It's Started

Moving is a pain in the neck. I can better understand now why people live in the same place for 30+ years. I've started saying if I could sleep through the whole moving out part and wake up in Colorado, I'd be happy. Poor Greg and Scoots - they'd have to fend for themselves.

Today I cleaned my studio and got rid of scraps I'd been holding on to for years. Scraps that I brought from the US, and then Germany. Don't ask me why - I don't know. It does feel good to put order to the chaos that was my studio in the last few weeks.

This morning made me think about our attachment to stuff that ends up being just clutter. Gifts were never used. Papers with notes that are of no use anymore because the events are long over. Cat toys that a certain grey tuxedo cat (not naming names) doesn't play with. Dried flowers that have faded in the sun. Dead batteries. Rolls of thread and bobbins for sewing. Cute little containers. Notebooks whose pages are all filled. Computer wires and cables, speakers, microphones. And the list goes on...

At the end of a time somewhere, what is the point to keeping half this stuff? Some might say it's because of the memories or the nagging thought that once you throw it away, you'll need that thing again. I'm here to say that's not true - you'll always have the memories and you won't ever need that thing you've been holding on to. Throwing or giving away your items is liberating. You focus on the people and things that are most important to you - Greg, Scoots, health, good food, warm shelter, not having to move again. It gives you clarity.

We still have a month and a half to go so there's time. A friend told me she usually starts the moving out process about six months before. I feel like I should do this mass cleaning every six months regardless of moving or not. For now, our goal is to get our pile of stuff down to fit in three suitcases and two carry-on bags as well as a backpack. We'll be donating, selling, and tossing a lot in the next month and a half. 

I'm sure this won't be the last you hear about our move out of Quito, but we do have a lot of other activities we want to do before we leave, too. This weekend is a long weekend and we're going here with two friends: 

Quilotoa crater (image found here)

I think our pictures won't be as scenic as this one (the lake doesn't look this green in other photos) so fair warning! We've been looking forward to this trip for a while and it'll be our last new place we visit here. Stay tuned for more!