The title is a bit obtuse. I thought about “returning things to the universe”, but that didn’t work.

What I mean, is that physical possessions are often useful. On the other hand, having too many of them can be overwhelming (taking up physical and mental space). I do tend to collect. Once, in an attempt to reduce, I gave to charity a bike seat that didn’t suit my needs. Later, my new bike seat broke, and I had to buy a temporary replacement seat until my custom seat could be delivered. The message to me was: “keep stuff I might need”.

In the long run, that bike seat story probably wouldn’t pan out. If I retain a lean possessions philosophy, having fewer possessions–with the chance of needing to re-purchase something, probably would pan out.

But don’t get me started; I have a garage with all kind of screws, nails, and miscellaneous hardware. I do my best to keep it organized, lean, and labeled … but that is a discussion for a future post.