Live Like a Nomad
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008One thing I frequently hear from people is that the amount of stuff they have is related to the amount of times they have moved. You may have said it yourself. People will say “I’ve haven’t moved in 20 years so I never had to get rid of anything”.
I have also observed that people who move often tend to accumulate less stuff. When I say people who move often I mean every 1-3 years. It seems that when you know you are going to have to go through the process of lugging all your worldly possessions from one place to another you are more willing to make choices about what’s important and what is not.
Think about it, college students are the perfect example. They are at school for 9 months and then they return home for the summer. I remember at the end of each school year you would drive around town and find all types of furniture, art, light fixtures, clothes and more on the side of the street that students were leaving behind. If you drove back by in a few hours many pieces were gone because some other thrifty student had just scored a free sofa!
Dictionary.com defines a nomad as: “a member of a people or tribe that has no permanent abode but moves about from place to place, usually seasonally and often following a traditional route or circuit…”
Does that hit the nail on the head or what? That sounds exactly like the college student! So how does this relate to me you ask. We do not have to wait to move in order to give ourselves permission to release the stuff. The nomads use the seasons to let them know when it’s time to lighten their load and you can too. Many people pick Spring time or Fall to shed their unwanted stuff. Choose the time that works with what’s going on in your life and your natural habits, but the key is to make it a tradition. That’s right, make it a new tradition! Something you carry out each year no matter what. You could even tie it to a holiday like Labor Day (that would be funny) or St. Patrick’s Day or something that would help you remember to do it.
If you knew you were going to be moving in a year what would you give up so you wouldn’t have to move?
Enjoy the good life,
Angela
Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space www.theposhspace.com.
Mother’s Day is this weekend and that means another trip to the card shop and to find just the right gift for one of the most important women in your life, Mom. But what do Mom’s really want? I belong to a “mom-trepreneur” group and work with many busy women who are mothers and one thing that comes up over and over again is time. You heard me right, or should I say, you read that right, T-I-M-E! They want time to spend with their children or husbands and not have to worry about cleaning the house. They want time to go to a yoga class. They want time to read a book or even a magazine article. They want 60 minutes to watch the Oprah show for Pete’s sakes!