The Shedding of Innocent Stuff: Prologue

It's interesting to see what prompts certain people to finally step up and take charge of certain areas of their lives. For me, I have been looking for an extended period at the various areas of my house, going backwards and forwards, and wondering to myself "is there anything here I could get rid of?" The answer is an emphatic "yes" in so many areas, yet I always come up on the short end when I say "OK, great, but what am I going to *DO* about it?!"

I've decided that, much like my weight loss of last year, and the focus on training this year, that there needs to be a way to publicly shame myself into taking action. Therefore, I've created a new category to my blog called "The Shedding of Innocent Stuff". This will be an effort to chronicle my desire to rid myself of a disease I have had for many years called "Stuffitis". Now, to be fair, it's one thing to have an item (or two, or twenty) that one really enjoys and uses regularly, and I'll dmit that there's a level of connection to certain things that go into sentimental, but this new feature is meant to poke fun at my need to keep certain things well beyond their usefulness, objective purpose, and to say "OK, Dude, really... why on earth do you have this?!"

More to the point, this process will be a way to see what I ultimately decide to do with this stuff... and here's where you, dear readers, have a chance to chime in! If you see anything that looks moderately interesting, intriguing, disturbing, or just downright funny, let me know. Better yet, help me find a home for it, meaning outside of mine (LOL!). Needless to say, Craigslist or Ebay is about to see some increased traffic (or perhaps Salvation Army, Goodwill or friends... hey, don't knock it, a friend liberated me of an Olympic weight set, bench and power cage, so I know it's possible (LOL!)).

A note to those who may be concerned... this is not being prompted by any financial strain. It *is*, however, being prompted by the fact that I have chosen to do things differently going forward, and I am embracing an attitude of a more "voluntary simplicity" that doesn't require so much "stuff". Call it a breaking with the past, call it regaining space in my house, call it what you will, but I hope to present it as a somewhat amusing view into my reality and what I hope to do with it and about it.

Regardless of the method, if it gets posted, expect to see it gone and a report of how it ultimately gets gone :).