I’ve spent most of my career as an editor: deciding what stays and what goes is basically what I do for work. I also take more pleasure than is probably reasonable in doing the same at home: a monthly light edit of the “bag bags” here, a quarterly tea towel audit there.
All of which might suggest I’m good at keeping on top of my stuff. In reality, my relationship with possessions has tended towards one extreme or another. I grew up in a wipe-down, ornament-free home, then rushed in the opposite direction, collecting thousands upon thousands of records, books and magazines. Finally, after hauling them through one too many house moves, I pared right back, arriving at my somewhat more minimal current self.
