It’s amazing how much “stuff” we collect in a lifetime…

We have lived in our house here in New Mexico for over 17 years (wow!).  Before I left for Bologna I went through all of our closets, starting the long process of sorting – this goes to Goodwill, this a gift to a friend, this other goes on Craig’s list (hesitantly – I get lots of weird/scam e-mails from Craig’s list)…  I was astonished at what was hiding in the nether-regions of our closets – things I had not seen in 17+ years and things I swear I had never seen before in my life (how does that happen?!).  Surprisingly, it was actually quite fun!  It was both a nostalgic walk down memory lane and, at the same time, a freeing semi-Buddhist ceremony of letting go.  More amazing than how much stuff we have is how little of it we really need.

Now that I am back I have picked up where I left off, but with an altered perspective as now I know that it is a HUGE pain to ship stuff to Italy and that our apartment has just about everything we need (and then some) (AND that this is an expensive enterprise, so the more we $ell, the better).  So now I weed things down even more –  the cookware, the chotchkies, the clothes (hey, it’s a good excuse to get rid of all the clothes I secretly hate but feel obliged to keep wearing!).  Some things present a dilemma – specifically gifts.  I remember who gave this to me/Steve/us and for what occasion – how can we possibly part with it?  Luckily, we can keep some of these sentimental objects here in the attic or the closet I claimed (we are keeping our house here).  We are shipping some of the sentimental things, as well as some clothes and other things that help a place feel “homey.”  (Steve gets a very small reimbursement for shipping, so we might as well use it).

So, this is really a post about letting go – a metaphorical/psychological “moving sale.”  However, to go along with the metaphysical, we will be having two actual moving sales – one now (for things we can manage without), one later for things we can’t (still have to sleep and drive till we leave!).  We’re having out first sale on Saturday, May 5 (Happy Cinco De Mayo!) – if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and say hi!  (And by all means, if you know anyone looking for furniture, kitchen stuff, a pool table, small art, etc. – pass the message on – THANKS)!   A sample: