Paring Down

When we sold our house and most of our possessions, I truly believed we had downsized.  We left  Minnesota with plenty of clothing, kitchen supplies and various games and activities.  It turns out we needed only a fraction of what we brought with us.  The paring down started right away when we quickly realized that we weren't going to need our lifejackets in the RV.  I'm not quite sure how they made the initial cut. We put them in a box and sent them to my mom for use at her lakeside home.   Then we realized that I have a mild spice addiction.  Okay, oksy, maybe it's more like a moderate to severe issue. I can not leave spice store empty-handed, and I have Penzey's on speed dial.  I started to throw away old bottles of thyme and sad-looking packets of fennel.  Also, why I had three full boxes of cocoa powder is beyond me. Out they went, but it still wasn't enough. 

So at the end of our first year of RVing, we did it again.  We got out boxes and filled them with things for Goodwill.  We discovered that we don't play board games very often. But when we do, we play the same two or three.  We found out that my childrens' addiction to stuffed animals makes my spice rack look like I have never set foot in a kitchen.  Bags and bags of toys went to Grandma's for "storage".  If a few of those toys find their way into new homes, well, my guess is that my kids won't miss them. My husband went through his ever-growing pile of t-shirts.  An aside: T-shirts have a strange way of multiplying.  I believe this warrants further study in the scientific community.  No matter how many he leaves behind, his stack of t-shirts grows. Many were just thrown out this time, but even more were sent to storage.

And you know what?  It's even better the second time around. Every time we get rid of the stuff, the clutter, in our lives, it frees up space in our heads for the really important things. 

We are probably still carrying more than we should. We are certainly carrying more than we need.  With each purge, I feel a little clearer and a lot cleaner.  I highly recommend it. 

I am also aware that someday, we will be done with the traveling and settle somewhere.  I have no idea where that will be, but my goal is to remember this feeling of freedom.  I hope never to fall into the trappings of stuff ever again.  For as surely as saffron is the spice of life, too much of any good thing becomes a prison.  I don't ever again want to be held hostage by our accumulations.