We began purging our possessions from our previous home almost a year before we made the actual decision to sell it and begin our transformational journey of nomad-ing across the country. At first, it was to reduce clutter (which we didn't have much of). Hanging around the house more than ever because of the pandemic made it obvious to us that we owned a lot of stuff (beyond the clutter)!
In retrospect, we see that it was a process much akin to the peeling of an onion; one layer at a time - and sometimes accompanied with some tears, other times with joy!
It started with a book that we both read called "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" by Marie Kondo in which she stated that "the best criterion for choosing what to keep and what to discard is whether keeping it will make you happy, whether it will bring you joy." That concept struck a cord with both of us as we looked around at all the things we had accumulated through the decades. Though many of them represented fond memories and others we justified as maybe being of practical use again (some day!) - most of it no longer brought us joy.
We wanted more freedom as we realized that our things had begun to possess us. And so we started by sorting and letting go of clothes - which during the pandemic became an easy consideration as we realized that neither of us was probably going to be wearing all those dress shoes and suits that clogged up our closets. Then, of course there was the multiplicity of all the seasonal wear that sat there year after year gathering dust. So we let most of those threads go... some to family and friends, some to garage sales (both in the drive way and online) and finally to a variety of nonprofits.
We continued the layering process of letting go of things, working our way through each room and category of items... tools, kitchenware, artwork, furniture - and mementos. If there was one category that probably presented the most angst in letting go, it was the memories found in our storage boxes, filled with fading pictures, plaques, awards and trinkets collected over the years.
It's become more and more clear to us that our journey of "peeling the onion" is more about holding on to attitudes, perspectives and paradigms, and not our possessions... So, in the spirit of our new nomadic lifestyle, we will once again redefine what truly gives us joy, and what we can do without... so as to make room for new memories and perspectives!
Soo... What brings YOU joy!?
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All the best... Jer!