How many boxes would you need to pack all your things before moving away? You have no idea how much stuff you have. Triple the number and it will be not enough. You could not imagine the mountain you would get, when you would put all your stuff out of wardrobe.
My first adult moving after divorce was a nightmare. When I saw all these begs occupying floors in all rooms I have decided I need to filter important things.
Unintentionally that was my first contact with minimalism.
We are buying bigger homes to be able to store all the boxes. Somehow in flow of our times our houses became storage with the roof.
First step: throw out garbage and old papers. These few hours were the most boring hours of my journey of minimalism. Main reason was, that first you throw away usually really only garbage and you feel like tidying and nothing more.
And then the fun began. 🙂
In that day I throw away just few bags of unused or damaged stuff. I have felt so much lighter. I created 1 square meter of free space. It was such a beautiful empty space. It meant I don’t have to move that 1 m2 to the car, drive it to my grandmother(where I was moving) and hike with it 6 floors(as lift was in reconstruction during that two weeks – yes, really) and find place for it in one small room, where I wanted to live for few months.
From than on I used to like decluttering. The liberating feeling when you get rid of the things you don’t need is so addictive and great. In fact, it’s better than buying new stuff.
During my first moving I was able to throw away just items without attachment. I was cheating, when I left few things (it would be waste to just throw away) in the ex flat. Shame on me, but I was only just beginner.
Soon I had Decluttering – Phase II. With every beg I have been moving I was asking myself if there is anything inside that is worth so much time and troubles. 6 floors with the bag in hands is enough time to be really critical, especially around 5th floor.
At the end I had new list in my head. And that was my first hobby in evenings in my new room.
Decluttering II – Done
Later during my rainy minimalist evenings, with inspiring reading, somehow I have fallen in love with the idea to be able to pack all my things into one beg, take my laptop and with my husband travel the world. When I am decluttering or cleaning I have always that vision on my mind. I am not that far yet, but our honeymoon was a road trip through Hungary, Slovenia, Italy and Croatia with one baggage and laptop each. Well and one paddle board. :D