Becoming Minimalist

i hate admitting weakness.  i avoid mentioning it at all costs.  but today, i will break from tradition.

i have used e-mail at work consistently for ten years.  and i have “purged” my email inbox only twice in my life.  the first time was when i switched companies 4 years ago.  at that time, i had little use for my old emails.  i saved them all to a cd and never looked back… never opening them again… any of them… i started my new job on my new computer with no email messages.

4 years later (today), i turned on my computer to 1,204 email messages in my inbox - no folders, no systems to retrieve data, just 1,200+ messages.  luckily, “purge inbox” had been entered on my to-do list almost 10 months ago and this morning i had set aside time to do it.

first, i poured myself a cup of coffee.  second, i closed my door.  third, i researched recommended folder structures for email by searching on-line and calling friends.  fourth, i got to work going through each message individually and filing them into a folder or deleting them.  fifth, 3+ hours later, i emerged from my office with every message in its proper home in its new folder.  inbox messages: zero.

i incorporated two valuable pieces of advice that i collected during my research.  1) if you can retrieve the information elsewhere, don’t keep the email.  this works for me.  i am not in a job where large amounts of needed data are stored in emails.  most of my necessary data can be found in files and folders on my hard drive.  and 2) keep your email filing system similar to your document system.  in other words, my document folders are sorted by category and event, not people names.  therefore, it made little sense for me to establish an e-mail folder structure based on people.  it serves me better by using events.

i am not surprised that my uncluttered inbox breathes into me such fresh air now when i check e-mails.  just like an uncluttered desk, an uncluttered desktop (or outlook) is so freeing and energizing.

related posts:

• benefits of minimalism #5: freedom
• the mind clutter of an unfinished project

i would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my old armoire.  for ten years it stood next to our bedroom dresser and housed my pants, shorts, sweaters, and gym clothing.  but because of the extra space that has been created in my closet due to the reduction of our wardrobe over the past year, yesterday i was able to relocate all of my belongings to other places:

• the pants, shorts, sweaters, and gym clothing fit nicely in my closet and dresser drawer. 
• one box full of pants and sweaters has been packed for goodwill.
• my “yardwork” clothing has been moved to the laundry room (near the back door).

the armoire has been removed from our bedroom and has freed up roughly 15 square feet of floor space.  i found a special joy in removing this armoire because it symbolizes how far we have come over the past year. 

one year ago, this armoire, our dresser, and closet was stuffed full of clothing (and rarely worn clothing at that).  the task of removing a large piece of storage furniture seemed impossible - there was just no open space to put the clothes that were in it.  but over the past year, because we have minimalized our closets and purchased less clothing, room has been created.  relocating the clothes in the armoire was not a difficult task. 

and removing the old clunky furniture from our bedroom was a joyful task!  the minimalism process continues…