I went through a similar experience doing away with most of my possessions in Berlin, including a small library. I rented a storage space of about 6 cubic meters and when I reopened it after a year of traveling I was astounded: why did I want to keep this?!
I now live a comfortable life with plenty of stuff sitting in my apartment. It doesn't feel like owning though: I get it from a nearby secondhand shop and occasionally return it there.
I think your approach — photographing, writing of—is lovely and worth replicating. I am a minimalist myself. And yet, even in our small house, there is too much.
Then again, certain objects are beautiful and wonderful to encounter in our day. Where some of us go wrong, perhaps, is thinking that we need to hold on to these objects forever.
My best "trick" for getting rid of clutter was to move from California to Italy. Basically all we took with us was our carry-ons and two checked bags each. We did ship one 4' x 4' x 6' crate, which took several months to arrive. By the time it got to Milan, we'd already settled in to our new life and found ourselves wondering whether we'd actually needed to ship a crate, because we couldn't really remember what was in it and had been getting by just fine. As it turns out, we're glad we did do the crate, because we were able to ship some paintings, some things too heavy for our baggage (such as journals and books), and lots of kitchen items that would have been a real pain to replace from scratch.
When we went back last year and put our house up for sale, we emailed our friends in the Bay Area and said "We're here for a quick trip to get the house ready to put on the market. We'd love to see you, so please stop by on Sunday between 12:00-4:00 to say hi and take home whatever you'd like from the house. Almost everything is free, except for maybe 10 pieces of furniture that are for sale for bargain prices."
We got a great turnout that day (despite bad weather) and got rid of almost everything that was left that way. Plus we had fun! And it's nice to know that some things we loved are now living with friends who also love them. The other day a friend sent a photo of an old desk they got from us that they'd just finished refurbishing. It looks like a new piece of furniture!
That is a great memory to have, your friends coming over and taking things home. It does feel good if possessions can have a second life (and a third and fourth). My brother and I did something similar after our mother passed away: We invited her siblings and friends and said, Please take some of her paintings, her cashmere scarves, to use and remember her by. But yes, the best way to get rid of things is leaving your house and moving elsewhere (or nowhere).
When we decided to sell it all and embrace nomadism in our midlife years, getting rid of the special things was the hardest part. But using the methods you've described here worked for us, too. With each thing that went away, we felt more free. Now, with nine months on the road behind us, we don't miss any of it.
I love this concept, Claire. I think it's great you've found a way to give back while also letting go. I've found that taking pictures of old possessions and writing a note about what I did with them or why they have meaning also helps me say goodbye.
We are going through the same process and its harder for me than m husband but we aren’t downsizing as drastically. We plan to move from a four bedroom house in the US to a two bedroom apartment in Portugal. I’ve started donating quite a few things and selling off some clothes that are worth anything.
It helps to donate and sell: that can feel good, worthwhile. It’s harder when things need to be trashed. I hope it also helps you to have this clear goal ahead: downsizing for the exciting new life ahead! One tip: arrive with less than you might need there because it will be nice to bring some Portuguese touches into your home.
Good one, Claire! Best trick to get rid of clutter--move! Works every time. Especially cross country or out of country. Then you'll never send things to a sibling to store, bc shipping costs would be too expensive. I love the adapaibility of the human nature though. In time, you get used to the less is more, and embrace it.
Very true! About moving and the adaptability of humans. My grandmother recently died and I thought about what I might want to keep—lots of beautiful objects to remember her by, but I thought: they're best in my brothers' homes where I can visit them when I want.
So timely for me. I have many miniature tshatshkes which I am busy boxing to send to dear friends. I might take time now, after reading your methods, to create some poetry for them. Thank you!
I have so much stuff I want to get rid of, and I'm slowly working on cleaning off shelves and cleaning out closets. I have so much STUFF, and the clutter is driving me crazy.
Well, you're doing the right thing by starting somewhere. One shelf, one drawer at the time will get you there.
Another very effective method: pile all similar items on a table, all your socks, or all your coffee cups at once, and set a limit for yourself: I only want to own 10 pairs of socks or only 6 coffee cups. Then select your favorites.
Getting rid of stuff is so freeing! Especially when you do it in a thoughtful, meaningful and sustainable way. Donate, recycle etc. In order to insure you don't re- accumulate though, it's important to ask yourself why you buy. Often there is a reason and it has little to do with actually needing the thing. Once you figure out your reason you will find that you are much less likely to impulse buy and sale shop and shop as a reward. We all have too much stuff and at some point are going to have to "deal" with it. There is no time like the present.
