traveling light

after nearly twenty years in one place, at 52 i'm embarking on a sort of adventure.  

when i agreed to watch my piano teacher's dogs when i was 16, i had no idea i'd one day practically have a housesitting business--and one i didn't even try to start.  i've always had a few regular clients here and there but in 2020 if they didn't already have one, people got a pet.  then in 2023 everyone with a pet wanted to travel again.

 

with the chance to rent a fully furnished home, i saw the opportunity to give things away now.  i mean, it's so much more fun to see people enjoy your furniture and various assorted treasures while you're alive; why save it for when you're not around to watch the joy on their faces?

 

never being married, having kids, or owning a home, granted my life was already pretty simple.  but even simple can add up when you're in one place for so long.  since we tend to fill the space we inhabit, fortunately for me it was only about 650 square feet.  

 

so i took to sorting.  and sorting some more.  my goal being to give away 90% of my possessions in favor of keeping the top 10%.  how to discern what makes the cut?  it surprised me.  sometimes an item that i thought i "should" keep didn't pass the test, while another item did.  

 

in order to come with me, it had to 1) have meaning 2) be something i use often and be either 3) beautiful and/or 4) something handmade.  in tougher cases, i had to ask myself multiple times, "do i see myself hauling this item around from place to place for the next 20 years?"  if not, that helped me decide.

 

i started to understand why my great great grandmother seasoned her cast iron pan so well--it can do everything!  (keep).  

 

my heart is always especially with victims of wildfires this time of year.  i can't imagine it not being my choice to lose everything.   before making this decision, i would often look around my loft and imagine the 10 items i'd take in a fire if i had the time.  

 

becoming adept at living out of a suitcase and traveling around to various homes and farms in the valley helped me to see how little i could live on and that it doesn't take much to make me happy.  while countercultural not to have my entire equity road mapped out (as of this typing i do not have a bed, but i'm housesitting, so i have a great place to sleep) it feels good to travel so light.

 

what comes up for you when you think about your relationship with your belongings?