Yep, we are still moving forward with our dream of living in the city. Yep, it is massively overwhelming! Why?
We’ve found a few places we are totally interested in. They have the rooms we need and the location is exactly what we are looking for – right in the middle of Midtown Atlanta.
Hundreds of restaurants within walking distance. Piedmont park within walking distance. The Fox Theater is a short walk away and if we get a scooter … the entire city is at our fingertips without having to get in a car! It’s dream living!
So, why is it overwhelming? Ok, here is the biggest thing:
Where the heck will we put all of our stuff?
We knew a lot of things would go into storage … our dream life is to have a place in the city AND a place in the mountains. We are going to store the items that will go to the mountain house.
But, where will we put the stuff we need in this home?
After looking over the weekend and finding a place we really like, my husband wakes up and says, “Where will we put our luggage?” Holy cow, seriously? We like to travel and we have luggage. There is NO room for big items like that in these condos.
Where will his tennis bag go? Where will ALL my shoes go? Not to mention some of the kids’ things. They are in for a rude awakening when they realize that their parent’s house can’t hold gobs of stuff.
So, I looked around my suburban house and I started getting rid of STUFF. This is going to be a crazy good exercise of releasing THINGS in my life that just don’t matter.
Are you held down by your things?
I called my insurance agent yesterday morning to talk about how insurance works on a condo. He told me about his own situation and how he could never move to a condo because of his massive amount of stuff. He admitted to keeping way too much “in case he ever needed it”.
Then he said something that stuck with me (mind you, he is much closer to retirement than we are – probably in his early 60’s): “we are a slave to our possessions.”
WOW. I don’t EVER want that to be me. I don’t ever want to be held down because of things.
After my parents died I realized very quickly that some small things held a GREAT amount of value and some of the most expensive or large things didn’t mean as much.
I have this little frog in my kitchen that holds my Brillo pad. My mom made it in ceramics class many moons ago.
She used it for probably 25 years before she died and now it sits on my counter. It literally has NO monetary value yet it means everything to me.
When we’re gone, our children will pick items that we’ve used thousands of times that will mean something special to them. It could be the earrings I wear ALL the time. It could be the mug my husband uses ALL of the time. You never know what will mean the world to them.
So, this week I’m purging. This week I’m decluttering. This week I’m releasing THINGS that don’t matter.
What I’m finding as I go through this process is that I’m actually receiving through this. I’m receiving a clear mind, peace in having less things and joy in realizing that my things might help someone else.
This week I’m thanking God for the many blessings and opportunities in front of me. For planting the seeds of DREAMS. And for allowing me to feel Peace, Love and Joy through my experiences and not necessarily through my possessions.
Here’s to releasing and receiving at the same time!
