Detaching from Attachment

My boyfriend Mike and I are moving. With this comes a lot of excitement for me and our relationship, but also the opportunity to set new intentions for our home and what home means to us.

Not buying anything new this year has given me a new look at moving. In the past, I've spent hours and hours boxing up crap that I just lug on to the next space and unload, set up shop, and start again. But I want to be purposeful with this move. I want a garden, I want to live somewhere that is more woodsy, but mostly, I want to declutter. For real.

I want space to breath. Whenever I go to yoga, I feel like I can breathe. Yoga studios are minimal in their stuff and decorations. There's not crap hanging on every wall. There's not item after item of stuff on shelves and tucked under tables.

We're not moving until April or May, so I have time in the next few months to do some serious getting rid of... I've noticed that since we've been doing this blog, I've become far less emotionally attached to my stuff. I'm finally able to entertain the possibility of getting rid of a pair of pants that are just too big, but I've held on to in case maybe they fit again. I have jackets that are lovely, but I just never wear. "But they are in great shape!" I tell myself. But what's the point of holding on to stuff if it's just sitting in a closet? Why not take them to the thrift store so someone else can purchase them and say, "Wow! These are great. I'll totally get a lot of use out of them!" Stuff is meant to be used and I don't want anything more than what I'm using. And I certainly don't want to have to cart stuff I'm not using from place to place.

I'm also toying with the idea of getting rid of my cell phone when we move and going back to a landline and answering machine. I miss the days of coming home and checking messages and hate being so freaking accessible all the time. I'm not a doctor. Why does someone need to reach me RIGHT NOW? Anyway, I have a work phone. I have IM. I have email. I'm accessible enough. Now, I'm not sure how serious I am about this part, but I've just got to thinking about how we do things, like get cell phones, because it's just what people do. Everyone has a cell phone, so I should have a cell phone. Well, maybe we should start thinking for ourselves. I'd like to try.

-Courtney