Shedding Our Skin
We didn’t have to call the folks at Junk in the Trunk, but we could have. Instead we stuffed our Ford Freestyle with 15 years worth of things we probably didn’t need to begin with and delivered the load to a local charity. (And soon the Freestyle will be gone too).
As we purged belongings I was appalled by the sheer volume of stuff that had come to rest in our house.
I have to admit: I am looking forward to shedding my skin, traveling light, and learning once again what is essential. This trip is an opportunity to drop weight, physical and psychological.
A friend asked: “How do you pack for a year?” I said: “You don’t. You pack for 4 days and repeat 90 times.”
We each get to walk out the door with a backpack and a small personal bag. We have a large-ish rolling suitcase that will contain the kids’ roadschooling materials. That’s it.
Bruce Springsteen said it better than me: “We’ll take what we can carry, and we’ll leave the rest.”
Even so, as I look at our bags, I am reminded of the saying —
When traveling, take half as much stuff and twice as much money.
5 comments
Doesn’t it feel good to get rid of all that stuff?? And once you start traveling, you realize just how much stuff we have, and how much you don’t really need. And even in your backpack, there will be things you never use and get sent home, given away. It really is liberating. Although here in Japan I am tempted to buy a “Hello Kitty” t-shirt. Did I say that out loud?
It feels so good to lose all your stuff. When I came back, I kept living light and it feels so refreshing. Like the say the stuff we own eventually owns us.
We can definitely vouch for that last quote! I wish our bubba could carry her stuff 🙂
re twitter: “strangely calm . . . ” like you’ve just had a diagnosis for a terminal illness, but you’re completely satisfied with the life you’ve led. i dunno . . . it just came to me. (love loves to love love. james joyce)
Hi guys, isn’t this awesome? When you realize you don’t need all this stuff to be happy…
There is one thing I’ve always kept in mind, even when I’m not traveling:
– If I didn’t use something in one year, I am not going to use it anymore! =)