Something is in the air and it deserves some talking about. Relocation or maybe it's better called Migration. I’m wondering if it’s my imagination or if an inordinate number of people are uprooting to seek life elsewhere, even overseas. ( I realize that some citizens are fleeing our country.)
I’m not sure if it’s because Nathan and I have been through a cross country move that I am more aware of others pulling up roots and moving on. I am especially aware of young couples leaving for new adventures that are not related to their careers.
I’m not sure if it’s because Nathan and I have been through a cross country move that I am more aware of others pulling up roots and moving on. I am especially aware of young couples leaving for new adventures that are not related to their careers.
AI reports that “young adults are now flocking to smaller towns and rural areas at the highest rate in decades". And the seniors? To my surprise, AI reports not as much movement but “a general, long-term decline in overall mobility, a rise in renting among seniors, and a preference for moving to Southern and Western states, particularly Arizona and Florida". That’s us!
This post is about our experience with purging most of our belongings once we felt a commitment to sell our home in Florida and move to the Southwest. (If you haven't read my prior posts this would be a good time to go back and catch up.)
Let's face it. Most of us don't purge unless we have to. Every person who considers moving has to make decisions about what to do with “their stuff”. Take it? or Chuck it? There are collections of years of acquired treasures and wanna-be projects in the back of countless closets. You get the picture! You too have closets and if you are considering moving you too will face the decisions on what is most precious and what “must go”. Especially if you decide to become unburdened and not spend thousands of cross country dollars for a truck to pack it all up and move it to your NEW closets.
I am wondering if the angst about purging may differ by age group. Let’s face it, the older you get the more possessions you are likely to have collected. So I propose that it might be more intense for middle agers and seniors to experience the purge. Notice that “more intense” can mean “terrifyingly intense” or “intensely joyful”. For us, the intensity of joy was 98% of our purge experience. Yes, I had heartfelt separation issues with a number of valued kitchen appliances! Especially the cadillac of overhead stove exhausts that eliminated any trace of cooking fish. GOD how I miss that fan!
We decided that we would move only those items that could fit into our Ford Flex truck which is vaguely the size and shape of a suburban station wagon from the 60’s - 70’s. We made this extreme decision and we were quite honestly comfortable with it. For a whole year, we worked on selling or giving away our possessions and preparing to sell our house. We had the luxury of time - albeit limited - to have great experiences disposing of the treasures we had no room for in "The Flex".
Once we made the decision to move to the Southwest everything began to "flow in our favor". Our garage became a Facebook Marketplace (FMP) pickup spot. We didn’t bother much with yard sales because, at least initially, we wanted to get some money for our precious items. After about six months, we got serious about giving our stuff to friends. We had several parties and asked guests to take things from the garage and the house. The furniture mostly sold and some went to consignment. The list of our feel-good purging experiences is lengthy. There were many special "moments" that I believe “happened to us” in support of our decision to move. It was all an incredible “release of old” and a “joyous inhalation of new”!
The Treasures of My Purge
The desk my Dad hunched over to pay bills before I learned how to walk
It had belonged to a bank. The type of desk meant for two people to face each other across an expansive surface. The story is that my dad and a friend split the desk lengthwise down the middle and finished the backsides. My Dad painted his gray and I later had it refinished and fortified. It had a special hidden side compartment on hinges that he installed. I knew the age of this gem would take a really special buyer and there was not enough time to devote to finding them. It was gladly taken by a couple of friends with a place in Vermont where they planned to move it up there from Florida! I felt so happy that they loved it enough to invest that time in placing it elsewhere to enjoy. I’m positive that my Dad felt honored.
A Reason to Purge
Let's face it. Most of us don't purge unless we have to. Every person who considers moving has to make decisions about what to do with “their stuff”. Take it? or Chuck it? There are collections of years of acquired treasures and wanna-be projects in the back of countless closets. You get the picture! You too have closets and if you are considering moving you too will face the decisions on what is most precious and what “must go”. Especially if you decide to become unburdened and not spend thousands of cross country dollars for a truck to pack it all up and move it to your NEW closets.
