Reverse 100 Thing Challenge

It has been a while since I have thought about the 100 Thing Challenge.  In some regards I have simplified my life over the past year.  In other regards, I have become quite consumer driven.  Over the past 3 months, I have picked up 30 personal items.  All of which I could live without.

• Sports equipment:  10 items – 8 pieces of clothing, scuba boots and an Aqua Pulse
• Books/Media:  6 items – 4 books, 3 magazines and a CD
• Clothing:  7 items – 4 work shirts, 1 pair of shoes, 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of swim trunks
• Tools:  3 items – 2 of which have yet to be used
• Electronics:  2 items
• Home:  3 items – Waffle maker, salt grinder, set of Baux pens
• Coins:  1 item

None of these added significant clutter to my life or have become a complication.  However, they do represent a departure from a more aesthetic way of life.  About 1/3 of the items could be labeled consumables and I will be getting rid of clothing and shoes as the result of these purchases.  Most of the purchases were well thought out and reviewed as to whether I could rent them.

A couple of the drivers are disposable time and income.  I have been cooking a little more.  I went scuba diving.  I have been riding my bike(s) more often.  I have taken up an interest in photography.

Not all of my interests have driven purchases.  I dusted off the basketball and shot around with the kids at the park.  We played tennis together this week.  I haven’t bought a DVD in a very long time.

Thinking back over the past few months, I have not gotten rid of anything, but have utilized quite a few of my personal items.  Unfortunately most are still used very infrequently.  I only played softball once this past year.  I have not done any climbing.  I went skiing three times this past year.  I do rotate CD’s in my car, but have only read 1 book that I own a second time.  I can rattle off a half dozen titles that have yet been read, but were purchased based on the fact that they were out of print.