So every once in awhile, I get into a mode of getting rid of stuff that I have, whether it's old clothes I never wear anymore, books I no longer want to read, or newspaper articles that I once saved but decided to get rid of.

I'm in that mode right now...I'm selling off my old books from college(Don't worry, I saved the books I really love), and I went through my old newspaper collection(stuff saved from 1998 all the way up to 2008)...I'm probably going to look at my clothes at some point, as well as old papers I saved from high school.

I think everyone in my family has somewhat of the pack rat mentality(my middle sister has it the worst), so we tend to save things. But every once in awhile, I get this urge and this itch to go through my things and criqitue whether or not I really want or need to keep this. I think there's something about lessening the amount of possessions I have that makes me feel more free and less tied down, like I become more portable with the less I'd need to pack if I ever decided to just pick up and go.

It's a good feeling. I remember when I was a kid, I read this book about a guy who only allowed himself to have 99 possessions, and therefore if he got something, he'd give away something. I don't think I've been quite that strict, but sometimes I feel like acquring material objects just to have them, or keeping far too many items for sentimental reasons can be like piling on emotional baggage. It's great to pare things down once in a while, don't you think? It also makes you reassess why something had value to you, and if it still does, and when you do that...I think it makes you realize how your viewpoint and priorities change as you get older.