The Big Purge!

I got rid of 70% of my possessions.

Over the course of a week I purged about 70% of my possessions. Between a big moving sale last weekend and giving a lot away, it felt like quite the accomplishment.

(If you did not catch my last blog post a couple of weeks ago about my big life transition of heading into digital nomad life, here's the update: Life Update)

Going though everything you own, and deciding to let so much of it go is quite the process.

It's been a process for weeks now, months really. From deciding to downsize seriously and do some traveling, getting comfortable with the fact that I'd be letting go of a lot of material possessions, actually going through all of my stuff and deciding what to let go of, to actually watching people drive away with the things....it's been a process.

A process filled with emotional & energetic challenges while simultaneously filled with feelings of relief and freedom.

Why we have such a deep drive to hold onto things is a much bigger topic that I thought a lot about as I went through this process. Not just material things, but also relationships that don't really serve us, circumstances we are unhappy in, habits that don't serve us well.....we hold on to so much that's not needed.

This is actually the 3rd time in my adult life that I have purged the majority of my things in big moves, so this process isn't new to me, and it's still not easy, but it's so much easier than it has ever been.

Along with the challenging feelings of letting go comes....
Feelings of spaciousness.
Freedom from 'things'.
Relief with less to track, manage, and take care of.
Eliminating overwhelm and decision fatigue in the day to day like choosing what clothing to wear.

I'm also letting go of (at least for the time being) the ability to connect in person with the loving community of friends I have here, the familiarity of home, the normalcy & comfortableness of having a stable home, a community that I love, etc.

And what I'm gaining is the opportunity to spend time with people that I've missed, meeting new friends & spending time in new communities, and experiencing new levels of personal growth because I am taking myself out of my comfort zone.

While I could ramble on a LOT about this whole process, in the spirit of keeping this brief, I want to just share some key things I'm being reminded of right now, that maybe you could use a reminder about too....

• Things are just things. We can find a lot of comfort in them, but in the end, they don't mean a lot, and having less of them always feels better than I expect. The simplicity of having less 'stuff' can be a beautiful thing.

• Opposite emotions happen simultaneously all the time and it's totally normal. It's good to feel all of them. While we often want to look at things as black & white, good or bad, scary or easy....Our experiences are never that simple. While letting go is hard, the freedom can feel amazing. While doing something new can be scary as hell, it's also really exciting and bravery can feel good. Giving up the comfort of what is normal for you can feel difficult while opening up so many avenues for growth can feel empowering.

• While right now I'm uprooting my life and purging so much to lighten my load, I want to always remind myself that I can take my current surroundings and clean house both literally and figuratively any time I feel stuck or weighted down.

• Consistently daydreaming about things can often bring them to fruition, and sometimes in ways or in a timeline that we weren't planning. (manifestation is tricky like that 😉) When I got notice to move out of my home, I was so sad at first. I loved living here. It wasn't until later I realized that I'd been daydreaming about traveling when I moved out of this place for about a year now. The timeline I had in my head was further down the road, but I know that the energy I put into daydreaming about traveling propelled the timeline in a way that felt jarring at first, but in the end, was perfect. We are so often manifesting what happens to us in life without really being aware of it.

• For the love of all that's sacred....take breaks! Making such a big move is a LOT of work. Anytime life feels crazy, always remember that the work doesn't actually go any faster (and certainly not any easier) if we don't stop to rest. When we take breaks and give our bodies rest, we can actually be more effective and efficient while enjoying ourselves so much more. (I'll admit, I've been pushing myself too hard through this prep to move, and having a hard time following this advice that I'm always giving, but when I did, wow, I felt so much better and still got everything done.)

After putting the rest of my things into storage, and fully cleaning out my home of the last few years this week, I will be hitting the road this weekend, and truly taking some deep rest as I do. I love solo road trips and plan to take my sweet time meandering towards my home state of Minnesota, resting along the way, and taking in the journey.

Thanks for reading & witnessing part of my journey!

Shelly