Not Quite a Minimalist

Could you pack up your entire house in a single day and fit it into one trailer?

Could your house be ready to list on MLS in just a few days? If the opportunity presented itself, would you do both of these things… List your house in just a few days and pack up your home and move almost instantaneously? This is how we (as in Amy and Fred) live and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As regular human beings, we attach ourselves to items that maybe we do not need to be attached to. And if we genuinely are attached to an item, then why is it that we store it tucked away in a box, in the basement under a bunch of other boxes? It should be displayed or shared. I have a rock that I held very close to my heart, it was given to me. Then a few years ago I lost a very special soul, I buried the rock in the garden with her. I don’t miss that rock one bit, because I know it's in a very special place.

It may seem like I am going a little off track, and I am. But my point is, that there is a time to let go of something that you are attached to. It may serve a better purpose elsewhere, potentially benefiting others or even still benefiting yourself by giving that item away. You will sometimes even realize that the item itself wasn't serving the emotional purpose you thought it was. And if you do not have items that you need to detach from then you are winning. That likely means that you store things that are most important to you in your heart. You do not need tangible items to validate that security.

I don’t know if I have ever been attached to anything, maybe a blanket growing up but never anything that I could NOT live without. I have a few pieces of clothing from my grandmother that I have kept from her closet but I still wear them often. And I know that when the time comes, she will be just as happy with me donating these items for someone else to wear. I do not NEED those pieces of clothing in my closet to hold my grandma close to my heart. Heck, I think she would even laugh at the dried-up plant of hers that I have been trying to revive for a few weeks now...I feel guilty that I will have to let it go. But that is not where I store my love for my grandma, so I do not need to keep this item just to ‘have’ it.

I do have one small box of keepsakes but it's a glorified shoebox. That's it. Sometimes I feel like I am accumulating too much stuff and it isn't always accumulating stuff because it's sentimental to me but because ‘I might need it later’. I have a pretty solid amount of kitchen storage…an unnecessary amount... and every single cupboard is filled. I still have baking pans that my mom bought me but I have never used but I just might need them later! Same with the old Magic Bullet that just about lit on fire one morning, so it's been replaced with a Ninja. But for some reason, I have not gotten rid of the MB...why? Or cleaning supplies that I have somehow accumulated but will never ever use because I make my own! I also HAD an outrageous amount of sports memorabilia. From hardware to jerseys and every piece of clothing that had my team branding. But it's gone. All gone. I kept a few OFSAA sweaters and some ringette sticks that are brand new, ancient STINGER 8000 lol. But that is it. I do not need a ratty t-shirt or coat that no longer fits. I have photo evidence, that is all I need. Thank you, Freddy for ‘suggesting’ I go through those boxes.

Now, it's safe to say I am ready to move because that is also something I do not attach myself to. I am always ready to move. When opportunity comes knockin’ I will be the first to answer it. And because I don’t have many strings attached, it's as simple as tossing our belongings in a trailer and carrying onto the next adventure. This year has been challenging, and if I have learned anything, it's to be adaptable. Change will happen, but can you learn to adjust and keep moving forward?

-Amy