Move To Belize

Digital photographs of the art are better than keeping the originals. The process goes beyond sparking joy, too.

So many memories get tied up in stuff. Somewhere along the line, I realized I didn’t need either of my grandmothers’ knickknacks to remember them.

The handiwork that one did, such as an exquisite crocheted bedspread, and the recipes handed down by the other are important. Those are worth the storage space to me.

The other items, such as a little ceramic dog that sat on a shelf collecting dust and then in a box in the attic, don’t need to be kept.

Acknowledge emotional ties to objects. It’s okay to be sentimental, but weigh those sentiments against the amount of space you have, and remember that space equals money, whether it’s a storage unit or the size of your house.

5. Cut Your Partner Some Slack

If you’re going through this process with your partner, be nice to him or her. Remind him or her to be nice to you, too.

It’s hard on both of you. Some items that are vitally important to one of you may be worthless trash to the other.

Learn to compromise. Communicate why certain things are important to you—why you feel they belong.

Take time apart to cool off when necessary, and realize that, in the end, your relationship, not the stuff you have, is what’s most important.

6. Thrift Stores Are Your Friends

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

We filled our SUV with eight loads for the nearby Goodwill. We also donated countless items to a charitable thrift store in our hometown and felt lighter after every load, content that those items were being used for good causes.

Give bulky items like trampolines or barbecue grills to relatives and friends. This is a great way to get rid of things that are cheaper to buy in your new location than to store or transport.

Remember to get receipts and keep records of donations if you itemize your taxes. Depending on how much stuff you get rid of, it could pay off with the IRS.

7. Don’t Be Afraid To Throw Things Away

I tease that my husband has an Irish last name but a Scottish soul. He’s tight with money.

The idea of throwing away perfectly useful items goes against his grain. Still, there’s no justification for keeping seven partially used bottles of sunscreen.

It’s easier to throw that kind of stuff away earlier in the process than try to scramble as your deadline approaches.

The thrift stores can’t use your old VCR, the library doesn’t need your old cassette tapes, and nobody wants the sheet you cut holes in to make a Charlie Brown ghost costume and then kept because you never knew when you might need it again.

These things are trash; toss them.