If you want everything you own to fit in a 65 litre suitcase, it forces you to become an expert ‘de-clutterer’. It also requires a certain mentality that I’ve found many people struggle with, despite pretty much agreeing that clutter is undesirable.
When we leave in 2.5 weeks headed back to Grenada, we want to take with us no more than a 65 litre hard-backed suitcase (about the size of an average backpack or a large holdall) & our 2 laptop bags. We will also still have some posessions in our storage room – but instead of the storage room being the size of a small bedroom, it will now be the size of a large cupboard.
So far we have:
- Sold things on ebay – we’ve sold a bed, a futon, a guitar, an exercise bike, some shelves & there’s still more to go.
- Given books, CDs & DVDs to charity stores.
- Given vases, bedding & ornaments to friends & family.
- Given permission to my stepsister to have the freedom to clear out anything & everything she finds when she & her maid come to clear out my stepdad’s house – including many of my Mum’s possessions & clothes which I’d kept until I was ready to let them go.
Here’s my attitude to ’stuff’ now that I’m in the ‘No Stuff’ mentality:
- If I don’t know it’s even there, I clearly don’t need it!
- Whilst there’s nothing wrong with holding on to things of sentimental value especially for loved ones who have died, I now draw the line at keeping a used handkerchief, an old parking ticket & some mashed up lipstick.
- For gadgets & technology, if it’s sitting in storage and is likely to be surpassed very quickly by faster, smaller, newer models (and it most probably will be), then it’s better to get rid of it now whilst it might be still worth something.
- For clothes, if I haven’t worn or used them in the past 6-9 months, I’ll ditch them. The only exception with this now is that I will have a small bag of ‘warm’ clothes here in the UK for any winter visits.
- I really do think twice, if not three times, before I buy any new clothes and ask myself the following question: Would I wear it every day wherever we’re going to be in the next 3 months?
- When deciding whether to get rid of something in storage, I ask myself these questions:
- Am I going to use it in the next 6-12 months?
- Can I easily replace this if I get rid of it & do want to use it again?
- How much is it worth to me if I sell it now versus keep it & never use it again?
- Did this really mean something to the person to whom it belonged or was it just one of their ‘things’?
- Does this really mean something to me or is it just one of my ‘things’?
Nice post. I’ll be linking back to this on my blog.