The time has come to start downsizing my life into 2 suitcases. Even though I don't have much and my apartment is quite small I found it strange that I have so many things around the flat...
Not sure how you guys start such a project, for me the battle started in my head. Naturally I would love to keep everything, but I have to admit, I managed to accumulate quite some junk over the last 2 years in Norway. First I tried to separate everything in 4 piles in the 4 corners of the living room:
The first pile is for the bins. I will need lots of plastic bags... So, this pile should be easy to get rid of, riiiiight?
The second pile is things, clothes, shoes...etc that I will need in Africa. That should be easy, too. Here in Norway the top temperature on a hot (?) summer day was cooler than the coldest days in Sierra Leone. Guess I don't have too many summer clothes here. :) I was told to just buy clothes there - much cheaper and don't have to carry them around the world first. Handy.
The third pile comprises of clothes I would need in Winter Wonderland aka Hungary for 2 weeks (Christmas dinners, new years eve fancy dress, theater-appropriate clothes, winter boots, long underwear...).
The next pile is for give aways. Most of the things in this pile I would want to keep, but figured they could bless others so instead of boxing them up for who knows how long, I rather pass them on to my friends here. As a result lately everybody who dropped by for a quick visit left with a couple of bags. :)
The fifth pile is for things that I want to see again at some point in the future. Mostly little nothings I bought during my travels; silly memories; national dresses from all over the world and such. (good thing the room doesn't have more corners hehe)
So, I assigned the four corners and every once in a while I throw things on each pile. This sorting process made me stop and think about how attached I am to the things around me. It turns out, not too much. :) Last week I was in a hurry and pulled the zipper on my boots too fast and broke it. Normally I would be upset, but knowing that I am leaving in 2 weeks I was quite relaxed about it. I just threw them in the trash thinking it's one less thing I need to worry about. :)
Another challenge I am facing is the massive amounts of food I still have in the freezer. The last 2 weeks I was eating chicken with chicken in soups, grilled, chopped, "cordon bleu style", in goulash (which is "pörkölt" really, but if I say goulash people know what I am talking about), fried some Asian style and I still have some... :)
Still, the question remains. Why are we so attached to certain things?
I could give several acceptable answers, but that wouldn't change the fact that I am still nowhere close to finish packing and time is flying on a jet plane... :)
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