Less is less.

We have a clutter problem. On a good day, our house looks like the aftermath of an explosion at a paper factory. On a bad day, it looks like a flea market threw up.

It's mostly my fault. I'm a slob with OCD -- you'd think they would cancel out, but no. Look in my closet, and you'll see my clothes arranged by color and season. I fold clothes so neatly, I could get a job stocking shelves at the Gap. As a result, it takes me about an hour to put my laundry away, so I pretty much never put my laundry away. I need a headlamp to go digging for clean jeans. The same could be said for my office, my bills, the kitchen, the groceries, and so on.

I live with G, my hubby of six years. He's a neat freak with major sentimental attachment to everything and serious Italian guilt about getting rid of stuff. He hates clutter, but will hang on to scraps of lumber for five years. He's like a very orderly hoarder.

We were inspired to start this 365 by the simplification section of Tim Ferriss's The Four-Hour Workweek and the 100 Things Challenge blog. But we're not exactly minimalists -- I'm pretty sure I have 100 things on my desk alone. So in the interest of taking baby steps, we made a resolution to get rid of one thing each day, for the entire year. Hopefully it'll help us simplify a little. In all likelihood, our house will still be pretty messy come December. But maybe we'll feel a little lighter.

By the way, I know the saying is "less is more," but I feel like that's counterproductive in this case. "Less is more" implies that more is better, which is the opposite of what we're trying to achieve. We want to lighten our load, so the keyword is less. We're not moving to a cabin in the woods or traveling the world with nothing but the clothes on our backs. We're just trying to come to terms with the fact that maybe, just maybe, a family of four doesn't require 23 coffee mugs. (Especially since we don't drink coffee.)

One last note. I know January 1st would have been an ideal day to start a 365, but you know what? I got distracted. It can only get better from here! I think.