A few years ago, I went on a little summery visit to Whidbey Island. I’ve been to Whidbey lots of times but this time, the stars aligned. The little cabin I rented, perfection. Sublime. The cold plunging was cold in an electrifying way. Absolute body alignment. All the food I prepared and ate, A+. A+. A+. There were even tiny newborn baby birds nesting right outside the bathroom cabin window and the AirBnB host sweetly left a handwritten note to take care that they were there and to be careful about disturbing them.
On my way out of town with my two dogs, I stopped by a bustling, cool coffee shop, grabbed a seat at an outside table and nibbled on my pastries. A woman and her mom were sitting at the next table and we struck up a conversation. It was pure delight. We talked like we had known one another for years and when I was reluctantly getting ready to leave, they insisted, “You should move here, your people are here!” “I should move here, my people are here…” I found myself mumbling like I was under a Jedi spell. Are they? Are my people here? Could they be? Ten minutes later I was in the ferry line and five minutes after that, in my mind and heart, I WAS MOVING TO WHIDBEY ISLAND.
By the time I rolled back into the now far-too-noisy, too crazy, all wrong in so many ways Seattle, I had crafted a plan. In order to move, I’d need to do what I’ve done since I was a kid, existing in a family that moved way too often— I’d need to GET PACKED.
For the next few weeks, that’s what I did. I acted “As If”. “As if” I was moving. And I went for it! Since I didn’t have a move date or a new home lined up, I thought, “Great, I can at least just get everything sorted, decluttered and ready to go.” The plan was when it was time to get to the actual packing, Every. Single. Thing. Would be ready Freddie. No questions asked. Just put it all in the boxes because it’s all been dealt with and is good to go. That’s all the books, all my clothes, the junk drawers, the tools IN the toolbox, the scary area under the kitchen sink, artwork, old boxes that you don’t go through- you just move from place to place…nope, that was now on the docket too. It all got dealt with.
I learned an astonishing fact a few years ago when I was putting together an offer to help people do pre-move decluttering. I learned that people move and then on average, after they move (they’re in their new home now) they then get rid of an additional 30% of their belongings. 30%!!! Wow. That really blew my mind. People pay to pack up and have all their belongings moved and then whoosh, 30% more goes bye-bye. The thing is though—I totally get it. Moving and all that it entails is so dang intense and something like pre-move clutter clearing probably feels like a luxury item plus, where’s the time to do that? The task of moving itself is like a temporary full time job let alone the emotional toll it can take.
So back to my moving to Whidbey work. I did not move to Whidbey. It’s a lovely place but the stars did not stay aligned. That’s okay! (And I do love Seattle.) But what I did move was…everything else. Everything I own got touched so that it would be “move-ready”. And you know what? It wasn’t that hard. What I did basically mimic’d the entire basis of my Stuffology work. I decided to go through all the things but I did so one bitty area at a time. In other words, I didn’t spend hours upon hours going after entire rooms or areas. I picked one cabinet. And then, later on, I did another one. And then I would go through my shoes. Then maybe a junk drawer. Then I would be done with that and pick something else, later. Way later. I got rid of a full car load of stuff. Not a ton of things (I’m a professional organizer after all) but still quite a bit went away. I didn’t want to lose track of what I had gone through so I put a small sticky notes “DONE” on each of the completed areas. It took about three weeks. I got into a rhythm and I didn’t let myself go down the rabbit hole that leads to exhaustion and depletion.
(sorting one shelf. only got rid of one t-shirt but still felt hella good!) 😉
A compelling thing happened as a part of my decluttering/sorting bonanza. It had to do with the driving motive: “I’m moving”. That vision was extraordinarily clarifying and propelling. The answers that came from continually asking what I wanted to keep or not keep in the context of “moving” made the decisions come crystal clear.
That made me think, would that question also be clarifying for clients struggling to let go?
What if you were to really imagine you’re getting ready to move and get into the energy of how that question informs what you take to your next destination? Would it illuminate for you what you really want to hang onto and what you don’t? Or if moving is too far out there, not relatable, maybe it’s a remodel you’re readying for? Or maybe you can imagine moving away for a year, like perhaps that has been a long time dream of yours. Or imagine being a way for a summer, and you’re getting ready for people to stay in your home?
What is it that you can imagine that could be probable and possible, that would ignite in you the truth of what you really want to have and not have in the way of your belongings?
I’m so curious. Feel free to reply and let me know! Letting go can be hard. But I’m all for endorsing the finding out and deploying of the big reason behind what might fuel your vision and then help in the sorting process. And if you’re super struggling with messiness, I’m always here to chat have a chat about that too.
