Preparations Are Underway

Take a look around you.  Think about the clothes you have in your closet and dresser.  The next time you're in there, look at how much "stuff" you have in your kitchen.  Get a mental image of everything in your house, apartment, room, whatever.

Now think about what you would take with you if you were moving over 3000 miles away and you could take 250 pounds of you property.  What would you choose?

This has been a process for me.  At first I started thinking in terms of what I felt I couldn't do without.  It became glaringly obvious that I needed another way of looking at it. 

Now I'm spending more time thinking about what I can and can't replace in Ecuador and prioritizing what's really important to me. I mean, really, how much do I need my pressure cooker?  Sure, I love it, I use it all the time, and it makes my life easier.  Would I rather have that or four cooking vessels?  I need to pots and pans--the pressure cooker is a luxury.  By the way, I'm taking pots and pans only because the research I've done says that it's far better to bring your own because the quality of what they have there, in a word, sucks.

Would I rather have 50 pounds of clothes (that's fewer than you may think) or 25 pounds of clothes and 25 pounds of my sewing/knitting/crafting supplies?  If you know me, you know the answer to that without even thinking about it.

At first it was agonizing.  I love my stuff.  Each thing I got made me smile to see it or think about it, even though I have very little new stuff in my apartment.  When I look at all of it, I know I won't see almost any of it ever again (OK, a few boxes will be left with family to hang onto in case I hate it there and come back or to send down there a little at a time when people come down for a visit (are you going to come see me?--you're always welcome).  Even that list is getting shorter.

What I've decided to do with 99% of my belongings is to let someone else get the joy I've had over the years.  Somehow it feels better than have them stuck away in boxes somewhere.  I'll leave most of my files up here and a few other things, but most of it will go.