Slug: bruce-sterling-on-evaluating-posessions Date: 2009-10-24 Title: Bruce Sterling on Evaluating Posessions layout: post

He talks about clearing your life of posessions, how you should divide everything into four categories: 1. Beautiful things. 2. Things with emotional value. 3. Functional things. 4. Everything else.

Divide each category into the things you keep and the things you get rid of. In category 1, you can keep it if it's on display in your house, if you show it to your friends, if you share it. If not, then you don't need it, it's taking up space and time, which you're paying for with your money, time and health. Take a picture, put it on a thumb drive, take it everywhere with you and get rid of the original. In category 2, if it has a compelling story, one that you actually tell people, you can keep it. In category 3, unless it's very good at what it does and it does something you do a lot of, it goes. And of course everything in category 4 goes.

He says you shouldn't try to do this in normal times. Wait until a spouse dies, a divorce, a child is born or a child leaves home. Wait till you move. It pays to figure out now what you want to do when that time comes.

via scripting.com

Dave shares a talk from Bruce Sterling about how to evaluate your possessions, and clear your life of the clutter. My family and I are in the middle of a move right now, packing our life into boxes and bags, preparing to spend several months in a temporary location while we work out something permanent. We're doing a lot of evaluating these days, and I think Bruce's system bears keeping in mind.