Before my trip to Costa Rica, I moved out of my Vancouver apartment and sold or donated most of my possessions. What I had left, I moved into storage at my parents’ place and I got on the plane and forgot all about it all for five weeks.

When I returned from Central America, I began unpacking some of my boxes, and as I unpacked, I wondered WHY I had kept so much stuff. I really don’t need 8 dinner plates, 8 side plates, and 8 bowls; I only two of each (maybe four). I don’t need all these kitchen gadgets that I use once a year; all I need is a wooden spoon, an egg flipper, a can opener and… yes, a corkscrew (hehe). I’ve owned my Cuisinart Food Processor for about 5 years now and have probably used it as many times. WHY was I holding on to it? I love my Cuisinart Blender, but again, why do I need something so big, when a Magic Bullet with just one cup is all I really need for my smoothie pleasure? (And, it’s a lot more portable!)

Then there’s my closet. Wow. So I’ve spent the last year working hard getting fit and am now in the best shape of my life, and have lost weight. As a result, nothing I wore before fits me anymore. So WHY am I holding on to my “fat” clothes? (No, I was never really “fat” but I was definitely bigger and those clothes simply don’t fit anymore.) So again, WHY have I been keeping my old clothes? Just in case I’ll fit into them again? No. Not gonna happen.

So as I’ve unpacked, I’ve purged even more stuff. I have boxes of kitchen stuff, bags of clothes, and more boxes of other random items that I have found some reason/excuse to keep “just in case” I will need them someday.

So now, as I spend some time in the home where I grew up, I see why I’ve held on to so much stuff. I’ve been conditioned to keep stuff. I’m seeing things around the house that have been there since I was a kid. Stuff that has been replaced, in some cases, twice over, but the original (and its two replacements) is still around and was never thrown out. I’ve been conditioned to keep things “just in case.”

Costa Rica was an eye opener for me. It helped me realize and understand that I don’t need much to be happy. The less I own, the simpler life becomes. I went to Costa Rica with a suitcase and a backpack, and still I packed far too much stuff, half of which I didn’t even use.

So the more I realize that I don’t need all this stuff, the more freeing it’s becoming to purge it. The less stuff I own, the more I crave a simple life.

Preparing for any extended trip can be stressful. Add a move into that, and the stress escalates. This is the second time I’ve moved right before traveling. You’d think I would have learned the first time that this isn’t the best idea.

My last extended travel was a couple of years ago for a 2 month trip to Thailand. I had to have my house moved pre-trip. I did something very similar to what I’m doing now, and moved everything into storage to save on 2 months of rent costs while I was gone. Because really, it makes no sense to pay rent when that money can be spent in much more exciting ways like travel!

This time, things are a bit different. I’m not moving stuff into a storage locker here in Vancouver, but rather I’m selling or donating all the big stuff (furniture etc) and I’m storing the rest with family. Although my Craigslist experience has been a frustrating one, things are slowly selling off. My TV now lives on the floor, I hang out by candlelight in the evenings, I eat my meals at my desk, and my patio is standing room only. There’s still a pile of stuff to sell, but it will all happen in the next week. It has to!

It’s funny how we get attached to stuff. I’ve been working on this purging thing for probably about a year now, and I can honestly say that I’m not attached to much anymore. The more I get rid of, the easier it gets. It all just feels like stuff. Stuff that if I really wanted it again, I could buy it again.

The experience of watching my things go out the door has been freeing. Each item I’ve sold has given me a little bit more breathing room. It’s a great feeling to free myself from the shackles of possessions. It’s almost like any attachment I’ve had to my past goes out the door with it, creating a clean slate to recreate myself and my life.

Some people do spring cleaning, I’m doing a life cleaning. Scrubbing away all the unnecessary crap that just ends up being put on a shelf, shoved in a corner or stored in a box. If I haven’t used it in the past year: Gone! I love it!

I’m sure you also have a bunch of stuff that you could live without and not even notice. So why not do exactly that? You will love the feeling of decluttering your life!

Clean up the clutter! Clean up your life!

Photo: © 2009 Mariska Richters Photography – Mayan Riviera, Mexico

I’ve been preparing myself of this journey over the past year. I have slowly been letting go of my attachments to physical possessions and have either sold, given away or donated many things. The funny thing is that as much attachment that I may have felt to these things at one point, (convincing me to keep some of them for years,) I haven’t missed a single item I’ve purged. Which brings me to wonder:

Maybe the life I’ve always wanted is buried under everything I own…?

I’ve found that in the past, I’ve attached my happiness in life to “stuff”. I’ve told myself, “when I finally have this, I will be happy!” But the truth is, that once you have that one thing, you only end up wanting the next thing, expecting happiness to come each time.

Through this process, it has become clear to me where my happiness lies. My true happiness appears when I am spending quality time with quality people, having quality experiences, doing amazing things. It’s not about that next pair of shoes, or piece of art for the wall, or driving a nice car, it’s about truly enjoying the time I spend and the people I spend it with.

As a result of slowly coming to this realization, I’ve purged many things and it has felt so freeing! I’ve been through my closet several times, and each time I come out with at least one garbage bag full of clothes, shoes and accessories to donate. Sure, there continue to be certain items that I have convinced myself I will still “need”, but even those will eventually make it to the donation bin.

One thing I know I will miss on this journey is my own bed. I have the most comfy bed in the world! (Oh yes, it is even more comfortable than yours!) I mentioned this to my mom and she said something that really resonated with me; she said, “It won’t fit in a suitcase!” And that is how I will be looking at things moving forward. If I can’t find a valid reason to put it in my suitcase and carry it with me, then I don’t need it!

So I challenge you! I ask you to consider the following questions, and leave your thoughts in the comments below:

• How much of your stuff do you truly need?
• If you got rid of some of it, would you actually miss it?
• Would you even notice its absence?
• Would your life feel incomplete without it?
• Is this stuff actually making you happy, or is it some kind of place-holder for something you have yet to identify as your true happy-maker?

Living a life you love is not about stuff. It’s about the amazing experiences you have with the people you care about.

I challenge you to disconnect yourself from possessions, and make the effort to spend more time with the people you care about. Because at the end of the day, when we leave this life, we can’t take the stuff with us, but we can leave some quality memories behind with the people we enjoyed our life with.

Be free. Feel alive. Live a life you love.