I’m currently about to embark on the next phase on my restructuring of my life. I want to purge and pare down my material life. I have read about and feel that the minimalistic approach will work best for me. However, when I’ve tried this in the past I’ve run into a few “emotional” and mental blocks. I’m one of those people who is “always prepared”. I have extra shampoo and toothpaste in the bathroom, extra rice and flour in the cupboard, extra underwear and socks in my dresser. I have outfits for every possible occasion (even ones I know are very highly unlikely to ever occur). I also have no space for the “extras” and the clutter is hard on my mental state. Yet, when I go to clean out and purge my closets and cupboards I feel anxious. As if I’m going to get rid of something important and not be prepared. Yet I KNOW I don’t need 4 bottles of shampoo or 8 black t shirts at one time.

Any advice on how to finally break free of this connection to “stuff”? I really want to live a minimalist life!