About a year ago I wrote an entry about the ongoing process of getting rid of belongings I have in storage. I can’t believe a whole year has passed since then!
And while I have been slowly giving things away, or otherwise recycling or donating them, it’s still been a year and I haven’t made as much of a dent as I’d have liked to… that is, until about two weeks ago. I found out that I was going to suddenly have limited access to my storage space, that would effectively halt the process of my sorting or getting rid of anything.
I gritted my teeth, then took a deep breath, and assessed the situation. My inner dialogue went a little something like this: “Necessity is a motherf#*¢@®! Ok…it’s ok. I have some free time today… I have an Airstream for a moving van… I have to get this show on the road and keep momentum… the timing is actually perfect… I needed a push.”
One of the things I like to do when I give or throw away “stuff,” is to feel its physical weight in my hands as I let go of it for the last time. I tell myself in that moment that it’s a weight I’ve been carrying for a long time that I’m now free of. I’m now that much lighter. And so it was with some interest (not to mention effort) that I’ve been tallying how much in sheer volume I’ve been holding onto, and how much I’m giving away. I’ll keep this as a running list until everything I intend to get rid of is gone:
Truckloads of housewares donated to the Salvation Army: 3
Airstream-loads of belongings taken out of the storage unit: At least 4
Boxes of books donated to public library: 7
Boxes of books sold to The Strand bookstore (proceeds to go towards the Airstream): 6
$ made from books sold to The Strand: $150
$ made from other items sold: $95
Some of you might be asking what this has to do with an Airstream, or renovation, or being “green.” What I can say to keep this short & sweet, is simply that I’ve often felt stuck in place by my belongings. Or that I’ve often collected objects to create a sense of value or self… which is not necessarily wrong as long as you’re aware of it. It’s just hard to move around or really take stock of consumption when it’s so easy to store extra stuff. And that is an analogy that often applies to other areas of our lives. How much energy in the form of food (fat), electricity, heat, or other materials are we holding onto, not putting to use, or wasting simply because it’s cheap or easy, or because everyone else does? How can you understand what it’s like to live simply and consume what you need when you have so much excess that you’re turning a blind eye to… and actually have to “house” separately? How much better do you feel after you’ve been forced to decide what’s most important? These are the questions I ask myself.
Then I remember that it feels better to lighten up, keep the things that hold real, immediate value (and finding that has less and less to do with inanimate objects), and feel not only that you’re giving things away to people who will otherwise enjoy them right away, but that you can really take stock of where you’ve been and let go of it to be dynamic, flexible and free right now.
Your accomplishment is very inspiring — especially after looking at your post with the three pictures of some of your belongings to be given away! That was a lot of stuff to find a “home” for. Fantastic job! Love the Airstream too and I love Yestermorrow (even though I only follow them on FB and look at their website).
Thank you very much!!! Still working on finding new homes for a lot of little items that have accumulated over the years, but I’m getting there and the warm encouragement I feel from your comment helps inspire me to keep pushin’ on!
Yestermorrow is as wonderful as you might imagine from looking at the website. It’s definitely a home away from home for a person like me… I hope you have a chance to take a class there sometime. 🙂
…and by the way, over 250 people stopped by the blog on this same day – November 24th – off of just one Facebook posting. I’m amazed. Thanks everyone for stopping by!