As I get older, I want less, fewer things in my life. I have had to deal with the stuff from generations of families, and also my own transgressions. I would frequent yard sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. Actually, one of my favorite activities is thrifting. But I wasn’t as selective as I needed to be. I ended up filling a basement and two storage units. I paid for the storage units for two decades. I also thought that I was going to be famous. I would save little things from my journey. I kept conference proceedings from my ioBridge days and the dawn of IoT. I imagined the choicest items, curated for my museum.
Collecting IRL junk is also like collecting other forms of junk. Those 10k photos on your cloud storage account. Old thoughts and feelings that percolate. I am learning a tough lesson. It is okay to have less.
So, over the past weeks, I have been focused on opening bins, bags, and boxes. I hired a person who literally sat with me and asked me the same question for each item. It was nice to work with a third-party who has no emotion for the things.
The process for each item: 1) has a place in your home, 2) needs to be thrown out, 3) will be donated, 4) will be given away, or 5) will be sold. There are no other options. It takes time to make this choice. It’s not a sexy process… we just tested each item with their process.
But, wow, after weekends of doing this, I feel so much better. I rediscovered some cool things I had forgotten about, including my first computer and the Morse code key that my dad and I built in 1984. I also shared a bunch of stories with my kid. It was such a joy to see what resonated with my 8-year-old. He snuck away an ioBridge bookbag behind his back. I let him “steal” it. When a friend dropped by, he told him all about ioBridge. I realized that the stories and a few items are all that’s needed to carry my story forward.
The last time I was doing a similar activity, I employed an emotional crutch. If I was having trouble letting go of an object — on the fence — I would take a picture of it. Not rational, but helped release an extra 20 or 30% of items.
That is a pro tip!
Moving 3000 miles forced me to part with my precious “collections” (it took over a year to say good bye to things I haven’t seen in decades)…and to have a new rule in my new place about collecting stuff: take a picture of the stuff, and let it go. Totally on board with David’s tip!!
That is another forcing function! Thanks for sharing.