An Attitude
The Terms
We decided that we would move only those items that could fit into our Ford Flex truck which is vaguely the size and shape of a suburban station wagon from the 60’s - 70’s. We made this extreme decision and we were quite honestly comfortable with it. For a whole year, we worked on selling or giving away our possessions and preparing to sell our house. We had the luxury of time - albeit limited - to have great experiences disposing of the treasures we had no room for in "The Flex".
Our Process
Once we made the decision to move to the Southwest everything began to "flow in our favor". Our garage became a Facebook Marketplace (FMP) pickup spot. We didn’t bother much with yard sales because, at least initially, we wanted to get some money for our precious items. After about six months, we got serious about giving our stuff to friends. We had several parties and asked guests to take things from the garage and the house. The furniture mostly sold and some went to consignment. The list of our feel-good purging experiences is lengthy. There were many special "moments" that I believe “happened to us” in support of our decision to move. It was all an incredible “release of old” and a “joyous inhalation of new”!
The Treasures of My Purge
The desk my Dad hunched over to pay bills before I learned how to walk
It had belonged to a bank. The type of desk meant for two people to face each other across an expansive surface. The story is that my dad and a friend split the desk lengthwise down the middle and finished the backsides. My Dad painted his gray and I later had it refinished and fortified. It had a special hidden side compartment on hinges that he installed. I knew the age of this gem would take a really special buyer and there was not enough time to devote to finding them. It was gladly taken by a couple of friends with a place in Vermont where they planned to move it up there from Florida! I felt so happy that they loved it enough to invest that time in placing it elsewhere to enjoy. I’m positive that my Dad felt honored.
The fly rod & flies that my Dad took on boys trips to “the Allagash” in Northern Maine
A young man came to our FMP garage and said he was leaving on a West Coast adventure to camp, hunt, and fish. I felt my dad’s nudge… (my eyes are tearing up) I would not let him pay for any of it, including all the fishing flies my dad had tied by hand.
The fishing creel in which my Dad stored his fishing knife
An elderly man who had a barn in the midwest visited our garage and admired the ancient fishing creel. He said he stored lots of old items in his barn and a visitor in a wheelchair came often just to sit in the barn and gaze at the antiquities. I asked him if he would put the creel in his barn and he gladly accepted it, looking forward to finding just the right spot for it. I’m hoping it’s not in a dump somewhere. If his barn burns down then it will go out in a fiery glory. Purging is a huge lesson in letting go, eh?
And lastly, my fine stainless steel flatware reserved for holidays
I posted eight out of twelve place settings on FMP, reserving four settings for me to keep as a memento. A woman from out of state contacted me to see if I was willing to mail it. I agreed, if she was willing to pay for it. When I was packing it up to mail, I realized that four place settings didn’t feel like enough for me to keep. Then I felt a shift and then an urge to give her the four place settings as a surprise. Naturally, she reached out with genuine joy to receive them all. I still enjoy that memory of letting that go to someone who was thrilled to own it.
The Aftermath
Our “interesting” experiences with purging have changed how we feel about acquiring new possessions. We are not as attached to our belongings. We don’t buy anything before considering the space it will occupy. One of the reasons is that our new home is smaller than the one we left behind. It has no full size closets. Most of our furniture is second hand but is still certainly nice enough. If we see something better later on, we just buy the nicer piece and sell the prior. That said, we will not do without the comfort of brand new chairs, a sofa, and a bed. Everyone has their limits, right?
What About You?
Are you planning to move? What terms are you setting for your purge?
Have you had to purge? What was it like for you? Did it change how you value possessions?
I hope that you will leave some comments!
Watch for next month's post about finding closure when it's time to "leave the building..."
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