Seventy Five Percent

By Gabrielle.

We are home!

It doesn’t quite feel like home yet, but it’s getting there. And we love this house!

I feel like I’m still recovering from last week. We knew clearing out the storage unit wouldn’t be the most fun thing we’ve ever done, but I didn’t understand exactly how challenging it would be. I think I’m still processing the whole thing.

Would you indulge me if I vent for a bit?

silver bed

As a recap for those who are just now following along: When we moved to France, since the house we were renting was completely furnished, all we brought with us was clothes (plus some books and a few holiday items). So the rest of our belongings — the furniture, the plates, the bikes, the bedding, etc. — went into storage.

And because we had a young baby at the time, we decided it would be simplest and easiest to hire out the storage unit packing. So a moving team came for a day and packed up the whole house and put everything in a storage unit. And we didn’t have to deal with it at all. Which was so nice! There was no purging. No figuring out what we should store, and what we should donate. No clearing out armoire shelves and dresser drawers. Everything was simply wrapped up and put into storage as is. We essentially paid for our problem to go away. It felt like a luxury at the time. And it still does when I remember it!

We were only planning on being gone for one year, then we would find a house in Denver and transfer our storage to the new home, and settle in. Easy peasy.

But it didn’t work that way. : )

Instead, one year grew to 2 1/2 years. We moved from France to Oakland, to a semi-furnished house. And when we faced our storage unit last week, we knew that many of our belongings no longer made sense. For example, ski gear and sleds that were perfect for Colorado don’t make as much sense in the bay area. Matching toddler beds? No longer necessary.

So, we rented a smallish truck, and we reduced our belongings by 75%.

Seventy five percent. That is a lot!

green table

And it was shockingly emotional. Like going through the history of our life and marriage in a really condensed amount of time. We said goodbye to the little red cabinet I designed for our first nursery. We said goodbye to the armoire I found in New York — it housed our toys then, and my fabric stash in Colorado. We painted it twice. We said goodbye to treasures I’d found at tag sales. We said goodbye to every piece of furniture in the Napoleon Dynamite room. We said goodbye to furniture we’d saved up for as newlyweds. And not just furniture. We purged files from college. We donated books and books and books we no longer need (yet somehow we still have so many books!). We got rid of my old graphic design portfolio samples. Outdated business cards. So much stuff!

And because we didn’t pack the boxes, we didn’t know what was in the boxes, so we had to open each one and figure out if there was anything in there we needed to save. It was one of those situations where a box from the office might have our tax files (essential!), and also a half used cube of Kleenex (sigh!). Essentials had to be repacked and put on the truck. Everything else had to be donated or sent to the dump. Load after load after load went to Good Will.

A thousand decisions (donate, repack, sell, trash, decide later) every hour. One minute, I would be showing the kids the sequined glove I wore when I did a Michael Jackson lip sync in high school and we would all be laughing, and the next I would be snapping at everybody to keep-working-or-we’ll-never-get-all-this-done! And then I would have to hide behind some boxes so I could cry for a minute and pull myself together. There’s no question, I was a total wreck.

pelmet box

Of course, it ultimately feels good to get rid of so much stuff. We could feel the weight lift from our shoulders as the storage unit emptied out. But I think the amount of reduction, plus the time limits because of the truck rental (we had 3 days to get it done), combined with the actual physical work of moving boxes and furniture, left me feeling traumatized. Like I said, I think I’m still recovering. I know that technically, we didn’t have to purge, we could have rented a bigger truck and brought more stuff to California. But really, if I had done that, I would have just been putting off the work for a future date.

We finished packing up late Wednesday night, and the very next morning, we jumped in the car and started on the long drive back to Oakland. 18 hours total. Ben Blair and I could barely manage to talk about the storage unit. I think we were still processing. Though the packing and purging had to be done ourselves, we did hire out a driver for the truck. What a blessing! It was so nice to be together during that long drive home.

Our truck driver will arrive either today or tomorrow. We’ll drop him off at the airport, and then we’ll start the big task of unloading and unpacking.

Doesn’t it feel like this is the move that never ends? Hah!

When I get overwhelmed (which is often at the moment), I keep imagining our life a month in the future, when the boxes will mostly be gone, the kids will be in school, and we’ll have some sort of schedule going on. I’m very much looking forward to it.

Tell me, Friends, have you ever had to do a major purge like this? Could you get rid of 75% of your belongings? Would you find it freeing? I remember talking with Wendy of Blue Lily before they left on their first world tour — they got rid of everything but one box!

