? 5 years ago today, on March 31, 2017, my mom and I (and Cashmere) were off on an adventure down the coast – on our way to move me to San Diego, CA!
Just a month prior, I had declared to a small group of friends at a weekend getaway “I’m moving to San Diego by April 1, 2017!” and so it was. Little did I know that when I’d shared that in confidence, there was someone there who took it upon herself to announce it to the world on my Facebook page ? Not exactly how I’d planned on sharing the big news with my family and closest friends, but it happened how it happened, and you can’t always control those kinds of things.
Quick side note though, if it’s not your news to share, then don’t share it ?
I started packing up my home, making the necessary transitions for a smooth move, and drove down here with only what fit in my car (mind you, half of my entire car was occupied by myself, my amazing mom, and darling Cashmere, so space was *limited*)!
That’s definitely a fantastic way to narrow down what you want to keep, as far as stuff goes – and it makes moving in WAY easier!
If you’re looking for a few quick tips on what to keep, you can ask yourself these questions:
✔ Do I use it regularly?
✔ Is there someone else in my life who would enjoy it more (where they could house it and enjoy it, and I could borrow it if I ever needed to)?
✔ Have I used it even once in the last year?
✔ Am I annoyed each time I go to get something and this ______ is in the way?
✔ Would this make the cut to travel across the country with me if I only brought what fit in my car (you’re obviously at an advantage if you have a larger vehicle)?
These will help you narrow in on what to keep and what to let go of.
And, if you’re letting go of it, consider all these different ways of being free from something that’s been weighing you down:
✔ selling it
✔ gifting to a friend
✔ donating
✔ tossing it
✔ trading it
And if none of those ways helped narrow things down, consider these thoughts:
✔ would I want this thing in my life 5 years from today?
✔ will this thing continue to bring value?
✔ what would “5-years-in-the-future-me” say about whether to keep this or not?
✔ what is NOT in my life because this thing IS in my life?
Not everything’s going to fit into a neat little container, but hey, that’s life!
Where will you be in 5 years from today? I would have been able to answer that in 2017. And if you would have asked me in 2012 where I’d be in 2017, San Diego wouldn’t have even felt like a remote possibility, or even a consideration.
We may not know exactly, but we can let go of stuff that’s no longer serving us along the way!
