As I’m getting ready to move to Armenia, I’m increasingly feeling as though I need to get rid of all the baggage that I’ve been dragging around from place to place over the years. like most, I’ve got tons of clothes that I haven’t worn in years, nic-nacs of dubious sentimental value, many books which I haven’t looked at in years, and lastly, files and files of documents.

So my purging process went as follows:

1. Bag up any clothes you haven’t worn in 9 months, and give it away. (tuxedos are an acceptable exception)
2. Prioritize nic-nacs in terms of sentimental value. If it takes you any amount of time to remember where you got the item from, it should be purged.
3. Books. If I haven’t read or refferd to it in 6 months, its out. I’m in a phase were book ownership is very unappealing to me. Having moved about 3.5 times in the past 4 years, my books have become a burden. If I can by a book digitally in the future, that’ll be the preferred way. Of course not all books are digital, so if they’re necessary I’ll just have to live them.
4. Any files that haven’t been used, referenced in at least one year (that aren’t tax documents or vital records), also must be gotten rid of. Aside from my office files, I have a ton of personal files that I’ve kept. Files from my previous and current jobs, bills, and random documents.
   1. Scan what you need.
   2. Burn documents with sensitive info.
   3. Recycle the rest.