than on paper) things you do not routinely need to access. Bank statements are a great example of the kind of thing that you can later get online in the rare case you need it.
Keep only papers you have high confidence you'll need again or that the government requires you to keep or that it stresses you out to think about discarding or shredding at this moment.
Make as few folders as possible for your comfort. Yes, A-Z, but also make folders for the stuff you know you'll have a bunch of (e.g., Next Year's Tax Prep) or will need in a hurry or when stressed (e.g., Homeowner’s or Renter’s Insurance, Health Insurance, Automotive Repair). This amount of filing doesn’t take a lot of space and you might be able to get by with one of those clever storage ottomans with hanging file rails inside it.
Make a folder called Manuals and throw the booklets for new stuff you acquire in there. Add warranty info and purchase receipts for major things until they expire. I like to put the newest thing at the front of the folder, and weed it out once a year or so to purge papers for stuff I discarded without sending the manual along with the item.
Put everything else you think you have to keep in one stack. Seriously, just stack it up. Make it very handy to add to the stack and very unoffensive to your eye. My rule is “one neat pile of limited height or else it's gone or filed (in the A–Z files in the cabinet).” Too big a stack (say, over a foot) and you won’t be able to find the things you need quickly enough. More than one stack and you won't get the benefit of knowing exactly where to look.
My stack sat on an upper shelf above eye level when I had a seated desk; now, it resides behind two more constantly used desk items below eye level at my treadmill desk. If I happen to spot a beautiful 9x12 open-topped box, I might incorporate it, but so far it hasn't been necessary. Eco-blogger Julie G of Go Greener Australia has had a similar experience. She sorts through her stack once a year at tax time and hasn’t found that, even after four years of this approach, she has had to clear out the file cabinet.
Using stupid simple