Sunday, June 14, 2015

A Month of Moving, pt. 4: Lightening the Load

I talked in a previous post about how a long stay in a single address allows one to gradually accumulate great piles of stuff without even realizing it. But the pain/joy of moving is that one is forced to confront such things and decide what to do. Usually, the choice comes down to: box it up and move it, or get rid of it.

This month, I have been making the choice to lighten my load. A week ago, I took out a bunch of good clothing I never wear: a leather jacket, two suits, a faux-leopard coat that I used to wear a lot, that sort of thing. "Still good! You like this!" warred with "You haven't worn this in 3 years/5 years/10 years/ever. Donate it." I've approached neighbors, friends, and random acquaintances and asked them whether they want some object or other, many of them quite nice. Yesterday, I saw a neighbor going by, and I dashed out of my door and asked "Do you need a blender or a drip coffee maker?"

The result? I've been slowly getting rid of everything that I don't use regularly. Every thing I give away is one more thing I don't have to pack.

Today, I explained this, in excited tones, to a friend of mine. He pointed out that I could have sold them online and gotten lots of money for them. Undoubtedly true. But right now, "lightening my load" also means not spending time doing things that I don't want to or have to do. Getting an account online, photographing and listing items, corresponding with buyers, taking shit to the post office -- NOT something I want to be doing right now.

I've also been attacking those stacks and stacks of articles with my marginal notes and syllabi and reading lists that I've saved. I wish I could tell you that I'd just ditched them all, but the fact is that about 20% of them are still with me, waiting to be scanned. But none of it will be done now, and none of it is getting moved with me. I've gone through the drawer in my office full of publishers' catalogs and just tossed it all in the recycling. Likewise for old notepads full of things that I figured that I might one day want to transcribe. The general philosophy here is the same: If I haven't needed it for this many years, I don't need it now. Or ever, probably.

None of this makes moving a pleasant experience, but I feel like I'm getting something good out of it: a lighter, more portable life.

7 comments:

Curt Emanuel said...

You end up with some things left over (not notes) there's always Goodwill or the Salvation Army. The nice thing is, they give you a receipt you can use as a tax deduction.

Dame Eleanor Hull said...

Oh, yes. Your time and energy are worth a lot. So much easier to just give away than to go through the selling hassle. I suppose you could split the proceeds with someone who was willing to do the selling hassle for you, but then you'd have to find the person to do it. I'm contemplating similar packing-up work. More stuff, in-area move means we'll probably hang onto a lot, but again, anything that can go is another thing that doesn't have to be packed. You're inspiring!

undine said...

"Getting an account online, photographing and listing items, corresponding with buyers, taking shit to the post office -- NOT something I want to be doing right now." I'm with you 100% on this one. This takes your time, and your time is worth quite a lot, when you think about it.

I did look into the "selling books on Amazon" thing one time. For most of my books, the going price was $.01. (I guess the sellers make money on the postage?) So let this one go without a single qualm.

Dr. Dad, PhD said...

I'm not sure I'm going to move (struggling with 2 job opportunities #firstworldproblems), but you're inspiring me to start culling the closets already. 2 kids and 3 years in one apartment and I realized just how much stuff we've acquired.... Ackkk!

As an alternative, have you looked into the Freecycle movement? You post what you have and people come pick it up (curbside) in a pay it forward kind of way....

Fie upon this quiet life! said...

I purge from our kids' stuff on a semi regular basis. It always feels really good. I'm not as good at getting rid of my own stuff. :-/

Comradde PhysioProffe said...

I thought you're going on sabbatical?? You make it sound like you're leaving for fucken Mars.

Notorious Ph.D. said...

Might as well be, Comrade, for the following reasons: 1. I can't sublet the apartment, so I'm packing the whole thing up and putting it in storage; 2. For various reasons, the new place won't be ready for 7 weeks until after I move out of this one, so I am organizing accommodations at five different addresses on two continents before I finalize the move; I haven't dine a thorough purge of office or apartment since 2003.

A trip to Mars might be less complicated.