How One Facebook Exec Streamlined His Life—And His Closet

After an amicable divorce, I moved next door to my ex-wife and kids and downsized from a 4,200-square-foot house to an 850-square-foot bungalow. The storage realities of my new home mandated some serious editing: retaining the things I loved the most, ditching the duplicates, and giving away the rest. That’s when I adopted a “one in, one out” policy, meaning whatever I acquired had to replace something I already owned—from shirts to shoes, from cars to surfboards. My then-girlfriend, and now-wife, Kristopher, is a stylish pragmatist whose design discipline favors curation over consumption. Her editorial rigor when it comes to“stuff” became the Tao of our household. A decade later, even after moving to a bigger place, I still stick to this rule. Whatever I buy has to replace something else. Because of that, I’ve been able to build a tighter and better wardrobe, surf smarter with fewer board choices, and curate a selection of watches and cars that simply would not have been as interesting without the requisite pruning. Read more at Esquire.