We have a basket next to our coffee machine on the kitchen counter. It’s a small basket that holds a lot – in fact, it’s always full. I’m not entirely sure how we fit so much into that basket, but even when I remove some of the contents, within a day or so, it’s back to being full again.

I’ve often wonder if I put another, totally empty basket on the counter near by, how long it would take to fill it up.

Reserving some space for things we don’t know we will want to keep (or learn) in the future is a good idea. But in order to have that space, to keep that openness, we have to create some emptiness in our lives now. It’s kind of the opposite of a retirement account. Instead of adding more and more to our financial savings, we clear a little of the clutter every day.

Think of it as creating a little space each day (both physical and mental) so there is room for the future.

The discipline of keeping an empty basket around the house is a good one – see how long it takes you to fill it up.