Could You Live Out of One Suitcase for 8 Months? I Did! How & Why to Get Rid of the Clutter in Your Life by Sheri B Doyle
After selling my business in 2016, my husband and I decided to sell almost everything we own (except four boxes, some art and two suitcases full of clothing) and travel. In order to do this, and live out of one suitcase each for eight months (seriously!), we had to get rid of a lot of belongings. We found that by thinking of our possessions in a different way, we were able to let them go and feel much freer than we ever imagined.
Here are my tips for letting go of possessions:
- Don’t buy anything unless you are in love with it or need it to survive. Shopping online, I always wait at least two days to make sure I really want something before I buy it. In a store, it has to be necessary for me before I will purchase it.
- Box up things you never use. Leave them in the box for 30 days and then if you didn’t need them, donate them or have a yard sale.
- Organize what you have so you don’t buy multiples.
- Give things only a certain amount of space in your home. If you want something new, then something else must go from that space.
Living out of one suitcase makes it very easy to do this, and we realized at the end of our trip that we didn’t regret anything we didn’t buy.
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As far as what made the cut when downsizing. It really comes down to what has emotional value for us, what can't be replaced and things we feel are worth shipping anywhere in the world if we decided to settle down. This is things like my sewing machine, favorite kitchen knives, artwork, blender and juicer etc.
The longer we are separated from those things though the easier it gets to think about getting rid of those. All except for our artwork from around the world and family gifts and heirlooms. Everything else just becomes less and less important the longer you live without them.