Like you, there were things I collected when I was younger because I bought into the consumerism. I didn't have many dolls when I was a kid. So when I got older, I just started buying collector's edition Barbies. I picked the ones I really liked, but they served no purpose. They sat on shelves. But in our current house, they sat in a closet and I decided it was more than a little silly to hold onto them. So I sold them all on FB Marketplace. No regrets. And it gave me the motivation to start looking at other places I could get rid of stuff.
Good for you! There are indeed many ways to get rid of things: give away, sell, donate. It doesn't always have to be the trash (my least preferred way).
Brent and I weren't especially materialistic before becoming nomads, yet when we sold our house in Seattle, we were shocked by how much stuff we had accumulated! Stuff that I can now barely remember at all.
I've been writing about this - my project Clearing Out - for the last year on here, and I'm still not really getting under the skin of it. A lot of my problem is a lack of organisation, energy and time. When I put my mind to a task I do it, so maybe it's all in the planning - and I've not even had to let go of difficult things yet. I'm sure you'd baulk in horror at the amount of stuff I still have. I did manage years ago to throw masses of my daughter's artwork in the recycling after taking photos of it - so that can really help. I really admire your minimalism - I'm not looking for anything so extreme, but I would like to one day move house maybe, or at least feel like I could without years of planning! Thanks for your wisdom :)
You already took the most important step: You started. Having a clear goal such as the possibility to move to another house without stress might really help with the motivation, too. You don't want to do everything in the last months. And for organization: Why not go room by room, shelf by shelf. Everyday you can sift through 1 thing, even if it's small, such as a cutlery drawer.
I have managed this in part, but struggle with keeping up the momentum! There’s always something that gets in the way. I need to be more focused on it perhaps 🤔
I went through a similar experience doing away with most of my possessions in Berlin, including a small library. I rented a storage space of about 6 cubic meters and when I reopened it after a year of traveling I was astounded: why did I want to keep this?!
I now live a comfortable life with plenty of stuff sitting in my apartment. It doesn't feel like owning though: I get it from a nearby secondhand shop and occasionally return it there.
I'm afraid of what I still might find in our storage space... Daniel and I did not manage to get rid of everything. Shopping secondhand is the best!
I think your approach — photographing, writing of—is lovely and worth replicating. I am a minimalist myself. And yet, even in our small house, there is too much.
Then again, certain objects are beautiful and wonderful to encounter in our day. Where some of us go wrong, perhaps, is thinking that we need to hold on to these objects forever.
My best "trick" for getting rid of clutter was to move from California to Italy. Basically all we took with us was our carry-ons and two checked bags each. We did ship one 4' x 4' x 6' crate, which took several months to arrive. By the time it got to Milan, we'd already settled in to our new life and found ourselves wondering whether we'd actually needed to ship a crate, because we couldn't really remember what was in it and had been getting by just fine. As it turns out, we're glad we did do the crate, because we were able to ship some paintings, some things too heavy for our baggage (such as journals and books), and lots of kitchen items that would have been a real pain to replace from scratch.
When we went back last year and put our house up for sale, we emailed our friends in the Bay Area and said "We're here for a quick trip to get the house ready to put on the market. We'd love to see you, so please stop by on Sunday between 12:00-4:00 to say hi and take home whatever you'd like from the house. Almost everything is free, except for maybe 10 pieces of furniture that are for sale for bargain prices."
We got a great turnout that day (despite bad weather) and got rid of almost everything that was left that way. Plus we had fun! And it's nice to know that some things we loved are now living with friends who also love them. The other day a friend sent a photo of an old desk they got from us that they'd just finished refurbishing. It looks like a new piece of furniture!
That is a great memory to have, your friends coming over and taking things home. It does feel good if possessions can have a second life (and a third and fourth). My brother and I did something similar after our mother passed away: We invited her siblings and friends and said, Please take some of her paintings, her cashmere scarves, to use and remember her by. But yes, the best way to get rid of things is leaving your house and moving elsewhere (or nowhere).
When we decided to sell it all and embrace nomadism in our midlife years, getting rid of the special things was the hardest part. But using the methods you've described here worked for us, too. With each thing that went away, we felt more free. Now, with nine months on the road behind us, we don't miss any of it.
I'm glad you were able to let things go, too. It's strange and beautiful to not miss what we used to think of as "important" possessions.
I love this concept, Claire. I think it's great you've found a way to give back while also letting go. I've found that taking pictures of old possessions and writing a note about what I did with them or why they have meaning also helps me say goodbye.
