Process of Elimination

I think I did well with my 300 things. Honestly, I stopped counting--it was too hard to keep track, and at a certain point, the mindset of elimination just took over.
 
Some thoughts on that mindset---
 
1. When you start eliminating, it feels a little like losing something. And then you realize that you are gaining too--gaining space, gaining room to move, gaining attachment to the things you choose to keep.
 
2. As with everything in life, some things are easy--the clothes that look bad, the books you never even liked, the half-full cosmetics that you would never use. And other things are hard--the sweater you got as a gift, but that doesn't quite fit, the mementos from events gone by, the supplies that you thought would be useful when you bought them. Save your energy for the hard stuff.
 
3. Sometimes it seems that a goal is unattainable. And sometimes it is. But a goal gives us a direction, a place to look when we are not sure what exactly we are doing. Even if I fall short of my "one hundred things," the fact that I have that goal keeps me working toward it.
 
4. Elimination, unless you have moving men coming tomorrow, really is a process more than a single event. And, in my case, a process that will last quite a while.
 
5. Elimination doesn't have to mean losing memories. Have I forgotten my former jobs because I haven't kept every piece of paper associated with them? No. The important stuff lives in me, not in an overstuffed cabinet. Will I forget my wedding if I eliminate some of the books I used to plan it? What do you think? And won't I feel better remembering myself in an outfit that used to work than I feel wearing it now, when it no longer does?
 
The process of elimination continues, with the goal of ending up left with the most important pieces. And isn't that what the process of elimination is usually about?