Word: closet
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Excess consumption is practically an American religion. But as anyone with a filled-to-the-gills closet knows, the things we accumulate can become oppressive. With all this stuff piling up and never quite getting put away, we're no longer huddled masses yearning to breathe free; we're huddled masses yearning to free up space on a countertop. Which is why people are so intrigued by the 100 Thing Challenge, a grass-roots movement in which otherwise seemingly normal folks are pledging to whittle down their possessions to a mere 100 items...
...Define the clutter Once you have your vision or theme, separating the treasures from trash should be a little easier. Ask yourself: does this item help me get there? What doesn't fit gets purged. Morgenstern emphasizes that clutter doesn't have to be messy. "A perfectly organized closet or drawer is clutter if it is filled with clothes that you haven't worn for years," she says. And clutter doesn't have to be made of stuff. "It can be any obsolete object, space, commitment or behavior that weighs you down or distracts you or saps your energy...
...what I was missing: "You don't understand shopping." SATC is similarly attuned to the shopping impulse, to the joy of having, and, even more, the thrill of coveting, Carrie knows Big is her soul mate because, in their new apartment, he magically produces what she most desires: extra closet space, which is the most elusive real estate in New York. Samantha practically has a crisis of conscience when her $50,000 bid is topped at a Christie's auction of jewelry from a zillionaire's ex-wife. (Scholars of celebrity divorces will recognize this as the Ellen Barkin garage...
...Wait around to see if anything pops out of Obama's closet...
...Michelle Obama is telling hard truths. Or maybe her truths are not as widely shared as she suggests. Barack Obama's "Yes, We Can" stump speech is wrapped around American decency and imagination. Her story has heroes too, but she doesn't bother to keep the stragglers in the closet. Her voice in this race is one more reminder of the new road we are traveling. The 2008 campaign is its own frontier: a race in which candidates on both sides talk about the need to come together as a country, even as their life experiences speak to the depth...