Dave Bruno: De-clutter Your Life with The 100 Thing Challenge

CBN.com The Buying Never Stopped

During the summer 2007, Dave, now 38, and his family had just cleaned their house. He says they weren’t materialistic people who collected an abundance of things, but Dave says their possessions began overrunning their home. 

As he stood in the garage that day, Dave realized that it wasn’t the clutter but the things themselves that were taking his attention away from what mattered in his life.  Camping gear was taking up his attention, not being outside.  Tools were taking up his time, not using them to be creative.  “I was a slave to my belongings,” says Dave.  From the time they started setting up their home, the buying never stopped. 

The expectation of the consumer (in what Dave calls the American-style consumerism) is to buy and buy and buy some more.  The expected route for a small business in American-style capitalism is to grow and grow and grow some more.  Both shopper and entrepreneur behave as if there is an end goal of contentment, but neither ever quits striving for that satisfaction.  “It’s comforting to purchase things,” says Dave.  As his company grew, Dave says he started thinking not only of the growth of his company, but of his own growth as a businessman.  He also thought about the material possessions a growing business could acquire. 

Living With 100 Things

“I bought stuff my family could not afford, knowing the expense would stress out my wife,” says Dave.  In his quest to simplify his life, Dave came up with The 100 Thing Challenge.  He formulated some rules:

1.  It’s Dave’s Challenge.  This was his challenge.  Dave would not force anyone else to participate. 

2.  Defining Personal Things.  He would only get rid of things that were mostly his.  For example, dining room table, piano, plates, etc., were not considered personal. 

Click Here for the rest of Dave's Rules to help you get down to '100 Things.'

Dave says The 100 Thing Challenge was inspired by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  “Stuff is not passive.  Stuff affects us.  Jesus says you can’t serve 2 masters. When you simplify your life, it opens up room -- not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually.”