All their possessions inside eight suitcases

While the 100 Thing Challenge sweeps the nation in an attempt to counter consumerism, I'm more interested in achieving a certain level of sanity in our house. For the way I'm living my life, I don't need the crystal bowls and cake plates that haven't seen daylight since my wedding more than 20 years ago. I don't need 30 bath towels. And I certainly don't need seven cookie sheets.

Why then had it taken a three-year-long hiatus from mainland and mainstream America to recognize that even in our self-proclaimed simplicity there was excess?

Perhaps because I'd been raised to let nothing go to waste. Perhaps because I had no system to measure the value of the items that filled my cupboards. Once it entered our home, a chipped teacup that had never been used had as much clout as the coffee pot that ran daily.

When we packed for our move to Hawaii, I helped my kids determine what to take by asking a couple of questions.

1. Do you need to have it with you in Hawaii? This resulted in one entire suitcase filled with LEGOs, leaving the baggage checkers scratching their heads, I'm sure.

2. Will you be really excited to see this when we get back? If yes, the items were boxed up and stored. If no, they were sold at a garage sale. Maybe not surprisingly, the biggest pile was the one relegated to garage-sale status.

Now, as I sort through the boxes of household items that have come back into my life, I'm asking myself even tougher questions. Do I absolutely need it? Do I love it? If not, out it goes.

Before I kept items by default, but today, if they're going to take up space in my cupboard – and thus my life – they must have a purpose beyond emerging every three years for a special event.

I doubt I can actually downsize to 100 things, but I think paring a family of four down to eight suitcases is mighty impressive, myself.

The voluntary simplicity movement – also called simple living – is built on the belief that less is more and that life is more enjoyable if it's less complicated.

Although the names for it are new, the trend isn't. Buddha, John the Baptist, St. Francis of Assisi, Mohandas Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau, and the Shakers all practiced voluntary simplicity.

One of the defining practices is that quality of life doesn't depend on large quantities of money or possessions. Those who practice voluntary simplicity try to live sustainable lives by downsizing their possessions, avoiding gas-guzzling cars, and buying organic and/or local foods (which have become mainstream practices). They often arrange their lives so they don't need to earn or spend a great deal of money, thus freeing up time to spend with family and friends, and on artistic pursuits.

Websites with more information:

The Simple Living Network, www.simpleliving.net

Choosing Voluntary Simplicity, www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com

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