When we moved into our current place, we did so knowing full well that we would have to get rid of lots of crap due to the fact that it's roughly 700 square feet smaller than our old house. It was actually a process and a goal that we were looking forward to, going through our accumulated belongings and purging that which we no longer needed or wanted, relieving ourselves of those objects which may or may not have once performed a meaningful service, but now serve no more purpose than a dusty old millstone. In the end, we would come out on the other side lighter, freer, and bearing less of the burden that comes with unnecessary stuff.
We did much of the purge before the move, and it did indeed have the relieving affect that we'd expected. The things we gave away or trashed were easily, gladly parted with. Both The Ash and I are pretty well able to compartmentalize our sentimental feelings down to a few small things, so there was next to no second-guessing regarding any of the items that went on the chopping block. We got rid of a lot, but as we stuffed boxes into closets in the new place, filling them to capacity and then some, we knew that a day would come when we'd have to do more.
We managed to put it off for a time, but today brought us to a point where all those boxes had to come out to face the harsh light of judgment. We made some decisions. We filled some trash bags. We gave lotsa shit away. It felt good, hell, great. I can't say if we're done, but we're better off than we were.
I have an idealist fantasy of living a life where I make no more of a footprint than I have to in order to live and be happy. No unnecessary crap, minimum frills, no taking up more than I need of anything. Interpretations of what that means can, of course, run an incredibly wide gamut, but it seems like a good general rule to live by, to order other life rules by. I know full well that we don't live like this today, not as well as we could or should, but it's a goal. And a hope.
6 comments:
It's funny that you wrote this. I am moving out soon and am contemplating just getting a small downtown studio with a lot less crap and clutter!
Good for you. I know what you mean. We've moved a lot, and every time we do we edit our possessions and take a bunch of things to Goodwill. It feels good to live with less. Still, there are things that rarely see the light of day, but I hang onto for sentimental reasons.
In the words of Thoreau, "Simplify. Simplify."
As long as laptops and iPhones aren't on the list I'm all for it.
It is amazing to me that everytime we get rid of crap more files in to take it's place, stuff we never even knew existed.
We're going to be moving into a larger place this summer/fall. I'm concerned more room will mean more crap. It's amazing how fast the junk accumulates
I absolutely love moving for just this reason. I can not stand having "stuff" and for a long while, our now house looked sort of as though we hadn't moved in yet because I couldn't stand to clutter it up. It always feels so freeing to declutter. Like it frees your mind as well as your physical space.
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