114 thoughts on “Seventy Five Percent”

  1. I’m from New Orleans and my dad lost everything in Katrina. His house was covered in water for two weeks. We were blessed to save a few precious items and the rest was lost when the house was demolished. He says Katrina was the best thing that happened to him because it made him see what’s really important. To quote him: “most people die and their stuff lives, but my stuff died and I live!” So freeing.

  2. Gabrielle I know EXACTLY how you feel. We are on the reverse end. We are moving to France and getting rid of things before we go, simply because we can’t take them with us and the home we will be renting is fully furnished.
    I can relate to your post so much. So many memories flashback as you go through items in your home. I have just come to realize that I need to live in the NOW and cherish those memories of the past but learn to let things go. I found it helpful to take pictures of items that meant a lot to me but I could do without. Good luck in the settling in!!

  3. When we moved from Australia to Berkeley we had to get rid of huge amounts of stuff. We were moving from a three bedroom house with lots of storage and a huge garage to a tiny 2 bedroom apartment with very limited storage. After purging our home of all the things we knew we wouldn’t need we were still left with a lot of stuff. A lot of this came with us but there were still a lot of things that we knew we couldn’t take with us, from electrical items that wouldn’t work in the US to items of sentimental value that we just wouldn’t have room for. I didn’t want to dispose of any of this so I organised to have it put in storage. Our move was quite rushed due to my husband’s work and I had to do it all myself (he moved over 3 months before the kids and I). There was too much work for me to do on my own so I hired movers to do it all. The one company did it all – packed up our belongings for storage, packed up our belongings to be shipped and then shipped it. I watched over the packers like a hawk and had marked things as best I could for either storage or shipping. Unfortunately there were a lot of mix ups. Months later when our shipment finally arrived in Berkeley we discovered just how much of a mix up there had been. Items that we just didn’t have space for had been shipped by mistake. Many of these were of sentimental value and we had to try and make room for them as I didn’t want to throw them out (old framed photos, my kids’ beloved baby toys, beautiful saris from our trip to India etc). Electrical items that we couldn’t use here such as my brand new (but now completely useless!) food processor had been shipped. We ended up throwing out so many electrical items as we couldn’t use them, couldn’t sell them and had no space for them. As well as all of the things that came by mistake there were plenty of things that were put into storage in Australia by mistake. We moved late in the year and had not brought any Summer clothing in our suitcases. As the new year progressed we discovered that all of our daughters’ Summer clothes had been sent to storage by mistake. We had two very upset little girls on our hands when they found out that their favourite dresses hadn’t made it. All of my craft supplies had gone into storage by mistake. That was the worst bit for me! We managed to get the shipping/storage company to send some items over to us however they wouldn’t take anything back.
    If we’d had the time I would’ve much preferred to do all the packing myself. That way I’d know for sure that everything would be going to the right place. At the time it seemed like a great idea to have someone else do it all but in the end it just made things harder.
    Oh, and when our belongings arrived in Berkeley I too had the pleasure of unpacking a half used box of tissues!

  4. Oh Gabrielle, my heart and nerves hurt for you. I am traumatized every.single.time I move. I’m a wreck whether I’m going across town or across the country. And, usually, I come down with some nasty illness about a week later (I assume from the stress-assault weakening my system).

    When my 1st husband and I went our separate ways, I left CA to come back to CO. I had a newborn (who is about to turn 15!) and a small truck. I went thru the house ruthlessly in 2 days and took only what I truly loved. I had enough furniture to set up house on my own, but JUST. I also felt so free from STUFF as I drove away and then arrived and unpacked.

    I would bet the limited time frame and limited truck space is actually a hidden blessing – if you had had more time or a bigger truck you would have had the luxury of lingering over items and being a bit more sentimental. You would have kept more, and felt less of that weight lift.

    Blessings on you and yours for the ability to settle in, and the emotional rawness to ease quickly. You’ve done SO much in the last few weeks – you all deserve a bit of boredom for a bit.

  5. It’s so funny how objects can have such power over our lives. I’m a huge fan of ‘purging’ and love to travel lightly. Even so, occasionally I come across an object that brings me back to a time and place and the feeling is completely overwhelming, like a brick in the chest. That said, those seven flesh and blood blessings you are traveling are all you’ll ever need. Best wishes!

