“The most important things in life aren’t things.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
I promised myself when I moved into my new apartment that I wouldn’t bring anything into it that I didn’t love. And I do love these tin birds which were a gift, and my home will always have room for flowers. — Photo by Pat Bean
Once Again I’m at that Point
Back in 2004, when I downsized from my two-bedroom home in Utah to a 21-foot RV, I was amazed at how much stuff I had. That was nothing, however, to the stuff I had when I moved from a six-bedroom family home, after three of my five children had grown up and started life on their own, into a two-bedroom apartment.
And I love having a simple place where I can read and write, and look out at the world. — Photo by Pat Bean
That time I finally called the local thrift store to come empty out my large unfinished basement. It seems if you have plenty of storage space, you tend to fill it up.
Space in my small RV during the nine years it was my home on wheels hardly existed, and I quickly learned that if I brought one item into my life, another item had to go out.
I was thinking about this the day I drove through the small town of Leakey, Texas, and saw a sign on an antique store that read: “Sophisticated Junk for the Elite.” That was worth one of my loud belly laughs.
I turned to my canine companion Maggie and asked her if we should
Having a great view, as I do from my writing chair is important, too. It’s better than stuff. — Photo by Pat Bean
stop. She looked up at me from her co-pilot seat in my RV and yawned. I guess not, I told her. Sophisticated or not, there was no room in my RV for old, or even new, doodads.
When I retired from my traveling RV life, settling into a small one-bedroom, third-floor apartment with a view of the Catalina Mountains out my bedroom balcony window, I felt as if I had moved into a mansion, and loved its spaciousness.
Looking around, six years later, I realized that it wasn’t quite as spacious. It’s time to go back to the practice of when one thing comes in, another goes out.
Bean Pat: Bo’s Café Life https://boscafelife.wordpress.com/2018/12/05/11561/ Life shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
Now available on Amazon
Pat Bean is a Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder. Her book, Travels with Maggie, is now up on Amazon. Currently, she is writing a book, she is calling Bird Droppings, which is about her late-bloomer birding adventures. You can contact her at patbean@msn.com
Pat Bean's blog 
I so enjoyed this post – I love stories about downsizing! We moved 13 years ago from a 2800 sq foot house to a 1300 sq foot house and we had to do some major downsizing. In retrospect I wish we brought over less stuff with us but I guess we were not emotionally ready until we got hit with the reality of how small our new space was. Life is better now with less stuff 🙂
Thanks Tierney. My daughter is going through this same thing right now and is undergoing a second round of unloading after moving into their smaller home. Sometimes I have no idea how stuff accumulates.
I have inherited clutter that isn’t mine. Boxes and boxes of stuff that has somehow become my responsibility to sift through and distribute to the appropriate family member, sell or throw away. It is overwhelming but each month I make a little more progress. 😊
I’m hoping I don’t leave my kids with that. Just lots of journals. Good luck with the decluttering. Thanks for commenting JoHawk.
I love those birds!
Me too. Thanks.
I agree about the view being more important than almost anything!
Me too, Linda. Thanks for commenting