Paring down my life, or, It helps to only have one room

I've been somewhat upset with myself regarding the acquisition of new items after I did such a great job getting rid of stuff when I left Chicago. Sure, I didn't mind getting the new bikes - those are great - but everything else? Well, that came to head recently as I went through my wardrobe. I jettisoned nearly 20 pounds of clothing - much of it worn less than a handful of times! How wasteful.

A goodly portion of the clothing was simply too big on me. I now wear size 33 pants, but much of my "Chicago" wardrobe was size 36. Well, clearly that stuff won't be making it to the next step in my life. Then came the suits - one was over 8 years old and was big enough for two of me (I think it was size 43 reg, I wear 38 reg now)! I think it will find a great new home being given to Career Gear - an org that donates suits to men who are in job training programs. A worthy cause, and not wasteful.

I've also been sending unused and unneeded gear back to Steep and Cheap for the last few weeks. I am hoping it will result in a nice rebate from them, and I am glad to get rid of all of the awesome gear I bought but will never get to use - either because I have 4 of it (or 20 of it if you're talking about backpacks) or because it just didn't fit (alas, medium is not the same everywhere).