My family has been packing up all our stuff in the house to move. It really puts into perspective how much your earthly possessions really mean to you, or how much they don’t mean. I realized just how many of my things I don’t use and therefore don’t need, so I donated them so someone else could use them better. If you haven’t used something in a long time, haven’t seen it in a long time, or forgot you had it, then you don’t need it.
On the other hand, there are some things I kept for sentimental reasons like photos, certain Christmas or birthday cards, and anything a child has ever made for me. Technically I don’t need these things, but I like to look at them and be reminded of the things that have happened to me throughout my life, good and bad, and the people who were there with me.
As the packing continued, things became a little more stressful. That’s when you really start finding out how much you don’t care about and what you don’t need. When you just want to get it all packed and you don’t want to have to haul more boxes than you have to, you start getting rid of stuff that doesn’t really mean as much to you as you thought when you first began packing.
All the packing I’ve been doing for the last several days has pointed out a lot about things I need and things I don’t need. It has pointed out that I should probably never keep more stuff than I can reasonably transport in my car, since I will certainly be moving it more than once in my lifetime. It has also reminded me that sometimes we metaphorically carry more junk in our lives than valuables, and sometimes we just need to get rid of some things and leave them behind. It’s hard to go somewhere when you’re weighed down by unnecessary stuff.
Related:
Bringing Forward, Leaving Behind
Carrying Less Weight
Out of the Past