  6. You might regret getting rid of your ski stuff! There’s tons of skiing just a few hours from Oakland. The season can be hit-or-miss, but plenty of Bay Area folks have ski leases they visit every weekend in the winter. That’s the beauty of this area — surf on Friday, wakeboard on Saturday, ski on Sunday. :)

  7. Congrats on accomplishing all of that so quickly! We recently had a somewhat similar experience, and while it was nowhere near 75% of our belongings, it was a lot and it was seriously emotional. I simultaneously love and hate my relationship with “stuff” because I’m just so sentimental. The problem was that each item was so much more than the sum of its parts to me. A vase from when I was born was really a memory of my long gone Grandfather. A collection of football mums (I’m from Texas; they are a big deal here) was high school all wrapped up in a box. We made so many trips to Good Will. So far, I’ve really only missed/regretted tossing a few things. That’s not too bad, really. Best of luck to you in your new home! You are so right – in a month, it will all be a memory as you ease into a completely new routine. P.s. long time reader, first time commenter. Your stories often touch me, but this one just really resonated with me.

  8. My husband and I went from a 3-bedroom house with a 2-car garage in Phoenix to a 21-foot Toyota Dolphin motorhome to a 1-bedroom apartment in San Francisco.

    It’s amazingly freeing to get rid of most of your stuff — because that’s what it is — stuff. Of course there are the sentimental objects, which I’d hold close to my heart, revisit the memory, and then let the object go. But I’ll always keep that memory.

    You really don’t need much to be happy.

  9. I know where you’re coming from. Last month we left Indonesia, where we had been living for the past 8 years. We were able to bring 8 suitcases back with us, as well as two small crates. I had a little longer than you did to sort through things, but we were also living in our house as I tried to sort and pack. It was VERY emotional. We sold just about everything, no option to put anything in storage and decide about it later. I brought a lot of the kids’ toys, photos, quilts, etc, but everything else got sold. So that was hard. I definitely empathize with you! I am guessing we got rid of about 85 to 90% of our belongings.

  10. We sold our home that we lived in for 22 years and had to move in 30 days. We did a huge purge, no time for a yard sale. Felt so good at first, but still missing some of the items we got rid of. Best of luck.

  11. I have felt for the past few years that we are leading parallel-ish lives, with slightly different arcs. We have just moved back to San Francisco after five years away. We moved to France, first to a small fishing village in the Maine-et-Loire and a year later to Paris, and then came back to the US to DC for ten months and LA for ten months. When we left San Francisco we thought it was for ten months. We put our wedding gifts and some of my husband’s tools into a small storage unit and subletted our place in the Mission to a friend. And then it turned out we were staying, and our friend moved in with his girlfriend, and my brother moved the entire apartment into a bigger storage unit. And we had two more children and four years passed, all of which we spent in furnished rentals (and over which time we accumulated more stuff). We are just unpacking our boxes from the storage unit and from everything we moved from LA (that includes everything we moved back from France, and gathered in DC). Your comment about the half-full box of kleenex really resonates. Some of the boxes are like exhibits from the museum of jurassic technology. It is amazing to see how much technology has changed in five years, and how much my personal style has changed too! In the midst of this unpacking, we left for the East Coast for a month, where my parents live. As I am getting rid of things here, I started collecting things again there. My mother has advanced Alzheimer’s and could not really sort through what she inherited from her mother a few years ago, and much of it is incredibly well-cared-for pieces from the 19th century, but what I am going to do with the black wedding dress of my great-great X5 grandmother from 1853? Because of my mother’s illness I felt an incredible attachment to everything and I also wanted to honor the care that my relatives had taken of their possessions, but I also am trying to lighten our lives and I do not want to devote my life to archival acts (as I feel my grandmother did, although perhaps this brought her pleasure). So, I have been thinking a lot about the meaning with which we imbue objects, about memory, and care and reuse as well as letting go and making room for news ways of being. Your thoughts on the trauma of letting go (and the sheer physical efforts this involves) were especially meaningful to me at this moment! Good luck with making your new house a home. I look forward to the updates.

    All best,

    Jennifer (written on a fold-out mattress amidst boxes and boxes of books, but at least the children are sleeping in beds)

  12. So sorry!

    We moved from our first apartment together to another across the country. I planned all my most important stuff to be in our car which my husband would drive to our new place. I was going to fly (7months pregnant) with our 1 1/2 yr old at a later date.

    The partial moving van we paid for was filled and then left. I went for one last quick trip to visit my grandmother before we moved. No chance to make sure every important thing fit in the car. So…of course it didn’t.

