Your Top 100?

If you've ever sen the movie "High Fidelity," starring my favorite actor John Cusack, you know about lists. His character and those in the movie are always discussing Top Ten lists as though they were the stuff of which life is made. At one point, I think I made a list of my top 50 favorite songs then whittled it down to 25 or so, but I'm not really into counting stuff like that. Dave Bruno, I'm not, and I'm not sure I want to be.
Bruno, a Chicago resident, has decided to pare his entire life down to the 100 things that he will live with for a year. He has until Novemnber to accomplish the task, then he must live with just those things for a year. As a member of the blogosphere, Dave has gotten quite a reaction to his idea with hundreds of comments and many responses, both positive and negative, to his idea of simplification. guynameddave.com will give you more information than I am willing to spend time on, but think of it...could YOU live with just 100 things in your life? Of course, Dave does not count perishable items and food, nor does he count underwear and socks (really, would socks be one thing or two? Likewise, is a PAIR of pants one thing or two? Would a bra or panyhose be one thing or two? tough choices, no doubt). He noted that giving up extra shirts, shoes and pants was difficult, so I figured...what would be tough for me to give up?

1. My CD collection of 500 discs to start with. Would it count if I put them all on my computer? It's only one item. That would, however, allow me to rid myself of the foud CD players, three receivers and that reel-to-reel tape deck I'm holding onto for some reason...and I really don't need three iPods, I suppose.

2. My shoes...ok, I'll admit that I'm something of a shoe freak, rivaling many women. Sorry, that's just the way it is. I could lose a couple of pair, I guess, as long as the remainder would count two shoes as one pair!

3. Shirts, especially T-shirts. I regularly gift the Goodwill store with these, but I still have a zillion of them, and I got six more this week from various basketball camps. And who could throw away the Jackson Browne T-shirt from 10 years ago or the Doc Savage "Man of Bronze" shirt which really doesn't even fit anymore. (who would want them?) These are iconic items which will be passed on from generation to generation like Green Bay Packers' season tickets.

4. Sports equipment. I have more balls, bats, skates, bikes and racquets than any person should be allowed to have, but I know I will find an appropriate use for all of them in time. You just never know when a visitor will want to get in a quick croquet game.

5. Winter clothing.Hey, I live in Wisconsin so there's no way I'm ditching any of that stuff. Layers upon layers are required here, and I aim to keep warm.

Janet Riel, 59, of St. Louis agrees with the idea of simplicity, saying she has lived on $10,000/yr for most of her adult life. I could not do that, I'm afraid. My mortgage is more than that (yes, I CAN make those payments, unlike Ed McMahon).
We threw out or donated a lot of stuff the last two times we've moved, but I still have far more than 100 items in my possession, and until I can think of which ones to get rid of, I'm going to stick with them. However, my credo involves giving something away every time I buy something new, so at least I'm not adding to my "stuff."
Feel free to come up with your own list of 100 things you would keep...Dave has until November, so you do, too.