Leading by Lessening

A couple of months ago, I saw a book at the library called The 100 Thing Challenge.  It sounded interesting so I picked it up.  Essentially, the author was overcome at his own consumerism (as I often am) and worked out a plan to get himself down to 100 personal possessions or less and stay that way for at least a year.

I've been thinking about this a lot, and finally this past week I decided I'm going to do it.  So you can follow along on my journey through this.  First, a few rules I know I'll use to make this clearer for me:

1. This is my challenge, not anyone else's.  I learned this from the author, who shared that just because he decided to take the challenge didn't mean he needed to go through his wife's or kids' possessions and do the same thing.  This will be key for me, along with not judging others who have more, even many more.
2. This can only be about my personal possessions, not shared possessions.  While in some ways I suppose this is cheating, if I counted all of our furniture, games, and the like, I'd be left without clothes.  Maybe eventually as a family we'll have this conversation about winnowing our family possessions, but for now those things don't count against my total
3. Only permanent possessions will count.  I wasn't sure how to word this, but essentially what I mean is that I'm not going to count things like toothpaste, deodorant, or food and drink.  While I certainly possess them and can be a consumer about them, things related to sustenance and daily necessities are not my primary concern related to stockpiling them
4. Some things will only count as one even though there are more than one of them.  The most obvious examples here are going to be underwear and socks and (more controversial, I know) books, music, and movies.  Each of those latter things will count as "1 collection" or "1 library."  Hear me out before you accuse too strongly, though :)  Some of those possessions are family possessions, but recognizing my own ability to cop out in these areas, I have put limits on my personal items in these areas: 100 books (believe me, that's going to involve some serious winnowing), 20 DVDs, 8 board games.  Music is hard because it's all electronic now; needs more reflection
5. I'll still be able to buy things.  As the author pointed out, the goal wasn't to avoid buying (though that will have to be part of it) but to reduce possessions and live more simply.  So as long as I'm below the 100 items, I can purchase.  If I'm at 100, I will have to give away one thing before purchasing another, making my purchases much more thoughtful

I've started with my closet.  The author of the book only ended with about 25 clothing items ... but he didn't have a job where he had to be in meetings or presenting, and he lived in San Diego.  I will often be meeting with local pastors, or with denominational leaders here and abroad, and I live in Portland, Oregon, so my clothing is already up to about 40 items and may climb a little more.

I'm curious about your feedback about this idea and about my rules. Are there other things I should consider?  I'll post my initial list in the next week and keep you updated as I continue to think it through.