I can't believe how obsessed I am with minimalism.

About two weeks ago, I sat in my apartment and thought I was finally done.<br><br>I had done probably 15 hours of cleaning and decluttering in the two days before, and I had made a LOT of progress. My closet wasn't perfectly organized, and I still had a few boxes to put away, but overall my apartment looked neat, clean, and felt fresh. I sat on my couch on day three and took a deep breath, feeling proud of what I had accomplished. I was finally on my way to a happy home.<br><br>And then I found a creepy t-shirt from a dude who I hooked up with one night that I had forgotten I still owned. And on the edge of the couch was a used tissue I had forgotten to throw away. And in the corner of the room, there was a cardboard box from one of my books. And god forbid anyone look in my closet and see the sloppy mess.<br><br>I got up, grabbed a black trash bag, and started cleaning all over again. I felt like I had failed for the second time. I was tired, I was sore, I was frustrated, and I just wished I could feel like I had accomplished my end goal for once.<br><br>But this time, I didn't stop.<br><br>I ripped everything out of my closet and sorted it all into one of four categories: sell, donate, throw away, and keep. I found a pair of jeans that I hadn't worn in a year and a half, but was adamant I was going to fit in them again one day. I realized just how stupid that was, took them to the dry cleaner, and finally let them go. I threw away endless amounts of Free Hugs, Free Cat Hugs, and Free Pizza t-shirts from events I had helped organize and attended. I sold probably 20 pieces of clothing in total, and took three bags of stuff to Goodwill.<br><br>I applied the same four categories to everything in the apartment. I threw away countless receipts, probably 200 concert tickets, and a lot of really dirty socks. I got rid of a bunch of stupid stuff that no one could ever need, like a plastic cup that held together by less than half of it's original glue. I got rid of cards from past relationships that I had only held onto for fear of what would happen if I ever got back together with any of them. I went through photos from a really happy time in my life and picked out which ones I was going to keep, knowing that I would never be able to look at the others again. I threw away the used tissue. I took down the pictures in the apartment and replaced them with more meaningful ones.<br><br>And after probably 10 hours of work, my apartment finally felt the way I wanted it to.<br><br>Everything was put away, and I was happy with everything I owned. I vacuumed the entire apartment and found a pair of lost headphones, and a bunch of change. I sat in the quiet, inevitably messy room and thought I was finally done. I thought I had finally accomplished my goal.<br><br>But it wasn't enough.<br><br>I looked at the mess of boxes on my desk and realized I wasn't done at all.<br><br>I ripped out the drawers in my desk and started over again. I took my computer apart and cleaned out all the dust. I threw away all the random pieces of wires I had accumulated over the years and sold one of my old phones. I took apart my record player, cleaned it all out, and put it back together. I got rid of all my old receipts, and sorted them into digital albums. I even sorted all my photos from the last 5 years.<br><br>And now, I feel like I am finally done.<br><br>I finally feel like I can relax in my home, without feeling like a mess is just around the corner. I feel like I can finally get on with my life now.<br><br>I feel Free.<br><br>Sorry for the rant. Happy Friday.<br><br>TL;DR Since I started cleaning my apartment last week, I have accumulated over 60 hours of cleaning. I just sorted all my photos from the last 5 years. I finally felt like I'm done cleaning, and I feel happy.