• An item I acquired, not through spending, but by asking on a group I agreed to lead, my local Buy Nothing Group, if anyone had a dryer rack they weren’t using. A brand new one showed up on my doorstep and it was exactly the rack I wanted.

• My committment to reducing the consumption of energy in my household, by taking the time to hang each item, one by one, and waiting for them to dry, rather than mindlessly throwing these items into the dryer.

• A greater understanding of how time can best serve me, how I can be living more in the present, and not be racing ahead to solve the next problem, or to creating the next problem that needs solving. I handle each item of clothing with love and respect as I arrange it on the rack, and while doing this my hands are tied, which means I cannot check my phone. It forces me to face myself, quietly. The act of hanging my laundry is cathartically meditative.

• How I have to be aware of how often I do laundry. The rack has a limited capacity and so I can only do a load at a time, or wet laundry will pile up, sit, and need to be rewashed.

• A newfound dedication to reducing my household waste. By not buying new things, including new clothing (i plan to thrift shop what I need or invest in local companies that do not individually package items for resale) i am not creating a need for packaging waste, or production waste. By treating my clothing more gently, it should last longer, and not need replacing. By investing in more expensive, higher quality clothing, I end up needing to consume less.

This clothing rack is now one of my most valued material possessions, for all the reasons listed above. Our possessions need to exist in service to us, not vice versa. If they are not serving us in a way that promotes personal growth, they are holding us back.

What item in your life speaks to you so deeply?