Out with the old

Moving always provides a good opportunity to rid your life of unnecessary clutter. Which is particularly good for someone like me, who has a tendency to hang on to everything. So as I’ve been packing and moving things into the new apartment that I’m sharing with Ryan, I’ve given careful consideration to what to keep, and what to get rid of. Another factor to consider is that we are combining two peoples’ stuff into one apartment, have minimal storage, and don’t want to pay for off-site storage if we can avoid it, as that would be counter to our goals of paying off our debt. So, any duplicates or extras are considered unnecessary and ruthlessly discarded.

My one firm rule throughout all of this is that nothing goes into the Dumpster if it can be reused or recycled — not even my fake fichus that Ryan despises. That means I’ve packed almost as many boxes for Goodwill as I have for myself. The boxes for donation include old dishes, glasses, coffee mugs, clothes, shoes, blankets, and four (yes, four) shower curtains in perfectly good condition. The items that left me puzzled were old sheets and towels — probably not something anyone would want to buy used, even if they were still in good condition. I looked online for some ideas, and discovered that virtually every animal shelter has a wish list that includes used sheets and towels. I never would have thought of that myself, so I was thrilled to find such a great solution for our leftover linens. Ryan and I pooled all of our sheets and towels together, pulled out what we needed, and filled two boxes with the rest, which we took to two different animal shelters. The people there were so pleased to receive the donations. (We did not linger, as we knew we would be tempted to walk out of there with a puppy — definitely not a good idea for our small space, although I wouldn’t mind eventually getting another cat so that Abner could have a friend.)

It is so freeing to get rid of all the unnecessary “stuff.” I do love much of my stuff, and getting it organized and put away has helped me to feel much more at home in our new place. But getting rid of some of the clutter has also helped me feel like I’m making a fresh start and embarking on a new chapter in my life. Maybe sometimes you have to clear out the old to make room for all the new riches the Universe has in store for you.