Keys to the future

1/1/10 Mystery keys, trashed

We have arrived at the first day of 2010. The Downsize Challenge enters a new year and its sixth month. Time flies.

I took some time last night to do a little tallying. I've been keeping a running record on the side of my blog (once again all you Facebook users, you should check out the real thing) showing the ways I've downsized. Here's the 2009 tally:

Given away: 51
Donated: 18
Sold: 28
Recycled: 23
Trashed: 20
Consumed: 4
Returned: 4
Other: 5

I began this challenge without a clear sense of how I'd get rid of stuff, but I find it interesting to see that nearly half of the downsizes have been due to things either given away or donated to a cause. If I'm going to get rid of my prized possessions, it's good to know that it's for the benefit or enjoyment of others.

Until yesterday I had categorized all such downsizes as "Given Away" but I went back through all of the posts and separated out those which had been donated to charitable organizations or non-profits. I wonder if explicitly tracking the number of donations will lead me to try to downsize in that direction more often. Time will tell.

And what time there is.

Seven months to go with this challenge. Some days it's easy, some days I think I'll never actually figure out a way to get rid of things for another 211 consecutive days. I haven't figured out the key, yet. I'm just getting through with dogged determination.

What awaits us in this coming year? What are the keys to success? Let us find joy in discovering the answers.