Cruft is a lovely term that comes to us from the world of computers and programming. (Though it has a small backstory beyond that, apparently.)
In that context, it refers to “anything that is left over, redundant and getting in the way.” In particular, “defective, superseded, useless, superfluous, or dysfunctional elements in computer software.”
But I see it as a very useful catch-all term that applies to so many physical and digital (and mental) realms of life.
While updating my website, I was struck by how many draft and unpublished pages there were. I couldn’t even remember making half of them. Cruft.
Whenever Lianna and I dare to look at the tagging system in our Active Campaign backend. Or our inactive zaps in Zapier. We shake our heads at all the stuff we’ve started but never finished. Cruft.
Whenever I’m cycling through my “phone routine.” (Email inboxes > Slack channels > WhatsApp chats > Mastodon notifications (browser) > Google News (ugh).) At some point, I was craving something new, and I carved out that pathway. But now I do it every time. Why? Cruft.
Kayte and I are sorting through previously-sorted-but-now-forgotten totes full of baby clothes. (“Was this sentimental?”) Now we have to re-sort them. And this, just as we thought we’d finished because we’d gone through the most recent sets of old clothes. Cruft.
This is part confessional, part motivational.
All that stuff needs to go.
It’s all cruft.
Cruft-cuttingly,
James
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