Discover 42

Twelve days ago, I turned 42 and announced this year's project, called Discover 42.  In that short time, I've already learned a lot about this very interesting number.  For example:

• Wolves and dogs have 42 teeth.
• A pair of dice has a total of 42 dots.
• There are 42 gallons in a barrel of oil.
• Elvis died at age 42.  (His father died at 42 also.)
• There are 42 visible eyes on a deck of 52 cards.

My friend Adam shared two 42-related Judaism facts with me.  There are 42 lines of text in each column in a Torah scroll (read about that here).  One of the mystical names of God has 42 letters (read about that here).  Fascinating!

I've learned a lot more about the number 42 that I'll share in future posts.  Today I want to talk about my first 42-related project.  That project?  Ridding myself of 42 pounds.  

I don't mean losing 42 pounds off my body.  While I'd be happy to lose about 10 pounds, losing 42 pounds would land me in the hospital.  Heck, no matter how much a person weighs, losing 42 pounds in 12 days is probably going to land them in the hospital.  No, my goal was to rid myself of 42 pounds of unnecessary stuff sitting around the house.

I'm pretty good about regularly going through things and donating what we don't need, but I could be better.  Much better.  I'm bad about holding onto things I might need in the future.  I decided to challenge myself to clean out several closets and find 42 pounds of stuff to give away. 42 pounds and then I'd stop.  I started in my closet, pulling out purses I don't use and clothes I don't wear.  Then I headed to my shelves and cabinets.  Every once in a while, I'd put a stack on the scale and write down the amount.  I had no idea whether it would be difficult to reach 42 pounds or not.  As it turns out, it was not difficult at all.  This is what 42 pounds of stuff looks like:

It feels really good to have it all gone.  I don't think I'll miss any of those items.  I'm certainly enjoying cleaner, more roomy closets and cupboards.  

I've never cleaned with a goal of getting rid of a specific amount of stuff.  It was surprisingly motivating!  I'm definitely going to use the same strategy again.  Goodbye to the unnecessary 42 pounds!