I am not a hoarder per se, but watching myself trying to reduce my packing load is quite revealing. I had arranged a charity to pick up 'between four and ten bags' of clothing and household items this morning. I dug through my closet and separated out as much as I could, and filled up only a bag and a half. I went through Maya's clothes, and Eric's, and stretched to another half bag. I was desperate, knowing that at 7 AM today, the bags would be picked up. Although the AC was sort of working, I was dripping sweat before I even moved this morning, desperate to manufacture the missing bags. I managed to fill up five, which is half of what I planned, but a huge effort nevertheless.
I find it difficult to give up anything; even when I have not worn anything for months and years, there is always the possibility that an item could come in handy. I cannot bring most of what I own to Ecuador or New York, so it only makes sense to rid myself of boxes and boxes of clothing. Instead, there are overflowing bins all over my room. I try to make some sort of order, and I am quickly lost and confused, and unable to accomplish this task I have given myself.
We travel to Ecuador with two bags of 50 pounds each, and we return from Ecuador with exactly the same amount of belongings, which includes books and toilet articles and computers and everything necessary for our stay in a small two bedroom apartment. In New York, we will live in a closet, and will be able to own even less. I am not sure when or if I will see anything I have carefully packed. We have kept almost everything we own in a storage unit we never bothered unpacking after we returned to Baltimore. I have no idea what I am missing, and I suppose that means I miss nothing of my belongings.
We are consumers in a world of plenty, we believe we need more and more and accumulate so much that is unnecessary and excessive. I wish I could reduce my load, my footprint, my consumption, but when I have to make the necessary choices, I balk and pack some more.
I find it difficult to give up anything; even when I have not worn anything for months and years, there is always the possibility that an item could come in handy. I cannot bring most of what I own to Ecuador or New York, so it only makes sense to rid myself of boxes and boxes of clothing. Instead, there are overflowing bins all over my room. I try to make some sort of order, and I am quickly lost and confused, and unable to accomplish this task I have given myself.
We travel to Ecuador with two bags of 50 pounds each, and we return from Ecuador with exactly the same amount of belongings, which includes books and toilet articles and computers and everything necessary for our stay in a small two bedroom apartment. In New York, we will live in a closet, and will be able to own even less. I am not sure when or if I will see anything I have carefully packed. We have kept almost everything we own in a storage unit we never bothered unpacking after we returned to Baltimore. I have no idea what I am missing, and I suppose that means I miss nothing of my belongings.
We are consumers in a world of plenty, we believe we need more and more and accumulate so much that is unnecessary and excessive. I wish I could reduce my load, my footprint, my consumption, but when I have to make the necessary choices, I balk and pack some more.
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