"We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see."
Taoist Proverb
For the past few weeks I've been a man on an extreme decluttering mission...
So much of my worldly possessions have been given away, recycled (evil paper), freecycled, rehomed and sold (a few items).
What you see above is the culmination of my efforts and what I'm taking to with me as I emigrate :
Samsonite Backpack
Has the…
- Macbook Pro (plus power charger)
- iPad (plus power charger)
- important docusments
- 2x moleskines
- Kodak Zi8 & mic
- power travel adaptor
- assorted pens
- assorted nuts (for the journey)
- small folder of paperwork (passport, flight times etc)
- beanie
- more paper (important immigration docs, work letters etc)
- clothes
- bag of leads, chargers and other tech stuff
- hand wraps (for punching)
- two small bags
- toiletries
Holding a myriad of stuff from coats to books, to flattened Mac boxes to punching pads etc etc. It will meet me in Christchurch when I arrive.
What got left behind is a filing cabinet full of papers (as the tax man wants you to keep stuff related to your business for five years), plus two medium boxes of various stuff yet to find a home (old photos, some DVD's, backup CD's from past work etc).
Afterthought
So there you have it.
A 100 hours of decluttering.
My mission complete and I'm double-chuffed with myself.
Obviously, the battle will be to remain a minimalist in both thought and function, not to acquire and keep things 'light'.
My last thought as I put this blog / project to bed : if you're looking for probably the most extreme decluttering challenge ever… emigrate!
*the last calculation was that I had two weeks at home with the folks after moving out of my flat. What followed was about ten days of about 5 hours on average of going through my stuff to finally achieve the above.
**the above post was written in the air on my way to New Zealand—am now here and had some time to edit / post.
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