This Is Some Heavy Stuff: Reflections on Life and Van Life

I get in moods where I just want to get rid of all the extra things and stuff I have accumulated. I feel the weight of all the excess, and I want to simplify, clear out, and clean out. I moved to North Carolina just over 4 years ago. Preparing for that move meant getting rid of a lot. I only took with me what would fit in my Trailblazer. 

Since that move from Nebraska to North Carolina, I've moved a total of nine times! Yes, nine. There was no intention of moving after that initial move, but life happens and circumstances change.

I just passed the year mark of living at my current place. A year! It is the longest I have lived in one place during the last four years. 

When you have space, you tend to fill it and before you know it you have an accumulation of things. Granted, I live in a tiny house with only 399 square feet, but I do have a loft that is not included in that square footage and I mainly use it for storage.

Even after my extreme reduction of stuff when I moved from Nebraska, there were things I kept that were carried with me during those nine moves and why did I keep carrying them with me everywhere I went? I don't get emotionally attached to most things, so why then?

I don’t have a good answer or reason, but I guess the fact that they were good, useful things that I thought I might use at some point.

Truth is, after four years and nine moves, if I hadn't used it, I'm not going to.

I made a goal of clearing out my loft. The only thing I want to leave up there is the bed. I’m proud to say I’ve gotten close to completing that goal!

I had lots of photos. I knew they were there and had an idea of where to find them, but if I wanted a certain photo, it was going to require too much time and effort to find what I was looking for. What is the sense of having something if it's stored in a way that requires 'too much work' to get to? We live an instant lifestyle, where society has bred us to expect things quickly. I went through all those photos and took pictures of them with my phone! Now they are digital. Problem solved.

I had yearbooks and other high school keepsakes that for some reason I didn't part with before leaving Nebraska. Those are heavy to carry around! Did you know that almost all yearbooks have been digitized and are available on the internet through sites like Classmates.com? So why was I carrying these around? I had not even looked at them in the last 25-plus years. They were dead weight! I pulled them out, reading the sometimes hilarious messages people wrote in my yearbooks. If any messages were "save worthy", I took a picture, then tossed them into my recycle bucket.

I had a file tote of paper documents. I had significantly paired this down over the years, but many of the things remaining documents could be scanned and shredded. I have a very small file with original papers I need to keep, and that tote is empty!

Office supplies are things I have accumulated. There is an occasional need for a binder clip or a staple remover, but really? How often is that and do I need anywhere near the amount and variety of binder clips I have?  And three staple removers? A bag of rubber bands, really? Office supplies are expensive and many of the things I had have become antiquated now with the virtual work style, but all these things were still good and useful (except maybe the rubber bands). Just because something is still good and useful, is not a good enough reason to keep it! I kept a few binder clips, but I no longer have any staple removers, rubber bands, or other items I likely won't need! 

Random odds and ends. Oh boy. I had so many of these. I had two sets of lighted clothes pins (for displaying photos decoratively and both newer opened); miniature Jinga blocks (bought because they would be cool to use for something); card games that I have never played; old cd's that I couldn't play if I wanted to because I don't have a cd player and would just look up online anyhow. I could go on, but the point is, I only saw these things when I would pack to move, and sometimes not even then because they remained packed away for someday, maybe, if I needed them. I am so happy to know that next time I move these things will no longer be part of my load.

It takes time to part with some things. Each of our brains is wired differently so this is harder for some and easier for others, but if you want to get rid of some baggage, start to rethink your motives. Ask yourself why it is hard to part with whatever it is you have stored away.

I love the memories feature of Facebook (I hate it too, some days) but, we get the opportunity to see and remember parts of our lives that we may have forgotten about. I also get memories sent from my one-drive where all my pictures are backed up to. All those pictures I took of physical photos will now come up each year and that is more precious to me than knowing they are in a box that would take too much work to get to and find the particular picture I may want to see.

Have you heard of the Swedish tradition of death cleaning? Swedish death cleaning is a method of organizing and decluttering your home before you die to lessen the burden on your loved ones after you've passed. You don't have to be dying to do this!

Stop and look around your house right now. If you unexpectedly died today, what would your loved ones see when walked into your house? What would they have to sort through? Look at your stuff through the eyes of someone who would have to decide what to do with all your belongings. I'm not saying to live minimally or to get rid of things that bring you joy, just to look from a different perspective. 

In the book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, by Margareta Magnusson, she recommends keeping a small box marked to be thrown away when you die. In this box, no bigger than a shoe box she suggests, you put all the things that are precious to you but will likely not be sentimental to anyone else. Once you pass, your family can choose to go through that box or simply toss it out with no regrets.

I think we all have enough emotional baggage to handle that we don't need to also carry around physical baggage. Give yourself the gift of lighting your load.

Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts on Swedish Death Cleaning or the task of getting rid of the excess.