7. Clear the Invisible Clutter

I used to have a ton of stuff. That's all it was. While I was nowhere near the extent of what you might see on hoarders, I'd still done a decent job of squirreling away items that I just didn't need. Yes, at one point I highly valued it, but the novelty of [insert item here] wore off quickly, and I decided to make a change.

Over the last 18 months or so, I have become an avid fan of minimalism. Through both choice, necessity, and even unfortunate circumstance, I've pared down my belongings to fit all within a large duffel bag. While there are some items that I wish to acquire, there are still others that I'm finding I could do without. The last frontier is one that I've started to clear a few times, but is so easy to over look.

Gift number seven - eradicate my digital packrattery.

As a preface: I'm actually in a great position to do this now. Why? Because a couple of months ago my computer and external hard drive were stolen and all of my files were lost. Misfortune gave me the blessing of a clean slate. But I've already been mucking it up a little and it's time for a little preemptive action. The folks over at ZenHabits have put together a great how-to for organizing, clearing, and maintaining your digital empire, and I'm using that has my guide.

I'm pretty excited for this. I could easily launch into a dissertation on how much minimalism has improved my life. But I'll leave that for another time. For now I'll just say this: Wouldn't it feel great to finally get that inbox to empty?