johnbernstravelblog

Dispatch Dated: 2005-03-31

Now that the decision has been made, the pre-trip preparations begin.

The biggest issue is dealing with my things.

Starting to pack my thingsI have acquired a lot of things over the years. Some things have strong emotional ties and I treasure them. Some things are good things that I use often. Some things are good things that I rarely use. Some things are just not useful any more. Some things I haven’t touched in years.

But things take up space and a certain amount of energy to keep them in your possession. Things tie you down. If you want to travel and not worry about your things, you have to do something about your things.

Here is my strategy:

I will pack up all the things I need to set up a household on my return and put them in a $75 a month storage locker; a few of my more valuable possessions will be stored with family members for safe keeping.

The rest of my things will either be sold to fund my trip or donated to worthy causes.

And when in doubt, throw it out…

When I returned from my last long overseas trip I had boxes and boxes of things I stored. The funny part is, most of those things are still in the same boxes I packed them in ten years ago. I guess I really don’t need to keep those things if I haven’t touched them in 10 years.

My lease is up on the 31st of March (today) but packing took longer than expected. I expect to be out in 2-3 days and, until I am ready to leave, I will stay with friends and family to conserve funds.