Getting rid of it all

Our emptied storage unit

Getting rid of all your stuff is no easy task.  When we first made our move to Costa Rica we thought we got rid of everything!  Well....I guess in hindsight it wasn't quite everything.  We held onto one of our cars, a storage space full of personal belongings, and a shipping container full of stuff that we shipped down to Costa Rica.  Holding onto our things gave us a sense of security so as with most things in our life we have no regrets.

Even though at times we questioned what we were doing,  now we look back and know that all that stuff was just an anchor holding us down in life.  Even though we kept a lot of things I really am proud of that first purge.  We had never been to Costa Rica before and just weren't sure what to expect in the way of obtaining goods nor if we would even stay past a year.   We did sell our home, one car, and we donated loads and loads of furniture, toys, and every conceivable gadget.

When we left we were still strapped down with a storage unit full of things, and a huge container of items that we shipped to ourselves.  Some items were worthless to us here, like the turtlenecks I shipped down to the tropics, but most were things that we used for most of the 5 years we lived in Costa Rica.  Still we could have done without!

I have always been the type of person to purge every now and again and living here has been no different.  We purge a few times a year and it always feels great!   But we still had plenty of nonessential items.  About 6 months ago my husband and I started to feel stagnant here and so started our path of realizing our full travel dreams.  Since that time we sold almost everything that we had in our home here.  I brought things to tag sales, posted on Facebook and CraigsList, and convinced my friends that they just had to have that food dehydrator they had been admiring for years.  The kids even came along to the tag sales and were active parts in feeling the peace you get out of lightening your load.  After 1 month we were down to just the essentials of daily life.  The rest of the items are already spoken for.  Task of cleansing in Costa Rica..accomplished!

But what about all those items we saved back in the US?  One month ago I took a trip by myself up to the US and in 10 days I sold all of our belongings.  The antiques, jewelry, winter clothes, and a load of pictures and memorabilia are a thing of the past.  I took photos of some things and really enjoyed looking at and touching all the things that reminded me of wonderful times with family and friends.  But in the end, the journey is the goal, and I was able to get the family down to 2 boxes of memorabilia stored at a friends house.   This was quite an accomplishment and something I am very proud of.  We feel happier with less belongings now, like a weight lifted in knowing that when a great travel opportunity presents itself we can pack up easily and go.

I am not going to say it was all easy, I struggled with quite a few items but keeping my eyes on the prize of world travel and knowing that my memories are with me not with my belongings gave me great solace.  In the end I don't miss a thing and neither does my family.  Someone is enjoying all those wonderful items and we leave for an amazing journey in less then 2 months.  Backpacks of essentials and each other is all we need!