20 More Days of Letting Go

(Empty shelving that I no longer need--formerly used for eBay inventory, packing supplies, fabrics, art supplies, and what-have-you)

Wow, have I ever deep-sixed a lot of stuff lately. This is after already downsizing just a year ago, when I moved from a big suburban house to a little rental hovel. Now I'm moving into a 22-ft motorhome and I figure I need to get rid of approximately 90 percent of what I own. I'm well on my way to achieving that...but, man, is it hard!

In this downsizing, I'm really getting to where the nitty hits the gritty. Some things have taken me years to collect...my tilemaking tools, for example. I probably won't be doing any tilemaking while I'm on the road, unless I decide to stop for a few months somewhere that I'd have ready access to a studio. It's hard to decide which things to store with a friend, which things I'll need on the road, and which things to get rid of, but I am trying to be very selective. Going through stuff like photos, artwork, paperwork, journals, letters, etc., is the hardest because it means reliving a lot of past experiences and evaluating their importance in my life today. Do I need or want reminders of various accomplishments, events, people, and places from my past? When it gets too hard to make these decisions, I let myself quit for a while and then come back to it.

Some of this process has been really good for me. I'm getting organized at a level I've never been able to achieve in the past. For example, several old address books have gotten combined into one; three boxes of photos were winnowed down to a small one that I can take with me; and I've already got most of my records together in order to file my income taxes. I've also gotten to celebrate some growth. For instance, I've felt relief when I've read old journals and realized that I am in such a better place today in so many ways and that now I can throw the old stories away.

My hope is to be on the road in 20 days. I want to get this sorting/tossing/selling/donating stuff done well before that, so I am plugging away.