One of the first problems I encountered when discussing our move out of the country is 'What do we do with all of our stuff?' We figured that we didn't have that much stuff, after all, our house is 'cozy' and cannot possibly contain too much stuff. Oh, the house! What do we do with the house? Find a renter? Sell it? The house is the largest item on our list of stuff, but is easy to liquidate because it is only one item. So, lets tackle the 9,999 items within the house. Our options for each and every item: keep and put in storage, take to Costa Rica, give to someone who might use it, sell at a garage sale, or throw away. If we make decisions on 100 items a day, it will take 100 days to complete the sorting of stuff. Throw in two active children, daily responsibilities, meeting with family, friends and neighbors and the rate of sorting waxes and wanes over a period longer than 100 days. After dwelling on my associated memories with an item I then spend valuable time analyzing its best use and for whom. My more efficient Sally can clean out a closet in a shake of a lamb's tail. Over the last three months, we have given away, lent or stored car loads of stuff - furniture, clothes, toys, home decor, etc and we have car loads to go in the next two weeks. An eye-opening disproportionate share of my energy is being consumed by possessions. Do I consume or am I consumed? I think about the time it takes for research, obtaining, cleaning, using, fixing, organizing, talking about, giving or throwing something away. It sure feels good to share, to give and to purge. Fortunately, many of our things have found wonderful homes and will be used for sleeping, sitting, eating and playing. I have to wonder what role my possessions will play in future decisions. Signed M.
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