(9 days to possession)
We’ve been packing for some time now. Just a little every day… 20 minutes after dinner to avoid doing the dishes. A little more on a weekend morning – coffee in one hand, tape gun in the other. It’s amazing how much our wall of boxed “stuff” is growing, while we continue to live normal, unaffected lives without it. I couldn’t actually tell you what’s in any of these boxes.
The labels say 'storage', but 'rage' works too
Deciding not to use green moving boxes (this time) as a cost-saving measure, we packed our least-used stuff first. But we’ve been at it for 2 weeks. A dozen or more cardboard boxes – of what? Treasures, trinkets, memories. The “might need it one day” collection of Things.
Our current rental apartment is 520 square feet. (Ish. Paolo disputes my math). That’s really not a lot of space for two people. Don’t American bathrooms come bigger? Squeezing both of our lives into here was a challenge at first and has continued as a daily battle:
- exploding closets
- over-flowing cupboards
- shoe racks that say ‘ha ha nice try’
We had no choice but to cull, and we took to it with gusto. We were Craigslist whores. After ditching a garbage bag full of “meh” clothes, I enjoyed opening my closet more: I only saw things I loved and didn’t have to hate my B- and C-list wardrobe. In weaker moments I’d call my mum:
“Talk me off the ledge. Tell me that I really don’t need to keep X because it reminds me of Y.”
Yet, our expanding stack of “stuff for storage” begs the question – what’s left? And why? As packing takes time, and moving will take money – I wonder if I couldn’t make do with even less. Fewer shoes, fewer books and far less crap.
While we’ve spent the past year readying for a move – cleansing our cupboards of little-to-never used gadgets – the packing process is a sound reminder that I could ditch a lot more. I read a blog recently of a couple who’ve sold all but their most essential possessions to ship off overseas (New Zealand, I think). They’ve even catalogued the pairs of socks and underwear they own. Could I do it? Probably not. To me, it would cross from enforced streamlining to self-deprivation.
While I mull the pros and cons of human hoarding, I’ll toast our certain success in going paperless at home. We’ve ditched boxes of bank statements, receipts and other things. Scan it, back it up, shred it. Interested in doing similar? Try out Shoeboxed or check into trinket therapy at Unclutterer.
… Can we move yet?
Thanks for the stopping by the blog today. Your comment cracked me up!
I can’t believe you are only 9 days away to your adventure! It feels like just yesterday when I visited you and you had a couple of months!
And I like what you said about purging your closet – I have waaaaay too many B and C-list items that need to be cleared out! Thanks for inspiring me to do so!
Thanks Shannon – I can’t believe it either! It’s been a very long… gestation. Cheers!
I recently packed up my apartment and fitting the contents of my kitchen into boxes was like diving bodily into the rejects of the Williams Sonoma catalog – all the unnecessary gadgets and cooking accoutrements that find themselves being used once every six months, if that. At what point did I decide I couldn’t just use a knife to slice my egg? Or a firm grip and a good squeeze to juice a lemon?
John, I’ll dive happily into William Sonoma’s rejects – any day. I’m guilty as charged on the egg slicer – but I know they’re ridiculous and unnecessary, so I make a point to use them often. Let’s estimate, though, the industry profit margins for ‘garlic pressing devices’. Millions? Billions?