    When I got back we tried to pack it. I planned on packing that puppy to brim, but my husband reminded me that he would he driving for three days and couldn’t exactly push the car seat all the way forward or have things blocking his vision. So I had to leave a lot of stuff with a nice girl who took it all from me to donate or keep. “This is nice stuff!” she told me. I knew. And we were so poor at the time!

  13. I love purging and had quite the time purging my husband’s parents’ garage, though if I’d had complete run of it, there would now be a car in the garage.

    When I get stressed, I throw things away. I really enjoy being able to move at the drop of a hat. Though I think we’ve decided that San Francisco is our final destination, we’re moving to Shanghai for 8 months. Hurray for foreign adventures!

  14. Yes! I know the emotions you are feeling but I do promise it’s worth it! You still have the pictures of what you once owned and that’s all you need besides family :) good luck on your new adventure! Hope to see you when we come to the Bay Area in November!

  15. I remember the mental and physical exhaustion of moving our lives and stuff to Australia in 2004. My kids were 2 and 4 then. I had a household staff back home that packed our stuff, which was super! Like you, we simply had everything packed away.We decided to ship our stuff to Australia because we figured we simply cannot afford to buy everything again! When our stuff arrived at our doorstep in a big container truck, we realised we had too much stuff to fit in our new home. So, we ended up sorting, donating, making quick decisions and had a big garage sale. It was a nightmare. I never want to do that again! So, when I read your post I said, OMG, I know exactly how you feel. Glad that things are starting to fall back into place for you. Good luck and may your new home and community be gracious to you and your family. All the best!

  16. Hurricane Katrina “purged” our house for us. At the time it was very sad and difficult. After living with my in-laws, in a FEMA trailer and a small apartment, I’m kind of glad I didn’t have all of that stuff with me. Katrina got rid of stuff that I just didn’t know what to do with (childhood drawings, high school photos, etc.). She also taught me to make my life a little more concise. Our new home doesn’t have nearly the amount of knick knacks and decorative items we had before, and I’m fine with that.

  17. I’m spending my last summer with my parents before heading off to grad school in London. When I got back from my dorm I took out the clothes I needed for the summer and just shoved the rest into a corner. As this is the last time I’ll spend any length of time at my parents house, I’ll definitely need to do a major overhaul, but I am absolutely not looking forward to it.

  18. I feel like I have done this with every move I have made, which have been many. In the past five years I have lived in Utah, Ohio, Germany, two flats in Cyprus, Florida, and will hopefully be moving again soon depending on a new job for my husband. The last move happened in two weeks, was international, and was unbelievable. We believed we would be in Cyprus for quite awhile, start our family there, set roots. When my husband lost his job and we came back to the States, we tossed and donated pretty much everything. I felt like I was throwing all of the dreams I had set my hopes on into the garbage. Several months later, we’re still not established but I am so grateful for the purge. I’m anxious to see where we end up next and the new dreams I can infuse into that home.

  19. 75% ?!?!?? Oh my goodness, I can see why you’re frazzled. I’m getting ready to move and I’m happily purging, letting go of “stuff” and hope I can manage to not accumulate so much in the next house. It really can weigh you down.

  20. we are literally in the process of moving our family of 6 from london back to new york…the packers come tomorrow. ugh.
    as the majority of our stuff is going by sea container, we have had to determine what we need to have for the next two months. surprisingly, this is not as much as you would think, even with 4 kids!
    the only place i am having trouble is in the family office space …there is so much in there (photos, travel memories, school papers, school memories) that i have not organised (yet). i think they will just go into a big box, somewhat sorted, and have to be dealt with on the other end. maybe in two months time when the stuff arrives, i will be more able to deal?

  21. My possessions don’t own me but I do treasure the memories and creativity and inspiration they represent. I think of the example God gives us from nature – greater fruitfulness and health are the result of pruning. And that’s what the future holds for the Blairs…blessings of health and abundance. Thank you for sharing your courage and honesty.
    P.J.

  22. When I moved to Canada 10 years ago, I got rid of everything except 4 boxes that I shipped via regular mail and 2 suitcases which I took on the plane. There are only a handful of things I regret giving away – it’s hard, but it’s also great to start from scratch.

