Moving. It used to be such an exciting thought. The idea of picking up all your priceless belongings and transporting them to an exciting new phase of your life! And the process of finding a new home / condo / apartment, SO much fun! Did you catch it? I am referring to the subtle sarcasm in the way I say that...
The moving to a new place, career, etc...yes, definitely exciting! In a strange way, it is exhilarating for me, and I get excited almost like I did as a child the night before Christmas. But as I am older now, that feeling of bliss quickly subsides when I think of the process if actually having to move my "stuff" (my nicely coined word of what I actually call it) with me.
I used to be a pack rat. I couldn't even begin to think of parting with that board game of "Mousetrap" that I acquired as a kid, even though nearly every piece was either lost, eaten, or used for ANOTHER board game (the mouse was my favorite character when I played Monopoly!). That game represented the happy times of my childhood, and who knows, it may be worth a million dollars one day! But after doing this for a while (My family moved 7 times all before the age of 18, and I have moved maybe double that number up till now), I know consider myself a pro. I have learned the "art of the move", which is the only thing that keeps me sane during this time. I now know what to expect with movers, mail, landlords, weather, and dealing with all the "stuff". And the pack rat I used to be has gotten his neck broken in a trap, and has since been liberated by a bigger piece of cheese- the feeling of having less and not missing it! I have learned to streamline approximately 75% of my lifelong accumulations into what I feel I REALLY need. And of what I feel I REALLY need, I probably only REALLY REALLY need only 25% of that! What happened to it all? It's either been recycled, sold, trashed, or donated to a charity (that feeling alone makes it worthwhile!)
So the things I used to completely fill a 2 bedroom house with, now occupy a 5' x 10' storage unit near my parents. It is my goal to have that fit into a 5' x 5' unit by the time I return. If you see me pushing a lot of stuff on Facebook or Craigslist, you will know why!
Only 2 suitcases and a backpack are traveling with me this week to China, I am already getting excited of thinking how easy THAT move will be!
The day is quickly coming, hurry up and get here please!
