Oh what a journey — if only all the answers could be found in a nice little glossy covered pamphlet!

Today I had someone come to our house to conduct a survey of our belongings to help us with the relocation. For some reason, this really bothered me. We walked through the house, trying to identify what we’d like to move and how much of it we’d like to move. This would seem like a simple task, but it felt really strange and I’ll explain why.

We’ve agreed to go for one year – since we’re planning to go for one year, we don’t need to bring all our stuff with us. We’re keeping our house as is – meaning we’re not planning on taking our furniture or beds but mainly our clothes and our shoes, and our comfort items – oh yeah, and the mini van!  We’re not taking all of our personal belongings – and when we walked by my treasured family canvases that are in the main living areas of our house  – it felt weird to think of leaving them and felt weird to think of taking them. So I felt this kind of limbo feeling.

And for the other stuff – if we don’t need it with us for a year, it made me think if we need it at all?  I mean, I guess when we come back we’ll need all the electronic devices that we can’t use in Europe – like the microwave, coffee grinder, and toaster oven. But what about the ten thousand pieces of plastic dishes and toys and stuff? And all the baskets and bags and dinglehoppers?  Hmm…

So there was all this yin and yang stuff pulling at me today. I felt a sense of freedom from my stuff and a sense of loss from leaving my stuff. I felt for my sisters who have gone through life changes and had to let go of their stuff – does it feel liberating to not have your stuff? Do you miss your stuff? After all, it’s just stuff – but that stuff provides a sense of comfort and attachment – and freedom and loss. So weird!! Can you relate?

It’ll all work itself out – just feels a little weird today.  Tomorrow I’ll be excited again to start cleaning out my stuff and keep to my minimalist plan.  If you have any advice or have been there, done that, I’d love to hear what you have learned along the way. Namaste.