  23. I feel traumatized just reading about it! My husband just finished 13 years in the Navy – that’s been 11 moves since we have been married! Every single time we move there is a lot of discussion about “our things” and how I wish we could live like they do in so many other parts of the world, like minimalists with only the essentials. Clean, fresh, light. We just have so much stuff. I can only imagine how difficult it was to do that task but how light you must feel now! Your prospect of being settled into a new home and new schedule soon sounds delightful, best of luck to your darling family!

  24. We got rid of practically everything when we moved from Boston to Texas (just what fit in our car and a couple of shipped boxes). I thought it’d be easier than a regular move, but it was so much work to deal with EVERY SINGLE THING.

  25. You are so amazing, Gabby. I have often fantasized about getting rid of 75% and have never been able to do it! When we moved to England, our shipment was delayed. But we did just fine without all that stuff (we did have to buy a stroller, but those European strollers, ah, worth it), and I realized I could live on far less than I ever thought I could and be happy. Even then, I would have cried too! Sometimes it feels like you are letting go of a part of yourself when getting rid of sentimental things (did you take any pictures? that can really help me feel better about letting something go). Especially when it’s tied to something as wonderful and life-changing as the birth/growth of a child.

    Moving is really hard. I would think something was wrong if it were super easy for you. I also feel like I go through a grieving process as I let go of people I loved in the old location, especially with our international move, since it felt so permanent and old friends were now so far away. Best of luck. Thanks, as always, for inspiring us.

  26. I can relate! We recently moved home to Tennessee after 4 years in Tanzania. We returned with our 2.5 children (the .5 is for the one still in utero at the time) and a total of 10 suitcases! We had to get rid of so much. The hardest for me was the things my husband had built, which was lots of our furniture, but also my sons’ play kitchen and their little playground. It was a little easier knowing that we had left some nice things in Tennessee: furniture my husband made in college, my grandmothers corner hutch, some of our favorite kitchen knives… Still processing though. My 3 year old occasionally will talk about something he had in Tanzania. Sigh. We’re living with family at the moment, but when we get into our own place I think I’ll really enjoy the mix of old, new, and small things we acquired in Tanzania. I try to remember that the memories will never be sold. Those we get to keep.

  27. Hi!! Been reading your blog for a few weeks now and am very curious (and jealous) of your amazing journey to France and having a family of 6.

    As for this post — what did you deem most valuable? We moved last year — a whoping three miles away! It was the worst four days our family faced. We were no longer talking to each other by Sunday! And our kids were 4 and 5 — we’d all just had it. We thought we’d downsized a lot, but as I look around, 10 months later, I can’t believe how many things are still with us. My husband comes from a family that kept all his old toys — do you do that for your kids? Do you have “sentimental rules” on certain items? How about holiday decorations? we could open up a small store with all our stuff.
    At times I wish we were minimalists — in the end we USE a small percentage of these things. (Why did I allow my Mother and Mother In Law to pressure me into getting formal China?) Tools? work stuff?

    Just wondering…..

  28. I moved out of my first house, to another state, and into a room at my sisters so my first husband could attend law school. Our belongings went in storage for a year but by the end of that year my marriage was ending. He took his belongings and I got the half empty storage unit and the keys to what should have been our apt. So much of our stuff represented a life that I thought we were building, but just seemed empty and sad when I finally moved it out. Reading about your storage unit experience has me a little emotional about my own!

  29. When we moved from Seattle to Virginia we sold just about everything. We ended up with a lot of new furniture and toys, which was nice, but also ended up replacing a lot of stuff, like bikes and camping gear, that was a pain. Still, purging always feels nice in the end.

  30. I’m the worst at purging! My husband and I have done a lot of big moves since we’ve been married and every time I say I’m really gonna purge, and often I feel like I am, but when we get settled in the new place I think “I still have way too much stuff!” And the books! We get rid of a lot each move, but we still have a lot somehow. Our most recent move was back in July and I still don’t feel settled, and I’m still not completely unpacked. Oh dear. I hope you feel settled soon!

  31. My thoughts on moving: moving makes me not want to own things EVER.

    I’m very good at purging belongings. TOO good! I’ve thrown stuff out that I really wished I had held onto. But I get so swept up in the ‘it all must go!’ mentality, and I feel so free and light, and yay, my life will never be cluttery again! And yet, that never ever seems to be the case…..

    I don’t think I’ve ever let go of 75% of my belongings though~ I’m so impressed! I hope you get lots of downtime now, and I can’t wait to see a tour of the new house!

