Prioritizing
In recent days I have found myself standing in my apartment staring at various items, quietely considering them. Do I need this item now, will I need it next year, will I need it in the future? These battles with myself can last for up to half an hour as I slowly fade into insanity while I consider whether or not to pack a shirt that I haven't worn in the last year and a half. The pile of stuff for goodwill grows by the minute. Don't worry, it's not filled with anything of monitary or sentimental value. Mostly it's things that I question why I've held onto them for this long. Things like a hat from the job that I hated that still has the tags on it.
I wonder if it's necessary to keep CDs of pictures that I already have one physical copy and two seperate sets of digital copies of. So I will muse: Well, the CDs are a form of back up. A form of back up that I don't even get for any of my newer pictures. They take up space, but I did pay for them. Probably two dollars. So that adds up. But they're not actually worth two dollars. I took this picture five years ago. This back and forth will stop me in my tracks for long minutes until I decide that if I have to think that long about it, I might as well keep them. Similarly, how many t-shirts from my old job do I need to hold on to? Why keep the on that has paint stains on it? Should I keep this towel that I used in pottery class that's now stained with clay? I haven't watched this DVD in two years, do I really need it? Oh, and while I'm thinking of things, is it more efficient to roll my clothes or fold them? Will I have a closet? Should I bring some hangers?
It is utter insanity.
Most things I don't question at all. Three boxes of salt and pepper shakers, a few sacred tattered t-shirts, an unusual number of toy ambulances. Without question, these will be stored and I won't think twice about them. I know the sentimental from the pointless.
I've never packed with such limited space for such a span of time. I am all but comitted to taking two suitcases and paying the extra 50 dollars, as well as carrying my backpack and lappy shoulder bag. But trying to chose what sweaters and long sleeved shirts to take while it's 100 degress outside is pretty tricky. In August, I can't even remember what cold feels like.
I'm trying to be as reasonable as possible. One of my goals is to go to a big hippy muddy music festival. So, of course I wonder if I should bring a sleeping bag and my wellies. At some point, reason overtakes me, and I say no, of couse I shouldn't. Surely I will find someone who also wants to go to big hippy muddy music festivals and will allow me to borrow their big hippy muddy music festival acessories.
I looked back on the post where I last mused about packing, when I came home from college and orgainzed all the stuff in my childhood bedroom. I really hated it then. But it hasn't felt like a chore to pack for England, because it is more like prioritizing than packing. I do think it is a little more stressful than regular moving. In regular moving, if the house is empty, than you have packed it all. In my current situation, I have these insane arguments with myself about how many jackets I need to live, how I should probably take the mirror for a bike I don't own yet, and will seriously consider bringing the lappy docking station because I don't want to get there and find that I need that one thing that the UK doesn't produce.
I wonder if it's necessary to keep CDs of pictures that I already have one physical copy and two seperate sets of digital copies of. So I will muse: Well, the CDs are a form of back up. A form of back up that I don't even get for any of my newer pictures. They take up space, but I did pay for them. Probably two dollars. So that adds up. But they're not actually worth two dollars. I took this picture five years ago. This back and forth will stop me in my tracks for long minutes until I decide that if I have to think that long about it, I might as well keep them. Similarly, how many t-shirts from my old job do I need to hold on to? Why keep the on that has paint stains on it? Should I keep this towel that I used in pottery class that's now stained with clay? I haven't watched this DVD in two years, do I really need it? Oh, and while I'm thinking of things, is it more efficient to roll my clothes or fold them? Will I have a closet? Should I bring some hangers?
It is utter insanity.
Most things I don't question at all. Three boxes of salt and pepper shakers, a few sacred tattered t-shirts, an unusual number of toy ambulances. Without question, these will be stored and I won't think twice about them. I know the sentimental from the pointless.
I've never packed with such limited space for such a span of time. I am all but comitted to taking two suitcases and paying the extra 50 dollars, as well as carrying my backpack and lappy shoulder bag. But trying to chose what sweaters and long sleeved shirts to take while it's 100 degress outside is pretty tricky. In August, I can't even remember what cold feels like.
I'm trying to be as reasonable as possible. One of my goals is to go to a big hippy muddy music festival. So, of course I wonder if I should bring a sleeping bag and my wellies. At some point, reason overtakes me, and I say no, of couse I shouldn't. Surely I will find someone who also wants to go to big hippy muddy music festivals and will allow me to borrow their big hippy muddy music festival acessories.
I looked back on the post where I last mused about packing, when I came home from college and orgainzed all the stuff in my childhood bedroom. I really hated it then. But it hasn't felt like a chore to pack for England, because it is more like prioritizing than packing. I do think it is a little more stressful than regular moving. In regular moving, if the house is empty, than you have packed it all. In my current situation, I have these insane arguments with myself about how many jackets I need to live, how I should probably take the mirror for a bike I don't own yet, and will seriously consider bringing the lappy docking station because I don't want to get there and find that I need that one thing that the UK doesn't produce.
Comments
I was about 60% successful and had to admit defeat and buy things I should've brought and do without for some others. It is a weird time of self-reflection when you actually have to think about your stuff instead of just pile it all in a box!