You discovered more or less the same secret, then! Thanks for sharing your experience here.
We are going through the same process and its harder for me than m husband but we aren’t downsizing as drastically. We plan to move from a four bedroom house in the US to a two bedroom apartment in Portugal. I’ve started donating quite a few things and selling off some clothes that are worth anything.
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It helps to donate and sell: that can feel good, worthwhile. It’s harder when things need to be trashed. I hope it also helps you to have this clear goal ahead: downsizing for the exciting new life ahead! One tip: arrive with less than you might need there because it will be nice to bring some Portuguese touches into your home.
Good one, Claire! Best trick to get rid of clutter--move! Works every time. Especially cross country or out of country. Then you'll never send things to a sibling to store, bc shipping costs would be too expensive. I love the adapaibility of the human nature though. In time, you get used to the less is more, and embrace it.
Very true! About moving and the adaptability of humans. My grandmother recently died and I thought about what I might want to keep—lots of beautiful objects to remember her by, but I thought: they're best in my brothers' homes where I can visit them when I want.
So timely for me. I have many miniature tshatshkes which I am busy boxing to send to dear friends. I might take time now, after reading your methods, to create some poetry for them. Thank you!
That's a beautiful idea, to have a collection of poems you keep but the pieces themselves distributed among friends.
I have so much stuff I want to get rid of, and I'm slowly working on cleaning off shelves and cleaning out closets. I have so much STUFF, and the clutter is driving me crazy.
Well, you're doing the right thing by starting somewhere. One shelf, one drawer at the time will get you there.
Another very effective method: pile all similar items on a table, all your socks, or all your coffee cups at once, and set a limit for yourself: I only want to own 10 pairs of socks or only 6 coffee cups. Then select your favorites.
Getting rid of the clutter will clear your mind.
Getting rid of stuff is so freeing! Especially when you do it in a thoughtful, meaningful and sustainable way. Donate, recycle etc. In order to insure you don't re- accumulate though, it's important to ask yourself why you buy. Often there is a reason and it has little to do with actually needing the thing. Once you figure out your reason you will find that you are much less likely to impulse buy and sale shop and shop as a reward. We all have too much stuff and at some point are going to have to "deal" with it. There is no time like the present.
Yes, freeing it is! Why we buy too much is another topic that deserves its own essay. I think we both have more to write about all this!
I'm about to post my first article and that just happens to be the topic!
Like you, there were things I collected when I was younger because I bought into the consumerism. I didn't have many dolls when I was a kid. So when I got older, I just started buying collector's edition Barbies. I picked the ones I really liked, but they served no purpose. They sat on shelves. But in our current house, they sat in a closet and I decided it was more than a little silly to hold onto them. So I sold them all on FB Marketplace. No regrets. And it gave me the motivation to start looking at other places I could get rid of stuff.
Good for you! There are indeed many ways to get rid of things: give away, sell, donate. It doesn't always have to be the trash (my least preferred way).
Same. Not a fan of trashing stuff.
Brent and I weren't especially materialistic before becoming nomads, yet when we sold our house in Seattle, we were shocked by how much stuff we had accumulated! Stuff that I can now barely remember at all.
Yes, Daniel and I were shocked, too. Our closets were deep and tall... we just threw stuff in there instead of tossing things out.
I've been writing about this - my project Clearing Out - for the last year on here, and I'm still not really getting under the skin of it. A lot of my problem is a lack of organisation, energy and time. When I put my mind to a task I do it, so maybe it's all in the planning - and I've not even had to let go of difficult things yet. I'm sure you'd baulk in horror at the amount of stuff I still have. I did manage years ago to throw masses of my daughter's artwork in the recycling after taking photos of it - so that can really help. I really admire your minimalism - I'm not looking for anything so extreme, but I would like to one day move house maybe, or at least feel like I could without years of planning! Thanks for your wisdom :)
You already took the most important step: You started. Having a clear goal such as the possibility to move to another house without stress might really help with the motivation, too. You don't want to do everything in the last months. And for organization: Why not go room by room, shelf by shelf. Everyday you can sift through 1 thing, even if it's small, such as a cutlery drawer.
I have managed this in part, but struggle with keeping up the momentum! There’s always something that gets in the way. I need to be more focused on it perhaps 🤔
It needs to become a habit, like brushing your teeth or (in my case) doing my language lessons.
Yes I suspect that’s the crux of it. I must try to make it second nature.
It's absolutely liberating letting go of "stuff," and I never in a million years thought I would be the kind of person who would think that.
Glad you feel that way, too. It's quite addictive (in a good way).