  32. I can’t see getting rid of 75 percent. Some things yes, but not 75 percent. Though I am pretty good at purging all the time. I don’t like clutter, so if it doesn’t have a spot then it goes. I also have a rule that if I haven’t worn something in a year it goes. My husband is a little bit more of a pack rat than me, but I have worked my magic on him and he is getting better. You are going to regret the ski equipment with Tahoe just around the corner. Only a couple hour drive.

  33. When I went though my divorce I only took the few things I really wanted to keep, mostly kitchen equipments. Only furniture I took was a single cane chair I nostalgically liked. It was the most liberating experience I ever felt and the following two years I was free as a bird and moved flats in few hours only.

  34. I know the feeling, we packed up our house 5months ago to move overseas for a few years. Had a garage sale before we left and got rid of all the baby items.
    Though our “fully” furnished apartment isn’t furnished that well and i am struggling with havig to buy things for this house knowing i have the exact same perfectly good item back home.
    How did you do trying to keep your stuff to a minimum whilst overseas?

  35. I’m right there with you. Packed it all in storage and a few months became 18 months. Unfortunately, our entire storage unit got dumped in our garage, so 2 months later I’m still going through boxes. Sigh* One of these days it will be done, hopefully soon than later. But it does feel so good to get rid of all that stuff!

  36. It’s been a long time since I’ve chimed in, Gabrielle, but thought this was just the right post. {I’ve had to reduce my blog reading time to be more present in real life…and to keep up with all of my farm duties!} First, I can’t believe you were in France so long! Time flew! Here anyway. Did it for you? Since you’ve been gone, we moved from a very urban neighborhood in Houston to a small farm in Tennessee. A crazy leap of faith. We didn’t have to reduce our belongings by 75%, but we did a lot of purging as we packed and then again as we unpacked. But more than anything, I know it can take a long time to process all the emotions of a move. A year later, I’m still processing! The best thing we can do is give ourselves lots of grace. Blessings to you and your family as you adjust to your new home. xo, Linsey

  37. Ummmpph! I got a little tired just reading about this! A year after we were married, we decided to sell everything (except for about 3 boxes + some clothes) to do a 6 month cross country where we lived in our car! Needless to say, space was of the essence. We didn’t know where we would land (back where we started? East Africa? Timbuktu?) and couldn’t afford to keep our apartment (or even pay for a storage unit!) so we had to get rid of everything! We had just gotten married the previous year, so it was a bit sad to get rid of so many things that were still fresh and shiny–but after reading your post I am thinking maybe it was easier that they didn’t have as many memories attached. After a year of travel we ended up moving to Portland into a 300 sq ft apartment, so we were thankful we had done our purging when we landed in our new home. (It took us under an hour to move in :) I am now totally in love with and committed to a one-in, one-out (roughly) lifestyle that keeps the “stuff” accumulation in check. I take a lot of photos of things (cards, letters, memorabilia) and find that often a visual reminder of something special does the job just fine without taking up space. Excited for you and the family and the next adventure. Welcome to the West Coast!! xoxo

  38. Welcome to Oakland! I hope you and your family love it. I just made the opposite move (roughly) from Oakland to Germany with my small family. My husband is doing a fellowship for one year and I’ve taken a leave from my job to spend time with our baby, who will be one year old next month. We did our purge before leaving – read Jordan’s post about it and “you are not going to want to see any of this stuff” really stuck with me.
    I have a hard time letting go of stuff and free time is limited with an infant, so we started purging months in advance. It helped lessen the intensity. And by the end, I was so ready to be done, I really got into the swing of tossing/donating things. Then our tiny storage unit got full and I had no choice :-) Again, I hope you love Oakland as I do!

  39. I’ve just been catching up on your blog. I think I have been experiencing some similar crazy emotional life changing stuff. I just moved back to Chicago after living in Switzerland for three and a half years. We had a storage unit too. All the leaving and starting new is overwhelming.

    So I just wanted to say thanks – it helps to read your words and your beautiful insights.

  40. I love it! I have been slowly selling everything we own. We started off with kitchen supplies, then lamps, vases, chandeliers, and chairs, some big rugs…I continue to tell my kids “they are only belongings” and when we get to the point where we are on mattresses on the floor we will travel around the world and we have nothing to be attached to or burdened with. We are currently on selling dressers, pizza frig, and antiques…..it’s a nice $1500-2000K a month. Lighten up and fly! Ashley

  41. I understand what a daunting task it is, and I wish you lots of REST and CONTENTEDNESS (is that even a word??) in your new home! May the good times roll for you and yours!

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