For me, one of the best things about moving is that I got rid of SO MUCH STUFF.
Moving forces you to actually dig in the deep corners of your house. You have no option but to touch every single item that you own. For me, this gave me the opportunity to assess each item and decide whether or not I needed it, liked it, and most importantly - liked it enough to move it to the new house. For a significant number of items in our house, this was a resounding NO.
There were so many things I forgot we had and so many things we didn't need that were holding onto. So many. Way more than I realized! And truly one of the best parts about moving was letting all of these things go. The craziest thing of all is that I would have told you I was extremely organized before the move and before going through this exercise. Sure I knew there were some things I needed to sort through and get rid of, but not to THIS extent.
The nicest of the "unwanted" items I sold in a garage sale. These were things that were in great, shape, super cute, but just no longer things I loved or had space for. The less nice items went to Goodwill. I had several full carloads of stuff that I donated! That felt GREAT. And, honestly, there were a fair share of things that went straight to the recycle bin or the dumpster.
Quite frankly, I have no idea why we held onto some of the stuff we did. I think it was party the fallacy of thinking "Oh I might need this someday." So many things we never used! And then there were things that were gifted to us that we felt bad giving away... old furniture we replaced but didn't get rid of... things that were broken but we thought we might fix... random parts to toys... clothes we haven't worn in ages.. long outdated decor I thought I may want someday but never used again... a billion magazines I thought I'd flip through but never did... paint cans with an ounce of paint left in them that I thought I "might" need... The list of reasons is LONG but none of the reasons are good. I think we had the space, and the stuff just accumulated! You just don't realize how much there is until you start to move it, and think where you'd want it in your new house. A new house is a fresh start, after all! Who wants to carry all that old junk to a clean new place?
I can't even tell you how good it felt to just get rid of all of this stuff and know that every single thing left that we own is something that is functional, of good quality, and appreciated. It is so refreshing!
In the new house, I look forward to having so much less. I'm only going to keep things that truly bring me joy and are useful. I'm dedicated to everything having a place and everything being in it's place. I'm not holding onto things "just in case" or things that are on their last legs, and I'm not going to add any new items to our house that I don't think will stand the test of time.
I feel freer and lighter, and I want it to stay that way! It is the best feeling and TRULY one of the biggest blessings of moving. It wasn't something I was even anticipating throughout this process, but a great unanticipated benefit.
Anyone else feel this way when moving? Let me know below!
