Barbra Streisand: We really never possess anything — I mean, not forever. We borrow things and then we let them go and be used and shared and enjoyed by the next generation and the next generation. So if you can’t really use something anymore, even though it belonged to you for a long time and you loved it, it’s great to pass it on.

Costumes she wore in movies, furniture from her home, and her piano are some of the things she is putting up for auction. You can find the entire collection on Juliens Auctions.

Purging your life of more than 500 items is a significant decluttering endeavor and I’m impressed to read about it. Uncluttering kudos to Barbra Streisand.

(Image from Juliens Auctions, and a hat tip to reader Katie for directing us to the story.)

We’ve shown Al Gore’s piled space here on Unclutterer before, but the others are new to us. I especially love the video of David Allen’s desk — simple and extremely productive:

Now I’m really curious what all of these famous peoples’ assistant’s desks look like …

Go on and check out the article, and then come back here and share your reactions.

Hannah Montana has an enormous closet with library stacks filled with shoes, belts, and purses, and rotating racks of dresses, tops, and sequined pants. While a fashionista might see the closet and start salivating, my first thought was, “How could I better organize this space?”

A Closet Carousel would definitely be an improvement over the spinning metal racks in Hannah’s wardrobe. Getting rid of all of the clothes she no longer wears would be another good idea (but my assumption is that since she leads a double life, she has more clothing needs than most). And, Simple Division Garment Organizers wouldn’t hurt in such a large collection of clothes.

The pièce de résistance, however, would be a digital wardrobe database with images and descriptions of all of her clothing and accessories. This way, Hannah might be able to pick out what she wants to wear before setting foot into her closet for an evening of party hopping or whatever it is secret rock stars do with their time.

If she has a Mac, she might enjoy the Dress Assistant closet organizing software:

If she is a Windows user, she might like the Victoria Clothes Organizer:

Or, if she wants a custom solution, I’m sure she could whip one up in Access without too much trouble.

For those of us not living the secret rock star life, any and all of these ideas would be overkill. However, it’s still a fun mental exercise. How would you organize a fashionista’s closet?

The reason for this downsizing? From a Salt Lake Tribune article: 

“The Romney children are all grown up with families of their own, and Mitt and [his wife] Ann have more space than they need,” spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Monday. “So they are simplifying and downsizing.” 

By cutting his property portfolio in half, former Governor Romney has indeed downsized. Holding on to two large properties on each coast of the United States could hardly be considered simple living, though. But it’s a first step.

Like many Americans, we’re always fascinated by which celebrities choose to live simply. Check out our “Celebrities” category to see who is hip to simple living.

“My style is a distillation. I’ve etched out who I am through myriad haircut attempts, outfit attempts, beauty attempts, diet attempts. It’s been an evolution. I’ve let my hair go gray. I wear only black and white. Every year I buy three or four black dresses that I just keep in rotation. I own one pair of blue jeans. I’ve given away all my jewelry, because I don’t wear it.

“The same way that midcentury modern architecture was in the ’50s, I want to be as a human being. New. Different. Challenging the old. Function over frivolity. Clean living. Clean lines.

The article is inspiring, and I recommend giving it a read.

“People are buying fewer CDs every year,” Mendel says. “You don’t want to wait until those sales are finished, before you find a way to run your band.

Mendel isn’t helping CD sales. He admits that he buys his music digitally because “CDs create clutter, and I abhor clutter.”

Maybe Nate would be interested in our post on eliminating CD clutter.

Here’s another rock star who enjoys simple living.

I have one house (in Los Angeles), I drive a Jeep Cherokee, I live very simply. I discovered in life that I have the same joy in divestment as I once got as a young man in acquisition. I have the perfect house. I’m never leaving this house that I’m in. I might trade my Jeep in for some environment-friendly vehicle of some kind. But I’m not into fancy cars. My watch is a Casio. I live very simply, and I’ve discovered that half of the so-called luxuries that people strive for do not provide happiness. My happiness comes from my children, my wife, my house that I love that I live in.

Here at Unclutterer, we like to encourage people to find joy in divestment and discourage needless acquisitions. I’m sure as a young rockstar Mr. Copeland had his fair share of needless acquisitions. It is nice to see he has found joy in simplifying his life.