Discardia

Everyone should make time for Discardia.

Discardia should not only happen on a montly basis, but it should happen on a DAILY basis. Pick your time, day or how much you want to allocate to Discardia.

Don't let things clutter up. When you get mail you don't need, throw it away immediately. In our house, I call it PILE PATROL. Prevent piles from happening by just getting rid of the thing that you would have put in the pile. If it was a piece of mail that was going on the pile, examine it quickly. If you don't need it, throw it away, otherwise tack it to your bulletin board or file it away. If was a piece of clothing, fold it and put it back where it belongs unless it needs to be washed, in which case toss it into the laundry basket.

Give away clothes you don't wear and throw the ratty ones out. Throwing things away is very liberating. The cleaner and clearer your physical space, the clearer your mind will be. There is a cathartic process in geting rid of things and moving them around. Getting rid of things forces you to deal with a situation up front and reminds you of change. A constant cleansing will remind you to integrate new things into your life.

My family has a mailing list that they named "Ligpit" which is the Tagalog word for "Clean up." Our family's motto is "Always cleaning up the clutter." Neatness and the capacity to throw things away is one of the best methods that has been instilled in me by my family. It has taught me to practice the art of letting go, thereby freeing me from crap holding me down. Cleaning up clutter forces you to focus on what needs to be immediately dealt with. Clutter represents procrastination and denial.

Discardia can also transcend from your physical space into your digital space. Delete data from your hard drive that you don't need. Aim for an empty email inbox. Digital Discardia can also be thought of in terms of Bit Literacy, as defined by Mark Hurst.

Bit Literacy is the skill of filtering data. Limiting your intake of data poises you to have a greater understanding of information by limiting your intake of information. Prioritize the information you need to take in, limit it, and truly focus on the information you are receiving.

So celebrate Discardia everyday. Throw things in your home away and delete data that you don't need.